My 8 Month Old Won't Sleep in a Crib

I apologize for not reading the other responses, and if you already received this advice, but I tried this and it has worked. Baby feels like the crib is huge compared to themselves (and the swing), so roll some towels or blanket (whatever) and put them in the crib to make it feel smaller. I put my baby on one end of the crib and put a blanket on each side of her as well as halfway through the crib. I think it helps because it makes it more intimate.

Is there any real reason why she can't just stay where she is at? You should be geting more sleep with her there. All Of mine have slept with me and I have never had one fall out of bed. You have to take each step one at a time, otherwise she will be overwhelmed. I DO NOT allow my children to CIO, so I have no answers for that question I find it very cruel. Try placing her crib next to your bed and once she is alseep lay her in it, this will take time cause you are having her do it on your time frame and she is clearly not ready, but it can be done just keep placing her back in her crib after she has been fed. She is accustomed to the sounds you make at night and the warmth of your body so be patient and consistant and realise she has been in your bed for most of her life and it will take time to get her out of it.

Although all moms are different, I think that I need to add that letting a baby cry to sleep is NOT cruel nor is it unhealthy. I think that moms these days are too quick to shield their children from any "bad" thing. Now, with that said, I think that letting a baby very young cry for a long time is not helpful. But once I made the decision to let my children "self-soothe" that is what it is teaching them to relax themselves, it took one or two nights of letting them cry for about 30 min from then on it was a matter of minutes. Start off slow at first, try naps in the crib, playing in the crib etc. Those were great suggestions. But don't be afraid to let your baby teach herself how to comfort herself. Mommy won't be around forever... thank goodness! It will teach your baby independence as well which is always healthy.
Good luck - your are the mom and you know best!

I agree with Jennifer O. Why not just continue cosleeping with your baby? Every baby is different, and even though your son was a good sleeper, your daughter is telling you that she has a different personality and different needs. Cosleeping has worked for us with our four girls. We currently cosleep with our 10-month-old. It was the only way that worked for our first baby because she was a fussy baby who would not take a pacifier, bottle or any other substitute for mommy. It was tiring at times, but if she hadn't been that way, I would not have learned to be a patient, selfless parent. My other girls have been very different, more able to self-soothe, but we found that cosleeping was the way to go with all of our babies. We all get more sleep that way, they never have to CIO all alone in a crib, and we transition them to their own bed just before they turn 2. We have not had any sleep issues with any of them. If you need some more help, I recommend "The No Cry Sleep Solution" (and if you choose to let them CIO, try anything other than the "Babywise" method).

I agree that CIO is rather cruel. Warming the sheets is a good idea. I suggest getting her a special blanket and sleep with her and it for a week or so. Then, mover her to her crib with the blanket for naps. Then after a few weeks of her doing well with naps, move her to her bed at night. Also let her play in her crib alot so she feels comfy and familiar when its time to sleep.

Most Books and Doc's tell you that having your child sleep alone in their crib and letting them learn to fall asleep on their own is a very important step that all children have to go through. My daughter was not a good sleeper. she slept in her crib but would wake up at all hours of the night and i too wanted to have her weened from the breast by 1 year so as hard as it is i just had to let her cry it out. and to be honest with you it didn't take 3 nights it took 2 WEEKS it was so hard to listen to. I had to sleep down stairs with earplugs. I know it sounds mean but now she falls asleep on her own and sleeps the whole night. I just had her 15 month doc appointment and her doc. praised me on what i good job i have done in raising her and getting her to be a good sleeper. It made me feel really good to know that even though it was hard i did the right thing and I know that my Daughter is very healthy and happy.

A.,
Don't worry about letting her cry. You might have to do it for 3 nights straight. She will learn you will not go in there. If you keep going in there the harder she will cry knowing you will give in. Don't give in. When my son was a baby I had to sleep in the basement so I couldn't hear him crying as badly and it was soooo hard but after 3 nights it was fine! I promise! I read a book on this and they say to check on them after 20 mins. No eye contact and no talking, just to make sure they are not wrapped up in the blanket. Then, wait, 30 mins, then 45 then 1 hour and then keep that up for the first night. It is hard but I promise it will be worth it. I have done that so hang in there. She will know you are the boss and sleep in no time. (well no time meaning 3 days of crying for you. Don't worry they can't hurt themselves by crying. ~ Good luck! ~ M.

my dd slept in her crib from 4 months to 9 months and then was starting to have problems with it, she would cry and cry and stand up and shake the crib. I finally took her mattress out and put it on the floor. She slept like that until about 18 months when we got her a bed because she asked for one. It was nice because I knew she was safe, if she rolled off the mattress, it was not a foot high and we put pillows around it as well. It also allowed me to sleep on the floor next to her during the transition. I don't know if it will work for you but it helped us. My dh could go and lay by her as well on nights when I felt like I can just not do this one more minute.
as for the crying, you have to trust your instincts as to what is best for you and your baby. I always listen to how I feel--I've had people tell me to let her cry it out but there are times when I know she just needs me and there are times when I know she needs to be left on her own for a bit as well. Trust yourself, mom's really do know thier kids best.

My step son that I got full time at 18 months was never forced to be buckled in his cars seat...He would throw a fit until he made himself pass out. My husband would freak out that he couldn't be buckled. I flat out do NOT allow children unbuckled in my car. I took (Richard) on a drive by myself and I buckled him in the car seat. He threw his fit like always and I just kept telling him very lovingly that I loved him too much to let him be in danger by NOT being buckled. He finally quit. I never let him be unbuckled again and he is the best behaved child in a car seat you ever seen. The moral of this story....childen learn that you know best and that you love them even when they are screaming mad about. If you put your child into their crib and walk off they will throw a fit and it will get easier each time very quickly. It doesn't hurt children to cry. If they pass out they start breathing normally again. They are perfectly fine and giving their lungs a work out at the same time. Your entire family will bennifit by you being better rested.

Hi A.!! Our daughter slept with us until she was 12 months old so I understand! She too was a swing sleeper until then as well! Just keep trying to put her in her crib. I only let our daughter cry 30 to 45 minutes! But just keep introducing it to her and she will eventually start. Our daughter loves her crib (20 months) and won't even sleep with us now! Just keep trying and it will happen!! Best of luck!! S.

When my daughter was having a hard time going to sleep by herself at this age I would use a small beanbag heating pad. I would warm it up (not too hot of course) and put it in her crib a few minutes before I would put her down. That way the sheets were warm. It really made a difference. Good luck!

Hi I completely understand your prob. I had the same prob with my daughter, she was breastfed till 13 months. She didn't want to sleep in her crib either. What I did was, make sure she ate really well just before bedtime, I set a bedtime of nine p.m. every night. At 8 months its a great time to get started on a routine.
Well in the beginning she would cry for almost half an hour, when she realized I wasn't going to give, she would go to sleep. If you go in to comfort her you start all over. After a week we had no more problems. I read one time in one of those parenting mags that for kids something done consistantly for a week creates a routine. That has worked for me with all three of my kids.
Well, best of luck, hope this helps :) A.

She won't until you make her. As far as her crying keeping others up, it is a small sacrafice for everyone to make to help Mom get the rest she needs to make her the best Mom she can be. Either you wait for her to be too mobile to be in your bed and do it then, or just get started now. Take the plunge- I bet within just a little bit, this whole issue will seem like it was never an issue at all. Although I didn't have this issue with my kids (22 months and 8 months) I had plenty of others that I really didn't think I was going to be able to work through (like taking the binkie away and moving to the big girl bed) that were actually quite simple and easy once I decided that was the way it was going to be. Good luck!

One thing we found helped was if daddy was the only one to comfort at night. Since he couldn't provide milk, the expectation, and therefore the anger and frustration was not there. That helped us at those middle of the night wakings when food was not really the need, just love.