Sleep Problems!! My son won't sleep through the night still (let alone in his Crib)

Danielle - posted on 04/06/2010

he has you figured out. it will take some time, but you can do it - baby steps. night one, you (or your husband, since it was his fault *haha, jk) sleep in his room with him during the night. on the floor or wherever. just so he's a little more comfortable. make it fun. then night two, you sleep further away, but still there. night three, you sit in the room with him until he goes to sleep. night four, you do this again, but leave the room when he's not quite asleep yet. night five, you leave a little bit earlier... and so on. he may cry but he'll eventually realize that you aren't giving in.

another suggestion:
if my son (who usually sleeps fine in his own room) comes into my room at night or anything now, i don't let him sleep in our bed with us. i make him a little bed on the floor with a pillow and blanket. this is what worked with me when i was little. i didn't like sleeping on the floor in my parents room. it was scarier than sleeping in my bed. so i stopped going in there. my little boy is the same way. he has slept on the floor in our room a couple times, but usually only if he's feeling sick or something. so you could try that. if he's sleeping in his own place whether it's on the floor or in his own bed, it's a step away from him being out of your bed at least.

about the bottle, i never had my kids on one so i really have no clue there. but i suggest not giving in when he wants milk instead of water. if your firm, you're the boss. hope that helped at least a little bit. good luck!

Abby - posted on 04/05/2010

I had the same issues with my 16 month old boy, and this is what worked for us:



During the day, I would put him in his crib for "play time" and would sometimes even climb in there with him. We would read books, cuddle, nurse, etc. just so he got comfortable with his crib and knew it was a happy place.

He would still take naps in our bed, but at night I would put him in there when he was almost completely asleep, then would sing to him until he would go to sleep. Most nights he wouldn't go to sleep with me in there (Mom = playtime!) and I would just have to leave him. It was terribly hard to listen to him cry, but my husband adn I just got some earplugs (they don't block out all the crying, but it certainly "takes the edge off"). It will probably take a few nights or weeks, but eventually he'll understand that night time is for sleeping and mom and dad aren't going to come play with him/feed him all night. Good luck :)