Any ATOT parents out there?

[RKS]

We have a 3 YO who we kept in our room until he was 1.5. He now has his own room but never falls asleep by himself. I usually read on his floor until he falls asleep.

Our 1 YO on the other hand has never slept in our room. We have always had a set schedule for him. We put on his sleeper (sorta like a bag with holes for the head and arms), turn on his fan, turn on the little crib music-machine, hold him for a few minutes and put him in his crib.

We still have nights where the younger one wakes. If he starts really crying we go get him. Sometimes he may whine for a few minutes; then we just let him put himself back to bed. You have to play it by ear.

I guess a 7 month-old may still have problems sleeping all night but for us it worked a lot better by not bring the baby into our room.

BTW It is a LOT easier to say 'just let babies cry themselves to sleep' when they aren't your own.

 

[xSauronx]

Originally posted by: WW

Originally posted by: aidanjm

Originally posted by: WW
This book will save your sanity:

http://www.amazon.com/Solve-Your-Childs-Sleep-Problems/dp/0743201639

it's basically a method of getting the baby to go back to sleep on its own. It works.

from a reader's comments:
"Sears claims that by not responding to a crying baby at night, you teach your baby that mommy is unresponsive. That the baby who doesn't cry at night has "given up." And that attachment can suffer as a result. (He even states that "Ferberized" children do continue to cry out frequently at night, but that their desensitized parents do not hear them.) Ferber claims that you can teach your baby that you are still "there," but that your brief visits are not worth all the crying. Ultimately the baby learns to go back to sleep readily on his or her own."

I am not a parent, but I must say the idea of abandoning a baby to the dark of night and ignoring it's cries seems terribly disturbing.

It's not as bad as that, the method actually works in just a few days. And trust me, no parent is 'desensitized' enough not to hear the baby crying.

You let the baby cry for very short times, but the key is, to go in, comfort them, then get out quickly. Otherwise they never learn to go back to sleep themselves.

Plus, OP needs to move the crib out of their bedroom.

agreed. our kids were out by their second or 3rd month. they almost never stayed up too late or woke us up in the middle of the night.

 

[SirStev0]

Whiskey on the gums.

 

[3NF]

Whiskey - it cures a lot of things I know a guy whose mother used to give him whiskey as a child when he had a sore throat!

 

[Bryophyte]

My kids slept in bed with us until they were about a year old, were in their own rooms/beds by about a year and a half old. Never owned a crib, never had a problem with a kid getting out of bed in the night and coming in our room, never had problems with a kid not wanting to go to bed or want us to stay with him/her in their rooms. My kids have always been independent and perfectly capable of comforting themselves. My son slept through the night from the day he came home from the hospital, and my daughter slept well from day one but wanted to nurse every few hours in the night, which merely involved rolling over and flopping out a tit.

The dire warnings that children will automatically have attachment issues or sleep issues are just bullsh1t. Every child is different and requires a different approach to parenting. My children did beautifully with our style, some other children wouldn't.

You know your child, other people don't. Take ALL parenting advice for what it is: what worked for that person's children. Feel completely free to ignore advice that doesn't work for your family. Also feel free to ignore scorn and guilt trips from people (usually your parents or other family members) who think you're doing it all wrong. My opinion is that if you didn't participate in making the baby, you don't get a vote in how it's raised. You can tell me what worked for your child, but don't tell me that *I* must do what you did.

Edit: typo