Sleep Training Suggestions - Schenectady,NY

She is still little. I couldn't do CIO... but understand it can work. However, my ped said no baby is ready for that until at least 6mos b/c until then they can't self soothe. Since she was ill, it may be even longer before she's ready. Some kids don't make it through the night until 1 year or more. I would go to her and rock her or rub her back (and not pick her up) as a step... to let her know she's there. She may also really be hungry... again still little. Hope she is feeling better : ) Hang in there

If you let her cry, it'll be done in 2 days. It will be the hardest 2 days ever - for YOU. (NOT her, she'll be fine.)

I did it with both of my kids. With my daughter, I prolonged it thinking she needed to eat when she didn't. I did full CIO with her at 5.5 mos. 2 nights, and she sleeps like a log now. Not a peep out of her overnight, even when she's sick and teething!
For us, it was the best decision ever.
It's NOT cruel, unlike some would have you believe. You're doing her a favor by teaching her how to self soothe, and thus sleep better. She'll be a happier kiddo during the day and her development will take off once she's sleeping soundly. (Trust me, my best friend is a developmental child psychologist who has done CIO with both of hers, not to mention studied it for YEARS.)

If you're going to do CIO, you have to commit to it. If you break down and go in once, it will derail the whole process.

Any sleep training you use will work. It's just that methods other than full CIO (close the door and don't go back in until morning) take longer.

Best of luck mama!

Try The Sleepeasy Solution by Jennifer Waldburger. Great advice, easy to read and will help you train your little one so she's a wonderful sleeper. It was easily one of the best things I did for my daughter. Good luck.

I think that Emily S has the best recommendations so far. I don't think that CIO is okay for anyone. It's just too cruel. Your baby will sleep through the night when developmentally ready. You can help her to get there sooner, but do it with you or your partner present so that she doesn't struggle alone. The biggest trick is to get her to fall asleep on her own in her crib. It can take a long time (months), but in the grand scheme of things, the time it takes is quite short.

If she is hungry in the middle of the night, then feed her. Babies have such small tummies.

Not to worry - you WILL sleep again. You will.

I never knew before I was a mom how tough this sleeps stuff is, you know?! I feel you...at 5.5 months my dd was still up multiple times a night and I thought I was literally going to keel over from exhaustion. But, fast forward another 7 months and she is an awesome sleeper and I can't even remember the last time I went in there during the night. I don't think I have a magic answer for you, but a few suggestions. One, which is kind of a sucky one at this point, is patience. When my dd finally slept through the night, she never looked back-I strongly believe that they just do this when they're ready, not when we "make" them. We didn't do CIO-knowing what I do about child development, I don't think that it does our kids any favors in terms of trust, communication, relationships, etc. to not respond when they cry, being that it's the only way they can communicate. But, what we did do starting at around 7 months was start stretching out the times between feedings. So, if she wants to eat after 4 hours of sleep, for example, then set a time span like 6 hours, and until then, either you or your significant other go in there and do whatever you need to to comfort her, other than feeding her. Then, once she is going 6 hours, stretch it to 7 (with comforting), then 8, etc. Sometimes it took singing, holding, rocking, a bottle of water, etc, but I was determined to stretch out those feedings! Eventually, when she was older (more like 9 months) if she would cry during the night we would not pick her up, but would stand by her and rub her back until she fell back asleep. It got to the point where we would just walk through her door and she'd just flop back down onto her tummy, because she knew the drill :). One other suggestion-about the pacifier thing-I don't think you're supposed to have any kind of pacifier strap in the crib. What you could use, though, is one of these small animals with a pacifier-they're easier to grab onto for little hands. http://www.amazon.com/Wubbanub-Infant-Plush-Pacifier-Gree...
I don't think you can use this, though, until she's done with the swaddle.....have you considered a Halo sleep sack? That's what we moved to after swaddling and still at 13 months she sometimes sleeps in it.
I hope a little of this is helpful. Good luck!

If you are in the medical field... like myself... then you know more than most that infants need to eat when hungry and will be waking to eat (majority of infants) until after 1 years old.

I'm a Nurse and I exclusively breastfeed and bed-share... my 1st born is 6 y/o and just fine. My 3 months old is doing well in my bed now too, since he transplanted Big Sister.

I don't blame you for ending the night feedings. It is good to let go of that, and it seems that she has dealt with this well.

Could you try during the weekend not giving her the pacifier, but coming in and patting her tummy instead when she wakes up? You won't get much sleep, but she will stop expecting the pacifier and you can then wean her off of the patting. Use the soft version of the Ferber method that you are familiar with.

I also recommend that when she is doing well with her health, to get a different swaddling garment that doesn't impede her arms. That's a way to wean her off of the swaddling.

A child's pillow is a recipe for disaster - don't EVEN go there.

Doing this is stages gives you the best chance for success, I think. And don't ever think that you have to give excuses why you don't want to co-sleep. You never have to do that.

Good luck,
Dawn

I recommend checking out "The No Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley.
You can even converse w/ Elizabeth on Facebook.
I would never let a baby cry it out. Especially one that has been battling health issues. It is just not the right thing to do, imo.
It's unnatural and cruel.
And just because she's big does not mean she is not hungry.
As a co-sleeping mama, I would never recommend co-sleeping to anyone. I don't mind telling people I do it. But I don't know you or anything about you or your habits and it is a very personal decision. ;)
Contact Elizabeth!
Oh and I would say a huge NO to a pillow or a sewn on binky! Bad, bad idea to leave a baby alone in a crib w/ those things.
Like you said...just imagine... :(