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Hi! I’m Dana Obleman, creator of The Sleep Sense Program. If you’d rather read than watch, I’ve transcribed the text of this video below.
This week’s question comes from Nancy. She writes:
“My 13-month-old daughter has been sleeping in our room in her swing. That has been the only way we could get her to sleep—in a swing. We’re ready to move her to her own room, and we want her to sleep in a crib, but we’re not sure how to make the transition…”
I’m really glad to hear you’re ready to make the transition. I just want to talk a little bit about sleep that occurs in a swing or sleep that happens in a car seat or stroller. There’s lots of evidence that suggests that when people are in a reclined position but not fully flat and lying down, our bodies tend to not let us go into the deep, stage-three sleep as often or for as long as we really should. The thought is that it’s our body’s way of protecting us from any kind of danger. Your body’s thinking that if you’re not lying down totally horizontally, are you in any kind of danger of falling out of whatever you’re in and hurting yourself?
So, a lot of sleep specialists call stroller sleep and swing sleep “junk sleep.” It’s OK, it takes the edge off, but it’s not really good quality sleep, and it’s not going to be as restoring to their brain and body as it would be if they were sleeping flat in a crib somewhere.
It’s great that you’re ready to make the transition. The swing’s not a great place for her to be sleeping. I’m surprised she even still fits in a swing at 13 months. So, how do you make that transition? I always tell people that you should start where you want to end up, so you don’t have to do this more than once. You’re just going to do it all at once. I’d start in her own room, in her crib. I’d just get rid of the swing altogether. Do the routine as you normally would—however that was—and then, instead of putting her in the swing, you’re going to put her in the crib.
If you think it’s going to be a really big, hard transition for her, and you want to be supportive. I suggest you do the stay-in-the-room method with her. You can be the cheerleader and the supporter as she learns, “How do I get myself to sleep now that there’s not this going on every night?”
And you can bet that’s it’s going to be a transition. Think about it from your own perspective. If somebody came in tonight and said, “I know you’re used to sleeping in a bed, but tonight I want you to sleep on the floor. It’s going to be better for you in the long run, but now the floor is your new place to sleep. It’s going to take you quite a while to get used to sleeping on a floor, and you’re probably going to have some anxiety around it.”
You’re probably not going to cry about it because you’re an adult, but you can see how that transition would be tough for a baby who’s spent a lot of her life sleeping in a swing. So, of course you can be supportive, say a key phrase, do a bit of careful touch, be present in the room until she finally falls asleep—but the only way she’s going to figure out how to do this is if she has the opportunity to practice each and every night. The more she practices, the better she’s going to get, and soon she’ll find her way. And you’ll find that she has a much better sleep. You might even notice some changes in her overall mood throughout the day, because she’ll be getting better quality sleep.
I’m glad you’ve made this choice. I want you to go ahead and do it, knowing that you’re making the very best decision for your daughter. Thank you. Sleep well!
To learn more about The Sleep Sense Program, click here — or you can click here to order now!
To ask a question about your child’s sleep, just leave it in the ‘Comments’ section below! I’ll choose one and create a new video answer each week!
My 3month old baby sleeps through the night 7-7 am. He goes down in his own room and sleeps immediately.
I want him to have one sleep in his crib in the day and try for it at 10.30am. But as soon as I put him down he stArts crying and doesn’t really stop. I have tried staying with him, using a soothed etc. And I have tried doing this for a week but still he won’t fall asleep on his own.
Do you have any other suggestions?
Thanks
my baby is 8 weeks old and she has had a variety of problems which have interfered with her going to sleep. She has reflux and a lactose intolerance which have made her very uncomfortable and she gets coliky as well. Even though I know it’s not ideal we have done all the “wrong” things to help her to sleep as she has been crying so much. She needs the soother to fall asleep and has got used to being held and carried alot. She’s a very sucky baby and sucks her hands and even the edge of her pyjamas. Is it too early to start some sleep training and remove the soother when she is so young and still has some discomfort and problems?
Our 5 month old son will only sleep when hes with me, hes breastfed and will only fall asleep nursing… i then place him into his cot whilst hes asleep but he wakes a few times in the night and usually ends up in our bed because we are all tired etc. He only takes one or two 10-20 naps throughout the day again falling asleep being nursed and he wont take a dummy. I am returning to work soon and really need things to improve otherwise its going to be a nightmare to juggle work and family life on limited sleep. x
my daughters son age 6 months has been moved from the crib [in theire room] into a cot bed in his own room a few months ago. However he screams as soon as he realizes he has been put in to it. They keep going into his room to comfort him but thay feel that eventually he will be accustomed to it. SWhat else can they do to ensure a non crying baby!!!
My daughter is nearly 5 months old and I’ve started putting her to bed awake and she falls asleep on her own. However, she still wakes up in the middle of the night at least twice and I have to feed her. She does actually have a good feed each time and I then put her back to bed awake and she again, settles herself. She could never put herself back to sleep before so we have made an improvemrnt, but I’m still so tired. Is there anything I can do to get her out of her nightime feeds like this? I read that she shouldn’t really need to wake up for feeds anymore. Thanks
I know you have probably tackled this problem already but here it goes.
My son is almost 7 months old. He uses a dummy to fall asleep and until recently this was not a problems as he fell asleep fairly fast and did not need “re-plugging”.
However now it can sometimes take us 40 minutes of continuous crying and “plugging” to get him to fall asleep and sometimes he will still wake up maybe a couple of times more. Once he is asleep for good he sleeps through the night. I keep being told to let him to cry just like that but I do not like it as I have always thought when a baby cry it is for a reason. Also I often wonder what would neighbours think if they hear him screaming the house down for so long.
Can you help me to get him to learn to fall asleep without his dummy?. Can this be done quickly as in a 2 or 3 days?
Thanks so much!!
My almost 4 month old has no problem falling asleep, it’s the staying asleep she has trouble with. And, it’s not like she sleeps for a few hours and wakes up, etc. Very often she only sleeps for 15-20 minutes at a time at night. How do I get her to sleep for longer periods and eventually through the night?
my little boy is 5 mths. he almost always falls asleep while b/feeding – always at nap time. he also won’t sleep longer than 50mins. are the two related and how do i resolve this
My son is 5 months old & the only way he goes to sleep is if he is bundled & he needs to be nursed to fall asleep. How can I get him to fall asleep without bundleing him & nursing him?
Great information! I’ve been looking for something like this for a while now. Thanks!
My baby won’t go to bed only at night
My 10month old son goes down for naps with no problem. He starts eye rubbing or whining, then off he goes and into his bed and to sleep. No problem. At night, he does the same eye rub etc but when taken away to bed will scream and scream until someone comes to get him. We’ve gone for up to an hour. He will even fall asleep and then the moment he is taken into his room or his body hits the bed, his eyes pop open and he starts screaming. Whats going on? We’ve done the bath and storey with cuddles routine. We’re now trying bath with cuddles and quiet time and watching for the “tired signs” just like at nap time, but thats not working either. Done the back rubs, done the wait 5min then go in and do a check, done it all. What are we doing wrong? Bedtime makes my husband and I want to cry.
Hello. I have a two year old son. I used to lay down with him until he fell asleep and then would go to my bed, but I decided it was time for him to learn to lay down and get himself to sleep without me. So I talked to him about it and explained to him it was time for him to sleep in his bed without mommie.Well I started sitting beside his bed in the chair and was going to eventually move further away as time passed, but he wanted me to hold his hand while he went to sleep. He would go to sleep after probably 30-60min, but he would wake up at different times during the night. And now when he wakes up I take him to his bed and sit in the chair until he goes to sleep. This may happen 3 times in a night. After 3 times I am so tired until I just lay down with him. I have tried to monitor his sleeping pattern, but there is not one. He may sleep till 5 am one day and the next only sleep until 12 midnight. I really don’t know what to do, but we are not getting the good sleep that we need. I need HELP!
I now understand the importance of teaching your baby to fall asleep on their own. My son is 3 months old & the ONLY way he will fall asleep is while nursing. It is becoming a problem now because he will not stay asleep for longer than an hour at a time! When I try to soothe him without nursing, he gets extremely frustrated and angry, so I always eventually give in. My question is, what do you do to break the habit of needing to nurse to fall asleep now that it is pretty established?
Terrific work! This is the type of information that should be shared around the web. Shame on the search engines for not positioning this post higher!
It is 3am and my daughter has been crying for an hour. She is 5 months old and wakes up every 2-3 hours at night. Six nights ago we started letting her “cry it out” before bedtime and at naptime and in at least one of her overnight wakings. It continues to take her over an hour of crying for each of these to go to sleep. I check on her periodically during her crying, but can’t stay in the room as I have two other chidlren to tend to. Why isn’t the length of time crying decreasing at all? What options do I have? She doesn’t seem to be making any progress in the journey of falling asleep by herself. This is breaking my heart. Will you please answer my question this week? I am at a complete loss.
My son is 10 months old and takes 2 naps, one in the morning and one in the afternoon after we put him on his crib and also goes to sleep at 8 pm in his crib (without any problem). He is a little angel.
My problem is that when we are running errands outside home, he cant fall asleep anywhere else. Sometimes I have to be 4 hours outside home with him, and he becomes very cranky because he can’t sleep in the stroller or the carseat or anywhere besides his own crib. Any suggestions?
my baby just started falling asleep on her own at night about 4 days ago. but when it comes to napping she will not fall asleep by herself she needs to be held or in a seat of some kind. if we leave her in the crib she screams bloody murder and doesnt fall asleep for the full hr.
she was born 5-1-10 at 35weeks and 6 days. (twins)
should i do by same bedtime routine during the day or will that mess up my bed time routine at night? should i make the room dark or will that confuse there days and nights? should i let such a small baby cry for more than 10 minutes?
-thanks – Daddy Barry
I am finally getting a little time to go through my emails. I’ve found several that say the offer has expired. Will you be having another discount on them?
Thanks,
Nancy
At what age do I stop swaddling my baby before putting him down to sleep? He is 4 moths old and right now, the swaddling still seems to work. Unswaddling during his nap usually wakes him up and he starts waving his arms around and this keeps him awake. He does go back to sleep however, after re-swaddling. Thank you
Hi. My son is 14 mouths old…He is still sleeping in his pram…but he dosnt sleep for long..he only sleeps for 2-3 hours during the night some times less,and then he stays up for another 2-3 hours…im also still brestfeeding…i have tryed every thing you have told me too do…! but it just dosnt work…. i think he plays up ,and wakes his-self up more when i let him cry himself to sleep after i have said good night to him and givein him a kiss good night…,he dos good for about 5 minutes then he just crys and crys…i tryed letting him cry for 10 minutes …and that didnt work too..!!… i have run out of ideas…please help as we are both exhusted…
My twins (12 months) sleep in their own beds but in the same room. It is not an option to have separate rooms. They sleep very sound from 8:00 till around 2 a.m…..then become restless. One usually wakes the other up so then we have double trouble trying to console, quieten down and get back to sleep. We have tried patting, rocking, allowing them to cry. Help! They do not use pacifiers and do not take any nourishment during the night. Seems like they just want to be “close.”
Hello,
I put my 7 month old son to sleep AWAKE with a teddy blankek for a comforter every sleep and he is still waking after 40 mins and wont go back to sleep during the day and then at night waking every 1 to 2 hours!!!! He is on 3 solid meals per day and I am also breastfeeding. I was following Tizzy Halls “safe our sleep” routine but that is just not working either! I have 2 other children and I am exhausted – please help!!
Karlie
This is such a great resource that you are providing and you give it away for free. I enjoy seeing websites that understand the value of providing a prime resource for free. I truly loved reading your post. Thanks!
my 5 year old daughter will not go to sleep.
she goes to bed but will constantly call or get up and it is getting a problem as she still awake at 10.30 in the evening
My 4 month year old has a bath, feed and goes to sleep in my arms/shoulder at about 8-30pm. She wakes constantly when she turns over and ends up on her front as she doesn’t know how to roll back onto her side. She was really good when she was born and was sleeping at least 5 hours at a time bu she has got worse, now getting up between 4 and 7 times.
My 6 year old is all of a sudden afraid to sleep in his own room! He gets up several times during the night saying he is afraid of the dark. Sometimes he says he has to use the bathroom or he wants me to put the covers on him. What can I do to help him? This has been going on for a month now and we are very tired and cranky.
Hi Dana, i have a 9 months old baby and he is use to sleep in a swing. My husband and i already started to make the transition when he goes to bed, we do the routine and then he falls sleep in his own cot. but when he wakes up in the middle of the night he wants to go back to sleep in the swing. What techniques shouold i use at this time of ht night, i tried rubbing his tummy, tapping his matress and other things but this wouldnt work. Can you help me please?
I have a 16-month old boy who is very hyper, & never wants to sleep. He doesn’t have a set scheduled sleep routine & sleeps between 11pm – - 2am at night. He takes an hour — 2 hour nap during the day and has to sleep next to me in my bed at night or he won’t sleep thru the night. Once I put him in his own bed/crib, he wakes up every 2 hours! As long as he’s sleeping next to me in bed, he sleeps most of the night. He also has to be rocked or held to sleep…. I don’t know what to do because my husband ends up sleeping on the mattress on the floor & I’m tired of never sleeping through the night. HELP!
hi my name is mairead my 11mnt old son sam still wakes during the nyt up to 6 times how can i stop this i have cut out bottels what else cud i try
thanyou xx
My daughter, Carleigh, uses a pacifire and we want to know how to take it away !!
hi my daughter is 5months old and she is waking every hour at least tow time and want me to feed her(i am breastfeeding) and she is crying alot before go back to sleep i tryed to let her sleep by her self she dont sleep only cry , if you could help me please thanks
Our Daughter of just over 6 months Kirsty Georgia Lees is waking 3 times per night
We put her to bed on her own asleep after being breast fed by Mom between 19.00-19.30 hours.
She will then wake at approx01.30,03.30,and then between 05.00-05.30.
On each occasion she will be changed,breast fed .fall asleep and returned to her cot.
How can we get her to stay asleep through the night ?????
Should our month old daughter sleep during the day in her sling, rocking seat to distinguish this from her night-time sleep in her crib?
Hi Dana
Im a first time mum who is struggling a bit. My son is 8 weeks old and will not sleep.
He catnaps during the day (45mins x 2-3 times) unless I hold him in my arms which he will then sleep 2-3hours sometimes more.
At night he will have one stint of 4 hours usually around 7.30pm the he will wake every 2 hours after that for a feed. It takes an hour to breastfeed then he wakes in an hours time for his next feed.
Lately he is waking between3-5am and will not go back to sleep unless he is laying on my or my husbands chest. When he is laying on our chest he will sleep 4-5 hours.
His cot is in our bedroom.
What can I do to get him to sleep longer during the night?
I’m going in sane with the night time lack of sleep.
Please help!
I have a 2 year old son that has never ever slept through the night and he wakes more then 4 times a night. I’ve tried everything routine, letting him cry, being extremly calm and relaxed around him, taking all the toys out of his room, night lights, music and his always full, nothing works! Help!!! My partner and I are so exhusted!
hi dana.
my 12 month old baby has really bad eczema. He keeps scratching all the time. whenever i change his nappy he is constantly trying to attack his groin area, hips and thighs and will continue to bleed without any thought of pain. he screams whenever i try to stop him. i get so frustrated and try to be calm. I wrap a towel around him to swaddle his while changing and he screams and still tries to scratch. what can i do to make him feel secure and not scratch so madly. I change him regularly and do not let him stay in his nappy once soiled or wet. thankyou audra.
my five month old daughter keeps waking up every 1-2 hours and needs me to touch her and assure her am around or place a dummy in her mouth which wakes her up every time it falls out, what should I do to help her sleep soundly?
my five months old daughter keeps waking up every hour after I put her to bed, what can I do to help her sleep soundly?
Hi
I have a 4 month old who from day one has always slept on her tummy.
I would like her to learn how to get herself off to sleep, the problem is when i have tried this in the passed she ends up stressed and crying which eventually leads up to her being sick.
She will not sleep on her back even for daytime naps as she can now roll over.
I would like some advise please!!!
My 17 mos. old son Logan has never slept thru the night, sometimes he wakes 4-5 times. I put him in his crib awake but I stay in his room until he falls asleep and when he wakes in the night I go to him and lay him down and he goes right back to sleep. until the next time. how do i get out of the room??
Hi Dana,
I used your sleep train program for my 3 month old Daughter back in February. It worked just like you said it would however….she is now 8 months old, we recently went on a 2 week vacation driving, staying in hotels along the way etc. Needless to say, she is back to waking up at night crying. How do I go about getting her back on that awesome schedule she had before our vacation?
My son is turning 2 in a few days and I am still nursing him. He is very obsessed with my boobs and needs to nurse when he wakes up in the morning (yes , I still produce milk overnight) and he needs to suckle / pacify to fall asleep at night and throughout the day if I give in. If he wakes up in the middle of the night, the only way to get him to fall back asleep is to allow him to pacify for a few minutes. I am desperate to stop. I have tried several times, but I give in to the crying and screaming. morning and to fall asleep at might. but he loves to pacify wi
my six year old daughter sleeps up down position right from her first year of birth till now.
and also has night terror problems.i dont know weather they r related or not .but i want to know the reason why she sleeps that way.
hi Devika
i dont kno what sleep position you mean but i do kno, my nephew had very bad night terrors. he come to spend the night with me and told me he was afraid of monsters (as alot of children are) so what i did was grabed a waterspray bottel, filled it with a mix of water nd lavender oil. i told him that if he sprayed around the house it would get rid of any monsters already in the house and prevent any more from coming in (monster killing spray). not only does this help the monster problem in your house but lavender will help to soothe your child (make sure you spray around her bed). that night for the first time in along time my nephew sleped through the hole night.
Dana – after reading and learning your method and am still left with many questions. One of my biggest questions is what to do when your child is already skilled and trained to put themselves to sleep… yet cries non stop and claws to get out of his crib when being put to bed.
Zander developed his own soothing methods for sleeping naturally as a very young infant. At three months of age he started “singing” himself to sleep or just laid still long enough in his bed that he would drift off naturally. Most often he would hum to help himself to drift off. He loved sleeping! Sweetest thing I have ever scene. As he grew older we noticed he would also start to fall asleep watching his learning video, drinking a bottle, while being rocked or being sung to. We enjoyed doing these things with him and they were relaxing so we let it go on. It wasn’t until he “needed these things” that we realized we had done him a disservice. Wish I could go back. After we realized this we spoke with our Dr. who suggested a method similar to yours. However, I am sure the slight variations in yours could make all the difference. Her method was to lay him down wide awake after a nighttime routine. After putting him to bed you say good night and just leave the room. If he is to cry out you go back and reassure him your a there at set intervals that increase each night.This method took us three nights and then he stopped crying and resisting bedtime all together. He cried 5-10 min. the first night, about 3 the second and less than 1 min the next. I am guessing he responded quickly because he already had the internal strategies for falling asleep, but we were just preventing him from using them with rocking etc… At child care his provider says “naptime” and he walks to the bed, lets her lift him up, says night night and she leaves the room. She says he is asleep within min. and will ask to go night night. He gets on average 2 hours of deep restful sleep there.
The issue: I am a school teacher and home for the summer (no childcare) and have found that he will not lay down for me at nap time w/o a huge fuss and at least an hours of crying. Unfortunately, I refuse to let my child ever cry that long and hard again. I cannot understand why all of a sudden at 20 months he will not take a nap. He even refuses to eat lunch at home as he knows nap is next. I took him to childcare yesterday and at 11:30 she said nap and he went right down. WHAT THE HECK! Nap time resistance has flown into bedtime resistance and he will no longer go down at night even when he is exhausted! My husband sat in a chair next to his crib for 20min. last night until he started choking on his own snot. I finally said enough and rocked him to sleep in 30 sec. I will not let him cry that hard anymore and am lost for what to do at this point. He is also waking 4-5 times a night yelling mommy – daddy and just needed reassurance that we are there. However this is very disruptive to our sleep and my husband gets up at 4:30 to work. Yesterday when I got him up at 7:00a.m. we had snuggle time and during snuggle I needed to get up and used the potty. I said Zander, mommy needs to go potty I will be right back. Before my foot even hit the floor he was screaming my name and hanging on my neck. He does not act this when his isn’t in a sleepy state. HELP! Why would he sleep well, take good naps, sleep 10 hours a night regularly for a few months and then go bananas over bed at 20 month and do it ONLY at home?
EXHAUSTED mom and dad!
Tracy and Chip Childers
Hi,
I’m a teacher too and the staying home for the summer part messes our kids up!!! They got used to a certain routine and now we have changed the rules. My 4 yr old is now acting out and being rather clingy because we are all at home(dad is a teacher too). I think he is clinging because he feels lost over the change. He cant understand why mommy is suddenly home and is worried you will disappear again. It takes my daughter on average 2 weeks to reorient herself to the new arrangement. He may settle down once he gets used to the new routine. As for the sleeping, since you have decided you cant let him cry I have no suggestions. Maybe Dana or someone else will.
Thanks Danijela – I hope the change from me working to being home all the time has created some of this. Also, it is not that I will not let him cry, but I will not let him cry himself into hysterics until he is gagging on his own snot. It is to hard to sit next to for 30min. and not sooth him. There has to be some modification to the “sit next to the crib” method to help him transition from no affection and soothing to “do it on your own or I am leaving”. I am currently sitting next to his crib and soothing him by letting him know I am there. That seems to be helping. What have you been doing to ease the being home all summer transition?
My almost 4 month old son sleeps through the night in his room in his crib. However, we cannot get him to take naps durring the day in his crib. He has to be laying on us to take a nap. I have tried his bedtime routine to see if that works but it does not. He takes about 4 naps a day that only last about 30 minutes unless he is laying on us. how do I get him to take naps in his crib and longer naps?
This seems to be a common problem. I am assuming it is because we unwittingly change the rules for daytime naps as opposed to night time sleep. i.e. if he woke at 1am you’d resettle him. If he wakes during the day we usually just get them up, thinking they don’t need any more sleep, yes? Have you tried the bedtime routine after he has woken from a short nap, to resettle him?
My son is 14 months and still needs 2 naps but fights the afternoon one. Any suggestions? Because he is not getting this afternoon nap, he has trouble going to sleep and staying asleep even though his bedtime is on the early side – 7/7:30. Any advice would be great!
you could try moving his bedtime to an earlier time. He may be over tired. If you move his bedtime earlier by the amount of time he would usually have slept in the afternoon, this may help. With any luck he might catch up on sleep and start taking his naps again :) This worked for my 3 month old son.
Our daughter is 11 months old, my partner has to lie down with her in the bed for 20 mins before she falls asleep, then moving her to the cot, she fights sleep sooooo much.
How can we teach her to fall asleep by herself and also not sleep at 9.30 in the evening, she will also wake up at night crying in the cot after a few hours and will only sleep when co-sleeping with us.
My baby (10months) falls asleep on his own in his cot every night without any crutches (pacifier, rocking, etc) I usually stay in the room as he does have a habit of standing up so I go lay him down tell him it’s sleepy time and return to the chair. After 5 – 20 mins he figures out he’s tired and goes to sleep. He’s always asleep between 7:30 and 8pm after a bedtime routine starting at 6:45 – 7pm (can’t start any earlier as he’s in daycare until 6).
He then sleeps right through until somewhere between 4:30 and 5:30 am, at which point I can’t seem to get him to go back to sleep irrespective of what I try. I know he’s still tired as he’s rubbing his eyes, or may even still have them closed but he’s still crying and standing up in his cot. Even if I get him to lay down and stay with him he’ll continue to toss and turn and whimper for maybe an hour until he eventually falls asleep through sheer exhaustion, if I try to leave the room during this period he immediately cries and stands up in his cot. What can I do as this is utterly exhausting?
Is he cold? At this time of morning the temperature usually drops. Maybe an infant sleeping bag may help.
My 4 month old baby can get herself to sleep during the day for her naps in her cot (with no help at all, she grizzles a bit but i watch for the signs eye rubbing etc and just pop her in the cot), BUT will only do 45 minutes each time. I sometimes get her to go back to sleep by rocking her or cuddling her when she wakes sometimes even feeding her, but she cant dont it herself, how can i help her without leaving her to cry it out??
i have difficulty with my 10 months son sleepness coz he wakes up 4 feed every 2 hours at night
Well, he’s hungry! FEED HIM!
Not very constructive Meyers
Are you sure he’s hungry and not just needing you (or a nurse/bottle) to fall back asleep? You could try resettling him first to see if this works. As long as he is getting his total daily requirement of food/milk, he is not going to starve if you resettle him.
My daughter will be two this month. She still nurses three times a day. Morning, night and the middle of the night. She doesn’t fall asleep very well, mostly cries on the floor by the door of her room (even after she has nursed). Sometimes she bangs her head against the door, which really worries me. She has a toddler bed but I can’t get her to stay in it. As of yesterday I decided that we are done nursing. She screamed for 2 hours in my arms last night wanting to nurse. Scratching and pulling at me the whole time. I am absolutely stuck, I don’t know how to teach her to self soothe. She is so persistant and aggressive with nursing I have had a really hard time getting her to stop. So we are just going cold turkey. She doesn’t fall asleep or even back to sleep with nursing like she did when she was littler, so it is not even effective. But she does not have a blankie or binkie, like my other two did, so I am her comfort. Help me please!!
Hi Dana,
I followed your advice and put my 6weeks old baby girl to sleep at 8pm, but she woke up at 10pm for feeding and then at 2am for her usual feeding. How do I extend her sleeping to 7hr straight? If I were to use formula (Enfamil for Bedtime, this formula is thick) to extend the sleeping time, would it work?
WOW! You truly expect a six week old baby to sleep seven hours without eating? You really should do your research and stop being selfish!
Young babies only have a small stomach, therefore require more frequent feeding. Some babies do sleep through the night from a very early age, however many do not. My son is 13 weeks old and goes to bed at 7. He wakes at about 11 and 3 for feeds then I wake him at 7am. Formula has more waste product than breastmilk but usually the same amount of calories per 100ml as breastmilk (about 70), therefore formula does not usually allow baby to sleep any longer it just creates more poo! Hang in there, I know it’s frustrating when it seems everyone else’s baby is sleeping through. Be consistent and I’m sure it will work out for you. If you were considering giving her a formula feed (or expressed breastmilk) for one of her feeds, perhaps make it the 10pm feed and see if your partner or another member of the family could give it to her. If you go to bed at 8, you’d get 6hrs straight until the 2am feed.
Hi there, my daughter has just gone on 15 weeks old and for the last 8 or so weeks she has been having trouble with her daytime sleeps. Night-time isnt a problem as she seems to only wake up for feeding..usually. But during the day it would be lucky if she has 2 or 3max 20-40 minute sleeps. How can I get her to sleep longer during these daytime sleeps.
Thanks
Erica
What about babies with gerd. Baby sleeps with head elevated–Is this Junk sleep?
My daughter is 5 months old. I am having trouble getting her to sleep in her crib. She has been sleeping in her bassinet in our room since we brought her home. She sleeps great in her bassinet, usually from 8pm – 6am. But when ever I try to put her in crib at night she will continually wake up through the night. Usually every three hours. She even naps in her crib during the day. Those naps are great too. I don’t get it…can you help?
Have you tried putting her bassinet basket in her crib at night to ease the transition?
Hello! My son is 1yr old and does not sleep during the night and cannot sleep without his pacifier. Hellllllp me pls
Hi Dana,
My 5 month old daughter has been co-sleeping with us since birth, i am also breast feeding, she also needs to be put to sleep whilst nursing and being rocked, i know not very good habits i have let form. I am wanting to get her to sleep in her own crib, how, help please!!!
Would you recommend starting just with night sleep or naps or both?
Hi my 3 month old baby is only cat napping in the day for a maximum of 40-45 minutes at a time, which means he is still tierd. He is going to sleep by settleing himself and he is sleeping through the night so was just wondering why he can’t sleep longer in the day.
try making a comfortable spot for him to sleep. Put his blankie in his carseat and lay him on top of it. He may like the small cuddling space of the carseat.
I’m not sure of the answer to this as my 3 month old son does this as well (although still wakes twice a night). I can usually resettle him to sleep longer during the day, other days he sleeps in 2 – 2.5hr blocks. I’m hoping this is just a phase. Good luck.
baby wakes early screaming with hunger?
if it is in the colder months and between about 3 and 5am baby could be cold.
My son will be 6 months old this month and I have tryed to break him from needing his bottle to go to sleep. When I dont let him have it he can cry for hrs and still wakes up every 2 hrs at night. If I let him have his bottle he goes to sleep just fine and still wakes up every two hrs. How do I fix this problem? I have tryed everything I could think of. Thank you.
its good to get your valuable suggestions. thanks a lot. as a matter of fact my daughter ,bhuvi she is not habituated to go to sleep in a swing or stroller but yes of-course either while breast feeding or moving around in my lap.. i don’t think they are good practices either to fall asleep…. but its really a matter of 5 mins that she start feeding n immediately fall asleep most of the time. i just wanna know how to make her sleep completely independently. she is already 1 and half years old.looking for your valuable suggestion….
baishali
I cant get my 2 month old to sleep his crib. will will sleep in his swing and a bouncy chair. and it seems he wakes up bout every hour. not wanting to eat or be changed but just to wake up and cry. for bout 45 mins to a hour. how can i get him to sleep in his crib with out crying for 30 mins. and to sleep longer
My Grandson who will be 2 soon still gets up at night at least 2 times. His Mom is a single Mom, tring to go to college and she isn’t getting her rest either. I think its just a bad habit but because they live in a basement apt. she can’t just let him cry it out with people living above her. He has a loud voice for a little guy. How can we help him to sleep through the night? Is there some other reason he keeps waking up? When he sleeps at my house he usually wakes up once. Yes he still gets a sm. amt. of milk at night only. We are all so wore out that its easier to just give it to him. I know thats probably the problem. Any ideas, or foods that will induce sleep, anything…..? thanks, sharon
My baby is 12 months old, and i still nurse her i never gave her a bottle. She eats a few times a day. My question is: why does she still wake up a few times a night to get nursed, if she eats very well before she goes to bed. And when i do put her to bed, for a nap or for the night i don’t sooth her in any way, she just goes to sleep on her own!!! Please help me- thx
my daughter is 11 months old and she slept 10-12 hrs a night since she was 11 weeks old until she started crawling. Her dads parents have kept her every weekend for us and they keep her in bed with them even though I tell them not to. And now my daughter will not sleep at night unless she is in bed with us. I can’t stand it and I want her bed trained and to sleep in her own bed and room. Please help me
Hi
I went thru the program and now after 6 weeks we finally have a 6 month old who sleeps thru and takes regular naps without too much crying or fussing. The problem we still have is that 50% of her naps are still only 40 mins long. How do we break this habit???
my baby is 2 months old.she sleeps during the day and she’s up in the night and someone has to be with her.i tried to keep her awake but dont think thats possible……
I have 8 month old twins Amanda and Khloe and they don’t sleep through the night. They share a room and are in their own cots but when one wakes up they will wake the other up so I will often take the awake one and put her to bed with me or I have to walk the halls until they fall asleep in my arms. What can I do to ensure they sleep through the night in their own cots?
I have recently begun babysitting for my 2 1/2 year old granddaughter and 13 month old grandson. My grandson is in the habit of taking 2 hour naps while lying on his mother’s chest. His sister naps well in her bed. While my daughter hasn’t minded this situation, I want my grandson to sleep in his crib ( he sleeps in it at night without a problem, but howls for hours if he’s put in it to nap ). I have explained to my daughter that I need a break during the day-I’m with the children from 9-7 four days a week and drive an hour each way to help out. Any advice would be most helpful.
My 11 and a half month old daughter wakes frequently during the night. She has never slept 12 hours uninterrupted. She usually wakes up after 2.5 hours of bedtime then every 3-5 hours. She requires hands on resettling each time. She also has a dummy (soother) that can be a problem when it falls out but this is not the case all of the time. How can we ‘train’ our daughter into sleeping for 12 hours straight? We are exhausted!!!
MY DAUGHTER ONLY SLEEPS ABOUT 9-10 HOURS A NIGHT.. IS THAT ENOUGH SLEEP FOR A 5 MONTH OLD? SHE ALSO ONLY SLEEPS ABOUT 1/2-1 HOUR NAPS, ONLY 2-3 TIMES A DAY.. IS THIS OK?? AND HOW DO I GET HER TO TAKE LONGER NAPS?
Oh my! I have a 5 month old who I would LOVE to have sleep that long. She only naps 30 minutes a day and will sleep from 10-1a.m. and it takes forever to get her back to sleep and then maybe she’ll sleep 3-5a.m!! Be thankful! :)
10 p.m.-1a.m. that is!