Getting My Son to Sleep in His Crib on His Own!!!!!

I strongly recommend a book called "The No Cry Sleep Solution." I used it with my kids when they were babies and had a good deal of success with it. I had to take my 6 year old to a sleep specialist about a year ago and the method she uses is almost exactly the same as the one in the book and she is a specialist at Children's Hospital in DC. Just know that whatever you do you have to be very consistent and it can be pretty hard. That is my problem. Good luck!

There is a portable bed item that is for when the baby is in bed with you. It has walls on three sides, and a slope where baby sleeps. Try using this. Cribs can be large and cold. This helps them feel more surrounded.

Two other things to try: 1. place a blanket between you and the baby/baby's head. Then when you lay him down, he won't feel as much of a temp difference.

2. Place him in the crib while he's awake so that he can look around and get used to it. Then when he wakes up in the crib he won't cry because he's wondering where he is.

M.

Hi, I have 2 boys, my oldest is almost 2 1/2 years old and my youngest is 6 1/2 months. I can tell you from experience with my first to work on the sleep issue big time now b/c it only gets worse the more overtired they become (I'm not talking days or weeks, I'm talking about months of sleep deprivation.) Our oldest struggled with this b/c we were newbies at parenting and didn't read his cues so well and then teething, separation anxiety hit etc..... With our second we've made sleep an absolute priority as it is as essential to health as eating well and working on emotional, cognitive and developmental milestones.

Okay - all that was a long winded intro to some basic advice: watch your baby's sleep cues (lack of interest/focus, eye rubbing etc..), follow the 2-3 hour rule of thumb, develop a schedule with flexibility to provide best sleep situations, most important be consistent!!!

The 2-3 hr. rule of thumb is essentially check the time when your baby wakes up in the AM and be working on getting down for nap #1 about 2 hrs. later. Then again after nap #1, wait about 2 hrs. after wake up time, plan to work on napping again and so forth. If your baby is already overtired it could be a shorter window of time. (Check out Dr. Weisbluth's book, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child)

There are so many prescribed methods for helping your baby get to sleep. Find the one that you are most comfortable with and be consistent about implementing it for all sleep times.

Another tip, is put your baby to bed very early for a while to give time for some catch up sleep. Early as in 5/6PM at night.

Developing a sleep schedule but NOT a rigid one should give you and your baby some idea of when sleep needs to occur. Little ones need in the neighborhood of 14-16 hrs of sleep total for a 24 hr. period between naps and night time. A simple routine for nap and bed time that you do everytime helps your baby learn it is time to sleep (books, bath, rocking and cuddling, listen to soft music or a mobile, bottle or nursing). It can take days or weeks of the routine, consistency is key, for your little one to process and accept sleep times. Temperament plays into this process too.

There are lots of books, blogs, info about sleep and little ones. Check it out and find what fits for your family. Best of luck! Happy Holidays!

Heather

Good luck with this, I have a baby the same age and we are struggling with the same issue. I've been cosleeping after 3 am out of desperation for the past 2 months (before that he was a gold-star sleeper - even through the night!) This works for us though, and I'm pretty well rested, though I get up in the morning and leave him in our guest bed which I'm getting worried about doing now that he's starting to roll over. I'm going to use some of the suggestions from moms here to get him to sleep in his crib. My friends do the 'gradual extinction' method which we also have done. This is described in previous posts as comforted crying, not just leaving your kid to CIO.

A.,

First off, I would say to not worry about it until he's at least 6-8 months old. That's the age that I have always seen recommended for sleep training. And that is the age where I have always begun sleep training with my boys. Before 6 months their biggest need is security and if that means staying with him until he's asleep in his crib and going back in to pat/rub his back or tummy when he wakes back up then that's fine. Once he reaches 6-8 months and is eating more solid foods then you can become more regimented with his schedule. I don't recommend the cry-it-out method, but some would. For us it didn't work. My boys were just too strong willed and would cry themselves sick for hours and hours every night for weeks before I gave up. My boys had to be coaxed into sleeping on their own. You may have to try a few different methods to figure out what works best for your baby, but eventually you will. Take heart, sleep issues don't last forever.

Best of luck!

I use 100% Pure Theraputic Grade Essentials on my Family. There is a blend called Peace and Calming that I use on my kids at night to relax them. I just added a momma store. Also, try VERY gently massaging babys feet. I'll try to help in any way. Good Luck!
D.

We started putting my daughter to sleep in the crib in her own room at 4 months. Before that she slept in a bed side bassinett.
She was not happy about the move at all but we resolved to not pick her up once she was in bed, unless of course she wet through or spit up. So once she was down that was it. When she fussed we would go in and rub her belly or shhhh her and tell her it was sleepy time. The first couple of nights were difficult as we were up responding to her every hour, but by the third night she settled down and was fine.
After about a week she was sleeping through the night completely.
I think the key really is not picking them up once they are in bed.
Good luck!

First I believe in making the change a gentel as you can. I laid mine down and as soon as they fussed I would go rub their backs and talk to them a little I would not pick them up. I would start in the morning when we were both ready for the change not a night when we were worn out and by night they went down on their own and my babies NEVER had to cry it out I not of those Mom's
Our never slept with us as I would have not slept.I fear rolling on top of them. But to sometimes sleep with you and then alone will not work they need to know what you want

When my baby was that young, I would put him in his crib and if he cried, I would let him cry. I know it sounds mean, but now I have a 2 year who sleeps in his bed. It is a hard thing to do, but it will be worth it in the end. I hope this helps and good luck.

B. Phillips
www.workathomeunited.com/busymoma

I swear by the book, Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child. Check it out from the library.
Develop your before bed routine, no more than 10 minutes. Be aware of light and noise, and at the FIRST sleep sign, start the routine for his naps. Put him/her down in the crib, reassure, then leave. Come back after 5 minutes if needed to reassure, then leave. Come back after 10 minutes if needed to reassure but don't pick up. If they're still fussing after 45 minutes, you can take them out to distract but if giving sleep signs, start over with the sleep routine.
This does not happen forever...but it takes effort and patience to start them in the right direction. Good luck.