Sleep- Night Wakings

I'm going through this right now w/ my 6 month old so I feel your pain! What I did with my oldest was to "night wean" gently BEFORE I started letting him just cry. So I started by moving back his night feedings. I also did/do a dream feed at 10 or 11 then let's say he normally wakes up at 2 or 3, I would push that feeding back 15 min every night, so let him cry or in my case with my first, soothe and rock for 15 min but don't feed. Every night or two (depending on how he did) I moved that feeding back 15-30 min until I had cut out night feedings all together. For that time I would still go to him and try to soothe him but I just would NOT feed him. I also have this rule about never taking him out of his bedroom during the night, I try to provide as little stimulation as possible. Anyway, my first caught on pretty quickly. After that he would sometimes still wake up but at least he didn't need to eat so it was easy to just give him his binkie and he'd go back to sleep. Then after he was already used to not being fed at night I laid down the law and made him cry if he woke up. For him, it was never much more than 10-15 min. With my second he's having a harder time and I can stand about an hour until I go to him. Anyway, it worked for me, not as many tears and my oldest slept through by six months and has been a great sleeper. Hoping for something similar soon from my second.

Hi Kari,
You didn't mention how old your child was. I think sometimes it makes a difference on how you sleep train.
I have a great on-line book called "Sleep Sense Program". After I read this book, I realized what I was doing wrong and within a month or so of extreame consistancy and pacience, my daughter was sleeping through the night. She was around a year and a half old when I started sleep training. I even went as far as reading my daughter the same 3 short bedtime stories for a long time. I did end up switching books, but always stayed with the same last book. She eventually realized what was coming next....sleep. I also said the same things to her when saying good night. When she woke up at night, (it was past the age of night feedings) I would go into her room, try to lay her back down (never taking her out of the crib) and say the same thing to her, "it's the middle of the night, go back to sleep, I love you, sweet dreams." Then leave her room. Yes, she would cry. But, as long as she wasn't hurt, I knew she was crying because she wanted me. I would go back in there in another 5 minutes and say and do the same exact thing. Then I would go in her room in another 8 minutes and so on. After 20 minutes, I stopped go in. Within a few weeks she stopped waking up all together. What a miracle! My thing was staying in her room until she feel asleep, and bringing her into my bed when she woke up in the middle of the night just to get more sleep. I basically trained my daughter to wake up and expect to come into my room......my fault.
This really is a great book, you can email me at ____@____.com and I will forward it to you. It's all about a very strict ruitine from start to finish and getting the child to know what to expect. Anything is possible with consistancy.
good luck to you!

We just went through the same issue with our six month old. We asked our pediatrician about this. She said that since he has started solids and gets 5 bottles daily there is no need for a late night feeding. If he was underweight, or premature, that would be a totally different issue. Her recommendation was to check on him to be sure nothing is hurting him, or that he has a poopy diaper, but if all seems well, to close his door and let him cry. He cried for about thirty minutes the first night and the time became progressively shorter with each night. He is now sleeping through the night and mom and dad are just LOVING it. :)
Another issue that came up for us in this area is having our son learn to self-soothe. He never took a pacifier, does not suck his thumb or fingers, so mommy became his pacifier. Our pediatrician suggested we throw a few mini blankets in his crib for him to cuddle with and that has helped.

How would you feel if someone would abruptly change your routine? You have to prepare him for this change. I suggest you eliminate one feeding per night over a period of time. And.....that you keep him sleeping in the same place while you do this. Or put him in his crib but continue feeding him at the intervals in which he's used to be fed until he's comfortable in his crib. You mention the cradle and your bed for sleeping. Perhaps keep him in his cradle first.

I understand your need for sleep but "laying down the law" rarely works for any transition. The reason that we "lay down the law" is that we need the energy of the anger or strong feelings that create that mind set to do the job. It is easier to lay down the law then to gradually transition but it's the gradual transition that works best.

I suggest that this is also a boundary issue for you. Part of you wants him to be in his own crib and sleeping thru the night but you're also unsure of what is best for your baby. You know you need more sleep (you do need more sleep) and in desperation caused by your boundary of needing sleep getting stretched so tight that you lay down the law. Find a middle path that meets both your needs and your baby's needs.