Sleep question

colie328

My LO is 9MO and will only fall asleep if I lay him on my chest. Once he is a sleep I put him in his crib and he will sleep through his naps and the night. I'm a stay at home mom but I am looking to go back to work. I know a baby sitter won't rock him to sleep every time so I need suggestions on getting my LO to sleep on his own for nap times. I've tried to let him cry it out but it breaks my heart.

Emerald27

We got a babysitter who rocked DS to sleep. You just have to look for someone gentle and loving who will do that if you ask.

ncbelle

Emerald27:

We got a babysitter who rocked DS to sleep. You just have to look for someone gentle and loving who will do that if you ask.

I agree.  If you are hiring someone to come into your home - your rules, your way!  And I've known several mamas who had sitters who did just this for them. 

SarahinMD

I don't think there's ever a NEED to let a baby cry it out, and it probably won't be as hard as you think to find a sitter who will rock baby to sleep. Who doesn't like to rock a baby? I would just ask, and explain your approach. At the same time, LOs also know the did fence between mom and dad and others. DD would settle faster and with hardly any rocking with her daytime 2x a week sitter than she hardly ever did for us at the time. I suspect it won't be as tough as you think to find second who can settle LO appropriately for your wishes and what he's comfortable with. Good luck!

abbieaggie

Emerald27:

We got a babysitter who rocked DS to sleep. You just have to look for someone gentle and loving who will do that if you ask.

This, our sitter holds/rocks our 6 month old and sometimes even our 3yo when he is tired - if he asks.  I think most nannies/sitters are prepared to follow the routine that the parents do.  If not, try to find one than does or the closest to your parenting style.  I would not hire someone who tries to feed on a schedule or enforce naps. That is not how we do it when we are home with them, so it would just confuse kids and make some unhappy babies, parents and caretaker!

ForeverEverAfter

I think most sitters would rock a LO of that age to sleep, knowing that they can put them down afterwards. It's not like your LO is held all nap or won't sleep alone. I don't think it's asking much.

ForeverEverAfter

Sorry, I didn't answer your question. If you do want to work on putting down awake for naps, you may want to try No Cry Nap Solution. It was recommended to me on this board, and worked wonders for transitioning to crib naps from in arms naps and then lengthening them. It goes through common challenges and gives strategies to try and ways to tailor them to your child's disposition. 

sands42

That's the babysitters job....