Use CIO During Growth Spurt?

If.a baby is crying they need something even if it’s just hugs and to feel safe and loved. I co slept with my kids...I just don’t agree with this method at all unless it is effecting the health of the mother.

Trust me, they won’t sleep with you forever. The years go by incredibly fast although the nights with a crying baby can feel long.

This may be a very unpopular response, but here goes:
I tried cry it out for about 5 minutes and I think I cried harder than he did. I tossed that idea in the trash along with every other sleep training method out there. My husband said no one knew our baby and his needs more than I did and to do what I felt was best for him. I felt like my baby needed me and I was “training “him that when he cries mom may not come. Instead, I spent his first year either rocking him, singing or humming to him, walking or swaying him or sometimes just putting him down with his crib music thingy. If he cried in the night I would see if he would settle himself back to sleep, and if not, I would feed, change him or just rub his back, depending on his needs. He didn’t grow into a difficult sleeper. Probably just the opposite. He always went to bed happy and still does, 16 yrs later! :) Those nights are some of the sweetest memories in my life.

I did the Ferber method with my first and had to do it several times, each time it was somewhat traumatic (for me and him).

With my others, I did a variation, that worked much better. I just soothed my babies (didn't cry it out) and made sure they were totally tired and settled, and then put them down. They fussed a bit (a lot less than my first) and I only had to reassure, rather than leave and hear them cry.

It was far less upsetting. Learning how to read your baby when really tired ... is the key. I put mine down later in the evening.

If baby is teething or our of sorts, personally, I wouldn't let him/her CIO. They're already in need of some extra loving.

When I was helping mine to sleep unassisted (one of my co-slept as an infant and I transitioned to a crib), I just kept putting them down when they showed signs of being really tired (rubbing eyes, yawning, etc. and I would just fold laundry in their room, read (magazine), whatever, I'd pop in and out of their room, and pat their back, but didn't stay. I did the same with nap time.

They fussed, but there wasn't this timing it and letting them cry.

I also didn't have a formal routine I had to be a slave to - with any of my others (other than first) and that was so much easier. They could nap anywhere and just be more flexible. Their whole bedtime didn't get messed up if they were teething.

Hope that helps.

No you should not. Let me be clear here, I am not in favor of CIO unless the mother’s health is in jeopardy. Babies cry when something is wrong and my instinct is to attend to them when they cry until they understand the concept of waiting.

M. - I can't say I ever really used the Cry It Out method. I wanted to ensure my kids knew I was there for them no matter what.

Would I let them cry for a minute? Sure. but not long jags and bouts of crying. I preferred to build the trust between mother and child.

How old is your baby?
If a growth spurt is happening then baby is hungry and you need to feed on demand.
Teething can be painful.
Cry it out is probably not a good option for right now.

Back up and start again. You haven’t told us anything about your child. How old is he or she? Have you been co-sleeping? Is the baby nursing or on the bottle? What CIO method have you been trying?

You haven’t given us enough information to help you.

hard to answer when we don't know how old your baby is...

You're new to mamapedia. We know nothing about you or your child. or how you parent.

You need to be consistent with your parenting, that I know. Your child needs to know that you care and want to help them. It's okay to sooth a child that is hurting. You don't need to go overboard. For teething? Offer a frozen Popsicle to help alleviate the pain. If your child is 2 years old and not an infant? You do what's right for the age.

Growth spurts and teething are painful. Hold your baby whens/he is hurting.

I'm going to agree with the majority here. It's really hard to see a good reason to let a small baby cry it out, full stop. They are crying because they need something, and it's the ONLY way they have to tell us. I would comfort the baby, and work to develop a trusting bond. Probably the most disturbing thing I read against using any CIO method was a story about an orphanage (in russia I think), where the babies were silent. They were so understaffed they couldn't care for them all properly so the babies has been conditioned to give up and not even bother crying. Not because they were happy, or well-adjusted but because they had given up. What an awful start to life.

That said, good luck with everything, it can seem so daunting.

We could use more information about you and your baby. How old is he/she? Are you bottle feeding, or breast feeding? What is your typical routine for putting the baby to bed?

About growth spurts - if you are breastfeeding, these growth spurts happen regularly (about every 6 weeks, if I remember correctly? It has been a long time!), and are intended to stimulate your breasts to produce more milk to support the baby's growing body. If the baby is crying because they are hungry, and are not satisfied with the milk you are producing, you do need to nurse more frequently for a couple of days. PLEASE do not try to use CIO during a growth spurt. The baby will just be fussier for a longer period of time, as they are trying to get more milk.

hard to say with so little info. since you're tuned in enough to be able to differentiate between growth spurts and teething, i'll assume you can also tell the difference between distress and grumpiness.

a baby under a year old really never needs to CIO, unless the mother is so sleep-deprived that her patience and judgement are impaired and she might endanger the baby (and has no help.) an older baby might benefit from being allowed to fuss and grumble just a little. but a true cry? i dunno. i don't think leaving a tiny helpless human to deal with pain, fear or loneliness is a great idea.

bedtime routines and going in to soothe very quietly and calmly, and in increasingly long intervals, was what worked best for mine.

i did CIO occasionally with my younger when i was particularly exhausted. it just wore us both out even more.

khairete
S.

I think it depends on how you do CIO, you should never leave a truly upset baby to just cry and cry, nor should you leave them for a long period of time crying. I used a modified method of CIO that worked great with both of my boys while never leaving them feeling like no one would respond to their needs/fears. I always put them to sleep awake but close to sleep at the same time each night. If they were really crying like something was wrong I always went in right away, but if it was light crying or just fussing I would wait 5 minutes, no more or less, before going in. When I would go in to comfort I would try not to take them out of their crib but would comfort them by rubbing/patting their back/tummy and talking or singing softly. Once they were calm I would leave and if they started to fuss again I would wait another five minutes, I never had to go in more then once or twice, and twice was very rare. I would use the same method if they woke in the middle of the night.

But if they are in pain from teething or the like they sometimes need a little extra help at night, and that is okay. Since I don't know how old the child is I can't say whether they still truly need night feedings or not, my Ped told me when I had my first that they really only need night feedings for the first couple of months and after that it is usually just a trained comfort response, so I helped them find ways to comfort without food once they were 3+ months old. But they both were really sleeping through the night (830-430 when they would wake and feed) by 2 months. Formula or human milk also makes a difference, formula fed babies usually do not need fed as often since formula tends to keep them full longer, if they are getting breast milk their last feeding of the night before bed they may need to feed again sooner. Mine got both types of milk anyways (poor production issues) so we would do formula at night to help them sleep longer, also per my Peds recommendation.

I never even considered doing it as when both my boys where little their cribs where in my room that is if they where not co sleeping at the time. I personally don't like that method but to each their own. You have to do what works best for you and your family. But if they are in any type of pain and you know it to me just letting them cry it out is cruel. Again my opinion.