how to stop my 8 month old baby from wanting to be rocked to sleep all the time?

Question

my 8 month old wont sleep unless i rock him to sleep.He wakes up in the midle of the night to be rocked. someone help me tell me how do i stop this.

Answer 1

I don't know how to stop him, but you need to nip it in the bud. I have a friend who has a 4 year old that still won't sleep until she's rocked.

Answer 2

Rocking the baby to sleep creates a sleep association that the baby can then become dependent on.So that means that when the baby wakes up during the night, they have the sleep association of being rocked to sleep and they become dependent on the rocking to get back to sleep.
Make sure to feed baby before the child goes to bed then the child is going to sleep better.

Recognize tired cues: rubbing eyes, yawning, grimacing.
Put babies in bed while they're awake.
Put babies to sleep in bed, not in your arms.
Separate feeding and sleeping.
Resettle baby with comforting techniques if it wakes after 20 to 30 minutes.
Room should not be too hot.

I love rocking my babies to sleep even when they are 3 or 4. But I couldn't do it every night. I think it is OK to do it from time to time, to give the child comfort and for mommy and child to bond.

Babies need to learn to comfort themselves. I know that is hard, coming from a mommy stand point and all. That doesn't mean to let them cry for 30mins, it just means to begin with baby steps and move toward letting baby put itself to sleep in the crib.

I hope that helps.

Answer 3

You just have to stop! Put him down in the cot without rocking, then go out the room and if he cries go back in 5 minutes to reassure him(NOT pick him up!) and go back out again. Repeat every 10 minutes and eventually he will fall asleep. It will probably take at least an hour the first and second nights, but by the end of the week he should realise that he is not going to get rocked and go to sleep on his own!
Good luck

Answer 4

This is whilst making a decision if sleep is extra most important or if breaking his addiction is extra most important. I in my opinion might say sacrifice a few sleep (each you and your husband have to take turns in order that you each get sleep additionally take naps for the duration of the day for now). Every time he wakes up placed him again to mattress do not allow him lay on your mattress for even a minute. When you set him in his mattress rock him somewhat, pat his again or anything you wish to do to remedy him. Get a kind of gentle projectors to show at the ceiling play somewhat stress-free tune for him..... Doing this each and every unmarried time and he's going to ultimately observe he is not going again to mommy and daddies mattress. It nevertheless might take awhile so be sufferer with him and do not slip when you consider that the primary time making a decision to allow him lay with you than you'll need to restart the entire approach. This can even aid him sooner or later letting him understand what he can or can't escape with. If you do make a decision to simply cross forward and allow him sleep with you presently than it may be rough sooner or later to damage him as good so both method you'll be somewhat sleep disadvantaged for a while.

Answer 5

I fell into the same trap as you have with my kids, and I know it seems cruel, but I just let them cry it out at bed time. I would put them in their cribs, make sure they had what they needed to go to sleep and let them get used to putting themselves to sleep. It was horrible for the first few days, but after a week-week and a half, they'll get the idea and not cry so much.

Answer 6

Are you kidding me JimB??, a car ride? everynight? You replaced a dependancy with an even more inconvenient dependancy. And it's harder to break than rocking is. What do you do if you have a second child or third? Take a family "bedtime ride" There are other ways to sooth your baby. But at bedtime, its time for him to console himself and put himself to sleep.

Answer 7

It's gonna be tough 'cause he's older and "set in his ways" There are a few things you can do. You can let him cry it out...or you can exchange his one soothing technique for another, or gently try and stop him....either way I would research it. The best site I have found for sleep questions and problems with little ones is www.babywhisperer.com
Hope this helps

Answer 8

You need to start letting him cry it out. Check him and makes sure he isn't wet,hungry,or hurt and then if he isn't any of those things lay him down put on some soothing music and every night try to let him cry it out. You can talk to him and soothe him but don't rock him. He needs to get out of that habit.

Answer 9

Try singing or humming to him while you are patting his back or his bottom very gently. If he sleeps on his back, rub or massage his tummy and neck...maybe even his cheeks. I know all babies are different, but mine loves to be patted on his back and bottom, and he likes his little cheeks and forehead rubbed..actually I don't rub his face, i just run my fingers around his face, I make a circle from his forehead to his cheek, to his chin, other cheek and back to his forehead. For some reason it really seems to comfort him sometimes. Some babies even love for their feet and legs to be rubbed. You will just have to mess around with different things and find what comforts him most. Good luck to you. It didn't take me long, so hopefully you will find what he really likes and the transition goes quickly for ya. God Bless.

Answer 10

You put him in his crib at bedtime when his tummy is full and his diaper is dry and you know for sure he is sleepy. You leave the room. You let him cry. You DON'T GO BACK TILL MORNING NO MATTER WHAT. Repeat every night. Within a week, two at most, your baby will have broken his bad habit with your help.