Getting Baby to Sleep on Their Own

I don't know if this would make him have an ear infection or not, but my son was going thru a sick period with asthma and the only way we could get rest and get him asleep by himself was to use the bottle also. But I watered his formula down alot and as soon as he was asleep I swapped the binky for his bottle. Of course then he got stuck on his binky but I thought it was better than getting bottle rot. The pedi said the same thing. And the binky thing was pretty easy to get away from too. Hope this helps.

I have been very lucky to have two good sleepers and never had a problem with either one going to sleep on their own. They both used pacifiers and I always rocked them until they were sleepy, but not totally asleep, and then laid them in their cribs to allow them to fall asleep on their own. I also found that having the same bedtime each night and consistently following the same routine, i.e. giving a bath then rocking for a few minutes, really worked. I highly recommend getting away from the bedtime bottle. I'm assuming that at 11 mos. your child has at least a few teeth. You'd be highly surprised by how quickly children develop decay from a bedtime bottle. I'm a dental hygienist and I see several children with decay from the bottle. And, trust me the pain they endure from having all the dental work done necessary to restore the decayed teeth is far worse than letting them cry it out to go to sleep. Even if you do have to resort to some form of crying it out, it is likely that after a few days your baby won't be crying it out and will be able to go to sleep on his own.

I suggest you get the book The Baby Whiserer and do exactly what it says. It really helped me. I do not agree in the
cry it out" and neither does she. Good Luck!

All kids are different, so don't feelbadly if what works for some kids doesn't work for yours. My oldest son is a very spirited child who never was a sleeper. He napped for the first time when he was about 12 months old - it was HARD! I tried everything where bedtime was concerned. I had the saem problem that you did - I had always nursed him down, so when I started weaning him it was tough. I know friends that swear by the "letting him cry it out" method and believe me I tried it for a week. Unfortunately, it made things worse. One night he cried for four hours. It does not work with every child regardless of what "Baby Wise" and some other books say! I found that what worked best for me was a gradual remedy. I would rock him in the chair with no bottle and put him in the crib when he was really sleepy but not asleep. Then I after a few days of that, I would rock him in my arms until he was really sleepy but not asleep and put him in his crib. And then I would pat him in his crib...and finally I could lay him in his crib. It takes time and patience. I know how hard it is. If he is standing in his crib you need to be very careful because my son started trying to climb out of his crib at 15 months old...We finally had to put him in a full size bed at 18 months because he escaped the crib. Good luck!

I read the baby whisperer and used her advice mixed with my own instinct. Basically I had to rock my son to sleep but it would take at least 20 min and then he would sometimes wake up if I laid him down. So I started rocking him for a few minutes and when he was getting sleepy I would lay him down. He would start to cry and stand but I would just keep laying him down and soothing him until he would eventually stay laying down. I would pat his back and sing. Then I cut out the singing, then I cut out the back patting and just stand there. It has been a 2 month process but he now goes to sleep on his own without me in the room. I started this around 10 months and he is now 13 months old and sleeping great. I also weaned him from the breast at 11 months. I had it down to 2 times a day and then I just quit altogether. The most important thing to remember is to not give in no matter how hard it gets because if you do they will learn they just have to cry harder or longer. Good luck. You can do it.

J.,

I am sorry I do not think I can help you. I have a son-9mo that has also had chronic ear infections and is still going to sleep with the bottle. I hope you can help me and let me know what ENT put tubes in at 6mo-my doctor wants to wait until a year, but I disagree. He is on his 7th ear infection in 9months!

thanks & best wishes

My son is just over 8 months old, has been sleeping through the night since he was 3 months old, and going to bed without a bottle since forever [If by going to bed with a bottle you mean laying him down and giving him a bottle then that's what I mean.]. My husband works night shifts, and gets off work at 11:30pm, and I go and pick him up, because our son stays awake to see him [and it's absolutely adorable, too.]. Once we get home, we change him, give him a warm bottle, and once he's done, swap the bottle with a binky. He'll usually start to drift off while he's laying in our arms, but there are some nights when he just refuses to go to sleep, in which case either me or my hubby will take him, hold him super close to us, wrap our arms around him tightly [not too tight, however, but tight enough to hold his arms down] and let him cry and fuss until he falls asleep. This process usually takes 10 minutes or so, depending on his day. I know it sounds cruel, holding his arms down and whatnot, but I read somewhere a while ago that it gives them the secure feeling of being in the womb, that the tighness is reassuring. I tried it, not thinking anything of it, but lo-and-behold it worked.
Hope this helps out a little :)