Not sleeping in crib

Snooches07 · May 2015

I have never been a fan of the cry it out method. Has anyone tried another method?

My almost 18 mo old has gone in spurts of sleeping in her crib and then not sleeping in her crib. This past month she has gotten 4 molars in and has had a bad upper respiratory infection. So the last two weeks she has been sleeping in our bed. Every time I put her in her crib she screams bloody murder! And she doesn't settle herself down. On the off chance I can place her in her crib while asleep, she'll wake up in about two hours and won't go back down in her crib. If I pick her up and get her back to sleep she is up the second I lay her down in her crib. Screaming. I have even gotten in the crib with her but being 7 mo pregnant that's a little difficult now.

She's never been a fan of her crib even around 6 months, but I'm due with #2 this august and this is just not going to work since I plan to breastfeed.

Has anyone tried putting their child in a big bed instead of their crib this soon?? You know, mattress on the floor?

I know and realize this is a bad habit that needs to be broken in the most constructive way possible. With that said I would truly appreciate help, advice, encouragement, etc... TIA

rspalding001 · May 2015

Have you tried laying down on the floor next to the crib and touching her (patting/ribbing back or touching hand/arm etc) until she settles down? We do this with our 18 month old when she is being fussy and it works the majority of the time. I just stick my hand through the slats of the crib and pat her back or just touch her arm while pretending to go to sleep myself until she falls back asleep. I actually bring my pillow and blanket in the room with me in case it takes a while. When she is extra upset I might pick her up and hold her, swaying back and forth until she settles down and then put her back in the crib and try again. Our daughters mattress is on the floor inside the crib so its pretty low to the ground and easy to just lay next to it. Obviously consistency is key. We wont try and transition to a toddler bed until she is at least 2 I think.

SharonB222 · May 2015

I always have it in mind to do the Sleep Lady Shuffle. I suppose mine is a modified version of that and other techniques. My DD and DS at that age both responded to the hand on the back (5 min), if not asleep cry in crib (10 min), if not asleep co-sleep (1x week or less). If I make the effort I can even return them to the crib with hand on back (5 min) during the night, but I often don't. My DD climbed out of the crib when DS was one month old. DD was a get-out-of-bed-at-bedtime-100-times girl so that's another post. Not fun with a newborn but I considered it a happy problem (two wonderful children!). GL.

Designermomma · May 2015

DS only slept in a swing for a long time so I got him to sleep by giving him a sippy cup of milk and rocking him in the rocking chair and turn on a white noise sound machine. Then I put him in the crib and pat his booty and hold his back till he is sleepy.

Bigboobsmcgee · May 2015

She will stay in the crib if you keep her in the crib. Don't let her in bed with you. Stay consistent.

nemodancer · May 2015

I agree with the above comment. Just stay consistent, even if it's hard.

AmyB421 · May 2015

We moved my now 19 month old to a bed up against the wall with a rail about 2 months ago. He is now sleeping soundly through the night and actually runs over to his bed when we finish reading our bedtime books. He just hated the crib--he would sleep in our bed, our guest bed, I even tried him on the pull out sofa bed but would not sleep in the crib. He's was also trying to climb out of the crib every time we put him in it so it was becoming a safety issue. We talked it over with our pediatrician and she said moving to a bed was okay. Try calling your doctor and see what they recommend but putting my son in a bed has been the best move for us.

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