How do I get my 5 1/2 month old to sleep in her crib?
ByI’ve gotten my daughter and I in the habit of cosleeping. It makes breastfeeding very convenient and allows for extra time and bonding together. However, my husband and I never get enough time together and I would love for my baby to be able to be in her own crib. She needs to breastfeed in order to fall asleep; and when she does fall asleep, if I leave her she is awake within 10-15 minutes. Letting her cry is not an option for me, after all, it’s not her fault she’s not able to fall asleep on her own.
I’m frustrated because I need time with my husband but I don’t want to go about this the wrong way and traumatize my child. I want her to know I’m there for her even if I’m not right next to her. Any advice?
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8 Comments
April 26th, 2010 at 11:42 am
Give her a dummy (pacifier) but you will have to keep putting it back in her mouth until she gets the hang of not spitting it out. You may have to leave her to cry for a couple of minutes, make it a bit longer each time so she knows you will be back
April 26th, 2010 at 11:43 am
Here’s the thing about babies: they only know what you teach them. Right now you’re taught your daughter that your bed is where she sleeps and that if she cries, you’ll come get her right away.
If you want some changes, you have to make them because your baby isn’t going to magically figure this our for herself. It’s not easy to listen to a baby cry, but if you don’t, you’ll never get past this. There’s really no other way than to break the current habit, and that’s going to come with some tears on her part.
I’ve never met a child who was traumatized by crying it out a little.
April 26th, 2010 at 12:15 pm
try putting her to bed drowsy but not asleep. sometimes babys that fall asleep while being held will wake when they realize their not being held any more. Also dont let baby cry, your right to do this, but a couple of minutes 1 or 2 will begin to let her know you are available to her, but start to lay the foundation of being able to calm themselves latter on in life.
April 26th, 2010 at 12:25 pm
Try feeding her while on the couch and not in a bed, then once she is done place her in her crib for naps. The transition to crib from a nice warm bed with parents in it will take some time. You are not going to traumatize your child. Be patient.
April 26th, 2010 at 12:59 pm
There’s nothing wrong in letting a baby cry. Actually a it’s good for them, because it increases their lung capacity. However it can be nerve racking. What my doctor suggested, was when my daughter awoke after her 10-15 minute cat nap, was to let her cry for 5 minutes, and then go to her. Every day increase the time it takes you to response to her awaken cries. The second day you would wait 6 minutes and the next day, 7 minutes, etc. This way she will either cry herself back to sleep, or after awhile realize that this response isn’t working, and she will gradually learn to comfort herself and fall back to sleep without your help. It was hard to do, but it did work with my daughter.
April 26th, 2010 at 1:07 pm
Break the habit now while she’s still quite adaptable! That’s what my doctor told me! I would start by breastfeeding her in your normal spot, but then put her down in her crib while she’s sleeping (my daughter falls asleep while feeding). If she wakes up, let her cry for 2 minutes (this will seem long, but it’s okay), then go in and calm her. Put her back in her crib and continue this all night! Lengthen the time you let her cry every time or every other time. This will teach her to soothe herself. My daughter (6mo) now goes into her crib at night awake after feeding, soothes herself and if she wakes up, we let her cry for 5 minutes or a bit longer. She will normally put herself back to sleep (barring teething issues) within 3-5 minutes. Stay strong, you can do this!
April 26th, 2010 at 1:11 pm
Breastfeed right next to her crib and then put her in it when she’s gotten extremely drowsy. The room should be very dark, and maybe put some sort of white noise machine in there (I use a regular fan pressed against the wall so the wind doesn’t blow in the room).
Stick around by her crib when she falls asleep so that when she wakes up you can pat her back and put her back to sleep. Just keep hanging around closely and patting her back to sleep until she learns to sleep for longer periods by herself. Don’t pick her up, that will defeat the purpose. Just rub her.
I completely understand that crying it out is not an option for you, it can be incredibly hard to hear your baby cry. BUT you should try to let her cry for at least a few minutes to see if she soothes herself back to sleep. She has to learn at some point to fall asleep on her own, so if you continuously go pick her up when she cries she’ll never figure it out. You can ease into it slowly, let her cry for two minutes, then five minutes, then seven minutes before you go to her. Eventually she’ll figure it all out and you’ll start having free evenings with your hubby!
April 26th, 2010 at 1:33 pm
it is difficult, but he best thing is to teach the baby to go to sleep and back to sleep if woken on her own. There is a new product that may help called the magic sleepsuit. It provides a safe comfortable sleep environments to sooth the baby. Check out http://www.magicsleepsuit.com.