My 10Month Old Daughter Hates Sleeping in Her Crib..

You break the pattern by stopping giving in to her, hard as it is.

In addition to what Sara B. and Cheryl B. advised, do you have another area you can put her crib, even a hallway? That way she won't see you when you go to bed and it will be easier on all of you. Or move you and hubby into the living room, I know a couple who did this, and it worked out great for all involved until they moved to a bigger place when their child was 4.

The only way to break the habit is to put her in the crib and don't take her out. You can try to soothe her by laying her back down and patting her back, but you should not give in and take her out of the crib. If you do, you will start all over the next night. It will probably take 2 - 3 nights, but eventually she will get it.

You could try putting something of yours or something of hers that you've slept with in her crib with her so she can "smell you" but that's really all I can think of.

If you want her to sleep in her crib, you have to be consistent. She has learned that crying = sleeping in mommy's bed. I like the baby whisperer's method, but it's tedious. It's basically, baby cries, you pick her up, soothe her, put her back down. baby cries, you pick her up, soothe her, put her back down. Over and over until she can sleep in her own bed. It's the pick up/put down method. You're showing her that you love her enough to come when she cries, but you aren't going to give in to sleeping in your bed. It should take fewer and fewer times every night until finally, she just sleeps in her own bed.

Many people like the cry it out method, but I've never been able to handle it myself.

The reason "cry it out" works is because a child learns to give up in despair. Even if we can't see the harm it does. We are one of the few places in the world where we expect infants to sleep on their own. It is natural that babies want to be in the presence of another living being. And it's natural that it pains us as parents to try and let them cry and cry until they give up. Good luck, I hope you find something that works for your baby.

Of course she screams when you put her in the crib - she knows you will then pick herup and put her in the bed with you. Smart baby :)

Try moving her crib into the other room - yeah, that means the living room becomes part baby room and begin transitioning her during nap times.

What's wrong with letting her sleep in your bed? Our kids slept in our bed until they were about 16 months. After that we had them sleep in a twin size mattress on the floor. After we were sure they wouldn't fall out, we moved them to an actual bed.

She likes sleeping with you because it's safe. She likes being next to you. When she wakes up in the middle of the night (and we all do that) it comforts her to know that Mom and Dad are right there.

If you're concerned about it becoming a habit you'll have to break, just cross that bridge when you come to it. If you really don't want her in your bed, try reading Elizabeth Pantley's "The No Cry Sleep Solution." She has lots of great ideas.

I decided not to "give in" to Victorian-era parental behavior and we just let them sleep with us until they were 3yo. I don't regret one moment of it.
That said, I bet one of the moms below has some advice that will work for you, they all sound like very reasonable solutions. I just want you to know that your baby isn't doing anything "wrong", she's doing what is normal. It's also not "wrong" to allow her the comfort and security of being close to her parents at night.

Good advice from Cheryl and Sara. I would also add one trick that I learned - put her in her bed AWAKE and calm, but tired, and also, don't wait until too late at night to put her down. At that age, 6pm is the best bedtime (I know that sounds early, but trust me - it works!). Babies put down at that "magic" hour of 6pm tend to sleep longer and more deeply than if you wait until 8, 9, etc.

You can start having her sleep in her crib during the day for her nap times, and then work on putting her down awake for bedtime. She may take a long time to fall asleep, and that is perfectly fine. She may even cry a bit as she settles herself down, and that is okay, too, as long as she is not getting more and more worked up with the crying. It's all part of learning to self-soothe.

It's critical that she is awake when you put her in her crib, because otherwise, she wakes up, it's dark, she has no idea where she is, and no idea how to get herself back to sleep! That is scary for a baby. This is a learned skill. She will get better as time goes by if you just put her down awake, and let her figure out how to get herself to sleep. Then when she wakes up in the middle of the night, she will know where she is, and she will know how to fall back asleep. You may also want to put her down with a special blankie/lovey, or pacifier - whatever she uses to calm herself down during the day.

As much as you may not want to.. A good solution is to just let her cry. Start a good bedtime routine. Once it's time to lay her down just give her a kiss and say good nite. You can check on her every few minutes or so to reassure her that you're still there. But don't pick her up. Just pat her back or something else that she find comforting. It may take a few nights of this, but she will eventually get the hint and sleep.

ETA: I've never tried the no-cry method myself. But CIO is quite successful. Whatever works for your family is what you should do. Obviously if you didn't have a problem with her sleeping in the bed then you wouldn't be asking for advice on how to change it. Don't worry, she's not going to be traumatized by any decision you make here. As long as you're meeting her needs, them she will be fine.