Question About Nursing Your Baby to Sleep at Naptime.

Hi S.,

We had a very similar issue. My son (I also have 2 boys) would only fall asleep either at the boob or if we put him in his swing and for the first 6 months of his life he ONLY napped in his swing.

Anyhoo . . .what I found was that I would nurse him and as I carried him to his room, I woke him up enough for him to realize he was being put into his crib and he got used to falling asleep on his own.

The other thing that we did was we purchased the fisher price ocean wonders aquarium thing (gosh, I think that's what it is called - minus the "thing" in the title, of course):-) He LOVES it. It really helped soothe him and kept his attention while I walked out of his room. He is 15 months old and still nursing prior to naps and goes to sleep on his own - with his aquarium music.

Good Luck.
B.

This is a really hard one - no one really wants their kid to cry because you think that you shouldn't let them cry, something is wrong, etc. But #1, you need to remind yourself (at least this worked for me) that your baby is not hungry. If he's thriving and only eats out of 'habit' then, really, he's fine. When I remembered that, then it was easier for me to be more objective, so I took more time with the down time before nap. I developed a nap routine that really seemed to work, though it did take time, and days with tears. I would make sure he was fed, changed his diaper, rocked a bit or read a book, sang - whatever gave you time focused on him and you were certain basic needs were met. If that doesn't work, try something else. I did resort to laying on the floor myself and that helped (at least there was no crying!). That may be hard for you with another child, but maybe you want your baby to sleep in a noisier area, then that's his 'normal'. If your other son needs entertainment, is there someone who can help focus on him while you get this son's schedule established? Maybe you can make him a part of the routine. Anyway, there can be many bad days (who doesn't have them) though there can be many, ahhh, bliss, days! Try to focus on those days.

S.,

I nursed my son to sleep at night until 13mo., and for naps until maybe 1 yr. After I stopped nursing him b/4 naps I would rock him to sleep for naps. At 15 mo. he went to 1 nap per day and it only took 5 min. of rocking him for him to fall asleep. He is 19mo. & I still do this. He falls asleep in his crib for bed at night on his own (though we sit on the floor by him for the 15min. it takes for him to fall asleep). These methods have worked very well for us. At first it took longer rocking him to sleep for naps & he was getting heavy, but it only takes 5 min. now and I love the bonding we're doing. I would advise you to do what feels right in your heart, and make sure you have a set bedtime & nap routine. My husband & I did not feel it was right to let our son cry himself to sleep, though others may find this a necessary method to use. Good luck, and trust your instincts!

Another user recomended the book "No Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley and I like it too. In there she has a "pull out" method for working to get your baby used to falling asleep without something in his mouth.

I've been trying it on my 6 month old and he often surprizes me by letting me put him down to sleep when I expect him to cry. (We're still working on it though. For the most part he still likes to eat himself to sleep. People assure me that he'll grow out of it...good luck.)

My son puts himself to sleep with a pacifier and rubbing a soft blanket. Maybe it can work for you?