You Don't Have to CIO

I have some strong opinions, as I have mentioned. One of them involves a certain "technique" that has become quite popular to get babies to go to bed on their own and to sleep through the night. The Ferber Method, also known as Cry-It-Out, involves leaving your baby in a dark room in their crib and letting them cry until they fall asleep, only coming in once in a great while and maybe patting their belly or saying quiet words. This always felt cruel to me.
SO- for the longest time people have said you must either CIO or deal with it. I couldn't CIO so I dealt with it. We were fine. Grayson went to sleep pretty well most nights.
Then he hit four months and sure enough, he was one of the babies who got what is called the 4 Month Sleep Regression. He began fighting sleep more than normal. He woke 3-4 times a night. We wouldn't nap more then a few minutes here and there.
I knew in my heart CIO was not right for us so I set out in search of another way. We had to do something, we were losing our sanity.
I had heard about a book that was all about not having your child cry at all.
The No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley.
This book is excellent. It gives you several "techniques" to try so that you do not have to let you child CIO. She also is a co-sleeping, breastfeeding mom. WHICH I LOVE! We have semi-co-slept with Grayson since he was born. Currently, he starts in his bed and then when he wakes to eat (which is needed 1 time a night, the other times were just for comfort) he comes to bed with us. Mike returns him to his crib when he leaves for work so I do not have to worry about him rolling out of bed (we do not have a co-sleeper), or I will sleep with him on the couch (we have an L shaped sectional and I lay him on on leg of it next to me so he won't fall off).
SO, Day 1 was Saturday and we started by paying attention to if he got tired, etc. We put him down for naps IMMEDIATELY when he started to show he was tired. Then last night, amazingly, he went down to sleep by 8:30 pm with no fuss. He slept soundly until his 2 am feeding, then slept with us until his normal waking time at 7:30 am. He got in 2 extra hours of sleep then normal, only woke once and then today, took 3 naps with no problem. Tonight, he went down at 8:00 as easy as pie.
The only thing that saddens me- he doesn't want us to hold him before he falls asleep. He wants us to lay him down next to us on the couch and pat his tummy until he is almost asleep, then move him to his crib and pat his tummy some more as he drifts to sleep. This is so strange to me because I remember at one month he would only sleep if he was being held. I am a little saddened by this new independence he is showing.
SO- I just wanted to put out there for other moms, I know the pressure to CIO is great. Even pediatricians often tell moms to let their babies cry it out a little. As a mother, I could never leave my child alone in his crib in a dark room, crying, wondering why I was not responding to the only way he can communicate to me.
There are other options. This gal has several different things to try as nothing is "one-size-fits-all"
So- if you are needing a little sleep, or help getting your little one to sleep, I would strongly suggest this book.