Baby Lays Awake for Awhile Before Falling Asleep..

Hi T.,

Congrats on being a new mom! It sounds like you have an easy going baby. I say consider yourself lucky! I made the mistake of always either nursing or rocking my baby to sleep. She is now 7 months old and will not fall asleep without it. I know that you feel guilty that you should be in there with him, because I would feel that way too. It just means that you are a good mother. I say as long as he has a mobile or something to look at that he should be just fine. You can get those things that attach to the crib and make white noise and have little lights...I have one that looks like a fish bowl. It has soothing sounds and faint lights on it. Just so he's not staring at the wall, you know? Give him something to look at while he falls asleep.

You could try to push his bedtime back 15 minutes and see if he still falls asleep at the same time. Maybe you are putting him in there a tad too early. But I say if it aint broke don't fix it. He is healty and happy, right? It won't hurt him to lay in there until he falls asleep. You are lucky that he will do that. So many of us mothers have babies that will not put themselves to sleep. As one of those mothers let me tell you that it is exhausting to have to nurse or rock your baby to sleep every single night. It sounds like you are a good mommy that is doing a good job with your little boy! Don't feel guilty that you are not in there with him. You are NOT neglecting him by any means. Don't change his routine or you might regret it. I say as long as he has something to look at, he is just fine. Maybe try pushing bedtime back 15 minutes and see if that helps. Other than that....don't change a thing! Good luck to you!

1 mom found this helpful

Hey T.,

Don't feel guilty about a thing. Babies let you know what they need, and if he is happy, then you don't need to change a thing. Like you said, you have his routine set because of when he starts getting fussy, and it sounds like he does not start back up when you put him down in his crib, so I would say that you are doing what he likes.

Good job mama!
M.

1 mom found this helpful

Oh my heavens no! Do not change a thing!

Your instincts to put him down at 6:00 when he is fussing are right on target. You are definitely doing this right - if you put him down and he was screaming (which is the mistake so many parents make), then that would mean he is overtired and too wound up to fall asleep on his own.

Think about how you fall asleep - do you fall asleep the minute your head hits the pillow or do you spend some time winding down and relaxing before you drift off to sleep. It is highly likely that this is just his form of 'winding down' for the evening and he likely feels so comfortable that he is able to self-soothe to sleep. Many women would die to have such a content baby!

It is absolutely okay for him to lay there before he drifts off to sleep - whatever you're doing during the day to make him feel so marvelously secure is paying off! No need for you to rush in there and change what seems to already be a successful and peaceful pattern.

Remember, you are taking care of HIS needs not YOUR needs. If his needs include having some downtime on his own to fall asleep, then respect that.

1 mom found this helpful

Good God, let the baby fall asleep by himself. I say that in the most loving way. If he can fall asleep by himself now, then it will be easier on you later. You don't want him dependent on you to fall asleep. That could be a real nightmare later on down the road. Just enjoy that he is content for the moment to be by himself. That might not always be the case. :)

1 mom found this helpful

If you want to rock and cuddle him, by all means do it!
Everyone will tell you they grow up so fast...it is true!
I'd be willing to give up sleeping again to have my son want to be cuddled. Overnight they become teenagers and they F***ing hate you because they have to follow the rules.
I sure wish I had taken more time to rock my son and not listened to those people who said
I was "spoiling him".

Oh you are a very lucky mommy. I know because I am too. My son, from a very young age of about 6 weeks, put himself to sleep. Everyone needs alone time, you, me, and your baby. If he is perfectly content the way he is, leave him be. YOu are a good mom who knows that when her child is fussy that it is time to go to crib.
You are allowing him to learn a very important lessonl self soothing and fallling asleep on your own.