** Featured in App Store New and Noteworthy section (AUS/NZ) May 2010 **
Ciao Baby helps you track the time you spend using the "Cry It (all) Out" or "Controlled Crying" methods to sleep-train your infant.
NOTES:
1) THIS METHOD IS ONLY RECOMMENDED FOR INFANTS WHO ARE AT LEAST 4 MONTHS OLD, PREFERABLY 6 MONTHS OLD.
2) MAKE SURE THAT YOU RESEARCH CONTROLLED CRYING PROPERLY BEFORE DECIDING TO USE THE METHOD. IT IS A CONTROVERSIAL ISSUE AND YOU SHOULD BE 100% HAPPY ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE DOING BEFORE USING THIS APP!
REVIEWS:
"Grateful! Best anxiety control! - Ciao baby has been, and from time to time continues to be so useful. The first sleep training we did I get so anxious; with ciao baby I had an impartial timer, and could see the time was coming where I would go and settle my son."
"Brilliant app - Is a brilliant app and gives any parent doing controlled crying a real structure so you are not constantly looking at your watch. You can see from the history how baby is sleeping longer through the night, its a god send and our daughter is now sleeping through the night because we had the app to keep the controlled crying structure."
CONTROLLED CRYING:
The aim of Controlled Crying is to teach an infant how to go to sleep by themselves, without the need of parental assistance (e.g. Rocking, pacing, or late night drives listening to "The Boss" play on the radio).
In addition to removing stress at bedtime, it can also help the infant to re-settle themselves if they wake up during the night - which means lots more sleep for everyone in the house!
The method is often thought of as just leaving the infant to cry for as long as it takes to go to sleep, but its not that mean! Heres an example of how it works:
1) Prepare the baby (Well call him Murray, because every third person here in New Zealand is called Murray) for bedtime.This can be a bath, massage, stories, cuddles, and generally calming down before its time to go to sleep.
2) Put Murray in his crib awake (This is the important part, as it helps Murray get used to going to sleep unaided) and leave the room.
3) If Murray keeps crying, then return to the room after a short period of time (say 2 minutes), to gently pat and re-assure him (Without getting him back up) and then leave the room again.
4) Repeat this process with ever increasing periods of time between your visits to settle Murray. A simple method is to double the "Wait" period each time (e.g. 2 minutes, then 4 minutes, then 8 minutes etc).
NOTE: WE USED THIS METHOD, AND VERY RARELY COMPLETED A 16 MINUTE WAIT!
APP DESCRIPTION:
The app controls which "Wait" period you are on, and displays an alert after it has completed, so that you know when its time to go and re-settle your baby without having to watch the clock! It works by doubling the "Wait" time after each settle, but you can also set your own "Wait" time if you wish.
FEATURES:
- You must complete a checklist before you start. This forces you to think about whether there could be another reason why your baby is crying (Note: This can be switched off in the settings).
- App records a history of all the times you use the method. This allows you to determine whether or not its working! You can also edit your history, or add new entries that you may have recorded on paper if you didnt have the app handy.
- You can personalize the app by entering the babys name and sex.