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Penny Lancaster defends approach to raising her sons in heartfelt new post

The Loose Women star shared her experience with fans

penny lancaster rod stewart venice
Diane Shipley
Senior Online Writer
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Penny Lancaster took to Instagram on Sunday, where she addressed an issue that had sparked debate on that week's Loose Women.

The presenter and model shared a smiling snapshot of herself appearing on the show alongside a lengthy caption, which began: "Had a great time last Thursday @loosewomen and look forward to joining the panel again tomorrow!"

MORE: Penny Lancaster shares peek inside son Aiden's 10th birthday celebrations

She went on: "I feel I need to expand on the subject of so-called CIO (Cry-it-out) that I briefly touched on."

The blonde beauty, who is married to Rod Stewart, continued: "My husband and I agreed that as I was breastfeeding every few hours, our baby Alastair (along with Aiden when he later came along) should be in his cot at the side of our bed but not in our bed (I cheated a few times [wink emoji])."

WATCH: Penny Lancaster shocks by feeding pet goat from her mouth

At the age of 4 months we made the transition of having him in his own room to help him sleep more independently.

SEE: Penny Lancaster and son Aiden coo over latest family addition in rare video – and it's the cutest

MORE: Penny Lancaster reveals weight loss secret as she shares new photo

However this didn’t stop him waking any less and sleep deprivation was becoming a real struggle for me."

View post on Instagram
 

Penny is a fan favourite on the ITV show

The mum-of-two went on to detail how she and Rod used the technique under the supervision of their paediatrician, which involved weaning him off his night-time feeds and letting him cry himself to sleep "over 2/3 nights" before, as Penny explained, "he slept the whole night through!!!!"

The star went on: "There is no one-size-fits all approach… CIO or as I like to call it, teaching self-soothing (at the right time) is truly a gift of nighttime sleep that will really help long term."

penny lancaster family© Photo: Instagram

Penny and Rod share two children 

The 49-year-old's followers were quick to support her, with several posting heart emojis in response.

One wrote: "I used this technique when I put my daughter in her own room."

A second added: "Best thing I ever did. Took 3 nights then sorted. Xxx."

Others commented: "Exact same with my youngest," and: "Controlled crying worked, thank god!"

Penny and Rod's oldest son Alastair is now 15 while Aiden is ten.

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