Getting Baby to Sleep in Crib in Their Own Room

i had the same problem and i got tired of my son being in the bed with me so i would feed him then rock him to sleep then lay him in the crib for his nap if and when he woke up i would rock him back to sleep then put him back in the crib. then he realized that the crib was for nap time. so then i did the same thing for night sleep. I had to ease him in there, after that it was smooth sailing. good luck

A few things: He won't end up hating you if you take control of this. Wrap your brain around that once and for all- LOL- because if you start tiptoeing around him at 4 months old, he's going to be a very spoiled little boy! He needs YOU to be the Parent! :-)
Secondly- stop letting him sleep in the carseat. It's not good for his head shape, and his body doesn't get the rest it needs in that position. It works for times when they are sick/need to sit up to breath more clearly when they sleep, but you do NOT want that to become a habit.
His cough should be checked out, just to make sure it isn't something unrelated to a virus. My son had a reflux problem that would make him cough when he was flat on his back, and one of my daughters had allergies to our pets, but I thought her older sister was just bringing home too many colds from school... nope, those runny noses and cough were allergies.

Once you know he's healthy, you will have to forgo some sleep (welcome to parenthood, right? ugh!) and put him sleepy, but not yet asleep, into his crib. Singing is ok when nursing, whatever you want the routine to be, but the key is to not let him go all the way out while you're nursing him. Instead, stop as he starts to snooze, and take him to his bed. Don't stay there, just put him down and leave the room.
It may take a few nights of his waking and fussing, but give him time to settle back down. Since he's still waking to feed at night, this may be hard on you, but it will work itself out.
He's very young, "his whole life" isn't long enough that you can't change the routine. Good luck- you can do this!

Whatever else you do, DO NOT PUT HIM TO SLEEP IN HIS CAR SEAT ANY MORE! A recent study has shown that babies who sleep in their car seats (other than when they are in the car) are more likely to die. The angle the seat holds them in allows their heads to tip forward too much in sleep and can cut off their oxygen. Sure, it doesn't happen to most babies, but it DOES happen.

Now, onto your question... "Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks." I nursed my children to sleep all the time (sometimes having them sleep in the bed with me, sometimes in their crib or bassinet), and it never bothered me, they liked it, and they transitioned to their cribs just fine. I put them down for naps in their cribs, though, all the time, unless I was napping with them. I do not agree with advice to nurse your baby to sleep then wake him up for him to go back to sleep. If they happen to wake up when you transfer them, or if you transfer them when they're half-asleep, sure, pat them on the back to settle them down. In other words, you don't "have to" nurse him to sleep, but there's nothing wrong with it. In fact, my younger son would frequently stop nursing but not be tired, and push me away, and make it quite evident that he wanted to go to his own crib so he could sleep, and not sleep with me (this was in the 6-9 month range and above). I don't know who came up with the idea that moms are "supposed to" put their children down while they're awake. That may work sometimes, but a lot of times it just ends in angry and lonely children who wonder why mommy isn't cuddling them any more. Don't worry about what the "experts" say -- you're the expert on you and your son, so follow your own instincts and "mommy intuition."

My suggestion about the cough -- since being elevated helps him sleep, the "normal" breastfeeding co-sleeping position is for you to be curled around the baby with his head resting on your arm. Which means his head is elevated, and seems to be the ideal position for him to get better sleep. I'm not sure why you're wanting your son out of bed at 4 m/o, and it sounds like you get better sleep when you sleep together, so I would suggest you continue to do that -- certainly until his cough improves. If you put him down for naps in his crib, he can get accustomed to the way that feels (his crib mattress probably feels different from your mattress, at the very least), which can pave the way for the transition to sleeping in the crib at night. However, I will point out that baby humans are similar to other baby mammals, in that they need to sleep with their mothers for some time -- it helps them to regulate breathing and warmth, and allows them to night-nurse (which they still need at this age) among other things.

hi, my name is R.. my husband insisted that our last two slept in the bed with us to start out. well guess what. i didn't get them out of it until 9 and 7. can you believe it. their daddy worked nights and every night was a fight over their own beds. i would always give in to get some much needed sleep. then the fighting over who slept by momma would start. i hate to sleep in the middle. guess where i ended up. in the middle. then the i heard something. it was crazy everynight. thank god they are in their own rooms now. they are 12 and 9. if you want to put the crib in your room to start with. i wouldn't wake him up to put him down. he might begin to get upset at your leaving. oh i would push the doctor to find out why he is still coughing. he may need alergy med's. my 12 year old has allergies and singular stoped his cronic night cough. he needs to be out of the car seat. he needs to stretch out and be free to move around. in a crib you came make the head of the bed higher. that way it might help the cough. god luck and god bless, mom of 7, R.

What I will do is get (2) things from Target - Baby Vapor Rub and Swaddle. Baby Vapor Rub on bottom of his feet with socks on will help with his cough, and swaddle will give him the sensation of being cuddled - same reason he likes to sleep in the car seat.
Lastly, put a small pillow under your crib mattress to elevate him a little, and gradually remove it. I don't think his cough is from being ill, maybe just the extra saliva that irritates his throat.

Try this, it worked for my second child.

B.
I would try keeping him awake a little longer while feeding him. Tickle his feet, jostle him around, whatever, to keep him eating a little longer. This may help lengthen the time between feedings - thereby increasing your sleeping times....also I always would "top the kids off" so to speak just before I went to sleep - that way, in my mind, I was getting more sleep. IF you supplement with bottles at all - I would let a bottle feeding be my last one of the day - that way his little tummy gets more full without as much work (that is what I did once I started supplementing or pumping) - but I would not suggest this if you do not already use a bottle.

I think at first just putting him in his crib asleep is fine. That is what I did with my 3 boys and they started falling asleep pretty easily on there own. If you are worried at all - try your idea of gently waking him so that he can then fall back asleep in his own bed. Whatever you are most comfortable with.

For the cough - it could be allergies, you may want to check with your pediatrician, he may be able to give him a very small dose of a decongestant or antihistamine that will help with the coughing so you can both get better sleep.

Good luck!
T.

I think if there was a solution that guaranteed a full night's sleep for the parents, someone would have made about 10 million dollars off of it by now...
Can you try nursing him to sleep and putting him in his crib to sleep? If you can get him into his car seat without waking him up, you can get him into his crib. At least he'll get used to sleeping laying down and in his own crib. Also, try propping up the head of the crib in phone books or wood blocks so that will help with his cough/congestion.
Good luck!

My advice is to let him CIO. We had to do that with our son for somewhat of the same reasons and it took him about a month-did I mention that hes stubborn?- but we finally did it. The coughing is also prob due to allergies and you need a cool-mist humidifier in the room. Our son has the same thing and now he is developing asthma from his allergies they are soo bad here in KY! Might want to get a ped to check out the cough b4 it turns serious. Also...the carseat is for the car. I understand though b/c our lil one used to LOVE sleeping in his swing that he had. Good Luck!

My third child is 7 months old and she just started sleeping through the night again. My oldest 2 both slept in the bed with us for a while so I decided it was not going to happen this time. My daughter was sleeping through the night by the time she turned 4 months old and she was in her own room. Then she got a cold which turned into an ear infection and it went downhill from there. She wouldn't sleep in her crib at all and I had no choice but to put her in the bed with me or neither of us would get any sleep at all. She had a cough and runny nose for over a month also. It was awful and I would try every night to put her in her crib at first and she would last about an hour before waking up. We used a humidifier, vapo rub, vapo plug in, tylenol, raising one end of her mattress...nothing worked except sleeping with us. She still woke up in our bed too, but it was just easier to deal with. I don't know what was bothering her and I had taken her to the dr to make sure her ears were clear and there wasn't anything else wrong. Finally, this week I laid her down one night and she made it several hours before waking. I gave her a paci and she went back to sleep. After a couple of nights like that, she ended up sleeping all night again. I have to say it is great to have my bed back so don't give up! Also, I rock my daughter completely to sleep every night (as I have with all my kids) and she has no problem sleeping on her own. I thought I had totally messed up by putting her in the bed with us, but I think she was just not feeling right with the cold and cough and wanted to be comforted. Good luck and I hope you and your son get some great sleep soon!