Is 8 months too young to let my baby cry himself to sleep?

Question

He's always been really good about bedtime (he's been sleeping through the night since he was 3 months) but for the past 2 weeks or so he just resists it. He gets a bath and a bottle and that used to be all it took. He forces his eyes open and and starts moving around a lot. So now I've added a bedtime story and rocking and humming to him. He still fights.
He even wants to jump out of my arms!
I can only figure that his crib is the safest place to contain him until he wears himself out.

Answer 1

There is no any period in any age of the child to say as an acceptable time to let him cry to sleep. Though there are times when nothing seem to work out right, but bear in mind that a child cries out of frustration in any of his unmet needs. Leaving a child to cry himself to sleep can result to some negative effects in building up his personality, apart from losing some of his trust in you. You need to do things to let your child develop a strong trust in you at this stage. Ty to meet all his needs.♥

Answer 2

It's not too young to set up the bed time routine. Make sure that every night you do the same thing, bath, bottle and bed time story. Then lay him down. Stay with him for awhile, gently laying him back down as he gets up. If he won't stay down, leave the room for awhile. Then go back in and lay him back down. Each night wait a little longer before going back in. Eventually you will wean him of not going to bed. Also, getting him up at the same time every morning will also set up a routine. Perhaps he is getting older and needing less sleep. We moved our son's bedtime back half an hour at night and he has slept like a dream since. He also takes a good nap in the afternoon. He is 2. If the behavior continues, check with your doctor and see what he recommends. They have seen the problem before and may have some excellent suggestions for you. Good luck.

Answer 3

yes i let mine cry for about 5 minutes or so and if he is not asleep by then i take him out and let him run off some energy for a little bit. Just make sure he is full. and make sure you keep a routine if they ever get out of a routine the sleeping thing is out of wack too. So just keep a routine down make sure he is fed to full. Maybe you could put him in the crib and rub his back until he falls asleep that helped mine and i would do that for a couple weeks or so and then after that he would just go in there and go to sleep now couple time he would not go and stay up a little later but that does not happen often most of the time he goes to sleep now. But yes try letting him cry or rub his back. and keep the bathtime before bed routine that will help him also maybe try that baby night time bath.
my routine with my little one is dinner at 7 then bath then bedtime. but i used to have rub his back that only had to do that for couple of weeks. I do let him cry like i said because sometimes he would not want to go but i would just let him cry for about 5 sometimes 10 minutes and usually by 5 he is out.
well good luck

Answer 4

Yes, I started with my son by putting him to sleep at night by after he drank his bottle and was time to go to bed, I would put him in his crib and alot of times he would cry, but just a little bit and then he would go to sleep. There were a few times where he let out a terrible cry like something was wrong and I would go pick him up out of the crib then. Good Luck. It might take a few trys to do it. But your baby will get adjusted.

Answer 5

I think the best thing to do is wean him off slowly. You don't want the child to think he's being abandoned, or feel unloved, so after your normal bedtime routine I suggest that you tell him it's time for bed now...goodnight, turn off the light and walk out. After 3-5 min. walk back in if he's still crying reassure him and again repeat it's time for bed now....goodnight. You do this repeatedly lengthen the time space before walking back in. It may take a few weeks, but consistency is the key; if you can't then neither can he.

Answer 6

About 8 months is when separation anxiety tends to hit. He may be starting to realize that you are not there with him. Go to him and tell him goodnight and you will see him in the morning and then leave the room. Let him cry a few minutes before going back in. Gradually increase the amount of time that goes by before you go to him. He will get use to it and fall asleep.

Answer 7

Letting a baby cry themselves to sleep is a bad idea. Research has shown that babies who cry themselves to sleep are more likely to have major problems as adults including panic disorders, depression, and post traumatic stress disorder.

Try to figure out why he doesn't want to sleep. Is he teething, is he scared or lonely, is he sick or is his tummy upset, maybe he has an ear infection and laying down is painful. There are so many valid reasons for a baby to not want to sleep.

Answer 8

first make sure that he sleeps in a regular size big crib. not in a portable crib. some kids dont like too dark in the bedroom. put on a little music and stay with him and he should feel comfortable to fall asleep.

Answer 9

If you can handle it it's fine. He's going to have to learn eventually to cry himself to sleep. I am totally against rocking a child to sleep (on a regular basis). He might not be getting worn out during the day. If he takes naps, shorten them, or make him more active during the day. If that doesn't work, it's not going to hurt him for him to cry himself to sleep.

Answer 10

Are you sure that he doesn't have gas problems or teething problems. My daughter used to scream and cry and I'd give her some gas drops as a last resort and then she'd go to sleep.
Teething also causes them distress. Orajel will do the trick and numb them long enough to fall asleep.