Seeking Advice on Putting My 11 Month Old down for a Nap in Crib.

the only thing I remember doing to help my son with little changes like that is I actually took the sheet/blanket/pillowcase.. whatever his head was usually on (in my bed) and I took it off and stuck it under him in his crib so he had the same feeling and scent in there with him. Good luck..

Hi there, my son also went through this. I could only get him to sleep on our bed. I think it had to do with our room being darker and maybe it was cozier? Does he sleep in his crib at night? My son would sleep in his crib at night no problem, so, you know what I did? I let him sleep on our bed! Sleep is important for him and for your sanity too... I say, pick your battles, if this isn't a big one for you,then just let him sleep where he may and enjoy your time.. :)

J. it sounds to me that your little guy is ready to be a big guy. Maybe if you let him help pick out his own "new big boy bed" things may change. I know my boys would have wanted a "Race Car" bed but they got bunks! Oh well, I hope this helps!

I would like to know any tips about this, as well. I have a wonderful, happy 7 month-year-old boy who is content most of the day, as long as we are interacting with him. And as for napping, I could jump up and down and turn cartwheels while holding him while he naps, but he wakes up and usually won't go back to sleep if I put him down.

Hey J.,
Rocking him to sleep sounds good, also try music to get him to sleep. You say he will sleep on your bed, so try a blanket or shirt of yours in the crib with him, he may be more comfortable in your bed because it smells like mommy.:)
Good Luck

I'm giving you my standard advice. Our doctor recommended it for us when my son was 9 months old and not sleeping at all! It saved our lives. Take whatever t-shirt you've worn that day and give it to your son 15 min. before bedtime. It should smell like you. Put him in his crib with some favorite toys, your shirt, a bottle of water and a binkie (if you use them). Stay by the crib as he tries to settle himself. I also have a fisher price aquarium that my son loves. He was able to turn it on and off at 8 months. He loves the lights and the music. Now, at 14 months, he can change the music! The first time I tried this, he clutched the t-shirt and breathed in deeply. He then put his head down on the shirt. Popped back up to look at me, head back down. Hand reached through the crib to touch me, smiled, and fell asleep.

That night, in the middle of the night, I heard him stirring. He got the bottle, took a drink, put the binkie back in his mouth, curled up on the shirt and went back to sleep. I hope this helps.

I also never cared too much where he napped. He often napped in his stoller, the carseat or even on me. Once we tried the t-shirt trick, it was easier to get him to nap in the crib. I save the shirt for naps and bedtime so he associates it with comfort and sleep. The other thing that helped me was the book, Good Night, Sleep Tight as I wasn't going to let him scream.

I hope all this helps. Sleeping and napping can be so stressful! I also try and put him in his crib when I'm folding his clothes and doing things in his room. I want him to see his crib as a fun place to be, with cool toys attached to the side. That way he doesn't see it as a lonely cage when you put him down and walk away. If he knows how to play in there, maybe he'll play a bit and then fall asleep without crying. My son does. What a magical day that was! Good luck!

buy the book - solving my children's sleep problems by Richard Ferber - it works like a dream - I used it for two girls and it's great.....Good Luck

He screams his head off because he knows that eventually you will take him out. If you really want him to take his nap in the crib, then you can't take him out once he's in. The first couple of times his screaming will last a while, but then he will fall asleep and from then on will not give you a problem. If you don't want him taking naps in your bed, then do not put him there.

J.
Is he sleeping in his crib during the night? If he is, unless you have a real issue with it, sleeping on mommy's bed at nap time is ok. If you do have an issue, then let him fall asleep in your bed and transfer him into his crib/playpen when he has fallen asleep. Good luck.

J. why don't u try lying with him on your bed until he falls asleep and totally out of it and then put him in his crib, try this and see how it works but don't fall for the I feel guilty scam for they would let u feel that way.

Good luck.

R. M.

If he's sleeping in his crib at night, I don't think its a big deal that he sleep on your bed during nap time. I let my son do this too when he was little. He eventually went to sleep in the crib and then they end up on a toddler bed or climbing out of the crib.
Give it a try again next month, or try putting him in his crib after he falls asleep on the bed. The other thing I used to do was lie down next to the crib and pretend I was sleeping. I never did the cry-it-out thing. He'd eventually fall asleep, then I'd get up and leave. A nice little mommy break.

Hi J.,

I have an 18 month old boy who is the same way. Interestingly, my husband can get him to take naps in his crib, but he won't do it for me. I will also add that if he naps in his crib, he sleeps for a shorter period of time then on my bed, so I don't have an issue with him napping on my bed. He goes into his crib at night at 8pm and wakes between 5-6am consistantly. I would tell you if it is really an issue, you may just have to let him cry it out during the day in the crib...it's tough.

I guess the question I have is, does he sleep in his crib at night and is this where you want him to be sleeping all the time. because if it's not a matter of getting him accustomed to his crib, then getting a cozy nap in your bed where he might get comfort from your energy and scent might be just fine. My daughter never got used to a crib and napped in our bed most of the time. We used a guardrail to keep her safely in and turned on the monitor. Best of luck
L.

Same thing happened with my 1 year old about a month ago. He used to love to sleep in his crib for his naps all the time, though. Then suddenly, one day he would wake up every half hour. So I started rocking him to sleep about 1 hour later in his stroller and that's where he takes his long morning nap now. (Moved it from about 9/9:30 to 10/10:30) Hope this helps!

Hi J.!
The book "Healthy sleep habits happy child" by Mark Weissbluth changed my life. I would so recommend you read it. More than anything it explains and outlines how sleep patterns evolve and the diff stages kids go through. It gave me the courage to make the changes necessary and showed me the dire consequences of not. It helped with my kids as newborns, making the transitiion from crib to bed, naptimes, and helped us recognise the sleep apnea our son developed, so that he had his tonsils and adenoids removed and he could get solid developmental sleep!

Good luck!

Hi. We had trouble putting our daughter down at night - she screamed and screamed. The Ferber method worked for us. The basic concept is that you let the child cry for longer and longer periods before going in to comfort him( e.g. 5 min, then 10 min, then every 15 minutes), and each time you go in, just stay for a minute, and just comfort/reassure him. Don't take him out of the crib, and don't worry if he doesn't stop crying - making him stop crying is not the point of going in, reassuring him is. Eventually he will stop crying, and it will require fewer and fewer trips to his room before he goes down. He will basically learn that crying won't get him what he wants, and that he is okay in the crib. It worked for us. Should take no more than two weeks. Good luck!!