Sleep Problems, Has Anyone Tried the 3 Day Sleep Solution?

Hi A.,

I bought the 3 day sleep solution when my younger daughter was 8 months old. I know some people say it's normal for the baby to get up in the night at 6 months...but it isn't normal for the parents. This is a cry-it-out method, but she gives you a schedule. It was helpful for me b/c I needed someone to tell me it was ok for her to cry in order to fall asleep. My older daughter is 2 yrs older and it didn't bother her. The first week was SO hard, but it paid off and now, a year later, my daughter has great sleep habits...although she sometimes still needs to cry to get to sleep. Good luck!

Google the Ferber method. My doctor recommended it when mine still didn't sleep through the night at a year! Don't let it go that long if you can help it. I would also think the night time feedings could stop. I know how hard that is though... either sit up or grab a bottle and you can go back to sleep.

Hi A.,

The only thing 'normal' about babies is that every baby is different. It frustrates me so much when I hear people say 'your baby SHOULD be sleeping through the night' or something like that. Even meeting milestones have a big range of acceptable.

My daughter did not sleep through the night for quite some time. She is a child who demands ALOT of interaction. She was never content to just lie in her packnplay, or in her crib if she was awake. She wanted interaction.

I don't know what the 3 day sleep solution is quite honestly. I am a firm believer in NOT doing the cry it out thing until they are older. Babies under a year old I just believe should NOT cry it out. Infants need to know that mom and dad are there for them and will help them. Letting them cry it out just teaches them mom and dad will NOT be there to help them.

I know a mom who is a big CIO'er. She did it with her twins from very early on. Recently, her 13 month old daughter was sick in the middle of the night, but she never knew it. When she went into her room in the morning her daughter was COVERED in throw up. Her daughter never cried out that she was sick. Of course not.... she has learned mom won't help me if I call out! This is a true story ... honest.

Ok, now that I've given you my opinion on CIO ... here are some other bits of information that could explain what is going on.

6 months is a big transition. Many babies start cutting teeth, many babies are learning new skills and growing at a rapid rate around this age. ANY of these things can cause night wakings. I know many doctors will tell you that teething won't wake them up. Obviously these doctors have never actually HAD kids. Swollen sore gums with a sharp little tooth trying to poke through is NOT comfortable for a little one!

In addition, there ARE such things as growing pains. My OB told me there was as study done to evaluate how kids grow. All at once, or little bits at a time. They found both happen, but the surprising thing was that kids can literally grow overnight.... up to 1/4 inch!!!! WOW! If my body was stretching out like that while I was trying to sleep I think would be crying too!

New skills.... learning to stand, roll over, crawl.... they get soooo excited about trying their new skill they want to practice ALL the time! (and by the way, that never stops. My daughter LOVES to practice going up and down stairs... over and over and over and over again!) So, if they wake up in the middle of the night, then hey! ... it's a great time to practice! Let's wake up mom and show her what I can do. :-)

The other thing is some babies just need some extra help. They are highly active, highly alert, and just want to go go go. Babies are not born with the knowledge of how to soothe themselves. We have to teach them those skills. Some kids are naturally just mellow... and can lay there until they just fall asleep. Others, need help settling down. There is nothing wrong with them...they just have a different tempermant.

My daughter is highly active. She is one who needs help settling down. I am happy to say, we have been patient with her and now she can fall asleep on her own. Some friends of ours have a daughter who is just 3 days younger then our daughter. She is mellow. REALLY mellow. From day one she could just lay around and watch the world go by. She had NO trouble going to sleep.

Two girls... born within days of eachother... both TOTALLY different.

Infants, and at 6 months they are still infants.... cry for a reason. They need help of some sort. They are not manipulative at this point. They don't understand what it means to manipulate. Cause and effect is only just emerging for them. I know you aren't getting a lot of sleep....but it will get better. Just remember, making sure your kids are secure in the knowledge you will help them .... that will go a long long way provide them with confidence later.

I've never tried the 3 day sleep solution. However, I do have an observation - you mention that she falls asleep in her crib with music on. Does the music continue to play through the night?? I know that in my own personal sleep cycle I go from really deep sleep to a very light sleep and this cycle repeats alot (I only know because I'll be dreaming but hearing sounds outside my dreams). If your turning the music off after she's asleep and she comes into a light sleep the fact that the room is silent may be waking her up. As far as stoping the night time feedings, I think I continued those for my youngest daughter until she was close to 9 months. She's never been a solid sleeper, however at that point she was waking up and talking, so I wouldn't feed.

Changes in sleep patterns for a 6 month old are absolutely normal. That's one thing I think I found most surprising when I became a mom - that getting your child to sleep through the night was not a one-time milestone! Before purchasing any books or systems, I would recommend checking your library to see if they have "The No-Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley. It has a variety of methods for encouraging healthy sleep patterns, and you can pick and choose what works for your family. I liked it because it seemed to address different reasons why your child may be waking and proposed specific solutions to fit the cause, rather than just offering one blanket response to everything. I hope you're able to get some sleep soon!

Please take into consideration growth spurts. Your baby very well may be hungry and waking at 6 months. If she eats the entire bottle she is probably hungry. If she sucks and sleeps than I would think it is pacifing her.

Sleep through the night changes al the time.

Good luck

I think it's normal for babies to go through different sleep patterns as they grow. I agree with the other moms that said if she's taking an entire bottle, she's probably hungry due to a growth spurt. My daughter woke up a lot last night but she's teething. I never let her cry it out, it just wasn't right for us. I did read the Baby Whisperer (dumb name) when she was about 3-months-old which had some good sleeping suggestions...if you take it with a grain of salt. I don't know what the 3 day sleep solution is, but I hope you find something that works for you and your baby. Just keep in mind growth spurts, teething, gas pains, etc...

I don't know about the 3 day sleep solution, but I am thinking she may be just teething. My son would always wake up in the middle of the night too. I finally got so frustrated thinking he must be sick, so I took him to the doctor. The doctor said try giving him so tylenol right before bed. I thought he was insane. I didn't see any signs of teeth coming in, but he said they feel the pain long before you see anything. I gave him the tylenol that night before bed and he was cured. Slept through the night like he used to. Good Luck

K.

Unfortunately, there is no set rule like that. teething could be causing your baby to wake up through the night. What you are doing to get the her back to sleep is right. You could also try letting her cry a bit before you intervene. Just do not let her scream for too long, then she is liable to wake herself up completely. Good Luck.

Yes, Yes, Yes - we just purchased this last week. It makes so much sense. My son was doing this like he was still a newborn; everytime he would wake I ran and fed. Well now the tape says 6:00 p.m. for bed time, this is not feasible for me because I don't get home from work until 6:00 so my husband and I put him down at 7:00 and no later than 7:30 p.m......He also awakens around 2:00 a.m. and this is the only time I get up with him and I change his pants and give him one once of milk...If you have anymore questions please give me a shout ____@____.com.....Also, he is my third child so I was not understand him at all....

Waking up to eat at 6 months is still normal (baby doesn't really need it after 8 months but if you want to go longer its up to you), the inability for her not to be able to fall asleep unassisted is the issue. She needs to learn how to do this...and as you know this will be tricky having an older child. We read, loved and recommend Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child by Weissbluth. It too has a lot of options & you can pick your style. Good luck!

My son has done this numerous times and it is usually due to teething, and a growth spurt. If it's happening before midnight, our pediatrician stated it was a night terror and the baby can cry it out. We usually give our son a few minutes to put himself back to sleep. If he doesn't, then I'll rub his stomach, make sure he has his pacifier, and calm him down. If he gets upset again, we give him more time, so it's kind of 5-10-15 minute time frames.

sometimes i feel as if parents want their kids to grow up too fast. i think it is normal to still be waking up in the middle of the night. my daughter slept through the night at 2 months but than at 9 months woke up in the night again. i nursed her so it might have been a littel different. good luck

I have two kids - 6 month old and a 34 month old boy. She still wakes a minimum of once a night. Recently she started to wake twice and slept long naps during the day. I associated with the time change...but she just started rolling over like crazy a few days ago. I really believe the change in sleep pattern was because of this developmental change. Last night she woke up just once again. Before letting her "cry it out" (which I DO believe in)...I would exhaust other things. Are her naps and daytime feedings on a schedule? Has she recently had a growth spurt or developmental change? Also, I HIGHLY recommend the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. It helped me get through some rough phases with my older son. Lastly, I have humidifiers (cheap loud ones) running in both of the kids rooms (soon I will change to a fan). I close their doors and if they cry it's OK. If either of them hear anything...it's very muffled and it won't affect them. They will get used to the noise - just like a dog barking outside or something. Good LUck!!

I believe there is a growth spurt around 6 months so chances are she's probably waking up because she's hungry. My daughter woke up to nurse 1-2 times a night until she was around 9-10 months old and I believe that's pretty normal.

It is very normal for a baby to go from sleeping through the night to waking several times. There are diffent reasons. Some times they are going through a growth spurt. If that is the case than she is probably hungry and I would feed her.

yes.. this is normal... my daughter got up for 7 months.. my son got up in the middle ofthe night for a full year.

is she getting teeth?

I reccomentd the healthy sleep habits happy child book

I did not do the cry it out.. eventually they just learn to sleep the night trough..