[Har-loi]

Hi,

As my baby girl is 7 months old now and getting more active, we are facing with more headaches.

Now, she chooses the place to sleep. She no longer likes her cot anymore. Whenever I put her down to sleep in her cot, she will immediately cry. I can only put ther in the cot when she has fallen into deep sleep. And, if she wakes up and finds that she's in the cot, the first thing she'll do is cry! However, if I put her on our bed, she'll be contented there and sleep on her own.

Does anyone have the same problem? How do I train her to get use to her cot?

Thanks!

[loupou]

You can train her to sleep in her own cot with the "controlled" crying method, as outlined here:
http://www.askbaby.com/topic/baby-sleep-training.htm

If that bothers you, then have her sleep with you, or wherever it is that she likes to sleep.

It is a common problem, baby doesn't sleep when or where you would wish baby would sleep.

My first baby wasn't such a problem until she got to be about 20 months old.

My second baby would only fall asleep in arms, walking, until he was about 1 year old. Then he had to be cuddled, etc. It wasn't until he was about 2 years old that we were able to successfully use the controlled crying method.

Different kids require different things.

Good luck

[Har-loi]

Hi loupou,

Thanks for the article. Will definitely give it a try when I have established her feeding pattern. Right now I am still breast-feeding her by demand and she has still yet to gain enough weight.

Wow, as compared to your second child's case, I think my case then is pretty minor. We just have to squeeze the three of us in our tiny queen size bed. It's quite difficult to get a good sleep sometimes as I am scared that I'll squash the baby:(

[barbwong_130]

I realize that sleeping in the same bed as your baby is not comfortable for everyone but please don’t worry about squashing the baby.

When a breastfeeding mother has her baby in bed with her she will sleep facing the baby. If this mother falls to a lying position it will be on her back, away from the baby. It is not possible to fall forward onto the baby. If you don’t believe me try it. Lie on your side in the middle of your double bed and see the amount of effort required to roll forward. It is a lot.

The other important thing about sleeping with your baby is that the baby’s arms not be swaddled. With his arms free the baby can alter you if you do get a little close to him.

Best wishes,
Barb

[lidly]

My baby was the same for many months. But grew out of it at about 12 months. We did not do controlled crying but just found that with time he began to sleep in the cot. He would have to fall asleep in our arms but then when we transferred him to the cot he would be ok. I think some babies just grow out of this.

[Batman]

I trained my baby to fall asleep on her own in the crib around 10 months old. I started with night time sleep first where light was off and all silent. She might have cried for the first 2 -3 days for a few mins and then she fell asleep. Then, I proceeded with her daytime nap (she switched to 1 nap around 15 months) and she cried bloody muder for 10 mins or so for the first few days. Then, she is used to it and will play for a while before she sleeps on her own. I think it's a matter of training and helping them to develop a routine. Of course, they will test your patience and limits from time to time. Be consistent and they will know it's not gonna work.

P.S. you need to bear their crying though and I know it's not easy but it just works and helps both of you. I think this is one of the developmental milestones.

Just my experience and I agree that every baby is different.

[lii]

My baby is 4 months old and having many difficulties right now. We're trying to push a routine but find that she sleeps at varying hours (1 or 2 am sometimes) and won't fall asleep on her own (even with a pacifier). It's gotten to the point where even cradling her and rocking her - she resists and screams and needs to held upright. I'm not sure whether this is normal behaviour for her age or she's going through some sort of transition, but it makes bed time very frightful. Any advice for babies this young? or do all the above apply for babies of all ages?

[jasminea]

my baby is 8 months,same like you,she falls securely asleep in our bed,but once left in her cot,she will wake up crying,still havent figure out what to do with this problem,but i read somewhere that if you let her spend enough time in her cot playing and once she get used to the idea that that s her 'place',she will hopefully falls asleep in there too!good luck!