Babywise and sleep training. How to use On Becoming Babywise method without using cry it out for sleep training.
I have had various questions over time about how to implement Babywise without doing cry it out (CIO) with baby. I thought this warranted a post for easy reference.
You can certainly use Babywise without having your baby cry it out (CIO). Parents have various reasons for wanting to do this. Many have a baby with reflux and crying really aggravates it. Their child cries and ends up throwing up. For some babies it also causes the acid to move up the esophagus, causing more pain. Some parents live in a place where neighbors can hear baby easily and they don’t want to disrupt neighbors. Other parents simply do not want to do CIO. And let’s all remember, no where in Babywise does it say you must do CIO.
Whatever the reason, you are not without options. There are plenty of parents out there to take what they want from Babywise and leave the rest. If this is what you choose to do, that is fine, but let me just caution against having expectations of achieving the results of Babywise without implementing all of Babywise.
Babywise doesn’t say you must do CIO, but it does say baby needs to learn to sleep on her own. CIO is the a very fast way to achieve that (though not the only). Just keep that in mind. It makes sense–a baby won’t be able to sleep all through the night unless she is able to fall asleep without help from external forces.
Post Contents
- Great Sleep Training Books
- Get the whole series here
- Sleep Training Tips and Info
- Sleep Training According to Babywise (Baby Wise)
- Gentle Sleep Training: The Four S's
- The Big List of Sleep Training Resources
- 6 Rules for Using Cry it Out as a Baby Sleep Training Method
- The Ultimate Cry It Out Bootcamp
- How to Sleep Train Your Baby Responsibly
- Everything You Need to Know About Cry It Out
- The Best Baby Sleep Training Books to Get Baby Sleeping
- Cry It Out Sleep Training Tips
- 5 Important Sleep Training Tips for Baby Sleep
- What Are the Benefits of Sleep Training?
- How to Use the Extinction Method for Sleep Training
- 5 Reasons to Establish Good Sleep Habits
Great Sleep Training Books
My favorite no-cry sleep training method can be found here in Sleep Training: The Four S’s. I used this method with my third and fourth babies and love it.
Here are a couple of ideas for you if you want to follow Babywise but don’t want to/can’t do CIO:
- Work to teach your child how to self-soothe. The purpose of CIO is for your child to learn to self-soothe. That is the why behind the action. If you can’t implement the how, think of a different how (see this post for more on why vs. how: Why vs. How ). One idea is to read and implement the Baby Whisperer’s method for teaching to self-soothe. (see this article for a bit on it, my confusion, and be sure to see the readers comments for clarification Baby Whisperer: Sensible Sleep ). If at all possible, I would work to get your baby to self-soothe. With that ability, you can implement Babywise with no problem.
- Do the eat/wake/sleep cycle. If you are willing to CIO but not yet, or for whatever reason don’t want your child to self-soothe, you can at least do the routine. One word of caution is that you probably won’t get long naps and sleeping through the night will probably take longer and/or be hard to attain. The cycle is a good start though. I started Brayden on this cycle a few weeks before we started CIO, and that alone made a difference for him. As your baby gets older, there are a lot more theories and practices that can help you in your parenting, such as independent playtime. You might get lucky and have a child who can learn to fall asleep without CIO.
- Finally, and most importantly, if you start young and have a good routine, there is an excellent chance your child will not need CIO. I hate CIO as much as the next person. It isn’t fun. I was diligent and consistent with my third and fourth children and they didn’t need an extended CIO period (not to say the CIO never happened, but it was only a couple of naps overall). See these posts for more on how I did this: Sleep Training: The Four S’s and Optimal Waketime Lengths.
Related Posts:
Get the whole series here
Reader Comments/Thank Yous:
- Carey said…
I never did CIO and my son still slept completely on schedule, sometimes even ahead of schedule (had many 10-12 hour stretches at night early on). Just followed BW other than that and it worked.December 7, 2008 6:24 PM
Plowmanators said…
Thanks for sharing that Carey.
December 11, 2008 4:28 PM - Notes from the Holler said…
Wow — this post is just what I needed! Thanks so much for clarifying that BW doesn’t necessarily equal CIO. :o)
December 8, 2008 2:34 PM
Plowmanators said…
You are welcome Notes 🙂
December 11, 2008 4:28 PM
Sleep Training Tips and Info
These posts will help you sleep train your baby with confidence. Learn how to sleep train in the method that best suits you and your baby.
Sleep Training According to Babywise (Baby Wise)
Learn the life-changing Babywise sleep training method that will give you back your sleep. This powerful sleep strategy gets baby on a schedule.
Gentle Sleep Training: The Four S's
How to sleep train a baby without crying. This is a gentle baby sleep training method to get baby sleeping independently. No-cry sleep training method.
The Big List of Sleep Training Resources
Sleep train your baby with confidence! Consult this awesome list of sleep training resources to get wisdom on sleep training, read studies, and find how-to's.
6 Rules for Using Cry it Out as a Baby Sleep Training Method
Cry it out is a fast, effective form of sleep training baby. This post outlines six rules to follow for using cry it out as your sleep training method.
The Ultimate Cry It Out Bootcamp
The ultimate guide to how to do cry it out sleep training. Follow this for a step-by-step guide on using cry it out to get baby sleeping well.
How to Sleep Train Your Baby Responsibly
How to Sleep Train Your Baby Responsibly. Tips for doing cry it out in a way that best helps your baby. Sleep training tips.
Everything You Need to Know About Cry It Out
All of your questions about cry it out answered. How long will it take, what age can you start, and will baby be traumatized after it is all done.
The Best Baby Sleep Training Books to Get Baby Sleeping
Find the best books to read to learn how to get baby to sleep. Different sleep training methods to get baby to sleep through the night and take great naps.
Cry It Out Sleep Training Tips
Cry It Out Sleep Training Tips from real moms who have actually used the method. Tips to help you succeed at sleep training.
5 Important Sleep Training Tips for Baby Sleep
Learn the five tips that will help you achieve great sleep from your baby. These tips will help set you up to have a solid, independent sleeper.
What Are the Benefits of Sleep Training?
How sleep training can help your baby sleep and prevent sleep problems from building up. Sleep training helps baby sleep now and later.
How to Use the Extinction Method for Sleep Training
Tips for using the extinction sleep training method to get baby to sleep well. Get great naps and great night sleep for baby.
5 Reasons to Establish Good Sleep Habits
It is not convenient to put the work into great sleep habits for your baby. Here are five vital reasons you should put the effort required into this.
Hi! My son will be seven weeks old on Saturday. We're attempting to get him on a schedule as of this week, but he's been waking up 30 minutes into his 1 1/2 hour nap and crying for the remainder. This makes feeding a very sleepy time for him! He likes the swing 60% of the time, but ultimately we want him to be able to sleep on his own without any props. Any suggestions on how to get him to self-soothe? I read your suggestion for the Baby Whisperer and was wondering if you had any other ideas on how to help them self-soothe that don't involve leaving him to cry for an hour. Thanks