CIO, baby, CIO

If you know what CIO means, you feel my pain. CIO is short hand for "cry it out" a much maligned version of sleep training--you know, when you teach your baby to fall asleep without being fed, bounced, rocked, etc. Basically, you get the child all gussied up for bed, fed, kissed and then set him down and wave good bye. I've heard parents say that this version rips their hearts out. I suggest they move further away from the door. Kidding. But seriously. We waited until Brice was four months old to start with him and he took to it like a dream. He slept in his bassinet instead of his carseat. A few days of crying and he was out. He was on a regular schedule immediately, didn't need to be swaddled; he turned into a dream child. It also coincided with his colic ending. Needless to say, the sun rose on my world right around four months.
We are nearing the four month mark with Harry. I planned on waiting until four months to start sleep training, but I sense i'll be moving it up. Mainly b/c my back cannot take the endless bending over, picking up the car seat, bouncing the car seat, bending over to swaddle, etc. I've been trying to get him to sleep for the past two hours. Four times i've had to go in, get him, feed him, rewrap him, bounce him, and do it again. Oi!!! So he started screaming AGAIN and I left him. I just let him cry. There must be a reason they don't have memories that go this far back. And miraculously, he fell asleep. This is good. Naps are the hardest to manage. Oh, this is good. I'll keep you posted. But for now, my new mantra is: CIO baby!! ( mommy loves you)