@blonde_apocalypse@xanga - that's not true. you don't HAVE to let your baby cry it out. babies will sleep when they are ready, not when you're ready to make them.

@grizzlybearr@xanga - This woman hasn't slept in a year.  If her baby were going to "be ready" to sleep through the night on her own, she would have done it by now.  At some point, someone in the house has to be an adult and decide what the schedule is.  If you're willing to let your infant make all the health decisions in the house (and after no sleep for a year, it absolutely is affecting the health of everyone in the house) then I don't predict good things after this.

My daughter did not sleep through the night until she was around  around 11 months old.. I feel your frustration.  I am not a cry it out Mom...BUT.. We finally stopped getting her what she wanted in the middle of the night. When she woke up, we assured her we were there and we immediately layed her back down. After a few nights of that.. She was sleeping around 10 hours straight..  I hope things get better for you!

This is tough!! My daughter is 5 months old and sleeps through the night already. We did the cry it out thing for about a week, and it works! It was very hard for me, but we are all much happier now.

Of my 3 kids, one slept through the night around 4-5 months, the next around 10 months and the third around 18 months. Some kids need attention more than others. Allowing a child to cry through fear and frustration is not something I believe is productive in teaching your child healthy sleep habits and trust.I'd recommend a healthy protein rich snack before bedtime, it will keep her full longer. At a year old water is an alternate option to the nighttime bottle. Dilute the mix you give her more and more until all she gets is straight water. Be kind but firm. This too shall pass.

EEEKKK IT GOT POSTED!!!!!! (ok sorry, first time submitter uber excitement here =)

@blonde_apocalypse@xanga - we've tried letting her CIO.. and I can't.. I am blessed with a husband who gets up with her at night, so I do get some sleep.. and she is only waking once.. but still.

@grizzlybearr@xanga - Ive tried getting her back to sleep just rocking.. but she starts "ba ba"... but Ive been reading the No Cry Sleep Solution.. trying to help her fall asleep again without the bottle. Its so hard!

@Lirael123@xanga - We've tried,  but she made herself sick crying.. She has slept through the night 5ish times (the last was on her 1st birthday! nice gift for us he he).. so we know she can do it, but she doesn't..

@RebeccaPMiller@xanga - we've been trying to just rock her back to sleep, but usually she starts asking for her bottle. I think we are just going to start giving her water at night if she wakes up.. it might take a couple nights but she will hopfully decide its just not worth waking....

@AtrociousWoundsBleed@xanga - you lasted a week?? Oh my, we didn't even make it a night...

@TiPrometto@xanga - if she was waking out of habit she would not be taking a whole bottle... i think she is actually hungry. i dont know.. im just not sure i can handle letting her sob like she does...

@just4bees@xanga - we're going to try the water at night... goodness i hope it works =)

@EJC102486@xanga - she has a pretty good appetite and she gets a snack right before bed... but im thinking she wants the bottle just because she is hungry. I mean she will take the whole thing after sleeping 4-5 hours.

To All! Thank you for your comments =) Im praying this passes soon!

@LadyGwenivere@xanga - It's a heartwrenching feeling, and I think that any mother can attest to that. No one LIKES hearing their child cry, scream, or make themselves vomit. Yeah, I've seen it happen too and I cleaned it up and then ignored it because it was a cry for attention. (It happens at 3/4 years old when they don't get their way, too. There's a little forewarning for you.)   I could wake up in the middle of the night and probably drink a full glass of milk too, and I'm sure if I did it every night I'd almost crave it and wake up wanting it. That's why I believe it could be more of a routine and "want" than a "need".  

I've only dealt with this issue in other people's children. My own two were sleeping through the night at 6weeks, no issues other than when they were sick and couldn't breathe. I've helped friends get their kids to sleep with the same advice. No midnight feedings, no talking, no staying. Go in, lay them down, and leave. Do it a few times the first night. Do it less as you go on until you eventually don't do it again. Don't go back in two minutes after crying. Don't go back in 5 minutes after crying. 10 minute intervals, no more than 5 times. 

I really hope you find a solution, but don't let your child dictate the nighttime routine. 

Okay, we just dealt with this because my daughter is almost 6 months old and mama needed more sleep!  The doctor told me she was capable of going all night and recommending the CIO method.  This was at 4 months old and i just couldn't do it.  When she would wake up at 4am, she would eat really well so i couldn't let her cry knowing she was hungry.  But here's the thing, she was just doing it because it was habit.  Yeah she was hungry enough to eat, but she could definitely go longer.  I decided to let her fuss when she woke up and put herself back to sleep.  After 15 minute of fussing, she fell back asleep.  She woke up once the next night, but fell back asleep even quicker and hasn't woken up in the middle of the night since.  I know crying it out seems mean and i know it seems she's hungry, but after dealing with almost the exact same situation, you need to let her put herself back to sleep.  It won't take long when she realizes she isn't getting food.  I know it's hard, but if you don't do it now, you could be waking up for several years. 

@TiPrometto@xanga - I completely agree with the advice you are giving, Though I don't even have kids lol! Just by reading the author's post, though, using logic it just makes sense that she NEEDS TO LET THE CHILD CRY IT OUT. It's like obese people who undergo gastric band surgery-they say they are so desperate because they  have 'tried everything'. NO YOU HAVEN'T TRIED EVERYTHING! You have cheated on every diet you've probably ever been on!

This poor, sleep deprived mother is looking for someone to give her a way out..you just have to suck it up and let her cry it out/vomit/whatever. Eventually, it will stop. You are the parent, the ADULT. And your daughter will respect you more. Haven't you ever seen supernanny?

Ps. I sort of have experience with this! When I had a puppy she cried all through the night, it was heart wrenching:( But that's just what they do. She needed to be trained to sleep by herself in the laundry (where the floor was covered in newspaper to avoid any 'accidents' lol). After a week or so she was happily sleeping through the night-and so was everyone else:) And a puppy is just as cute as a newborn sometimes more lol!

I just want to throw my 2 cents' worth in here even though I know this is a touchy subject.  First of all, I have dealt with this too, and it's incredibly difficult to function when your sleep is interrupted on a regular basis.  I have a 21-month-old who STILL does not sleep through the night every night, but she's getting better and better.

I was firmly against CIO for a long time, and am still against it with babies younger than 9 months (not trying to start a fight here; this is just a personal opinion, but everyone has to do what they feel is best for their children).  After talking to a LOT of moms with young children, and reading "The No-Cry Sleep Solution" and trying everything in it - with no success - at 10 months I decided to try NOT rushing in immediately when my baby woke up.  This wasn't even a decision to "let her cry," it was a decision to "delay my response," if you can look at it that way.  After 15 minutes she was back to sleep and didn't wake up again that night!  The next night she fussed for 5 mins, and the night after, not at all.  This is not to say that this was a permanent solution; kids are constantly going through different phases, and having conditions (such as a headache or an upset stomach) that they can't communicate to you.  We've had setbacks.  I actually had my daughter in a really good rhythm, sleeping through the night and doing really well, for a couple of months.  Then I got a roommate (sorry, it's an odd living arrangement and not really worth explaining).  I never knew until I had a baby just how sensitive they are to change!  About a week after the roommate moved in, my daughter stopped sleeping through the night and I've had to work with her ever since, trying to get her back into that pattern.  I've made a lot of mistakes but you just have to do the best you can.  Every child is different.

I do want to say 2 things though:  you have to do what you feel is best, as a mom.  IF you decide you want to try crying it out, you have to firmly resolve, inside yourself, that that's what you're going to do.  Babies have a sixth sense about people and they can tell if you don't "really mean it."  And they will respond to that, if that's what they feel.  They will cry harder, longer, louder, if they know you're not truly sure of yourself.  If you're firmly resolved to "delay your response" , she will sense it.  I think my baby adapted so quickly bc I wasn't being wishy-washy anymore.  But the bottom line is, you have to do what you think is right for your child.

The 2nd thing is this:  someone recently explained to me that as babies get older, learning to sleep on their own is a skill they need to learn.  It's a milestone, of sorts, and important to their development.  They do need to learn - via whatever means their parents believe in - how to soothe themselves, and how to fall asleep without depending on others' intervention.  If you can look at it as a skill you're trying to teach your baby, maybe it will seem less like something mean you're doing "to" the baby and more like a way of helping them with their development and progress towards toddlerhood.

I do know that as my baby got older (well past a year old) there were times I had to let her cry - not talking about nighttime, just in general during the day - bc I'm a single mom and I just can't always do what she wants.  She loves to be held and snuggle and sit in the rocker, which is GREAT and I love it, but I can't hold her 24/7.  I have to cook, clean, and do laundry SOMEtimes.  LOL!  If putting a Baby Einstein video on for her while I make dinner isn't what she wants and she cries out of anger bc she'd rather me be holding her, sorry but she just has to get over it.  I've seen this approach work for her bc she's gradually learned important things.  Like, Mommy isn't at her disposal 24/7.  And she'll have to find other sources of entertainment sometimes.  In a way, you're telling your child, "I know this is upsetting but I believe you're capable of handling it."  You know, within reason.

Anyway...sorry this is so long but I totally understand where you're coming from and hope something someone has said will help you!  Good luck!

Hate to say this but it's exactly like crate-training a puppy. We went through maybe a week of a hour-long protesting by our crated puppy and every day after that for 3 years now the dog has put herself to bed in the crate, because it's a safe place and predictable schedule. Children need a schedule and rules are anything but mean. 

our babies really didn't have a huge issue with this. if they did wake, the first thing that would happen is their cry would turn music on produced by our baby monitor (its an old fisher price one). I would wait to see if that would sooth them. The only other thing I can think of is if this has recently just started then maybe its night terrors. Each of our kids went through that stage between 15-24 months (for maybe a month or two). It required one of us actually completely waking them up and tucking them back in. They do out grow it. Hope that helps.