need bedtime/napping advice

Jacey - posted on 01/03/2010

at least im not the only one with this problem, everyone's always shunning having baby in bed with mommy and when he was younger i didnt do it but now that he's older and much bigger there's not really much risk in his sleeping with us. id try ferber method but only if nothing else works so thank you so much for all the help everyone :] i think we'll try feeding him in his crib and giving him a shirt of mine or something.

Heidi - posted on 01/03/2010

I have to rock or cuddle my 6 mth old to sleep nap or bedtime but before the last month he was waking up all the time so we had to put his crib in his own room. I found that with him in our room he could smell me and would want to be in bed with me instead of laying in his own bed! good luck! try when you're rocking or cuddling him to wrap him in a blanket so that when you put him down its not something new!

Diane - posted on 01/03/2010

My 6-month old wakes up every other hour, all through the night and to avoid getting out of bed, we have decided to abandon the crib for now. But normally how we get him to sleep in his crib is give him his bottle in his crib. Sit by the crib, and feed him while he's lying there. They always fall asleep right after, or sometimes before they finish their bottle. Also, a small blanket, pillow, soft toy on their head or face because they to feel some kind of security. My 6-month old also loves to cover his face with his little pillow, which concerns me sometimes. My mom stitched a small bag, filled with raw rice and lay it across his chest. Babies feel secure, when they have something on their chest and seem to sleep better.

Suzi - posted on 01/03/2010

Quoting Nancy:

We are needing help in this same area. My 5 month old son will go to sleep no problem in his crib for naps and at night. Our problem is he has just started to wake around 4 for a feed and will NOT go back into his crib. He can be fast asleep and wakes as soon as we lye him down. Any suggestions??

Nancy I have found that my girl and alot of other babies find the times between 4 and 6 very restless and are more needy during that time, it is also meant to be a waking period in 4 -6 month old sleeping patterns. You could maybe just wait it out, they are supposed to change their routines around 6 months again and hopefully he'll then start to sleep through that period, or some people suggest waking them half an hour earlier for a feed and they should then go back down...I haven't tried this because I'm scared that this will be the night she sleeps past that point, but in theory it works. The nights that my little one wakes at 3 30 she then goes straight back down till 6 or 6 30 but if she wakes at 4 we are up every 30 mins till 6 when she wants to get up. Sound strange but I know a lot of people with exactly the same issue. ;0)

Nancy - posted on 01/03/2010

We are needing help in this same area. My 5 month old son will go to sleep no problem in his crib for naps and at night. Our problem is he has just started to wake around 4 for a feed and will NOT go back into his crib. He can be fast asleep and wakes as soon as we lye him down. Any suggestions??

Suzi - posted on 01/03/2010

Yeah my little girl has some cuddly rags that she rubs her face in..she always has it over her face when she's sleeping and i try to move it but she just puts it back.. very cute...Dummy doesn't work for her she knows the difference sadly...

Sarah - posted on 01/03/2010

my daughter will fall asleep in her crib as long as i feed her first she has to have the room dark and her blanket up over her face as she rubs this on her face and eyes sometimes she will cry but i will give her her dummy and she will fall asleep. have any of you tried laying your child in there crib with a top or something with your smell on as that is what they are used to i did that with my second daughter.

Suzi - posted on 01/03/2010

I have always BF my 5 month old baby to sleep, I lie down with her in the evenings and feed her in the chair during the day, I also am a bit concerned about how to break the habit and truly cannot handle the idea of crying..I did think about it and I have studied various methods but don't have it in me...every now and then when she is happy enough and full I can lie her down and she'll sing herself to sleep...i decided to take it really slow and only put her down at those times...I am terrified of breaking the trust she has in us and associating her cot with crying and being abandoned...no matter what anyone says EVERYONE eventually learns to sleep..I don't know any adults who don't know how to get to sleep, sure some are insomniacs but we all know how to. At least they will remember the attachment, and although it might make life a bit harder in the mean time but it won't be long before they don't need/want us. We have the rest of our lives to sleep alone in our beds! I have also tried projector toys to no avail...

Catherine - posted on 01/02/2010

My son is just over 5 months and though its really hard I let him cry to get him use to sleeping in his own crib, you dont have to do it for long 1 min the first time and then 2 minutes. They soon learn I have never got past 3 minutes now he sleeps really well on his own and falls asleep on his own, which is a lovely feeling. (top tip - do it when you have time to be togther with your other half then you can support each other through the crying)

Idania - posted on 01/02/2010

Ferber method. If you can handle it. I particularly don't handle my baby crying very well. I always pick him up first cry, but some moms are able to let them cry it out. I just finished reading up on this, and your right, it will be a whole lot easier if you handle it now rather than later. Good luck!