What is the best way to get a baby to fall asleep on his own, besides crying it out?

Question

Please help, my son is 16 months old and only falls asleep on the breast, in the stroller, and in the car. I want him to sleep on his own, but he doesn't know how to get to sleep. He wakes up at night, and need the breast to fall back to sleep. I want him to sleep through the night!!! thank you for any help you can provide

Answer 1

He should of been sleeping through the night more than 6 months ago. You should speak to his pediatrician. One of the 1 year milestones is being able to sleep unaided through the night. For the moment make sure he has something like a toy that comforts him, maybe a white noise machine (which would put me to sleep) and let him work it out on his own.

Answer 2

Make sure his bed is comfortable and not too cold or hot. Hang a mobile toy or two from the ceiling in his bedroom to watch when he is awake. Play relaxing music quietly, in his room. When he wakes at night take care of his needs, but don't give him the breast the first time. No playing or fun, then back to bed and leave him. The next time he cries go to him and take care of his needs then give him the breast. Only feed him every second time. This way we hope to let him know that getting a feed at night is a bit more difficult than in the day time. As long as he knows that you will come if he needs you, he should not get too upset. Also try to have more play and awake time during the day so that he is more inclined to sleep at night. Good luck.

Answer 3

I started weaning my daughter from night feedings when she was about 18 months old, and this is what worked for us:

When she'd sit up and cry out for me, I'd go to her, give her a hug and kiss, lay her back down in bed with her blankie and say "no more mamas" (just use whatever word for "breastfeeding" your baby understands). Then I would rub her tummy or her forehead until she started drifting back to sleep. After only about a week of doing this, I was able to leave the room without rubbing her tummy. And soon thereafter, she stopped waking up in the middle of the night altogether. She is now 23 months old and has been sleeping 11 hours straight for me every night.

I hope that helps. Good luck!

Answer 4

I don't understand why you can't just continue to do what works. Instead of letting him sleep on his own early in the evening and then letting him sleep with you, you allow him to cry for an hour? What good does that do? If he could soothe himself, he would. He's a baby, so he can't. That's why he has a mother and if he's lucky, a father, too. What he's doing is developmentally normal for a human baby. Honestly, I have no clue what your last sentence about your doctor means. But I do think she's wrong about getting him to sleep by himself. Human beings like to sleep with one or more people. Don't you like to sleep with your partner? That's okay, but it's not okay to have a baby with you? "...dangerous because he's elevated off the ground..." he's elevated in a crib or a bed. makes no sense to me. Thanks for the clarification. If you are sleeping safely, with your bed directly against 1 wall, and your baby between you and the wall or your partner, where is he going to go? If a baby actually stands up on the bed (an almost impossible task for a 1-year-old unblanced new walker) believe me, you will know it before he can walk off the bed. And plenty of babies have climbed out of cribs and fallen onto the floor and been injured.

Answer 5

The only thing that you can really do is to let him cry it out. Just go to him like every 10 minutes to soothe & comfort him. Then leave the room again. You may have to repeat this process more than 1 time a night. But it works. After a week or two, he'll be use to it & wont cry anymore. I had to do this with my son. After about 2 weeks he quit crying & went to bed on his own.

Answer 6

soft music and movement help. can you get a teddy bear that moves or vibrates... that could soothe him too

Reading this answer, I thought back to my baby. At 12 months I did let her cry it out. But when she was a couple of weeks old she would wake up and not be hungry. What I did was lean over the crib and hug her withoug picking her up. I would talk and sing and whisper and stroke her hair. She wanted to be held all the friggin time, ,lol. I loved it, but at night I need to sleep. I slowly let up... just a brush on the cheek. An i love you. I got it so all I had to do was wake up and say 'mommy's here'. She would here my voice and go to sleep. But at 12 months I did let her cry it out. She was not waking up for comfort. She was waking up to play.

Answer 7

About "crying it out"

I think its important to make a distinction between abnormal and normal crying.

Abnormal crying times include: during feedings, immediately after feedings, and times when a baby wakes early out of a sound nap. Crying during these times requires attention, and child should not be allowed to "cry it out"

Normal crying times include: just before a feeding, when a baby is put down for a nap, and during the late afternoon/early evening period. The type of crying you are asking about is when going down for a nap. The duration of this type of crying is set by the child, but monitored by the parent. The American Academy of Pediatrics recognizes that: "Many babies cannot fall asleep without crying and will go to sleep more quickly if left to cry for a while. The crying shouldn't last long if the child is truly tired."

It is not unusual for a sleeping baby to occassionally begin whimpering or crying softly in the middle of a nap. Again, the words of the American Academy of Pediatrics are helpful in understanding what is going on. "Sometimes you may think your baby is waking up when she's actually going through a phase of very light slumber. She could be squirming, startling, fussing, or even crying--and still be asleep. Or she may be awake but on the verge of drifting off again if left alone. Don't make the mistake of trying to comfort her during these moments; you'll only awaken her further and delay her going back to sleep. Instead, if you let her fuss and even cry for a few minutes, she'll learn to get herself to sleep without relying on you." The Academy goes on to say that "some babies actually need to let off energy by crying in order to settle into sleep or rouse themselves out of it. As much as fifteen to twenty minutes of fussing won't do you child any harm. Just be sure she's not crying out of hunger or pain, or because her diaper is wet."

Identifying and knowing your baby's cry patterns and disposition (personal style) will hepl you learn to discern real needs.

Answer 8

I tried everything under the sun besides "crying it out" to get my daughter to sleep through the night. I read every book known to man about teaching children to sleep without tears. In the end, crying it out was the only thing that worked for my daugher, and it worked like a charm. I am so glad that I finally gave in and let her learn to get herself back to sleep. It sucked for the first few nights, but now we are both so much happier and better rested.

No one wants to hear their child cry, but sometimes it is the best way.

Answer 9

This isn't easy to fix, because now he's spoiled and may do quite a bit of crying until it is. My wife also nursed our daughter, but when she'd wake up in the middle of the night, she had her diaper checked and changed if needed and was offered a bottle of plain water. It wasn't long before she learned there was no reward for waking up in the middle of the night and crying for attention.

Answer 10

DEAR
I AGREE WITH WHAT THE WOMAN POSTED BELOW. BUT LET HIM NURSE ONLY AT NAP TIME DURING THE DAY WHEN YOU BOTH CAN TAKE A NAP THAT IS ONE TWO AT NIGHT TIME LET HIM NURSE UNTIL HE IS FULLY A SLEEP I MEAN SOUND TO SLEEP OUT AND PUT HIM IN HIS OWN BED NURSE UNTIL 24 MONTH IF YOU CAN DEAR AND THEN WEEN HIM AND LET HIM SUCK HIS THUMB BUT TRAIN HIM IF YOU WANT HIM TO BE RIGHT HANDED LEFT THUMB IF LEFT HANDED RIGHT THUMB AND DO NOT LET THE DOCTORS NURSE ARE THE DENTIST TELL YOU TO PUT A PLATE IN THE ROOF OF HIS MOUTH TO STOP THE SUCTION HIS TEETH CAN BE FIXED UP LATER IN HIS LIFE ENJOY HIM WHY YOU HAVE HIM BECAUSE ONCE HE STARTS KINDERGARTEN YOU LOST HIM UNLESS HE IS SICK AND WANTS HIS MOMMY TAKE CARE