Brennan-Sleep Update

Thank you all so much for your comments on my post about crying-it-out. I really appreciate your honesty, experience, and most of all, listening to me vent! You all shared great advice.

I have not started any type of cry-it-out routine. I have put him in the crib to cry for 10 minutes or so when he's bit me (OUCH!), but I have not left him to cry himself to sleep.

I think part of me made that post hoping to get talked out of it. And I think most of me just really needed to vent with other moms. My husband is an amazing father, but unless you're the milk-machine being needed, it's hard to fully relate.

To answer some of your questions: Brennan won't take a pacifier. I was dead against them with Aidan, but willing to try them this time around. We tried all the different brands, every couple of weeks, and he gags on them. Now he does have a silicone one he loves to bite on, but he never takes them to actually pacify himself. I'm ok with this, as I'm not too keen on pacifiers.
Where does he sleep? From day one we've been co-sleeping. He sleeps next to me. He has slept in his crib several times, but I think I do better with him in our bed. However, he is not a snuggler all night long like Aidan was. I'm wondering if he'd do better in his crib. So we're experimenting. That's another reason why CIO seems somewhat harsh to me. He's not used to his crib fully, and I don't think it's safe to leave him CIO on our bed with him being mobile now.

Much of the time it is a mad cry. Because I know it's a "mad cry" and not an "I'm hurt" cry, that is why I feel ok with letting him have some time in his crib crying, if that's what he needs to understand that it is time to sleep and not play. I don't let that go beyond 5-10 minutes, though. (For me, crying-it-out is harder on the parents!) I've thought of trying it with Brennan, though, because he is a much more mild baby than Aidan was. With Brennan, I'd try it because I have doubts that it'd have to go as long as 20 minutes. I have yet to do that, and I certainly don't want to do anything to lead Brennan to not trust us or our family. (side note--our doctor did acknowledge that Brennan is past the point of object permanence. This means that when we leave the room, he does know we're still around & will be back. If he was not yet to this point, I'd feel CIO is cruel!)

I'm giving it some more time, adding in some Tylenol for teething discomfort, and hoping for the best. If I feel pushed to my limit again, I may pick up on the idea again. I think mostly I needed to vent!

Thanks again for listening. I wanted to update & let you know that I'm not leaving him to scream to the point of exhaustion. ;) Hopefully I can report soon that he is back to his old sleeping self.