Sigh - Time to start CIO.

We are beginning the hard (for mommy) process of CIO (Cry it out). What exactly does it mean? Well CIO is a process done to teach baby to fall asleep by themselves. Basically to be able to lie in their bed and go to sleep without being rocked or held etc. At 2 1/2 mths old we had to start CIO with Cayden. She was still getting up at night to eat 2x's which is totally normal for a breastfed baby. The problem was after she nursed and burped we would lay her down and she would jolt awake and scream her head off. Pick her up and she'd fall right to sleep.

My pediatrican told me about CIO and recommended I do it. A lot of people don't believe in it and think it's cruel, some people believe in it and swear by it. I was on the fence. It took 7 days and the first few were the longest days of my life. We did it at night. We started a routine to get her to understand it was bedtime. We would do bathtime, quiet time, nursing, bedtime. The first and second night she screamed for 45 minutes before falling asleep. I remember sitting outside of the room and crying too. But it was either give this a try or hold her all night long. The 3rd night she cried for 35 mins, the 4th night for 25 mins. The 5th and 6th night she only cried 15-20 mins and by the 7th night she didn't make a peep!!! This helped us so much. She still got up to eat at night but would go right back to sleep by herself. 2 weeks later she started sleeping through the night 10 to 12 hrs. So 7 days of crying 1x per night was worth it for us!

Keenan has been an excellent sleeper so far. He really only gets up 1x per night. Because of his reflux we have to hold him upright for 10 to 15 mins after each feeding at night. If we lay him down right away he will throw up all over. Usually he passes out during those 10 mins, we lay him down and he doesn't make a peep. Well the past few nights that is not the case. He too is jolting awake the minute we lay him down. I'm taking a different approach this time and we are starting during the day for naps. He is currently sleeping in our room at night in a pack n play next to our bed. I'm going to do CIO for naps in his crib in his own room to help him get use to his room. Wish me luck.