If you had a bad sleeper but didn’t sleep train…

[Anonymous]

Did your baby/child’s sleep ever improve? Either naturally or with non-CIO methods? My baby is 7 months and our lives have completely fallen apart from lack of sleep. I’m too tired to detail all the problems and how bad it is. I don’t want to sleep train but feel we have exhausted everything else, so I’d like to hear only from those who didn’t sleep train and eventually saw improvement to see if realistically there is any hope.

Please do not suggest obvious things like white noise, styles of sleep sack, wake windows, solids, etc. we have Tried. It. All.

[Anonymous]

Have you tried bedsharing/co-sleeping (assuming safe sleep 7)? It may be the key to getting better rest with a bad sleeper without sleep training. It’s exhausting getting up multiple times a night to resettle them in their crib only to have them wake up again on transfer or an hour or 2 later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you tried bedsharing/co-sleeping (assuming safe sleep 7)? It may be the key to getting better rest with a bad sleeper without sleep training. It’s exhausting getting up multiple times a night to resettle them in their crib only to have them wake up again on transfer or an hour or 2 later.

+1. We bedshared with older child since 6 months and with younger child since birth

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did your baby/child’s sleep ever improve? Either naturally or with non-CIO methods? My baby is 7 months and our lives have completely fallen apart from lack of sleep. I’m too tired to detail all the problems and how bad it is. I don’t want to sleep train but feel we have exhausted everything else, so I’d like to hear only from those who didn’t sleep train and eventually saw improvement to see if realistically there is any hope.

Please do not suggest obvious things like white noise, styles of sleep sack, wake windows, solids, etc. we have Tried. It. All.

WHHHYYYY. Your kid needs to sleep! Clearly you do too. Put your child before your own needs and get the kid sleeping.

[Anonymous]

My friend didn’t want to sleep train and coslept with her baby, large husband, one dog and a cat in a full
Size bed…… the kid was 2 and the mom was always saying how tired she was…… no shit, her sleep was terrible. And for what? OP your kid won’t grow up hating you for sleep training. Do it now, everyone will be happier and well rested a few days from now.

[Anonymous]

Never. He woke up at least once a night until like 8.

[Anonymous]

Not really. He didn’t STTN until 18 months, about 3 months after weaning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friend didn’t want to sleep train and coslept with her baby, large husband, one dog and a cat in a full
Size bed…… the kid was 2 and the mom was always saying how tired she was…… no shit, her sleep was terrible. And for what? OP your kid won’t grow up hating you for sleep training. Do it now, everyone will be happier and well rested a few days from now.

This. It’s not like there is some benefit to not sleep training. Also people are definitely rolling their eyes when you complain about being tired. It’s like not potty training your kid and complaining when he is five and going in diapers. It’s your own choice at this point if you aren’t sleeping.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you tried bedsharing/co-sleeping (assuming safe sleep 7)? It may be the key to getting better rest with a bad sleeper without sleep training. It’s exhausting getting up multiple times a night to resettle them in their crib only to have them wake up again on transfer or an hour or 2 later.

I’m this PP and just want to add that we did sleep train at 6 months despite my initially being opposed to it. I totally respect not wanting to which is why I offered this suggestion, but I found my attachment to my kid was deteriorating on sleep deprivation - I was impatient, short fuse, even ragey with everyone. Sleep training was awful, I won’t sugar coat it, but it was pretty quick and he’s been a great sleeper ever since. And I’m well rested and happy and have all the patience in the world to gentle parent him and nurture our attachment. I read a lot of things that scared me tons about sleep training but ultimately bedsharing didn’t work for our family for a variety of reasons and I’m happy to report my almost 2 year old is happily, securely attached to me and has been incredibly well rested since he was 6 months old after a few rough nights.

I know many anti-sleep training advocates would say my reasons were selfish but my lack of patience for an infant on lack of sleep was not healthy for anyone. I do not regret the decision at all, in hindsight.

[Anonymous]

Just ignoring the pro-sleeping training people for now. No energy to explain why I don’t want to. I appreciate your opinion.

We tried co-sleeping. It was even worse with baby seeking the breast all night, waking every 5-15 minutes and ending up hysterical with exhaustion by morning.

[Anonymous]

We bedshared. It worked for us.

I slept more, and with some creativity it didn’t impact other bedtime activities.

[Anonymous]

It is waaaaaay easier to sleep train at 7 months than at 2/3/4 years. At this age it will take 3-4 nights. Just sit with that for a bit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just ignoring the pro-sleeping training people for now. No energy to explain why I don’t want to. I appreciate your opinion.

We tried co-sleeping. It was even worse with baby seeking the breast all night, waking every 5-15 minutes and ending up hysterical with exhaustion by morning.

Try this book..she’s very practical, and it’s an easy read.


https://themilkmeg.com/product/e-book-boobin-all-day-boobin-all-night-a-gentle-approach-to-sleep-for-breastfeeding-families/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just ignoring the pro-sleeping training people for now. No energy to explain why I don’t want to. I appreciate your opinion.

We tried co-sleeping. It was even worse with baby seeking the breast all night, waking every 5-15 minutes and ending up hysterical with exhaustion by morning.

I hate to tell you there is nothing magical that you missed. Totally fine you don’t want to sleep train, but you child may be waking through the night for at least another year or more. You just have to change your mindset and power through. I wish there a some chapter in a book that we could point you to that you’d just skipped, but the reality is there are very few babies who just sleep through the night all by themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just ignoring the pro-sleeping training people for now. No energy to explain why I don’t want to. I appreciate your opinion.

We tried co-sleeping. It was even worse with baby seeking the breast all night, waking every 5-15 minutes and ending up hysterical with exhaustion by morning.

You do not want to sleep train. You do not even want to hear about it. You do not want to hear about so called obvious things to try. So what exactly do you want? All I can say is, your baby needs sleep and it is up to you to help provide her that.