I have a newly minted 2 month old who will not fall asleep unless she's being held and rocked, nursed, or in her swing chair. I'd really like to start getting her used to the idea of falling asleep on her own, in her bassinet/co-sleeper would be even better. She's actually in the bed with us for now, which is working, but I'd still like her to be able to learn to fall asleep on her own (regardless of where!) I've tried looking for her sleepy signs, putting her in the co-sleeper then lying down in bed next to her and patting her to let her know I'm there. She'll stay calm and awake for up to an hour but then end up crying and not falling asleep until we pick her up.
Any ideas? Is 2 months just too young to expect her to fall asleep any other way?
All I can say is go to www.askdrsears.com and read up on sleep. This web site (and his books) have gotten my through many issues of parenting. Dr. Sears is strongly against cry-it-out methods and he has great information on why you shouldn't do it. Good luck.
Hi A.-
I am a first-time mom as well. I have a 7 month old and we had the same problem for the first several months. This is going to sound funny, but there was a period where my huband or i had to sit on my stability ball/exercise ball with our daughter and bounce her until she fell asleep. It sounds strange, but that is the only way we could get her to sleep!! And then sometimes, as soon as we would put her down, she would wake up and start crying. She must have just wanted/needed that closeness of being held. I have read that you can't spoil a baby in those first several months of life, so i just did whatever it was she wanted at the time. I don't think that necessarily will make it harder for them to sleep later on, because she sleeps very good on her own now, and has since about 3 months. I think you should do whatever you feel is best for her and she will learn to sleep on her own eventually! Good luck!
2 months is SO young--she's still very much a newborn, so personally, I wouldn't worry about it too much. ENJOY the snuggling time you get, because it goes by WAY too fast! I miss it so much and my kids are 3 and 1. Personally, we never pushed independent sleeping on our kids when they were young, and they both did GREAT! Our first child wanted more from us than our second when he was an infant, and I worried a little about the toddler years, but he is an excellent sleeper and not dependent at all on us. Newborns are supposed to be dependent! It is so healthy for all their brain connections that are forming. I'd just give it time, wait till she's an older infant, and just enjoy this stage!
I think it's so hard to decide what to do as a first time mother, you are trying to play by the rules...but when it comes down to it you need to trust your own intuition about what your baby needs and how you feel about it. My 3rd son is now almost 11 months old and I am just now letting him "cry it out" and sleep in his bed. Why? Because I enjoyed him so much having him sleep with me and having him near...I wanted to just enjoy him and not worry so much about what he or I was "supposed to be" doing. I hope this helps a little.
My son had horrilbe sleep issues. A friend of mine, whom I noticed her baby was ALWAYS happy, suggested I go out and but the book "Health Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Dr. Marc Wessbluth. I talked to my husband and asked him to just follow my lead. Sure enough, I followed the advice in the book (one method is cry it out, and the other is not). Within 4 days they (my twins) were on a great schedule. They are a year old and are AWESOME sleepers. They go to bed every night at 6pm and don't wake until 6am or 7 the next morning. They take a morning and afternoon nap!
Hi A.,
I have gotten all my kids to fall asleep on their own right from the start, you just have to train them to do so.
So her is my advice.
* get her on a good routine now, getting up and getting dressed and ready for her day. keeping the house bright during the day and noisy and dark and quiet at night
* try putting a heating pad in her bassinet to warm it up before you lay her down and then removing it before you put her in there.
* you can try swaddling her at night time but I would use recieving blankets rolled up like logs at naptime.
* a trick for the swing...when she falls alseep in it, gradually staret slowing down the speed of the swing each time to where when she does fall alseep you can just shut it off.
* for you rocking her stop rocking her 5 minutes less each time, to where finally you just lay her down.
* also take a shirt you have worn and put it over the bassinet matress (don't wash it) this way your scent is there all the time.
Hope one or all of these helps, W.
Hello A.,
Your sweet baby is a little bit young to expect great sleeping. I happen to be a fan of CIO, but it didn't work for my second son who is very strong-willed and had reflux (he learned Mommy was a crib because I had to hold him upright after he ate). Anyway, the Sleep Sense program really worked for us. http://www.sleepsense.net/ It's expensive, but when you're not getting sleep, it is soooo worth it! LOL! Anyway, it uses CIO, but you are always with your baby while it's happening. It's a gradual approach that takes 10 days (not like some that take MONTHS!!!). It made all the difference for us. It will teach you to encourage good sleep habits now, so that your sweet baby can learn to sleep better and maybe never need to CIO. Hope that helps! Amanda
Alice-
I rocked my little girl as long as she would let me. I figure there will be a time when she won't want to be seen with me so why not take advantage of it for as long as possible. I think if she is still wanting that I would rock her as long as she needs it. If she is sleeping on her own once you rock her that is great. Mine slept through the night at 5 weeks but was still rocked. Do what you feel comfortable with but if she wants you I would hang on as long as possible.
Best of Luck!
My son is 4 1/2 months, and just last night we began putting him down by himself. He normally sleeps with us in bed. You really should invest in an AMBY bed. Google it and you'll find the website. It is amazing!! My son absolutely loves it! He slept most of the night in it last night, with no crying. We used to have to walk him to sleep every night, but with this bed you bounce your baby to sleep. You have to see it to believe it. I highly recommend it, and so does Dr. Sears. I hope this helps.
Too young still, I think. It might help if you give her something with your smell on it, though. A shirt that has not been washed. Since you are breastfeeding, it might be a while before she can fall asleep on her own. She needs your nurturing and you will be able to sense when she is ready for the next step.
Ok, my kids slept w us when they got older so have no idea as a baby, but I do daycare and the one child I have is swaddled every night she loves the tightness. They make swaddling blankets that you can purchase. I personally after learning with my children being in bed with us when they got older it is a very very very very hard habit to break, and you and your spouse will find it hard to have "your time". But swaddling really seemed to work for this baby I would give it a try, here is a link for what they look like http://www.babyslumber.com/swaddlingblankets.html this one even shows the directions.
I think 2mths is a little to young to fall asleep on their own, I always rocked,held, nursed my son from birth to 6mths. He actually started sleeping all nite at 2mths. Babies at that age need to closeness of mommy/daddy. They say from birth to 6mths its ok to coddle your baby.
