My son has been a great napper. I take a lot of extra steps to ensure he has a good nap....maybe too many considering he is 16 months old now. I rock him while giving him a bottle of formula and when he is finished with the bottle I rock him for at least 5-10 more minutes until I'm sure he is fully asleep. He is able to go to sleep on his own at night but has never been able to during nap time.
I am 8 months pregnant and have realized that I need to change his nap time routine - I won't be able to spend 15 or more minutes putting him down to nap when I have a newborn baby to attend to.
My question is this:
Does anyone have advice on how to go about getting him to fall asleep on his own? As I'm typing this my son is in his crib crying for me because I shortened his nap time routine i.e., I gave him his bottle while rocking him but I did not wait until he was fully asleep - I put him in the crib drowsy. He has now been crying for 50 minutes straight. I think I'm going to go to him now. I just needed to know if there is anything else I can do besides what I've been doing - I hate to hear him cry...it tears me apart. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
After two days of trying my new cry it out method Isaac has been doing a lot better. Yesterday he only cried for 2 minutes and today he cried for 20 minutes.
Just a note - I already own the Healthy Sleep Habits book by Weissbluth. My husband and I used all the methods when Isaac was younger...nothing worked. We tried for weeks but not a lot helped. We did start ignoring Isaac at night after he went to bed and that worked but that was about the only thing that helped us from the book. We think he may have been colicky but we can't be sure. I may use the book for my next son depending on what kind of a baby he is.
Thanks again for all the support and advice you've given me. It means a lot to know that other mothers are available to help if I need it. :)
Good job! It's so hard to change things around with those unhappy faces but it looks like you have it!
K.,
I was going to suggest just letting him cry himself to sleep, but it looks like that already worked for you. The best thing to do is put them to bed while they're still drowsy and let them fall asleep in their own crib. My daughter is almost one and sleeps the best when she's put in bed drowsy. If I try when she's sound asleep she'll wake up about 5-10 minutes later screaming because she's disoriented and no longer where she fell asleep.
The length of his crying should lessen with each day as he realizes that everything is still okay in his world.
The hardest thing as a parent is to listen to your own child crying for you.
Hope this helps,
Melissa
Get the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth. It expains basic sleep concetps and also expert advice and tips based on age groups. I know there's not much time to read when you're a mom but you won't regret it and you'll benefit tremendously and so will your children, I know I did. My pediatrician recommended it. He has 6 kids and also uses the techniques. So does Cindy Crawford.
Hi K.-
As a mom of 4 under 6 years old, I know- a good nap is so critical! Consistency is really key - stick with it and the amount of time your baby cries will probably shorten quickly over the next week if you make efforts to be consistent. Changes to the routine seem to throw the kids off and they can get confused as to what to expect and what is expected. I also would recommend talking to the child and let them know what is expected in very simple terms (don't explain the "why" too much). "OK Sweetie, it's nap time, we'll get your bottle and then you will lay down and go to sleep." Those little brains understand so much more than we think they do. Maybe try to make time for special cuddle time or a book after nap time as a reward for taking a good nap. Good luck - keep it up. Each babe is such a blessing, congrats on the next and enjoy every day!
