http://noobmommy.com/2008/11/to-ferberize-or-not-to-ferberize.html Tips and Quips from a Self-Proclaimed Noob Mom. Thu, 17 May 2012 14:01:23 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 http://noobmommy.com/2008/11/to-ferberize-or-not-to-ferberize.html/comment-page-1#comment-2252 Mash Wed, 11 Apr 2012 23:07:43 +0000 http://noobmommy.com/2008/11/to-ferberize-or-not-to-ferberize-2.html#comment-2252 Thanks for this article and all those who have posted questions and answers. I have a few of my own. I was very reluctant to start sleep training. I wanted to wait till my baby was eating solids, and on a schedule. I hoped that this would regulate her night sleeping. But by 4.5 months I could not function and I could tell my daughter was just dealing with bad habits. I figured that if I could get at least 1 4-hour stretch of sleep (which I hadn't had since she was born), it would be worth it. We tried our own loose version of the Ferber method and things have definitely improved. Long story short,at 5 months, she now (often) sleeps from about 9pm-2am, sometimes even all the way till 5am. I stopped 'the method' and the routine has been ok. But I feel like I have hit a roadblock and I have a few questions. 1- Since we haven't actually read the book and are relying on Internet research, my hubby and I have been arguing about how to ferberize and it's taking a toll on our relationship. So if anyone can clarify: Let's say it's day 3 and we are waiting 10, 12, 15… and we are in the 15 minute stretch. She seems to have fallen asleep but after 13 minutes she starts crying. Do we restart a 15 minute count? Or do we go in after the remaining  2 minutes? 2- On a similar note, If she starts crying after 16 minutes, or 20 minutes, do we start back at 10 minutes? Or continue with 15 minute intervals?3- My baby does not have a routine. Because of where we live and our lifestyle, she often takes long naps in the car or stroller at different times every day. This is unavoidable and therefore she does not have a daily schedule. She is developing very well. She's a very happy baby. So I am not terribly concerned about the lack of consistency. Our version of sleep training was to have a pre-sleep routine (day or night) of book, song, say goodnight to everything. This resulted in her now either going straight to sleep, or crying for 10 minutes at which point we go in, put her Pacifier back in and she falls asleep within 5 minutes. As far as I am concerned this is manageable. Question is, am I stunting further progress by keeping to this? Or should I just count my blessings that I found something that works?4- Since I am nursing, and she does not eat on a schedule, I worry that she may not have eaten enough on a particular day so I am tempted to feed her when she wakes up after 4-5 hours. If she goes back to sleep after an hour of crying it seems she is up again an hour later. Is this a sign that she is actually hungry?   Thanks for this article and all those who have posted questions and answers. I have a few of my own. I was very reluctant to start sleep training. I wanted to wait till my baby was eating solids, and on a schedule. I hoped that this would regulate her night sleeping. But by 4.5 months I could not function and I could tell my daughter was just dealing with bad habits. I figured that if I could get at least 1 4-hour stretch of sleep (which I hadn’t had since she was born), it would be worth it. We tried our own loose version of the Ferber method and things have definitely improved. Long story short,at 5 months, she now (often) sleeps from about 9pm-2am, sometimes even all the way till 5am. I stopped ‘the method’ and the routine has been ok. But I feel like I have hit a roadblock and I have a few questions. 1- Since we haven’t actually read the book and are relying on Internet research, my hubby and I have been arguing about how to ferberize and it’s taking a toll on our relationship. So if anyone can clarify: Let’s say it’s day 3 and we are waiting 10, 12, 15… and we are in the 15 minute stretch. She seems to have fallen asleep but after 13 minutes she starts crying. Do we restart a 15 minute count? Or do we go in after the remaining  2 minutes? 2- On a similar note, If she starts crying after 16 minutes, or 20 minutes, do we start back at 10 minutes? Or continue with 15 minute intervals?3- My baby does not have a routine. Because of where we live and our lifestyle, she often takes long naps in the car or stroller at different times every day. This is unavoidable and therefore she does not have a daily schedule. She is developing very well. She’s a very happy baby. So I am not terribly concerned about the lack of consistency. Our version of sleep training was to have a pre-sleep routine (day or night) of book, song, say goodnight to everything. This resulted in her now either going straight to sleep, or crying for 10 minutes at which point we go in, put her Pacifier back in and she falls asleep within 5 minutes. As far as I am concerned this is manageable. Question is, am I stunting further progress by keeping to this? Or should I just count my blessings that I found something that works?4- Since I am nursing, and she does not eat on a schedule, I worry that she may not have eaten enough on a particular day so I am tempted to feed her when she wakes up after 4-5 hours. If she goes back to sleep after an hour of crying it seems she is up again an hour later. Is this a sign that she is actually hungry?  

]]>