Baby Won't Sleep in Crib

We went through the same thing with Jacob, now 7 months old and prefers to sleep alone. My son is very sensitive to light and sound. He needs a dark room and soft music to drown out outside noises. We started putting him in a bassinet next to the bed when we realized that he wasn't sleeping soundly in bed with us. He would wake up when one of us moved or snored. It took some work to get him to settle in the crib. We swaddled him (which he loved) and I would reach in and touch him if he got upset. At about 4 months we transitioned to the crib. However, he did spend some time in there to prepare him for the big day. We put him in there to nap and sometimes play, while I took a quick shower. Now he sleeps well in his own crib but be careful (he relies on his routine of music, a bottle and his crib). I also find I really look forward to night time feedings with him a little farther away.

Good Luck

Ah, this one will be hard for you. My oldest, who is 10 now, was colicky for her first three months, thus she ended up in bed with us most every night. Getting her into the crib was very difficult. She bawled a LOT! So what I did was put the crib right next to my side of the bed. This way, even though we were seperated, I could reach my hand in to comfort her. You have to be firm! It's hard to hear your precious cry but they really need their own bed. I kept the crib right up against the bed for a month if I remember right, then moved it a few feet away. Then after she was used to that, it was up against the wall...and so on, until within a few months she was a pro at sleeping in her own space. Be strong! Love can be tough.....

Hi B.,

3 months is quite young. Neither of my children learned how to self-soothe this early on. I know a lot of other kids do, but some children take a little longer.
Don't beat yourself up.

I am breaking my baby in now at almost 7 months....
I wouls say at this point correcting his sleeping habbits as far as a schedule is important.
Even if for a couple of weeks it is you sotthing him.
The short nap probably have to do with sleeping in places like a swing, its not as relaxing, quiet and so forth.
So, maybe sooth him to sleep, then put him in the crib so he starts getting used to waking up in there.

If my baby cries, I go back in, give him the paci and the eventually he wears himself out but he is OLDER ;)

It's hard, both of mine swaet, threw up.... I think they are ready at a certain point. I', not giving up with mine.
He sleeps through the night no prob, but laying him down awake is drama drama..
Hope it ends soon;)

I don't have a colicky baby...but we had to let our daughter start crying herself to sleep at 3 months. She doesn't take a passifier, so she has to figure out to self soothe herself. I have another child (3 years) so I couldn't take the time out to rock her all the time. It has been really difficult, but she shows progress everyday. I have had a few days where it's taken her anywhere from an hour to two hours ( This was with me checking on her every 15 minutes). I know that sounds crazy, but once you start the whole process you can't look back. Or else you ruin all the progress you've already started. This has been one of the most difficult things I've EVER had to do. She is also very sensitive towards sounds. So imagine living in a two bedroom condo with a 3 year old running around during the day. It makes for some really tough days. But we've pushed through it, and my 4 month old daughter is doing really well.
I have started to use a homeopathic medicine called "Camilia". You can find this in any health food store (Trader Joe or Whole Foods). I just started using this 2 days ago and it's amazing the difference that I've seen in my daughter. She used to cry at least 10-20 minutes before finally going out. Now she doesn't cry at all or only cries about 5 minutes. This medicine is supposed to calm your child down so they don't feel stressed or upset. Let me know if you want more information about this. I would be happy to help out.
My 3 year old daughter was a wonderful sleeper from about her 2 month, so my 2nd daughter has thrown me for a loop. Every child is soooo different.
Good luck. I know it's hard to hear your child cry. But remember that they are NOT in pain & in the end this could be the best thing for everyone. You'll have a few months of trying times, but you'll see the light soon.
A.

We could not get my son to sleep in his crib until he was 3-4 months old either. He was very colicky. What we found is that he needed two things.....to feel safe/enclosed, not out in the open (ie there was too much space and he couldn't feel comfortable) and second, he needed white noise/background noise to help calm him. If you think about it, they have both those in the womb. First we had him in his carseat that was set in the bassinet. Then we moved him to the bassinet and put tightly rolled towels on each side of him to give him more of a sense of security. Then as he got bigger we took the towels out of the bassinet and he slept find just in that. When we moved him to the crib, we did the same thing again, and we got a white noise machine to help cover up household noise and help soothe him.

4 hours is not an abnormal time to sleep. Some babies need more comfort/attention/nourishment than others. My son woke through the night till he was almost a year, at that time I was fairly certain he was just doing it for my attention so we used a gentle night weaning idea that I found in "The No Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley. There may be some good ideas for you in there as well. What about one of those sleep nests that you can put in your bed but will provide a little separation between you and the baby (so he won't be waking you with his wiggling?). This way you could grab him to comfort/feed him and then put him back in it and get more restful sleep?

Also, my son always feel asleep nursing and he turned out fine and sleeps by himself now so don't think that you are doing something wrong if you decide to go that way. I never could do the cry it out thing no matter how many people told me to, and I am so glad I didn't. I feel like my son developed more independence because he KNOWS that if he is hurt or upset Mommy will come to help him. So, he is confident doing things on his own/being on his own. He would wake up in the morning and just hang out in his crib happily for quite a while and I think that that is one of the reasons.

Hi B.,
Check out the No-Cry Sleep Solution and any book by Dr. James McKenna. Babies should not be sleeping with adults on a couch ever... but it is quite safe to sleep with your baby in YOUR bed. I would also recommend reading about the Cry-It-Out method before trying that. It teaches children the wrong message just when they are learning to trust you. It also has been shown to promote overly needy behaviors during the waking hours. If your goal is a happy, healthy kid, you'll probably have to invest a lot of time parenting at night. Some babies need more attention than others. Just don't ignore him when he cries. I understand your position. I have been there. It's tough but it really will pass. I know it's hard, but try your hardest to focus on the positives. It helps a lot.
K.

B.,

Congratulations on your new little boy!

I went through a very similar thing with my now 5 month old son. Rest assured, this too shall pass and eventually things will ease up for you.

I recommend reading "The Happiest Baby on the Block". This book was my saving grace during those first few sleepless months. Swaddling is a wonderful thing! Maybe try to get him used to his crib by placing him in there for a few moments when he is happy and talk to him and smile...maybe he will start to realize that it is not such a bad place. I used to put my son in his crib and turn on the mobile and sing songs to him and it seemed like he became less scared of being in there as time went on. Now he sleeps in there for naps and bedtime with much more ease than I ever thought possible.

Best of luck to you!!
T.