First Time Mom - Abington,PA

Hi. Congratulations on your baby! No, it is not too late to train him to sleep in his crib. Try this: start off slowly. When he is awake and happy, put him in his crib and let him play so that he starts to get used to the space and will know that it is his. Stay in the room with him and talk to him, tell him he's a good baby and that this is his crib (you know, just say positive things and smile a lot. Believe me, he will follow your lead. If Mommy shows that this is okay, he will trust you.) Secondly, start putting him down for his daytime naps in the crib. He will cry at first because it is something new. When he cries, go in and reassure him, but try not to pick him up. You can rub his back for a short while or sing him a short song, then leave. Let him cry maybe 5 minutes, then go back and do the same thing. Over time, whenever you feel comfortable, increase the amount of time between when you go back in the room to check on him by a minute each time. It may take a few days, or it may take a few weeks. You have to be consistant and don't give in. When you give in, you are really just confusing him. When he does fall asleep you should congratulate him when he wakes up that he slept in his crib. Lots of hugs, kisses and reassurance. I did this with both of my kids and it worked great. Now, they did scream their heads off and it made me feel bad, but I hung in there and I'm so glad I did. My son is 8 months old now and I did this with him when he was about 5 months. Now I can just put him in his crib and he goes to sleep on his own. I love it! You will, too. Good luck. :)

start off slowley try letting him take his naps in his crib first and still let him have his nights in his pack and play with you my son refused to sleep in his crib so we set the pack and play up in our room as he got used to sleeping threw the night we moved the pack and play out into the hall leaveing our bedroom door open so he still felt like he was in the room with us eventually we moved the pack and play into his room and let him sleep in it at night and in his crib during the day until he was napping for several hours during the day in his crib then we moved him from the pack and play into the crib at night one thing you do want to avoid is giveing a bottle to sooth him he will wake up to have that bottle even if he otherwise used to sleep threw the night with my son I would go in and check on him if he happened to wake up make sure he wasnt wet or messy or his sheets were not messy and that he wasnt to hot other then that I let him be I would talk to him to he was calmer or sing him a song then leave most times he would go back to sleep on his own. good luck

You are NOT too late. My kids didn't sleep in their room alone until they were 9 months. But, that was because of us. Like someone else said, try putting him in his crib for naps first. Something DH and I did was sleep in their room for a couple of nites until they got used to it. Once they (and we) were comfortable we went back into our own room. Good luck!!

Hi J.,

Maybe you can try putting his pack n play in his own room first to see if he is waking up because he is in his own room or because he is not with you. If he is more comfortable in his pack n play, let him sleep in there. At least you will be geting a good night's rest and your baby is too! Some babies may be frightened by a crib because it is so open and the bars are scary. A pack n play may give more comfort. Both of my boys took naps in their pack n plays in my living room until they were two. I never had them nap in their cribs. Good Luck!!

Check out Dr. Sears, great advice that supports gentle parenting. Letting a child cry to force sleep training is not good for the baby. There are other ways.

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/7/T070100.asp