How can i get my baby to fall asleep on her own, without my breast??

Linda - posted on 11/01/2012

My 5 month old wakes up 10-30 min after putting her down. How do I get her to nap longer?

Jay - posted on 10/07/2012

How about playing some white noise or music? I use this iphone app which plays soothing noises. You can record your own sounds or voice too.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/soothe-my...

Zofia - posted on 01/12/2010

Hi, I am a mom of three daughters (ten, five and one) have some experience:) First of all, in my opinion do not think it is a problem, that such a small baby does not fall asleep alone. She needs time. If you still breastfeed it´s great, let her enjoy!
My smallest daughter also falls asleep on my breast, this is the last step in day routine. It´s very important for you to relax, otherwise she will be stressed, too. Lights or music cannot replace You!

Julie - posted on 01/09/2010

My son is getting used to having his bottle/sippy cup (trying to transition) then I tell him it is night night time and take him to his bed. I snuggle him while he has his last drink then lay him down. He usually cries for about 2 min then poof out like a light. He just turned 12 months old. he has always been good at sleeping through the night though. Neither of my children ever had anything in their crib though. I also make sure I am giving him his drink and bed time routine at around the same time every night. Hang in there, you are not alone and it will work, just takes some time.

Erin - posted on 01/08/2010

How has it been going so far? i know this is a late post but any bit helps. I say try everything!!! my son is quite independent...from the time he was 4 months old there were times he didn't want to be held to fall asleep and then there were times he just wanted to be held. he wanted that extra time with me i guess.

an hour before he goes to bed we just snuggle together, i give him some milk (he's 13 months) and i give him his binkie and we have our time...sometimes he's fallen asleep but most of the time he doesn't. then i just lay him in his crib. if they get relaxed and calmed down they are sometimes more likely to go to sleep on their own.

i hope you find something that helps!!! don't stress though, if you get stressed, they can tell and they will just get more upset. my son has tried a few times to wake up to play in the night, months ago, and i went in, laid him down and told him in a soothing voice that it was time for bed and he needed his sleep. i dunno why but it worked.

Michelle - posted on 01/07/2010

My daughter is the exact same way...If she gets up in the middle of the night she will not go back to bed...she will cry and cry until we get her..then she will fall asleep in our bed.

Lakia - posted on 01/07/2010

At nigth, I give my daughter a bath, and then maybe a bottle of water. She has at least two teddies in her Crib and her blanket. But she normally falls asleep on her own. She knows after the bath is bed time, so she pretty much is in a routine. During the day, I put her in her crib after she has eaten and leave her by herself. Some children have to be left alone and not so dependent on their parents. My daughter is pretty good. Just remember you are the mom and you know best.

Jenni - posted on 01/06/2010

My son sleeps through every night (since he was 8 weeks, he is now 1 year), but he wont go down on his own either! We have a set bed time and should he not be asleep by this time we put him in his cot, he falls asleep after crying for about 15 mins, but has a really bad night sleep, he wakes up grumpy and falls back asleep within a couple of hours. So I suppose I prefer when he falls asleep with me, I have a happier baby! Will have to see what this year brings! :-) Good luck to you all.

Daisy - posted on 01/06/2010

Routine seems to have worked for us, I started with bedtime routine same time every night dinner at 6 a little play around then bath at 7-7:15 boob then straight to bed. He falls asleep without a fuss. I have been lucky though I started his routine at about a month and at 2 months he was sleeping 8-10 hours every night... Now that he is 1 he sleeps nearly 12 hours every night. Naps were harder and for a while I had a good routine with those which was diaper, boob, story and then bed. We feel out of the habit and I was boobing him to sleep until a couple months ago. I waited till he was healthy and not teething and just replaced the boob with a story and it worked a treat. But every baby is different and so what works for one may not work for another. I do know the older they get the harder it is to break certain bad habits... Good luck these babies can be so tricky sometimes

Tracey - posted on 01/06/2010

Sorry, Didn't breast feed at all. But most people don't like this idea...I am a fan of them learning to fall asleep...IE...you have to let them cry some. That's how I did it.

Nuraan - posted on 01/05/2010

My babygirl is a year old, and from 5months old she followed her routine of bath, reading a story book and her bottle then she falls asleep. The only problem I have is that she only falls asleep with her bottle or being comfortable when she is in my arms, I am still trying to get her to fall asleep on her own. When I put her in her crib with the bottle she won't fall asleep.
But thanks guys for some insightful comments, I'll try some of it, but I think that when they older as in this stage of 12months then they have a mind of their own!

Regina - posted on 01/05/2010

I just went through this last week. My son couldn't fall asleep without a bottle. We do his basic routine dinner, bath, book, bed.. same time every day. I made sure his belly was completely full and tried giving him a bottle of water for nap/bed time the first day instead of formula. He drank about an ounce, cried for 3 minutes, played around in his crib, and then passed out on his own. We did this the next day, and he didn't even care to drink the bottle.. He laid there for a little while, cried for again 3 minutes or less, and then finally fell asleep on his own. I think as long as they have a full belly, a clean diaper, and good nightly routine that they will totally fall asleep on their own. The first couple of nights are the hardest but don't give up!! My doctor recommended me letting him cry it out because he was only crying and screaming for me to come pick him up. Honestly, my baby is the happiest and he has no problem going to sleep now. It was sadly worth the few tears he had to cry. They will get it all on their own.

Lily - posted on 01/05/2010

my baby 1 yr 1 month old too cant sleep without breastfeeding first . she wakes up at night several times if i don give her a bottle she cries n wont sleep again i guess babies are different and u shld give her wat she wants one day she will grow out of the habit

Tracey - posted on 12/11/2009

Sometimes you just have to let them cry a little...they have to learn to put themselves to sleep. Use a routine....bath, read books, change into pajamas...etc...and then leave in crib....let cry for 15 minutes, got back and comfort and keep trying....I did this for 3 nights and on the forth night, my son put his head down and went to sleep. Good luck.

Jodee - posted on 12/10/2009

Elizabeth Jordan ... I absolutely love your post! That you don't mind it because he is such a happy baby! I feel the exact same way!

And Jamie Machtemes ... I feel your pain with the not being able to cuddle. They grow so fast.

My daughters routine has always been bath , bottle , then bed. She falls right to sleep right after her bottle. We hold her and rock her in a recliner that we have. She set this routine up herself when she was a newborn. This is how she wanted it. After her bath she wanted her bottle Immeditely. LOL and has ever since. And I guess once she gets it she is content enough to go to sleep. We take her and put her in her crib after she falls asleep. She would sleep all the way through the night but she wakes up if she has a pee diaper. If her diaper would stay dry all night long she would stay asleep all night long. After she wakes up she wants to come in bed with us. We tried the letting her cry herself to sleep. It's not for us! I know it will be hard ... but we will break her of the rocking / sleeping in our bed when she is old enough to understand what is going on. And yes i realize she will also be old enough to fight back even harder. But it's what works best for us. And mine has been such a happy baby from day one also! So I really don't mind it.

Jamie - posted on 12/06/2009

My daughter has been going to sleep with her musical teddy bear since she was less than a month old. I will not go anywhere without that bear or her favorite blanket, because the moment I hand her blanky to her and turn the bear music on, she starts rubbing her eyes and making her sleepy coo noises. It's all about routine and familiarity. It's gotten to a point where if I try to rock her to sleep, or let her lay with me on my bed, she will NOT lay down and sleep... I HAVE to put her in her own crib which I guess is nice because it's easier, but I don't get to cuddle my sleepy girl very often then. LOL

Becky - posted on 12/04/2009

Quoting skye:

i stoped breastfeeding wen i he was 9 months through the day n only breastfeed in the middle ov the nit no he sleepes with bottle! min is 11 months and he wont sleep without bottle its comfort to them try playin with her b4 she goes to bed tier her out n she will soon let you no wen shes tired n just rock her x trust it works xxx

It is not good to put them down with a bottle.... at least not one with anything but water because this can cause tooth rot.  Plus, they get dependant on it so you will eventually have to wean them from that as well.  My son goes down well, we have a bed time routine as well; Dinner, bath, breast/bottle and then bed (he lays down awake and just falls asleep with a pacifier, but I do not look forward to breaking him of that habit!) Good luck.

Ange - posted on 12/02/2009

I have a bed time routine my mine includes rocking her to sleep. My baby is now a year and she doesn't fall asleep on her own nor does she sleep through the night yet. We are going to start a new bed time routine of only rocking for about 10 minutes then in the crib. Then going down to 5 minutes then crib. I know its going to take a long time to get her in this habit but once she knows that mom and dad wont rock her all night she'll do fine. They do not rock her at day care.

Elisabeth - posted on 11/28/2009

I have the same problem. You are not alone. I don't mind it, though, because he is a happy baby.

Skye - posted on 11/28/2009

i stoped breastfeeding wen i he was 9 months through the day n only breastfeed in the middle ov the nit no he sleepes with bottle! min is 11 months and he wont sleep without bottle its comfort to them try playin with her b4 she goes to bed tier her out n she will soon let you no wen shes tired n just rock her x trust it works xxx

Angela - posted on 11/28/2009

I agree with Sophia...since she's already 11 months and set in her ways...you could start with the naps (I mean, no breast) for nap time...then once she gets use to that you could do "night" bed time and it won't be so foreign to her...I'm having a little of that issue myself so I know what you're going through...My first son was easy cause he took a pacifier (no bottle for either one) however my second son won't take a pacifier so it's been a little more tricky..good luck and just stick with it..;o)

Sophia - posted on 11/25/2009

I dont know if you mean her head on your breast or breast feeding, but either way babies have to LEARN how to put themselves to sleep. They need to learn that they can fall asleep without you. Try getting into a bedtime routine. something you can stick with. Mine is bath, snack, book, rock(1-2 mins) then i put him in crib. His routine sounds long but takes 30 minutes. The routine helps to comfort them. my 11nth old also has a nte light in his room and the same music plays every night. These are also constants that he can rely and help him feel safe. after they get used to the routine you wont have to be as strict with it. we started that routine at 6months and now he will go to bed without some of it. He always has light and musci though :)