Always crying to sleep...Please help!

[californiababy]

Hi there!

First and foremost, thank you Anna for sharing your knowledge with us and with all the parents out there who were stuck in limbo! Your GNS book has done wonders for our 7 month old girl and we're eternally grateful.

We started the cure two weeks ago and due to scheduling issues with our work, my husband took care of all the nights and I took care of all the days in the initial 4 day cure. Our little girl took to the cure almost instantly - she had been co sleeping with us until that point and nursing to sleep. She used to wake up every hour or so on bad nights and 4-5 times on good nights! Even on the first night of the cure she slept a lot longer and better. She was tired all day but we powered through and stuck to the schedule very rigidly. Same was the case the following three nights and days and just as you said, she was infinitely more rested even by the third day.

The follow up week went with some small bumps but over all she has been sleeping better and her development has soared! The last three nights, she has been sleeping nearly the full 12 hours with only a little peep here and there and we didn't even have to jingle!

BUT... more often than not, she has issues with being put to sleep initially. She cries a lot more with me - mom - than with her father. She cries for naps and she cries for the evening... A few nights, she cried almost a half an hour and it breaks our hearts. We've re read the chapters on Security and looked through the q&a's but wondered if we're doing something wrong...

Her room is completely blacked out, so she doesn't wake up prematurely. In the evenings, we give her a top up meal at 6.30 and after burping her, we make her laugh as much as we can and take her to her crib. All is well until I have to leave. Then the crying begins. Her father often fans and buffs her briefly and jingles from outside her 'door' (which is a makeshift black out curtain out of necessity). He only jingles if she's sad crying and we make an effort not to respond if she's angry crying.

As for naps, she's been taking them exclusively in the push chair - reclining chair and not the basinet - so she's on her back. She sleeps within 10 minutes into her walk with her father 9 out of 10 times but goes up to 45 minutes or even more of fiddling around or crying intermittently with me almost every time...

I am a total believer in the cure and the supreme confidence and I truly believe myself to be her gun-wielding safari guide sitting by the fire, but somehow she's not having it. It's almost ironic that I used to be the only one who could put her to sleep before and now her father is

Can you help us? Here's her schedule in case that's where we're making some mistake... She's almost exclusively breastfed at this point, although we've just started with purees and water. She is allergic to cow protein so I've been off of eating any cow products since we discovered it on her 6th week.

7:00 - wake up and feed
9:00 - 9:45 - morning nap
10:00 - feed
12:00 - 13:30 - midday nap
13:30 - feed
15:45 - 16:30 - afternoon nap
17:00 - feed
18:30 - top up feed
19:00 - sleep

What do you advise? We're very sad to have her crying so much as she's going to sleep... We are grateful for your thoughts.

Thank you,

California mom & dad
*though we're German and Turkish and a little bit Swedish

[TorsMamma]

Hi and Welcome!

Congratulations to a wonderful done cure!! =D> =D> =D>

So we have a few tiny things to "iron out"

First I think you are getting close to the 8-month anxiety you can read about this in For the Love of children, or Das Kinderbucht.

Second, the more sad times you have putting to bed, the happier laughter before is needed. Ensure that you laugh for at least 20 minutes before putting her down for bed or nap. It can take a couple of months before this calms down, it is not uncommon. Just stick with it. 8)

Also you will need to give her a lot MORE food. Feed her fast, fast, fast! Lots of vegetables, healthy oils like coconut oil, olive oil, meats, and avocado, banana and more. Breast feed an conjunction to the food meal. Either before or after.

Also, no more traffic in the bedroom now try to work WITH the jingle and just like you do. When she is sad use it, when angry, wait.

You sure are on your way, keep up the good work.

[californiababy]

Thank you so so much for getting back to us quickly!

We will do as you suggested and be back with updates

Thank you again!

[TorsMamma]

=D>