Falling asleep on their own

btj357 · May 2013

When did your LO start falling asleep on their own if they did not start as a baby? I've been lucky enough to be able to put DD to bed every night. We lay in my bed and will snuggle and she falls asleep, then i put her in her crib. Everyone in my family is saying that it's time to start letting her fall asleep on her own, that she's too old (19 months) to be falling asleep with me. Is this too old? what can I do to make this transition easier? the cry it out method is really hard for me.

mben1119 · May 2013

I've just recently started putting DS (18 months) down still awake. Most of the time he falls asleep on the first try, but not always. At least once a week I have to go back in, get him, and cuddle with him some more until I try again.

gothgrrl · May 2013

DD has been participating in the same bedtime routine since she was 8 months old. We would do a bottle or snack around 8:15-ish, and then she goes upstairs where we keep the lights low in her room. She goes into her crib while drowsy and falls asleep on her own. The only blips we have had were teething or stuffy nose related. Then she kinda milked those and we had to CIO to get things back to routine. CIO, while tough, should not take long for your LO to understand.

ABeautifulMind · May 2013

We JUST started putting DD to bed on her own two weeks ago. She was nursing to sleep (which was fine with us), but she would cry hysterically the second I put her down unless she was 100% completely out cold. She was waking 1-2 times a night to nurse.

Two weeks ago we tried a different routine just to see what happened. It worked fine from day 1 so we've stuck with it and now DD is going to sleep on her own and sleeping through the night. Double bonus. We do this: small snack at 7PM, nurse at 7:15PM with dim lights, brush teeth at 7:30PM, H rocks her for a 2-3 minutes with the lights out then he puts her in her crib drowsy. We typically hear her singing to herself on the monitor for 1-2 minutes and then she is asleep. Like I said this worked for US from day 1, but I firmly believe you have to do what is right for your family. CIO is fine for others but it is not something I am comfortable with so if DD would have cried, I'm not sure what I would have done. GL!

fanofanne · May 2013

Darbie914:
To the bolded, I'm a firm believer that you do what feels comfortable and works for YOU, not what others find convenient. If you're fine with snuggling and then moving her to her crib, you can keep doing it as long as you want. Don't let others opinions sway you into a transition that you're not ready for.

I agree with this pp. hubby and i tried the cio method when our b/g twins were around 7 months, and we just couldn't go through with it. this brought on a lot of judgement from our friends (some joking, some serious), but we did what we were comfortable with. we have always held our babies to sleep, and i just couldn't let go of the snuggle time. that is when i pray for and to them and when i just relish this time that is passing so fast. they are now 13 months, and we still snuggle/hold to sleep then put them down drowsy. if they wake up, we leave them. people are right though. cio is difficult, but doesn't last long.

good luck!

CindyRelluh · May 2013

Dd has been sleeping in her crib for naps and bed time since she was 3 to 4 months old. We wanted her used to her own bed, and once the colic subsided she has been sleeping 10 to 12 hours a night in there with a two hour nap every day!

preggyamy · May 2013

LO has been in her crib since 4 weeks - but only at around 12 months were we able to put her down drowsy but still awake. Until then we had to wait until she fell asleep in our arms, then place her in the crib. At 12 months we did CIO - with short intervals of checking in, progressing to longer intervals. I think the longest interval we ever got to was 10 minutes. But now she is so easy - she finishes her milk being held in the rocker with the lights out, then we place her in the crib, leave the room and she is sleeping within 2 minutes. Now, I'm just petrified of stopping the bottle...but that's coming soon.

GL with whatever you decide.

Mustardseed2007 · May 2013

janniep:
Darbie914:
To the bolded, I'm a firm believer that you do what feels comfortable and works for YOU, not what others find convenient. If you're fine with snuggling and then moving her to her crib, you can keep doing it as long as you want. Don't let others opinions sway you into a transition that you're not ready for.
I agree with this pp. hubby and i tried the cio method when our b/g twins were around 7 months, and we just couldn't go through with it. this brought on a lot of judgement from our friends (some joking, some serious), but we did what we were comfortable with. we have always held our babies to sleep, and i just couldn't let go of the snuggle time. that is when i pray for and to them and when i just relish this time that is passing so fast. they are now 13 months, and we still snuggle/hold to sleep then put them down drowsy. if they wake up, we leave them. people are right though. cio is difficult, but doesn't last long.
good luck!

I agree, do what you want to do, what seems to work for you!

My MIL thinks CIO is horrid; on the other hand my mother and sisters say not to rock LO to sleep. Everyone is an expert, right?

We do rock LO to sleep at 17 months, and if he wakes up in the night we usually wait for him to go back to sleep unless his cry is really frantic (ex. last night he woke up really screaming and standing up, it was not normal for him so I went in and rocked him).

That is what we do, but for those that found CIO or some other method worked for them, I think that is fine too. If you want to try that and feel ready to transition, then go for it. It is not child abuse. But if it isn't working for you or doesn't feel right to you, then don't feel like you have to do it.

Starlight811 · May 2013

My LO would whine not really scream for about 1-5 mins and then settle herself to sleep when she turned 1 year old, before that I would rock her untill she was out cold and transfered to crib. Now, however, starting with her molar teething at about 16 months until now at 22 months she does not want to sleep in her crib and I have been lettting her fall asleep in my bed then transfer to crib. Sometimes she wakes and gets mad and screams so I go back in hold her give her a little milk cuddle and wait another 30 minutes to put her back in her crib. Its just harder now that she is used to this routine i hope i can get her back to the falling asleep on her own but with teething in between she just doesnt like going to bed alone anymore. Hope you find a routine that works for your household!

JMD1121 · May 2013

Mine started 2.5 weeks ago, the night before he turned 17 mos. Your routine sounds like ours used to. I was actually starting to think about working him into a new routine where he was put in the crib drowsy but awake, but I was going to wait until the summer since I work in a school. Then one night he fought the routine so hard that I put him in the crib so he would stop hitting me, and he went to sleep on his own. And there has been no going back. What I think helped him make the transition was the move to the toddler room at school and he finally adjusted to the one nap a day. I think they just rub backs and play music there to help them drift off. I think they also taught him to "lay down" because he lays in a ball on his side when I ask him to lay down on the changing table. To echo other moms, whatever works for your family works for your family. So whatever you -- or the LO -- chooses, I wish you luck!

snickers150 · May 2013

I agree with the prior posts to do what works for you. My parents did not do CIO with me and I asked how they got me to sleep on my own when they were ready. My mom said that she rocked me to sleep until I was almost 3 and then built up how great it is to be 3 and talked about how 3 year olds go to sleep on their own. She said that it worked and I only remember falling asleep on my own.

Want a personalized experience?

Falling asleep on their own

Re: Falling asleep on their own

Choose Another Board

Search Boards