My baby will not sleep alone i his crib. Tried the whole CIO thing, he will cry NONSTOP! He won't give up!

Question

He has literally cried over an hour before, two hours once! Who could let their baby cry this long?? I have done this for weeks now... but to no avail. What can I do, our baby only wants to sleep w/ me in our bed. He loves the bed and can even sleep if I get up & walk away for a bit, but he cannot sleep in a crib. I need some advice here. Thanks!

I have heard that babies will eventually stop crying w/ the cio method... but our little 6 mo. old must be strong willed or something (though he is so sweet), b/c he can cry for ever and never stops. And if he should fall alsleep, he will wake up a few min. later & only cry harder, longer and it is just so hard! What to do!

Answer 1

I have an 8 year old and a 20 month old. My 20 month old just self weaned about a month ago and is a co-sleeper. He was and is so stubborn and letting him cry it out was never an option for us. He would cry for 3 hours solid on some nights with me holding and rocking him just because he was mad that he was so tired. When he would get upset as an infant he would cry relentlessly. He hated the car, he hated his crib, he hated the bottle and NEVER took one no matter how many times we tried or how many different bottles. My older child also slept in the bed with us when he was a baby and that just seems to work in our family and it has not harmed our children in any way. My 8 year old has no problem going to bed in his own room in his own bed and has for as long as I can remember now. When we thought he was ready to transition out of our bed we made a big deal about him picking out his bedroom furniture, etc. so he was able to make his room his own and really wanted to be in it. Good luck and just do what makes you and your baby happy. They are little for such a short time.

Answer 2

Hon, he is only six months old.
If he feels your frustration and tension, he will cry more.

Have you tried a different formula? Have you talked to your peditrition about this.

There is medication you can give him for gas pains. Make sure the baby is well burped.

Remember your little one grew inside of you and he thinks he is part of you. When you get up from bed roll up a little blanket and put up against him so he thinks you are still there.
Turn on a fan or some sort of noise so things arn't just silent when you get up.

If you let him cry it out all the time in the crib, then he is associating the crib with crying and feeling left alone

some babies do sleep with mom and dad the first few months. It isn't the biggest problem on the planet.

Hang in there....before you know it he will be 20 years old and you will wonder where the time went

Answer 3

Everyone has the answers, we're all experts...especially those who do not have kids. Every child is different and every child reacts differently to our ideas and solutions to problems.
I watched Dr. Phil berate a woman for letting her 8 year old son sleep with her....jackass that he is.
You are a woman and I'm sure you have great instincts where your child is concerned. Maybe the problem stems from the actual crib, it may be too soft (by the way, I heard you should never use a pillow in a crib...suffocates kids) or maybe the baby is allergic to something in the crib or the detergent used to wash the bedding and gets a rash or has difficulty breathing. Maybe he needs a bit more to eat before bed. My money is on colic. Boys are more prone to colic than are girls. Usually it stops around 6 or 7 months. If it is colic you might want to lay him on your tummy and rub his back until he falls asleep and then put him in the crib.
The most important things to remember are:
1. You will get your answer by trying different things and experimenting
2. You have nothing to lose if your baby grows up knowing you did your best and loved him through the frustrating times as well as the happy times.

Good luck

Answer 4

We have three children and one on the way. The first one my wife would place on her back just like they tell you is the safest way and the baby never slept well. The second baby she would allow to sleep on his stomach and he slept better. With the last one my wife had her own bed and the baby always slept with her through the night and the last arrangement worked best. I know some mom's thrash and move around too much and it could be a danger to the baby but my wife doesn't move much in her sleep so this worked out. My wife no longer has her own bed so we are going to try the crib out again. I know she is not one who could let the baby cry it out. She used to say this was cruel. She would run to them and basically wear them in a sling through the day. Some people may think this spoils them, used to I would agree but we always get compliments on how well behaved our children are (at least they are this way in public).

Answer 5

Have you tried letting him fall asleep with you, but then moving him to his crib? That is usually what I do. And when I lay my son in his crib, I lay him on his side with a pacifier instead of on his back. He sleeps much better that way, and bedtime is usually not a fight.

Sometimes we do the CIO thing, when he will not fall asleep, and he will usually go to sleep within 15 minutes, if he's left completely alone. His daddy has a problem with wanting to keep sticking his head in and telling him to be quiet, but all that does is aggravate things.

Answer 6

If you sleep better w/him in the bed...do what works. You can work on weening him into his own bed when you feel he's ready. I have three children and for some reason...I'm not sure if maybe the crib mattress was uncomfortable but I had the same problem. Your baby will outgrow this stage eventually. Don't worry.

Answer 7

I know you say that you have tried ignoring him and he cries. Now try to do this. give him hugs and kisses or read to him, then lay him in his bed and say its time to go to bed. ( this part is very important) you must sit or lay on the floor with your head bowed down towards the floor. with your eyes closed, just sit there and dont talk to him or look at him, he must be totally ignored. Let him cry. but dont make eye contact with him or acknowledge that he is even in the same room with you. No matter how long it takes, (usually no more than 15 minutes) sit there until he falls asleep. Do this every night but with each night you will sit a little closer to the door. then the night will come when you will be out of the room. This should solve the problem. it has worked on my 3 children and my grandchildren. good luck

Answer 8

Isn't it a warm fuzzy feeling to be soooooo loved ( : My daughter was the same way. I don't know how old your baby is but I would put my daughter in her crib with a gown of mine that smelled like me to help soothe her and lay on the floor in her room, so she could see me. Of course, she continued to cry, but after a week she cried less and by the second/third week she would fall asleep without me having to stay as long. Eventually, she figured it out and we feel in love again ( : Good luck & stay patient....remember, this too shall pass!

Answer 9

You know what do whatever you think is right. My four month old loves the car seat. He will sleep in the car seat all night but soon as I put him in the crib he is up every hour. And that is exhausting. I would suggest trying to get him to sleep somewhere else like the car seat or swing and then get him into the crib. Thats what I am trying to do. Little by little. Right now I have him in the crib for like half the night then put him in the car seat. I dont care if no one agrees with me or not, but... do what you gotta do!

Answer 10

My second son was the same way, but cried everytime we put him down, all day. There is no describing the insanity... BUT.. I look back now, and I wish that I just dropped everything that I wanted to do, and bonded. We slept with both our kids, and they now sleep in their own beds at night just fine. It stops, and they get older.
I personally don't understand why mothers don't want to sleep with their babies. They are comfortable with you, listening to your heart, and just feeling you. If you give your baby the love and attention in these years it can make a huge difference in how they are later.
Just love your baby. They are in a new world, and they just want love and security.