Sleeping

My advice is to read SOLVE YOUR CHILD'S SLEEP PROBLEMS by Richard Ferber. You are going to have to break the association. We had similar issues with our now 1 year old, and I spent way too many nights awake with him on top of me or rocking him to sleep in the rocking chair. Ferber's book really helped. BUT his solutions are really for babies that are 6 months old. According to my good friend, Dr. Catherine Pines, who is an expert in early child development, babies are not capable of falling asleep on their own until 6 months of age. I do know other mothers who used Ferber's methods around 4 months and had success. We didn't start until 6 months. It can't hurt to start trying now though. The Ferber method really works. It's like a miracle. Good luck!

C.

Hi T.!

As tough as this may sound, you just need to let him cry it out. I know its hard, but it will work, I PROMISE! My daughter is almost 7 months and she was a tummy sleeper from day one! Well, we she started to roll on her back, she would startle herself as well and would cry. For awhile, we kept going in and turning her over, but every time she would roll, this would happen again. Finally we said enough is enough. we let her cry, and she loves her crib now. Just an FYI... My sister-in-law had the same problem and now her son is 51/2 andhe still sleeps with mom and dad! No fun!!

Hope this helps!

My son did too. He slept on my chest until he was 6 months, then he went in the crib no problem. Sorry I can't be of help. It is nice to know our family is not the only family co-sleeping.

T.,
I hear you. I did some bad stuff like that too with my son. My son actually slept in a bassinet through 6 weeks and he had trouble transitioning to the crib too. Here are a couple of things that I did: I slept on his sheets, I put him on his side with a rolled up towel or receiving blanket behind him as well as sideways in the crib on one end (so the crib doesn't seem so big). If your baby falls asleep on your chest then I would try to put him/her in the crib. Keep trying and eventually he/she will figure it out.
I loved when my son would sleep on my chest too. But I knew I couldn't do it very often. Hope that helps.

Hi T.. Have you tried letting him sleep in the swaddle blanket in his crib IN HIS CAR SEAT? I know it sounds nuts but it worked for us. That's what I ended up doing until my daughter was about 6 months...I then weened her one by one...out of the car seat but in the swaddle then out of the swaddle. She slept like a rock instantly and I finally got some sleep too. She's now 15 months and has been a rock star sleeper all along..I was afraid she'd never sleep out of the blanket and car seat, but she's just fine...10-12 hours a night and one of two naps...good luck...

N.

T.,
I found the book "The Baby Whisperer" very helpful. She stresses bedtime routine and has good strategies for helping your baby learn to fall asleep on his own. She does not talk about 'crying it out.' Which I just could not do. You can probably get it for a good price on half.com.
Good Luck!
J.

Put something you have worn in the crib next to him. He is used to your scent. My daughter was the same way when I finally kicked her out of my bed. She was a bit older, but the same rule applied. It's what my mom and grandma told me to do and it worked like a charm. Eventually she didn't need my pajama's anymore ;).

Hi T.;
He might not be ready to sleep in a crib. For advice on co-sleeping and transitioning out of the family bed, Dr. Sears books are great. We coslept with our daughter for 18 months and she made the transition first to a mattress next to us and then to her own bed very easily. It was the only way I could get any sleep that first year.

Good luck!

how badly do you want him to sleep in his crib? i also made the delightful 'mistake' of having my son sleep with me while i nursed him as an infant which was met with very little support from friends, family, strangers, etc. but what it boiled down to me was this, that darling baby of yours is only going to be a baby for so long. not sure how your partner feels about the situation but if it isnt causing any chaos on the relationship end and its nothing you want to stop then i say go with it. i slept with my son in the same bed up until he was a year and a half and his transition into a big boy bed was met with some resistance but not as much as books and magazines would tell you. he is a very independendent, outgoing toddler and personally i wouldnt trade that snuggle time in with him for the world.

Hi T.-
I had the exact same problem with my first son. I think he spent 23 of 24 hours a day on my chest. Boy was I tired. The good news is you can solve it the bad news is there will be lots of crying. I used Dr. Weissbluth's "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child". It worked well but took awhile. However by 6 months he was a marvelous sleeper. He took 3 naps a day in his crib of 1.5 hours or more and slept 11-12 hours a night- alone in his crib. It was a miracle and I felt so much better. Try it. It also worked well with my second son who wasn't quite such a tempermental sleeper...

Well T.... that is going to be a tuffy. I just had to let my son cry back to sleep. I also played some sweet, low baby mozart or other classical music. You let him cry for 5 mins and boy will they seem so long, then go into and comfort and then leave again this time for a little longer. It may take a couple of nights but be patient this worked for me! Wish you the best!

DO YOU PUT HIM ON HIS BACK TO SLEEP OR ON HIS BELLY. CAUSE IF YOU PUT HIM ON HIS BACK TRY PUTTING HIM ON HIS BELLY. CUASE THAT WHAT HE IS USE TO.

I went through the same thing. It took a long time to get my son to sleep in his crib and not on someone else. I just had to let him scream for awhile. Not for too long because it broke my heart. Then I would rock him to sleep. It took about a year for him to sleep through the night. He is now 3 1/2. I know that is not much advice but I wanted you to know that you are not alone.

My five month had the same problem. He was pretty colicky and had acid reflux. He too could only sleep on my chest. I tried putting him in his crib at 10 weeks and failed miserably. I was able to transition him to my bed and co-slept. He finally slept in the crib at 15 weeks. What may help is proping one end of the crib up with a couple of books so it's the same sensation of sleeping semi-upright on your chest. I also put my son down on his tummy (I know it's not good and I got a lot of slack from my doctor) and it seem to help him sleep. Just make sure there isn't anything in the crib. Not even a crib bumper.

White noise helps too. We use a small space heater or running a fan works as well. There are also CDs with sounds of rain or waves on the beach.

Hope this helps!

Wow, that sounds really intense... You must be going insane! Do you use a pacifier? My daughter had some similair problems, and my doc said to just let her use it for a few months (I took it off her at 7 months when she started eating more). She told me that my daughter just couldn't learn to soothe herself and that the pacifier would help...and it did.
Good Luck.

Hi, T..

The DVD - The Happiest Baby on the Block (by Dr. Harvey Karp) really helped my husband and I....you can order it on Amazon.

He talks about swaddling but also combines it with many other techniques that make each more effective.

As far as traditional swaddling goes it didn't work perfectly for us either. We swaddled her and let her sleep in her car seat some as well as a moses basket because you could get the blanket nice and snug. When we transitioned her to her bed we actually put the moses basket directly in the bed for a long time before moving her out.

Good luck! Been there!

A.