We started Abby on sleep training on Friday night using Dr. Ferber's method. The first night was rough, but the last two nights have been much, much better. She only woke up once last night.

Wifey was concerned about her crying to sleep. Is this a long term habit, or will they learn that everything is okay when you set them down and leave the room?

Its nice to have the bed back, but I wish she didn't have to cry.

I hate that Ferber definition of letting your child cry a bit before you swoop in to the rescue. It stems from seeing an episode of a "Mommy Show" (on DHC, no doubt) that had moms meeting in a coffee shop to talk about parenting. This particular episode had an unintended face off between three or four "Ferberizers" and an Attachment Parent. The AP was crying her head off almost immediately when she got their answers to helping her daughter sleep better, letting her sleep in her own room.

But that's a huge digression.

Kids need to learn to sleep on their own. As long as they are in a safe location (i.e. crib without bumpers, pillows, blankets etc) they are safe. The crying is normal. You'll find out that it gets less and less as your baby becomes more comfortable with being alone. Once our boys discovered rolling into a crouched sleeping position, they were both sort of irritated if you stayed in the room. Anyway, the crying's natural. It only hurts you emotionally. Once you get used to it you'll start finding all sorts of new, old hobbies.

I'm thinkin' about a 'reward chart' for TheBoy. Get a sticker for each night in his own bed ALL NIGHT (wake ups are allowed, but gotta go back to sleep in his own bed)... with a goal/reward for say, 4 nights out of 7, then 5, then 6...

He's only 2.75, so I'm not sure he'll grasp the concept, but he DIGS him some stikuhs!

It's a lil' easier for me right now, I'll try to get up and get him back asleep a couple of times, but with HisMother not workin', she kinda takes over, because she can go back to bed in the morning. So she generally does her best to let me sleep. But because I'm bein' the hardnose about him being in his own bed, I try to help as much as I can (with still gettin' a decent amount of sleep).

Please keep us all posted on your progress. And because this is titled with newborns, I now realize that my reply probably means nada to ya. Sorry.

We have been trying to get our 10.5 month old to sleep better for last 10 months... It's kinda back and forth which is really frustrating. My wife just started reading Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. Has anyone heard of this book?

The first night using Dr. Ferber's method was rough, we were up almost every 2 hours. The next night we were up 3 times, then it settled down to 1 or 2 times per night. By the end of the first week, she cried for maybe 10 minutes and then slept through the night. The only "problem" we have had is she now wakes at 5am, too early for my preference.

Regarding Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. We bought this book first and did not care for it. The book was full of theory and concept, but short on facts and step by step instructions.

Dan

@danm the baby crying is super tough. but, just from one dad's perspective and not as medical advice - I wish we had been a little stricter.

hah,as a mother,i think maybe some music is good to baby sleeping,if you have ipod,there many good soft songs in it,you can transfer some to computer for playing ,it is easy and fast to make ipod music transfer,you can try.

I read and followed Weissbluth's book and really buy into it. Yes, there's a lot of theory, as DanM mentioned, but that theory helped me to understand why the strategies work (and they do!). My daughter started sleeping from 7pm-5am at about 6 months, and now at 14 mos. has been sleeping from 7pm-8am. It was hard at times, but I structured a nap schedule, stuck to it, kept an early bed time and regular waking times, and believe it's the most rational approach.