Ncss

My dh and I are about 7 days into the first 10 day cycle of the ncss. We went from dd waking up 6 or 7 times to 2 or 3. Also, she wasn't taking daytime naps or if she did it would be for 30 minutes and she would wake up crying. She is now taking two naps--one for an hour and one for almost two. I don't know if it is related or if it will last. I think the best thing for me about the ncss was that it gave me hope that there was something I could do besides live with it or let her cio--which wasn't an option. Specifically we have given her a little rabbit to sleep with (stuffed of course!) and use sleep cues (sleep baby girl sleep) and have been trying to put her down more awake. Either I nurse her or my dh rocks her to sleep (or almost asleep). I don't really know how much farther we will go with it right now. I can handle getting up a couple of times a night--actually enjoy it a bit as it is quiet time I have alone with dd.

I am anxious to hear what others have to say.

We had success with some of the ideas in Pantley's book, too. We went from waking 5 or 6 times a night to just one and sometimes not at all. It took about a month. One of the things that made a huge difference was trying to get her to take longer naps. She was only napping for 30 minutes. I started trying to predict when she would wake up and respond more quickly so she wouldn't wake all the way up. Now she takes longer naps on her own. Giving her an earlier bedtime with a consistent bedtime routine also helped her fall asleep faster, since she wasn't wound up and overtired. The "Pantley Pull-Off" was the other thing. She got to the point where she would just nurse long enough to relax herself and then sort of flop herself out of my arms and go back to sleep on her own. She later moved to not nursing at all. We still co-sleep at 18 months, as our daughter is not ready to be alone at night, but we are sleeping! Last night she slept for 12 hours straight!