Need Help with Nap and Bedtime Going to Sleep on Own

it sounds like she is upset because you recently changed your routine. this is an age where structure helps them build trust in the world and now she she is lacking that. we have used the nurse after naps from the beginning so i can't really speak from personal experience, but i would not let her cry it out. this only breaks her trust even more. we use a technique from the book 'the baby whisperer' called pick-up/put-down. i would highly recommend reading this book as she addresses how to establish routine when babies are older. i will just share what we when out little one is resisting a nap.

we read a book, close the curtains and hum. place him in his crib. leave the room. as soon as he crys we go back in, pick him up till he stops crying and put him back down. depending on how much he is resisting, i will stay in the room, hidden from his sight. there are occasional times when he crys harder when i'm holding him then when i put him down. in this case i will pick him up put him back down and just put a hand on his back and sing. most of the time the whole thing takes less the minutes.

hope this helps!

there's nothing wrong with nursing a baby to sleep! letting a baby cry it out is not good for them! both of mine nursed to sleep till they stopped nursing altogether at 2-1/2 and 4-1/2 years old (now they are happy loving adults and nurse their babies to sleep as well!). it's SO much simpler and better for everybody!

Your scenario sounds VERY familiar--so i totally relate, even down to the gagging/crying thing (there was a time when my daughter could make herself gag and throw up in a matter of 2 minutes of crying)! So obviously the cry it out thing didnt work too well for a while. We still dont let her cry that often, but we have found on very persistent nights, we just have to put her down--sometimes she will cry for a minute or two, sometimes 15 minutes--but never longer than that. You may want to try another 5 minutes and see what happens...i know those extra 5 minutes can seem like an eternity! She is now 2, and she sleeps through the night 12 hours most nights, though she still wakes occassionally and will still pull that same "shtick" with the waking a minute after i put her back down...BUT she is way better, and all i can say is that it could just be a phase, definitely could be a tough adjustment with the no nursing thing, but she will adapt and get better. I wish i had more advice for you, but i just wanted you to know that you're not alone, hang in there!

I have a ten year old, a 21 month old and a 4 month old. The only thing that has ever worked for me is letting them cry it out. I started my 10 yr old when he was 5 months old. However, my husband HATES letting the babies cry, so I didn't start my now 21 month old until he was 11 months old, and I was so exhausted that I couldn't hold a normal conversation anymore. The technique that I have always used is to brush teeth, story then lay down in crib and I sing them a lullabye. Then I leave and let them cry for 5 minutes. I go back in and rub their back and whisper I love them etc... for about 30 seconds, then I leave again - even if they are still upset - and let them cry for 10 minutes. Repeat the reassurances etc... Then leave for 15 min. repeat adding 5 minutes every time. My now 21 month old never made it past 15 minutes. It took about a week before he was consistently going to sleep within 5 or 10 minutes of being put down and he also started sleeping through the night (I had him cry it out when he would wake in the night too). It is not a fun process, and lots of people disagree, but I think that his sleep got so much better once I did it, and I felt like a much better mom because I wasn't exhausted all the time. Good Luck with whatever you decide to try!

I agree with the Pick up/Put down method. This seemed to really work for us. I wouldn't recommend letting her cry it out. That's heartbreaking to hear and I think she may just need some reassurance you're there. What I did with my son is our usual routine of bath, jammies, feeding, story, quiet singing and rocking, then bed. When he would cry, I would go in and shhhh him and rub his head or back. If that didn't calm him, I would pick him up and shhh him and let him calm a bit, then put him down again. I wouldn't talk to him, just shhh him and give kisses and hugs or whatever...just a way to reassure him that I was there. I had to repeat this many times, but it got to be less and less every night before he was sleeping soundly after putting him down the first time or two. I hope this helps! :)