How do I get my 2 month old to fall asleep by himself?

Question

Don't think I can do the controlled crying thing, have tried once and couldn't last more than 20mn. He won't take a dummy so I end up breastfeeding or rocking him to sleep..

Answer 1

Why the rush to independence? He's only 2 months old! He's still supposed to need his momma at such a very young age. He isn't even old enough to realize that you still exhist when he can't sense you yet.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with continuing to nurse or rock him to sleep. It's very natural and it is relaxing for him. Babies are no different than adults. What do YOU do to relax before bed? Watch TV? Read a book? Cuddle with your spouse? Babies also like to be rocked/nursed/cuddled and parented to sleep. It helps them relax.

Know that you CANNOT spoil a baby this age. When they cry, they do so to communicate. And the more that you hold them, the better.

Personally, I don't advocate crying it out. Even the "experts" who do will not recommend it to you prior to 6 months of age.

Answer 2

Being a new mom myself I have been terrified of starting bad habits. My son is five months now and for the most part I've had him teach me what the best way is. First my son was very alert and was awake alot for a 2 month old. So after the final feeding of the night (around 10:30-11:00) I would rock him while burping him and put him in bed before he was completely asleep. But he would never sleep more than twenty min. So my son slept in his swing from 2 months to 5 months. Everyone said this is horrible bad, but this is what my son needed. He wanted the motion and slept through the night. So I let him sleep in his swing and then about 4 weeks ago, started the transition to the crib. And he adapted within two days. My point is pay attention to what works for your baby. Maybe your baby needs motion. At 3 months I started a bedtime routine of bath, nursing, a book and then bed. And since 3 months he has went to bed wide awake, in both the swing and his crib now. Your baby is young enough that you could try a couple different methods and see what works for you and your baby. Lots of Luck!

Answer 3

I know what you are going through as I also have a son a bit over two months. At first no matter what i did to comfort him it did not work. I did the control cry thing, which works but the crying cracks me up at times. I am now learning his different cries eg the difference between when he is hungery and when he wants to sleep. He will not take a dummy either.

These are some of the things which works for:-

Getting him in a morning and bed time rountine. If he sleeps in a cot at night, do not allow him to sleep in it in tha day time as he needs to know the difference from day and night.
Making sure that he has burped, as babies are often uncomfortable when they have wind and will fuss alot. You can sometimes tell when he has a tummy ach as he will pull his legs towards his tummy, for this I give him a bit of grip water.
You also need to be aware of some of the signs which might indicate that he wants to sleep and work with it. For example, I know when my son wants to sleep, he will double his fits. When he does this, I normally try to comfort him by feeding him and holding him close to me as he appears to enjoy the warmth. He will then often fall a sleep.

The key issues is not to get too stress and relax as babies can pick up on this and this will make it harder for them to settle. So relax and give him all the time he needs. I know that at times it is easier said than done, but trust me it works. He will eventually learn to fall asleep on his own when he is older and knows that he his secure. Don't forget he's only two months and all this his new to him. The control crying can come much later, but for the time being enjoy these baby months as before you know it he will have past this stage with you wishing he was back at the cry stage.

Answer 4

I have heard that you can't spoil a child under 6months, so don't worry about the cry it out method. At this age, hold them as much as you can. All too soon they will squirm away from you to play and run!

Maybe you are trying to put him to bed too early? All babies are different and they can change up their schedules alot in the first moths of life. Early on I remember my baby didn't fall asleep til her last feeding around 9 or 10pm.

Wrap him tight, like they do in the hospital, so he feels secure. We used that trick for months! Also, if you put him down when he's very drowsy, but not quite asleep, he'll probably be able to make a good transition to self soothe later on. Make sure she's not too hot or too cold. You can use a light blanket if he's hot and get one of those wearable zip up blankets for an extra layer if he's cold. My sister's house is like an igloo and they wonder why their baby cries all night! My mom also told me that sometimes babies just need to suck, though I resisted the pacifier for a few weeks. It was true!

Breastfeeding just for the purpose of putting to sleep probably isn't the best and I have heard that using music and rocking makes them need that to go to sleep as well. You could start a routine of bath, short story, and bedtime. Some may think it's too early for a story, but you'd be suprised how early kids know what's going on!

Answer 5

The first few times are the hardest. But if you stick with it, the crying will slowly be less each time.
Babies need to learn how to comfort themselves. Its safe, its fine, and the baby will survive. You on the other hand, are sitting there feeling guilty. DONT! You have to start things like this at an early age otherwise you will have a child that is always wanting you to tend to them. And we all know as mothers thats emotional exhausting over time. I am a mother of 4 children here, and we thought the 3rd one was going to be the last. So, we babied him. By the time he was almost a year old, we were still holding him at night to sleep. Then we would put him to bed once he fell asleep. But, then it got to a point where no matter how asleep he was, if we tried putting him to bed, he would wake up. Hence the process started all over again! So, finally I said enough is enough, and put him in his crib awake. The first night he cried for an hour and a half. The second night for 30 mins. But by the third night it was a whimer as I walked out the door, and then SILENCE!!! It was so nice. So when our last little one entered the world we decided right away to do it the easy way the first time around. She is now 10 months, & goes down for naps and bed awake.
Best of Luck to you, and know you arent the first mother to feel guilty, or sad. We all have. It will work, if you stick with it consistently!!

Answer 6

just keep on breast feeding and rocking him I had to do the same with my son, he wouldn't have a dummy either.Eventually he will find his thumb and hey presto he will have his drinkies and sooth himself to sleep. At four months danny boi was fed and put in his cot for 8.30 where he settled himself off to sleep with a little help from his thumb......Just don't bother with the controlled crying it just stresses you both even more than the lack of sleep xx

Answer 7

maybe his not getting enough milk from you, sometimes this happens, don't rock him to sleep check he is dry and everything you usually do for him, then leave him i think he is hungry so try a top up bottle first it's not fair to let a baby cry if its hungry.introduce a small amount of baby rice first thing in the morning this might help start with two spoon fulls.

Answer 8

This is what I did with my daughter. After normal getting ready for bed routine I laid her down ready to sleep but left a tiny nightlight on and stayed in the room with her but I paid her no attntion - I did other things, tidying up mostly! I think this worked because she could see that I was still with her and hadn't disepeared out the door. Don't forget to tell your son what you're doing eg: "You stay there, Mummy's just going to tidy up" Might sound strange but it worked for me. To this day (my daughter is now 6) she is fine with everything as long as she is told whats going to happen!

Answer 9

With my first baby i would get up and pick me up right away, wouldn't let him cry not even for a minute ( i was clueless about it) he kept on doing it till he was more than a year old.
With the second one i did the right thing and after a few days he stopped waking up in the middle of night after 3-4 months he slept all night.

in my case i would rock them to put them to sleep, or keep them close to me, then put them in the crib for the night. hey need warmth

Answer 10

He is too young for controlled crying at this stage. The best thing to do is make sure you have a good routine such as the Gina Ford ones. Bath at the same time every night, wind down time and a room which has blackout blinds so no light gets in. Put him down to sleep at the same time every night and he will get used to the routine. The big no no is rocking, or cuddling to sleep as they get used to it.