Cio - Elkridge,MD

Go in and put her down on her bottom. Console her without picking her up by rubbing her tummy and talking sweetly to her. Just let her know that you are there, but it's time to sleep and leave the room. Repeat it every so often until she goes back to sleep. Eventually, she will soothe herself back to sleep and you won't have to go in at all because she won't cry or anything. Look up Ferber method and see if that is something that will work for you.

Hi M.. I was a C-I-O Mom when my kids were young, but I do not recommend elimination of night feedings until your child is about 10 months old. Until 9-10 months, most Pediatricians agree that she needs that single night feeding that she is requesting. You are really getting close -- just wait a couple more months. :)

As for learning more about CIO (different techniques and alternatives), get a hold of "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weissbluth, MD.

PS...as for the standing and not being able to get back down...all babies go through this! She'll figure out how to get herself down after a while. Give her a little time each night to see if she discovers she can do it...but give her help if she needs it. The night will come soon when she figures it out that she can do it on her own.

I personally have not been a fan of the CIO method. As a working mom, I just couldn't afford the loss of sleep at the time my son was that age. When my daughter was that age, I was going through chemo, and I just didn't have the energy nor desire.

So, we brought both kids into bed with us as needed - feedings, sleep, etc. In fact, our daughter (because of my diagnosis) was in bed with us for the first year. She's a rock star sleeper now at 2 (pretty much has been since that nighttime feeding was eliminated).

Her 4 year-old brother is a completely different experience. At the end of the day, having used the same approach with 2 different kids, my feeling is that a lot of it is related to personality vs. training.

But, a 7 month-old most likely needs that nighttime feeding. Both of my kids were past their 12 month mark when they had it eliminated.

Good luck.

My suggestion is DON'T. Your 7 month old needs you! She's still a baby, not ready to be independent from her mother. If you really can't handle the late night feedings then you can try a large feeding before bed. However it sounds like you are considering letting her cry herself to sleep because others have suggested it. Only you know what's best for your baby. Go with your instincts, not others (even the doctors). There is absolutely NO HARM in taking care of your baby in the middle of the night instead of making her cry herself to sleep.

Everyone's metabolisms are different. One of my kids ate every 2 hours, like their blood sugar needs, 24 hours each day. My other 2 ate 1-2 times at night...for the first year. We had them in our room, so when I heard them stir and start to make any noises of almost crying, so I didn't train them to cry when they wanted something, I'd latch them on and we'd both fall back to sleep. I lost no sleep AND my little ones don't have control issues in the form of food and overeating. Perhaps 7 months is a bit early for this one? Maybe not. Every child is different. Listen to your intuition.

If you want to CIO at this stage, the best way to do it will be to go in, lay her back down, give her her bink if she takes one, and THEN let her cry. A lot of babies can get up, but getting back down means, in a sense, falling down and it is scary. She may not have the skill to do it yet. It may take a couple times (frusterating in the middle of the night) but just keep checking to make sure she isn't 'stuck'.

We go in and just lay our daughter back down without speaking to her so she understands it's not time to get up yet. We just keep repeating this process till she goes back to sleep. Sometimes this goes on too long and we just let her cry it out because we know she's fine. She won't stand up all night long and will eventually lay back down and go to sleep.

As far as not feeding her during the night, if you think your kid is hungry when she wakes in the middle of the night, feed her! Who cares what is "recommended". Do what feels right to you. You're her mommy and you have the best instincts as to what to do.

Two things. You can let her cry until she just can't go anymore and she'll collapse in a heap and goto sleep or you can help her and put her down yourself without feeding her. The 1st way will be a little heartbreaking and in a few days will clear up the problem mostlikely. The second way will take longer most likely but you can tailor it a little more. You can let her see if she can figure it out herself for a couple of mintues(meaning don't rush to her side immediately) and then put her down. I would stop feeding her in the middle of the night and try to help her get back to sleep without it. Eventually she will not want to eat and wake up less. Either way, do what makes you feel as comfortable in your helping her through this transition of learning, while encouraging her to have some "independence" in learning how to put herself to back to sleep.

Good Luck
A.

I am a BIG fan of CIO. I did this with both of our babies (now big kids). I make sure all of their needs are met of course... diaper, feeding, not sick, etc. I never heard of *not* feeding in the middle of the night after six months old, even if you are using CIO, especially if you are breastfeeding. I don't remember the growth spurts, but she will be needing more feedings during her growth spurts. Our son was feeding like a newborn around 9 - 10 months old. I was working full time and couldn't wake with him every two hours... so I did CIO (aka - what my instincts told me to do). It took two days and he did fine. I can't do the whole family bed thing... I know several moms (including my mother-in-law) who ended up being large pacifiers for their kids. But to each their own.

Good luck :)

Your 7 mo old can stand!?! Wow! Haha...mine is almost 8 mo and she can't even crawl yet....but she has finally stopped eating at night - I just give her one last feeding before I go to bed sometimes (she doesn't always wake up before I go to bed, but if she does, I will feed her once, then I will give her a paci every time after). If she cries, I will just continue to go in and give her a paci or stroke her head of rub her chest until she goes back to sleep. If she were standing, I would just lay her back down and leave...let her cry for a short time, 10 minutes or so, then go back in and lay her back down if she stands up again....and keep repeating. Don't talk to her - just lay her down, stroke her chest or face/head, whatever she likes - and then leave. They said you can keep increasing the time, 15 mins, 20 mins, so on - I usually limit mine to 5-15 mins tops, but after the 2nd or 3rd time she will fall asleep....she is getting better and better at putting herself to sleep...I think it's all about when they are ready - before she would not go to sleep at all on her own unless I stayed with her, but I just left her in the room by herself today at nap time and she only fussed a minute and went to sleep...and at night she will sometimes put herself back to sleep now, but other times I will just stay for a minute (with paci, etc) and then go back to bed....and sometimes I cheat and fall asleep on the guest bed in her room so I won't have to keep running back and forth to my room....but she will eventually learn how to sleep....we are all working on it!! :)

Ferberize her! One of my girls did what yours is doing. I would go in, not make eye contact, lay her gently back down, say "Night Night" and leave. Sometimes I would do this 10 times, over and over and over. I think she finally gave up, and of course I would sigh a HUGE sigh of relief (only to do it all over again the next night). She did this for about a month. It's exhausting, but trust me, you want to instill good sleep habits now. I have a friend with a 2 year old still calling out for her in the middle of the night - almost every night! I wouldn't be able to handle that!! Good luck :)

When my oldest was about a year we got him into his crib (he slept in the Amby for almost a year)...he stood up and cried...I had to white-knuckle it until I didn't hear anything else...I went to check on him and he had sat down with his head resting on the bumper as if he just got so exhausted and was asleep. They will eventually go to sleep. I know that letting your child "cry it out" is not for everyone, but I have three boys and they are great sleepers with no crutches except a bobo bear for one, a lovey for another, and thumb and lovey combo for the third. I would not change anything I did and alwys offer any help to people who ask. Good luck:)