I Don't Know

When babies are this young, they don't understand object permanence. They think if you leave the room, you are gone forever. It's easy to see how that would be very scary for a baby. When you put her down are you just walking away? Try to put her on the floor or in a bouncy seat/swing and get down on her level. Play with her on the floor making soft comforting noises. When she becomes more comfortable, move away an inch at a time. Pretty soon she'll realize that you're not leaving her completely. It will take some time though. Once she's comfortable being left alone, then transition her to the crib. Start the same way, put her in the crib and stay in the room with her. Slowly leave the room. She'll get used to her crib and then she SHOULD sleep in it. Mind you, none of this is fool proof. This is what was recommended to us by a pediatrician and it worked. I hope it will work for you too!

I don't understand why people jump to the assumption of when someone says you're spoiling your baby, that it is the same as saying you are loving your baby too much. That's absolutely ridiculous. Spoiling doesn't mean "loving them too much", it means teaching them in a way that is getting them used to something they shouldn't expect to happen all the time. Like, holding your baby too much, there's nothing wrong with showering your baby with love 24/7, however, you need to find different ways of doing it besides just holding her. If you are holding her constantly, she's simply going to grow used to that, and when you decide to put her down, she's so used to being held that she doesn't like the feeling of not being held. It's not about love at ALL, you ARE spoiling her. Why not put her on the floor and get down there with her? You could tower on top of her and play with her toes, talk and google at her, and show her different toys. You're going to have to get her used to not being held first, then you can work on getting her used to being in her own room.

There really is no reason your baby has to sleep in her crib. In fact, it is completely normal for a baby this young to have a strong need to be with her mother. She feels safe with you. I encourage you to read up about cosleeping. Google the research Dr. James Mckenna has done on cosleeping. Also, I would encourage you to get a good baby sling or wrap. I prefer baby wraps. You can also search the internet for baby wraps to find all kinds of pretty ones. That way you can keep her close to you, while having your hands free. We are like primates, a carry species. Our babies are supposed to be carried as often as possible until mobile.

Hi S.,

So I can see you may be rolling your eyes at everything I'm about to suggest with a hearty "well DUH! I tried that". But I'm going to ask anyway.
Swaddling? Loud white noise? Swing? Any, all or none of these may work for your daughter. Your daughter is already an individual and already making up her mind about what soothes her and makes her feel safe.

If your main goal here is to transition her to her crib, you may want to incorporate some playtimes or music times in the crib so that it's not so scary. Is it possible to place the bassinette IN the crib for a while so she gets used to the surroundings? Perhaps she's overwhelmed with how large of a space the crib is? You may want to hold off on the transition and try a swing in her room as her main place for sleep. As long as she's snapped in, she can just live in it for now.

I agree with the idea of a carrier. The motion soothes her and you can have some hands-free time.

My daughter was really fickle when she was an infant and taking naps. As soon as we thought we had the magic trick for sleep, she'd get over it and want something else. We went from a bassinette to a bouncey seat to a papasan swing to a bouncey to the crib to the bouncey ... and all in different rooms. But we always tried to put her in her crib for nighttime sleeping. She loved the radio up high on static one week, and the next week got annoyed with it and wanted soothing music. Hmmm ... is that when my little drama queen was born? Could be!

Good luck to you and your family

hi my name is W. , at 12:00 noon lay your child counter clock head at 12 and feet at 6 turn her head at 3 then 6 then 9 then back at 12 be quick and never repeat that, that will will let your child rest better at night stop the crying and better day play, i had done this to 2 of my kids and it works wonders, try it let me know if it works for you,
good luck

This is a very normal thing. Babies need you. You need to remember that she lived inside you for a very long time. It will take time for her to get used to being a part of this big world. Babies become afraid when they are separated from their mother or father. My daughter slept in my room until just a few months ago (she's 22-months now) and my son (6 weeks) just now started sleeping in the crib next to my bed, so I'm not really an authority on how to help her sleep better in her own room. The suggestions I can think of would be to put her to bed and let her cry (if you can stomach it, I cried the whole time I tried this with my daughter) for a few minutes and then going to her. Eventually, she will go for longer periods of time without crying. You can also try putting a shirt of yours in her crib or something so she has your scent near her. There are blankets you can buy that have a pad that you wear in your shirt for a while and then put it into a pocket in the blanket. It helps them feel safer because your body scent is right there near them. As for her screaming when you put her down, the only thing I can tell you to do is hold her. It's tough, but she needs you. If it gets the the point that you can't take it anymore, put her in a safe place (her crib), close the door and go chill for a few minutes. You can also do this when you need to take care of yourself (eathing, showering, using the toilet, etc). One thing that can make holding a baby easier is to use a baby carrier. I use a Moby Wrap. I absolutely love it. Babies feel safe and close to you, but you still have both hands free. To learn more about the wrap I have, go to www.mobywrap.com and you can look at different ways to wear them and I think you can buy from the site too. You can also buy them in a few stores, I think.

The previous poster suggested rice cereal or jell-o. Please don't do this. Babies' little bodies are not ready for any kind of food at all until at least 6 months of age. They cannot digest it properly. At the earliest, rice cereal can be given at 4 months of age, but there is still some controversy over that. Food alergies can result from giving foods too early. While it is true that cereal will fill a baby up for longer periods of time, this isn't always good either because babies need to eat fairly often because of the need for the nutrients.

I hope this helps some. I know it's tough. Hang in there and just give your little blessing all the love you can muster and you'll both be just fine. Just remember that she loves you as much as you love her. If you ever need someone to talk to, please send me a private message and I will give you my number. It is hard being a parent sometimes but so worth it. I will be praying for you.

God bless,
A.

Hi S.,
2 months is still little. In time she will learn how to sleep and be away from you. But at this point, she still needs to be with her mommy. At 4 months you can start putting her down and giving her chances to self soothe. That is a good healthy age to start. If you would like her to try and get in a routine to sleep in her crib... maybe put her in there when she is asleep and if she wakes up just stand beside the crib and gently rub her little back or head and softly speak to her... that will let her know you are still there... but its tough at this age to try and get any independence out of babies....she'll get it when the time is right... dont worry!
Good Luck

Hi there! I haven't read many of the other post so I'm not sure if anyone gave you this idea yet or not. Our son was 3 weeks early, really small and didn't sleep more than an hour at a time for about 2 months. We had a pack and play with a bassinet feature that we used next to the bed in our room and still couldn't get him to sleep for long. I drug myself into our doctors office for a checkup around 2 months and he told me to try letting Luca sleep in his carseat. He said to swaddle him as normal and place him in the bassinet in his carseat...PRESTO he started sleeping for longer amounts. It turned out that he had a touch of acid reflux and it was causing him discomfort so he didn't sleep or nap hardly at all. He was breast and formula fed. He ended up sleeping in his carseat in his bed for naps and night until about 4 1/2-5 months when he started getting mobile. We can in one morning and he was scrunched down in the seat asleep and decided if he could wiggle he could sleep in the bed. We didn't have one single problem switching. By then the reflux was gone and he was such a good sleeper (8-10 hours straight!) that he was happy to be in his bed..oh yeah, in his room. At about 3 months we started putting the carseat in his crib instead of the pack and play because he was a 'grunty' sleeper and grunted and babbled in his sleep and it was keeping us up! I know a lot of other mothers that have tried this with great success, some babies are just more comfortable sleeping a little upright. Good luck, please let me know if this helps your situation!

S.,
Don't let anybody tell you you are spoiling your baby. You cannot give a child too much love.
At 2 months she is really too young to make this transition from always being with mommy to being alone.
I would suggest a bouncy seat, and put her somewhere during the day where she can see you like when you are making dinner or cleaning the house. That way when you leave the room you will be right back and she will start to realize you are not "gone" when she does not see you.
If you can get her to sleep in her crib by maybe staying in the room until she falls asleep, then using a monitor to know when she awakes, you could go in and soothe her before she gets panicky cause you're not there.
Whatever you do , don't let her "cry it out". Someone told me to do that and I sat outside my babys door crying right along with him for hours. I would never recommend that!
When they're little it seems you should prepare them to separate from you, but before you know it they are going off to school and then they are teenagers and then you just wish you could have one more sleepless night to hold them when they are still little.

We just went through the same thing in Feb (Ihad a post about it too). We just kept trying and kept holding him. In time she will get acclimated with the crib. We def learned that the sling was a gnious idea. He loves it. I can put him in it, carry him around and still get things done. Now I can even puit him in it when he is fussy and it calms him down.

have you tried swaddling with a blanket (like they did in the hospital) That always worked best for my daughter. I would try that. I know it can be hard, but at 2 months is really only wants and needs you right now. She also needs to feel secure. Mine wouldn't sleep anywhere but on me, or in her carset. The crib was just too big and scary for her. Even a bassinet didn't work, so, in order for either one of us to get any sleep, she would usually sleep in her carseat...whatever works right? lol Also, during the day, get a baby sling so she can be near you, but your hands will be free. Just try to enjoy it and know that it will soon pass...then you will long for the days when she was so little and needy :) Trust me, it goes by sooooooo fast. Good luck and congrats!

S.,
You could try using a bassinet or co sleeper. I found a great one that had mesh sides so I could peek in on Jacob when he was sleeping. It also allowed him to hear me at night. I could sing to him or reassure him when he started to move. After he learned to sleep on his own, I started putting him in his own crib in his own room for naps and then gradually started putting him in his crib at night. Just take baby steps and enjoy every minute.