Letting LO fall asleep on their own...

sjgurl784

LO is 11 weeks old and isn't STTN yet, which I'm perfectly fine with, he'll do it when he's ready, but I keep reading that to help them STTN, you should let them fall asleep on their own.  This seems so contradictory to not letting them CIO at this age because my kid does NOT tolerate lying in his crib awake for more than five minutes.  So are they suggesting letting him CIO while he falls asleep by himself, because, uh, that's what's going to happen if we try it right now.

Also, should I wait to try this until he's out of a swaddle so he can get at his  hands?  Swaddling still really helps him fall and stay asleep but I figure if he's going to try to fall asleep on his own, he'll want his hands to help soothe him (the paci is a no go, unfortunately). 

What say you, bumpies?

Vegasbb

We let our LO very relaxed, but not actually sleeping (if that makes sense?). The point where he is say 75% of the way there but his eyes still open up when we put him in the RnP for the night. This works well for us (not sure if it's luck or the routine works that well). I do think having a set routine (bath, massage, cuddles, nurse, bottle, 5 minutes of rocking) kind of gets him geared up for sleep. 

That being said, this does NOT work for us during the day for naps. He fights naps and I have to get him much more tired/relaxed before I can set him down otherwise he will cry and cry. 

We still use the swaddle and it works well for us. Sometimes he fights it to get his hands out (especially during the day), but it seems to help him fall asleep at night.  

Mommytobee27

My doctor suggested this to me because I told him that she was not napping for me during the day. He said its ok if she cries for 5 min. She's only really cried like twice, usually just fusses and squirms then falls asleep. I started it in the swing, so I think that helped. What I did in the beginning was stand right next to her so she could see me and if she started fussing, I would try the paci then put my hand on her chest or by her face so she knew I was there. Now, 80 to 90 percent of the time, I can put her down drowsy and she will fall asleep on her own. There are times though when I pick her up to calm her and sometimes still rock her to sleep. Swaddling or bundling up in blankets definitely helps.

ETA : I started around 6 weeks and now LO is 8 weeks

Sarelnad

We wait until he starts closing his eyes and then put him down. He sometimes wakes up and fusses a little, squirms, and makes a lot of noises but eventually (sometimes 20-30 mins later) he falls back asleep. If he starts crying we wait a couple of mins to see if he will stop, if not we go in and put the pacifier in his mouth.  That will usually work but if he starts crying again we go back in and put it back in his mouth. We will play this game for a while sometimes but we almost always win (eventually).  I got this advice from another bumpie (Queenie I believe) and it has worked great for us. 

Pas far as swaddling goes this seems like a good time to stop swaddling.  I read on the bump that 3-4 months is a good time to stop doing it so they can move around. 

https://pregnant.thebump.com/new-mom-new-dad/newborn-basics/qa/when-to-stop-swaddling.aspx

Sarelnad

Sarelnad:

We wait until he starts closing his eyes and then put him down. He sometimes wakes up and fusses a little, squirms, and makes a lot of noises but eventually (sometimes 20-30 mins later) he falls back asleep. If he starts crying we wait a couple of mins to see if he will stop, if not we go in and put the pacifier in his mouth.  That will usually work but if he starts crying again we go back in and put it back in his mouth. We will play this game for a while sometimes but we almost always win (eventually).  I got this advice from another bumpie (Queenie I believe) and it has worked great for us. 

Pas far as swaddling goes this seems like a good time to stop swaddling.  I read on the bump that 3-4 months is a good time to stop doing it so they can move around. 

https://pregnant.thebump.com/new-mom-new-dad/newborn-basics/qa/when-to-stop-swaddling.aspx

 

cant seem to make this clicky. Sorry  

lucreciac

dotmbc:

I don't think CIO is the intent. nbsp;They say you should rock them, cuddle or whatever to get them ALMOST asleep, then put them in the crib/bassinet/rnp/swing so they get the feel for falling sleep on their own. nbsp;It helps them not start screaming if they should happen to wake up in the crib and not be hungry, wet, etc.If your LO can't do it yet, I wouldn't worry about it too much. nbsp;But continue trying here and there so eventually he learns to....maybe naps in a swing or something will work first.

This exactly. We put him down when he's drowsy. He might fuss for a few minutes but eventually falls asleep. We've been doing this since we out him in the crib at 5 weeks and he's never cried more than 5 minutes. That said, it doesn't work during the day. Only at night. But we are getting 6 1/2 hour stretches which I'm happy with at 8 weeks. We still swaddle but leave his arms out, which is what we have done since he was born.