Davis Ehrlers '3 Day Sleep Solution' episode

[1stTimeMommy]

I just finished listening to Episode 17 about the 3 Day Sleep Solution. Some of it makes sense to me, but I feel somewhat defeated in which 'expert' to listen to!!! Elizabeth Pantley (No-Cry Nap Solution) recommends not letting your baby cry, and Davis Ehrler say a 10 month old can cry for up to an hour..which seems in-humane to me. But earlier in the episode, she says that babies cry for a reason, so popping a pacifier in to 'shut them up' is not a good idea - their need needs to be responded to.......which is it???
Here's my issue - we live in a one bedroom apartment, and our baby's crib is right in the bedroom with us (obviously!) so to me, letting her cry for an hour in the middle of the night is just NOT AN OPTION!!!
Anybody else out there confused by all this 'expert advice' and have any comfort for me?? lol:-)

[scribblerpnp]

I am more of an Elisabeth Pantley person. Davis Ehrler didn't really impress me that much. Some of her breast feeding/sleep advice was down right scary.

She stated that breast milk and formula were basically the same as far as time to digest (which according to research is not true) The over 12 lbs, ok for 12 hours really freaked me out especially. This has the potential to have very negative effects on Mom's milk supply. Go 12 hours without breastfeeding- especially in a child less than a year old? Say hello to plugged ducts and mastitis!

I have a 7 month old who still wakes to eat in the night (maybe 3-4 times in 12 hours). I've just come to the conclusion that sleeping through the night is another developmental task, like crawling and walking. He will do it when he is ready and forcing him to do it any earlier will just make both of us miserable.

I have set bed and nap times and routines, and when my baby wakes up in the night, I respond by comforting him or feeding him if he is hungry.

[scribblerpnp]

1st time mommy, how old is your baby? Do you breastfeed? What time is bed time, when does baby wake up? Nap times- when and how long?

Trying to get an idea of your situation we can brainstorm.

Don't forget, when a baby is going through a big change- like learning something new or a growth spurt- sleep schedules go down the drain and it can be every man for himself for a day or two.

I found this awesome article on kellymom about this. Maybe it is applicable to you:

http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/4mo-sleep.html

[1stTimeMommy]

Hi Alissa,
Thanks for the reply! I enjoyed your episode about getting the most out of our appointments - thanks!!
I totally agree with your perspective on Davis Ehrler's sleep theories, that some of the stuff she said on the episode totally shocked me. I so enjoy listening to these podcasts, but as with everything else, it's so easy to get lost in all the different parenting opinions out there and decide for yourself which one you agree with the most. (reminds me of when we gave birth to our daughter, all the nurses at the hospital had differing opinions as well, which can make off for a frustrating start!) Human nature I guess, hey?
My daughter is now 4 and a 1/2 months old. I have exclusively breastfed her from day one. After reading Elizabeth Pantley's "No-Cry Nap Solution" I realized we have a 'one cycle sleep syndrome' baby on our hands. She will consistently wake up after almost exactly 30 minutes every time she naps, and sometimes when putting her down for the night as well. So I have started to try some of E. Pantley's methods (going in at half hour and rocking, burping, or soothing her back to sleep etc.) which works occasionally, but not often. So we have basically dealt with an over-tired, fussy baby on and off since she was over her newborn stage. At about 3 and 1/2 months she improved considerably, only to go for her 4 month immunizations 2 weeks later and downward spiral all the way back again.
Since my hubby doesn't get home until 5:30, I have always disliked the 6:00 bedtime b/c he never gets to see her other than weekends! So we have been trying to set 8:00 as bedtime, resulting in some pretty fussy periods right before bed. She's all over the map as far as night wakings....sometimes she'll go 8 or 11 hours straight without waking, and sometimes wake up 3 to 4 times during the night. But last night I tried the 6:00 bedtime, and was surprised that she didn't wake up at 1/2 hour; in fact she woke up at 10:30, then 3:00, then 5:00 and finally up for the morning at 7:45. I'm not sure about the whole "if your baby wakes up between 3 and 5, they're trying to tell you they got to bed to late...." hmmmm.
Any ideas or tips? Ooh, and thank you SO much for the Kellymom article, it TOTALLY applies to me right now, and helped me avoid being upset when she woke up last night 3 times - she gets so distracted every time her dad walks by us feeding during the day, and any noises and she pops right off to see what's going on. She's a snoopy gal:-)
Take care, and thanks for the help!:D

[scribblerpnp]

I'm glad the article helped. Got lucky there!

As for tips for distraction, I nurse in a corner of a quiet room. The Boy BF about every 2 hours at 4 mos, so off we would go to the bedroom and sit in the corner with no background noise- I still do this at times and it does help with a Nosey Baby.

Maybe moving the bedtime to 7 or 7:30 would help and be a better compromise? Still sounds like 8 is too late. I'm there with you on the 5-6 bedtime. No way could I do this, since I usually don't get home until 5.

If you are just getting up at 10, 3, 5, that sounds about right. Mine started doing that at 4 mos- and is still pretty much doing that now. I don't co-sleep, but he is right next to the bed, which has helped me out a lot sleep-wise.

[MamaMonika]

I just listened to this episode and have to echo the sentiment here. So far I've loved each New Moms, New Babies episode, but Davis Ehrler's advice shocked me.

My little girl is 10 months old, there is no way she is going to bed at 6 pm. There's no way we're letting her cry for an hour!

We have let our daughter set her sleep time, within limits. We let her play as long as she's happy and energetic. Without fail she starts displaying signs of getting sleepy at around 7PM-7:30PM. So we've set that as her bed time.

She sleeps through the night, except with one waking when we change her and feed her. Then she's off again.

I know I'm bringing up a topic with many differing view points, but Davis Ehler was sure set on co-sleeping being "very dangerous." I have to admit, that just made me mad. Information I've been able to find, after lots of research, seems to point to the exact opposite. Unless you're a smoker, drinker or drug user, co-sleeping, according to most experts I've come across, is safe.

I find it very surprising that this woman is a doula. Yikes.

[ash2487bin]

this was a great help thanks for posting. My 4 month old just stopped sleeping through the night and now wakes after 4-5 hours to feed again and my pediatrician said he's not hungry you can let him cry up to 2-3 hours and I wouldn't be concerned. :/