Help! I'm looking for some advice to get my 9 month old daughter to sleep in her crib. She can sleep through the night in our bed. She doesn't even have to be next me... As long as she's in our bed..she's happily sleeping. I've tried letting her fall asleep in our bed then trying to move her to the crib. It's likeshe knows because she wakes up as soon As I get near the crib. She won't fall asleep in the crib as I've tried letting her cry it out... But she will cry forever. She's at that stage where she rolls all over the place and I don't want her to fall off our bed. We're also expecting another baby in 2 months so really want her to sleep independently. I've looked for a crib topper but haven't had much luck finding any. She goes to day care full time anther teachers there'd say she takes 2 naps a day in their cribs. I've asked them how they do it and it just doesn't work at home. When she was younger, she didnt have much trouble sleeping in her crib but now it's impossible. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
could it be the smell? Try sleeping with several of her blankets and moving the whole thing?
She lost her shaky trust in you since you are pushing her out of the bed. She also knows another baby is coming far too early for her. Do you know that Native Peoples tried to have each of their children 4 (four) years apart so that each one would have enough emotional and physical support.
This is the very reason why our great grandmothers lost so many children. There were too many too close in age. Each one didn't get enough from the mother and so many died of diseases that could have been treated if caught in time and of accidents. It is really stressful to have such a young baby with a new one on the way. You need someone to give you household help once the new baby is born so you can devote your time to the children.
When I had a problem like yours my mother gave me common sense advise to put the crib next to my side of the bed so my baby could hear me breathing and I could hold her hand when she stirred.
ease her in the crib. start by rocking/ or letting her fall asleep on your lap somewhere else(sitting on the couch etc) when she finally doses off and gets in to second gear(second gear=the sleep where the slightest thing won't wake her) then put her in her crib. if she wakes up let her stay there for a minute then if she doesn't go back to sleep then go get her and try again. keep doing this until she gets the point. when she gets nap time together, then start again for bedtime. this is a long process and it can take awhile for it to set in her but eventually she will get it together. i had to go through this with my son as well right around the age that your daughter is now. and someone on mamapedia gave this advice and so did my mom. i was ok with my son sleeping with me to until i couldn't take it anymore and i wasnt getting any sleep but he was sleeping just as good!! lol i regret ever let him get comfortable in my bed. best wishes!
It sounds like maybe its a touch of separation anxiety, and that she is just more comfortable knowing that you are at least there if she needs you.
I would put something that smells like you in here crib with her, and also a night light is good too. For my son, we got one of those musical sea horses you can buy at like Walmart for cheap. It plays for 5 minutes, and its belly is lighted. It soothes him, and it's familiar so he feels safer.
Also, maybe it's the mattress she is sleeping on? I know a lot of times that affects their sleeping too. Again, with our son his crib started creaking so we put some oil spray on the springs so it doesnt do it anymore, and he sleeps better.
The crying it out thing is hard. You just have to rock her for a bit, then put her in there and walk out and let her cry for a minute or two, if she doesnt stop, go back in, lay her back down, turn the music back on, fix her blanket etc, and then walk back out. Do this until she sleeps, she will get it after a few times, and a even a few days.
Consistency is the key! Dont give up, she needs to learn that her crib is where she should be. And it gets better, dont worry. You may even want to think about changing her bed time routine, or starting one. We always do, feeding, warm bath, hot bottle, rock and then bed.
Hope this helps, and that things get better, best wishes!
I had the same issues with my oldest son. I "Ferberized" him. It took less than a week when I did exactly what the book, "Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems", by Richard Ferber, said to do. I think it was three nights and then he slept through the night in his own crib. I was skeptical, but it worked. You just have to stick with it, and remember it's NOT going to hurt them. It's harder on you than it is on them.
Sleep with some crib sheets and then place one on the mattress. Is she sleeping on her tummy? Lay her down in the position she likes to sleep in.
Make sure the lighting is as close to the way your bedroom is lit.
My pediatrician told me to let my son cry it out. Then he added even if it took 2 hours! Yikes but we did it! Luckily he never cried 2 hours but he did over an hour. It took about 3 days. I wouldn't suggest getting her to sleep elsewhere and trying to move her. They are smart. If she went to sleep with mom or being rocked that's how she expects to wake up. Babies naturally wake periodically so they need to learn to self soothe and go back to bed on their own. My pedi also told me not to check on him while he was crying. He believed if my son saw me it would prolong the process. It was soooo hard and there are people that believe it's wrong but I think it was well worth it now that everyone is getting a good nights rest in our house. I would also try to get her take her naps in her crib as well. Consistency. My son is 10 mo old and takes two 2 hour naps a day and sleeps from 7 to 7. Pretty good!
How long is "forever"? We never let our baby sleep in the bed with us, so I can't completely relate but I think every baby needs to learn that the crib is their sleeping place. Our crying-it-out-limit was 30 minutes; then we would go in his room, console and comfort and rock in a chair, and then transition him back into the crib. Eventually the baby will get too tired to put up a fight and just give up and crater from exhaustion. Their little bodies just can't stay up forever. It will be hard on you the first week. Our fight was about 3 weeks, each day getting better than the last. It's like breaking a horse to ride - you just can't give in. But my wife is still wishing to find a 4-way switch on our son that says Eat-Sleep-Happy-Cuddle.
