How Do I Get My 5 Month Onld to Sleep in His Crib?

What we use to do was let him fall sleep in the chair and then put him in the crib. If he wakes pick him up and sway with him till he falls asleep then try again to put him in the crib. It took us a good week to get ours to fall asleep in his crib.

Car seat? I knew many a mom who used the car seat!

People have already told you ditch the TV, ditch the propping, etc.
Specifically regarding the crib, though, teach your baby it is safe and comfy, even independent of sleep. Some mothers will disagree with this, I warn you, lol! Some don't mix sleep and play, but I did it with great success.
Put your baby in the crib with a toy or two WHILE you arein view, and let him play comfortably there when it's not bedtime. See if he soothes himself or totally relaxes over the course of a few days. Eventually, he'll like the crib so much that he'll accidentally fall asleep (maybe!). Good luck.

Please turn off the tv! Do not let him have a bottle propped in his mouth. Feed him and put him down in the crib when he is awake but super sleepy. There are some pretty bad habits you have started here but it is not too late. I loved the book Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child I think the author is Dr Wiesenbluth (sp?). I agree with the other person who said crying for long periods is not the best way to fix this but 5 or 10 mins is ok. The most important thing is to get into a sleep routine and do it the same way every time ...every time! And naps are super important. At 5 months I would think your baby would be having 2 or 3 naps a day plus about 8 to 10 hours at night. Again the tv has to go. Your baby is way too young to have the tv as part of his routine. In fact many people thing tv just stimulates them and makes them sleep less.
Good luck and stick with it sleep routines are difficult.

C.,
I know others have already told you this but he shouldn't have a bottle propped. If he is hungry and needs a bottle, then you should feed him one, and then put him down in his crib. He should not be watching t.v., it is not recommended or good for babies and getting a tiny infant used to falling asleep in front of the tv sets up a terrible habit that's hard to break.
He should have a feeding, soothe him and put him down. Do not wait til he is overtired. Set up a soothing routine for him, rub his tummy for a bit once he is in his crib, put on some music for him, he should not be left to cry for a half hour. If he is very fussy when you're starting his bedtime routine, he may already be overtired.

I'm sorry. I have to wholeheartedly disagree that you should just let him cry and go back in and check on him periodically. Put in earplugs and just let them wail? Are you kidding me? That DOES NOT teach your baby to sleep. It teaches him that he has been left alone and for some reason you won't come to his rescue like you always do. And it floods his little system with stress hormones. Even Dr. Ferber (who's method is commonly called the Cry It Out method) says you do not start that kind of sleep training until at least age 6 months. In my book you never start that kind of sleep training.

Babies, all babies, have to be taught how to sleep. You taught your son how to sleep propping a bottle in his mouth and turning on the tv. I can't even begin to imagine how that came to be. I'm not trying to be hyper critical. I understand tough times with baby. My first was 8 weeks premature, came home on a monitor, meds 4 times per day, didn't know how to breastfeed so I pumped round the clock while teaching him to breastfeed, etc. But you have to teach your son how to sleep. Please stop propping a bottle up in his mouth. That is the quickest way to rot his teeth when they come in and it a chocking hazard. Please turn off the tv. His little brain isn't ready for all those light and sound images. Get to some old fashioned parenting with your little one. Teach him how to sleep.

You need to establish a solid routine at night. Bottle, bath, jammies, rocking/soothing him till he is asleep, then while staying close to him-as close as you possibly can, lay him down in his bed. If he wakes up soothe him again back to sleep and lay him down again. It will take several weeks of literally doing and saying the same things every night before he learns what to expect and what is expected of him. Please read Dr. Sears Baby Sleep Book. It's a kinder gentler way to teach baby to sleep. I held both my kids till they were asleep and they learned to sleep thru the night just fine.

Also, baby needs to be napping at least twice during the day. Sleep gets you sleep. A well rested baby will sleep better at night.

I was in your shoes! I let my daughter cry after she was 3 months old, but at 6 months, she started to pull up on her crib and would fall. So, I started holding her again. I finally at 10 months, just let her cry at night. We have a routine, and I lay her down at night when she is sleepy. She cried for 30-45 minutes the first couple of times, but now, she barely cries. I would just let her cry and as Dori W. said, sleep does make a baby sleep better! Good luck. It is hard, I know!!

Hi C.,

I would just let him sleep in the chair for now. He will eventually outgrow it and be uncomfortable sleeping in that position. My daughter slept in her bouncy sit until she was four months, then went to a bassinet, then finally the crib at months.

I wouldn't want to sleep in the crib either...lol The mattresses are so firm to prevent suffocation, etc., but still uncomfortable none the less.

Good luck, and I wouldn't worry,
L.

I was instructed by many specialists: 'maternity class teacher', nurses, pediatricians to never put your baby down while they are 'passed out' but instead, still "groggy". For example, after feeding my first born, I'd see that she was getting really groggy and sleepy and that she was done drinking so I'd quickly put her down in her crib and she'd put herself to sleep. This worked like a charm. She was sleeping through the night (6 hours at a time) first when she was 8 weeks old. She's 2 years old now and sleeps 12 hours through the night, every night.

Also, when she was really little, she had a musical mobile above her crib too that played soothing music and had an automatic shut off timer.

Good luck!

I so feel for you C.!!! Im sure you realize by now that all you did in your baby's earlier months was to start bad habits, and I mean that in the nicest way because Ive done the same thing, "start bad habits" You baby has gotten so use to how you have put him to sleep in the past that its like starting all over from scratch, but worse!!! You are going to have to devote any where from 1week to 1 month to redoing what he is use to. The only thing that helped me was to let my babies CRY!!!!! As long as you know that your baby is physically ok, you need to put the ear pluggs in and just let him or her cry, you can go in and check on your baby every 15 to 30min. to reassure your baby that they are ok, but dont pick your baby up and dont give in. I know it sounds unbarable and you dont know if you can get through it, but its in my oppion the only way to change it. Good luck to you and if you do decide to try this, remember, other moms have had to do it and you can do it for the sake of your child, marriage and yourself.

Do not wait so long to comfort. What worked for me was putting my boys to bed at the same time each night a wake. If they cried I would wait 5 minutes and then go in to comfort without feeding or picking them up, just rubbing their back or tummy and singing/talking softly. Once calm, leave again, and if he starts to cry wait another 5 minutes. I started this young, so it came natural to self sooth and I never had to go in more than once. Your child is a little older, so it may take a few nights for him to figure out what is expected of him, but keep with it and he will learn. Good sleep habits are so important. The 5 minute rule can also be used at night. When my boys would wake I would wait 5 to go in, I almost never had to go in, and my boys have been sleeping through the night from about 1 month old thanks to this.