If you used the Ferber method, what do you do when your child has a minor cold (no fever)

[Anonymous]

Hi,

We had a really tough week with our 6mo DD to help her sleep better. The first few days were awful and a week later, she slept beautifully (waking 1-2 times to eat) for about 5 nights. Now though, it appears as though she has a minor cold. What do I do if she cries more than usual tonight? I can't really do anything for a cold, and I'm nervous that if I rock her that I'll be back to square one with the sleeping. The week was so horrible that I'm not sure I can endure Feber method again if we have to start over but DD was certainly enjoying being better rested.

Advice (serious advice, not you are so cruel I can't believe you are even considering letting a child with a minor cold cry alone in the crib advice) please. If you used the Ferber method and then deviated for a few days, is it easier to get on track the second time around? Should I up the number of times I go in but still not pick her up and just check on her more frequently?

[Anonymous]

Hey,

We did CIO at our ped's recommendation. But he did make the stipulation that if DD was sick, or if we were in an unfamiliar place while traveling "all bets were off". So, I took that to mean that if she's sick, we go in to comfort her as long as or as many times as needed. There was a little bit of backtracking once she felt better, but she got back on board really quickly. We have a really good sleeper tho.

[Anonymous]

Ferber himself says that you cannot do sleep training when the child is waking up because of illness. Let her be sick and get back to it when she's better.

You will find that children regress on sleep habits from time to time, especially during illness and vacation. But you can get back to it afterward.

[Anonymous]

Op here -- thanks for the advice! Glad to know that everything fell into place a bit more quickly the second time doing sleep training...that is a relief.

[Anonymous]

More reassurance here - my DS was just sick for a week (with a fever) and all bets were off - he'd been Ferber trained for a few months, and slept horribly all week - up early, up in the middle of the night, etc. I went back to nursing in the middle of the night to soothe him and make sure he got enough fluids, and just holding him at night. Once he got better, it was no problem at all getting him back on track. There may have been a little crying the first night but nothing major at all.

[Anonymous]

OP here -- I ended up allowing DD to sleep in the swing last night and nursed her a few extra times. It seemed to help having her upright. I'm hoping that everything goes okay once I reinstate the crib in the nighttime rule in a few days.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, with sickness, all bets are off. Even if it's "just a cold" she could be waking up because of the snot running into the back of her throat. Glad you took care of her! The extra nursing sessions will help her stay hydrated and get better sooner. You can "re-ferberize" when she's totally better. It'll happen a LOT more over the new year

[Anonymous]

Yes, titling her mattress will help with a runny nose and using a humidifyer too.