Sleep training a post colic baby

[deeter54]

I thought about sleep training but just can't get the nerve up to do it. I change my mind and think that she has cried enough these past six months. I still rock her to sleep. Crazy I know. I just do not have the heart to let her cry it out.

[roper]

Well the thing is, sometimes a baby's cries are "legit." So many times I have waited for like 5-10 minutes to go to her, to see if she'd stop crying, only to discover that her diaper was wet or that she had not only spit out her pacifier but it was also wedged uncomfortably between her skull or spine and the mercilessly hard "safe" crib mattress. Sometimes taking care of whatever that is right away has helped her to just fall asleep within a few minutes, as opposed to letting her cry through whatever discomfort it is. Also, she's very stubborn. She's not going to be ignored! I think the bottom line is, each baby and parent is unique, and everyone just needs to do what works best for themselves. I strongly believe in a mother's natural instinct to do what is best for her child, so I just encourage moms to do what they think is best, which is not necessarily what works for other people.

[mommyof2gurlies]

It really depends on the baby.
It worked for us....to let her cry it out sometimes. I used my judgement...on if it would work for her or not, at each specific time. I could tell by physical cues from her if that was going to work that time or not.
I agree that sometimes there IS something bothering them. But if i went in and checked on her, and she was just upset...I HAD to let her cry. She was getting up 7-10 times a night, and the only way I could break her from screaming for me each time was letting her scream for about 15 mins. PAINFUL for me especially. I had to pretty much sit on my hands or tune her out with something, or it made me go crazy, wanting to go get her. But it really worked.
Now i can lay her down for naps, and she goes right to sleep (without a bottle) or she'll sit and babble to herself or play with her stuffed animals. I also cut out pics of babies from parenting magazine and tacked them to the wall by her crib. She likes to stare at them and talk to them....
At night I give her a bottle and lay her down, and she goes right to sleep then too, without a struggle.
It really depends on the situation, age, and personality of the baby. Some babies just don't have the type of personality to do any form of sleep training. Its not for everyone.
I NEVER could have done that with my oldest. She slept with us till right before she turned 3. Then I moved her to a mattress on the floor, next to our bed before her sister was born, then I transitioned to her own room...
Now she sleeps in her own room, but I still have to have a nightly routine with her. Reading two books, cuddling...then I rub her back and talk about her day with her, hugs and kisses....then bedtime.
Brooklyn has NEVER liked sleeping with us, she's always been a baby that got overstimulated and needed to just be put in her crib, and be by herself. She likes sleeping by herself....
Anytime shes been sick or anything, and I've brought her to bed with us because she had a really bad fever or something, or was throwing up....she didnt sleep. She likes her space, and her bed.

[pamcrt]

I am hoping that now that Abby's tubes are in place and she won't be as sick as she has been her sleep will be better and we will be able to sleep in my house... I simply need to sleep. We haven't been able to do any kind of sleep training (by the book stuff) b/c she has been sick so much. She is also a child that simply does not fall asleep on her own, hopefully that will change shortly.

[Jessica]

I was just wondering, is it ok to sleep train, using cio a baby who still has colic. The colic isn't as bad as it used to be but it is still there. My.son o's now 16 weeks old but was born at 38 weeks

[kristin]

I'm not sure if this will answer your question or not but towards the end of our son's colicky period one time when I was really frustrated with him I put him in his crib and went in my bathroom to cry. I think I was gone 10 minutes and when I came back he was sound asleep and slept 2 hours. He never would have done that when his colic was bad but I knew we were kind of at the end when that happened and he woke up happy. A few times this happened and I realized that we needed to focus on sleep issues now and not things for colic. We still put him down at nap time and let him cry. He usually goes to sleep in less than 10 minutes. I hate doing it but at least this way I know if he sleeps that it will help him. We are working with a sleep consultant now. Keep me posted if you decide to try. I would be interested to see if it works.