3 1/2 months and wont sleep unless being held

pkhowell · April 2014

Hi I am looking for some thoughts my daughter is 3 and half months now and she wont sleep unless we are holding her. If she falls asleep while being held and I put her in crib or pack and play even swing or bouncy seat get maybe half hour to 45 minutes and she is screaming once you pick her up she is right back to sleep. Any suggestions on getting her to sleep alone?

luvmygirlss · April 2014

This is very typical at this young age, but helping her to fall asleep on her own will help you and your baby a great deal. Try putting her down alone for a couple minutes a day, few times a day, then longer and longer each day. Depending on how much she can tolerate. The more "alone" time she has the more she will be ok with being outside your arms and still feeling safe. Good luck!

DahliaFlower · April 2014

We had to break the habit of rocking to sleep at that age. We were rocking and then putting down in the crib, and eventually he wouldn't let us put him down. We realized this was an impossible situation and decided to work on getting him to go into the crib awake. One night of crying for about 10 minutes and he got the picture. Now we put him down drowsy and awake most of the time and he is able to calm himself & fall asleep. He rarely cries after going into the crib unless he needs to be burped or something. I think you are at the perfect time to change this pattern before it becomes a major issue.

tisunge602 · April 2014

My LO was about the same age as yours when I started what I call "baby boot camp" for naps. My goal was to teach him to fall asleep on his own in the crib. We are on week four and we've had some failures, but mostly success.

I lay him down when it's time to take his nap, turn on the white noise, and stand there rubbing his belly and helping him keep the paci in his mouth as he dozes off. On average it takes him about 15 minutes and he does fuss a bit, but I try not to pick him up unless he is full-out crying.

Also, a 30-45 minute nap at this age might be all she needs! Mine typically takes two 30 minute naps and one longer nap (1 1/2 hrs) per day. 30 minutes is when they hit the end of their first sleep cycle and many babies have a hard time falling back asleep after that 30 minutes. Mine only seems to if he really needs it.

It does take some patience and some willingness to hear your baby fuss, which I know is hard. You can do it!

ETA: one more thought

3 1/2 months and wont sleep unless being held

Re: 3 1/2 months and wont sleep unless being held

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