My 3 1/2 month old will not sleep in his crib. He will sleep in his swing or pack and play for a stretch of 3-4 hours but not all night. Does anyone have any tips on how to get him to sleep in his crib and for more than a couple hours? I bought the crib soother vibration unit and the sound machine like what is on his swing to duplicate what he gets in his swing but still he won't sleep. His binky falls out and then he cries and I don't have the heart to let him cry it out. Should I let him cry? My husband thinks we should try letting him cry it out but I am not sure how I feel about that. My daughter was an excellent sleeper and slept all night in her crib by this age so I am at a loss and hope someone has some magic tip to share!!
Thanks!!
You have to let him cry it out, or you will have this problem with him when he's older too. You can tell the difference if you pay attention, whether his cry is a need cry or a want attention cry. Don't answer the want attention cry or you will have big spoiled child problems when he's older. You don't want that.
3 1/2 months is too young for letting him cry it out. I think they don't recommend that until at least 4 or 6 months. Plus, he probably still needs to eat every few hours during the night at this age. My daughter did not sleep through the night until she was over 11 months old and was eating mostly finger foods. Some kids are just better (or worse!) sleepers than others. Hang in there- I know the exhaustiong can be so hard.
Don't let him cry it out this young unless you make sure he's not hungry first. Some babies can make it through by 3 months, but not all. Be sure to feed him more all day long for a few days so you know he's satisfied at night, and when he first wakes, I would feed him if he hasn't eaten in a few hours, but THEN I would let him cry to get used to his crib.
Also, start having him nap there during the day. He's used to a lot of stuff in the day that soothes him-noise, swinging, etc, and he's just not used to the quiet crib at night yet. Don't let him train you to do all sorts of stuff at night, just let him get used to it. See if there is any other comfortable simulation you can do in the crib, or you could let him sleep in the pack and play.
My 5 month old was the first of 3 not to love her crib, but I noticed whenever I set her down on our down comforter on the bed (when she was a couple months old) and she "sunk into it" she would fall asleep or lay there happily. We started putting a doubled up down comforter under her in her crib and she's loved it ever since. We also feed her constantly in the daytime, because this got my other two sleeping through by 3 months. She started sleeping through by 3 1/2, 4 months. Good luck!
My daughter transitioned to a crib beginning at 3 months. At that point she was taking 3 naps a day. I started slowly- I would put her in for 1 nap and the other naps would be in her bassinet, then after a couple of weeks we went to 2 naps. Then a couple of weeks later we went to all three naps in the crib. At night she slept in the bassinet next to our bed, swaddled tightly.
I made sure we established a predictable routine, there was a fan in her room for white noise and I bought room darkening curtain liners so her room was dark enough.
Now- she didn't actually learn how to sleep on her own until she was 4 1/2 months old. That is when they can finally differentiate from night and day...so right now your baby isn't ready to cry it out.
When, and if, you decide he needs help learning to sleep on his own I'd recommend using The Sleepeasy Solution by Jennifer Waldburger- it's excellent and it deals with sleep problems up to the age of 5. It is a great resource to have.
However, right now, I'd just recommend giving your baby what he needs.......in a few short weeks he may surprise you and start sleeping through the night and if not, then you can start letting him cry it out. :-)
Good Luck!
Hey J.. I am glad you posted this because I am having similar issues. Can't wait to see your reaponses.
I also feel that 3 1/2 months is way to old to let him "cry it out". I don't think any of my babies were sleeping through the night that young. Give him time and before you know it he will be sleeping 8 hours. My only advice is to keep trying the crib. After a few nights i am sure he will get used to it. Maybe you and your husband can take shifts for now?
My son only slept in his pack and play till about 3 1/2 months. His crib overstimulated him at first. He loved looking at the lines of the crib bars. His pack and play was like a deep blue cave in comparison! We switched him all of the sudden because he caught a really bad cold. We needed to prop the mattress with pillows and couldn't do that in the p-n-p. He didn't have any trouble with the switch. Maybe it was the slant of the mattress or the vaporizer that made it easier? Would propping the mattress remind your kiddo of the swing?
As far as letting him cry. I haven't gone that route yet. I don't think most kids would be ready at 3 1/2 months. I plan on doing it when my son is ready. My personal guideline for when he is ready: Every few days at bedtime, I put him down without him being asleep and let him cry for a few minutes. He rapidly goes into a hysterical cry from which he has a tough time calming down even when he is picked up and walked around. It takes him longer to regain control sometimes than the 5 or so minutes that I'll let him cry. The day that I let him cry and he stops immediately when I pick him up, I'll know he is ready for the Ferber method. I know he's getting closer to this, as his cries stay calm longer and longer before they become hysterical now. Even without any official sleep training method, every month he improves his sleep habits. At almost six months, he sleeps twelve hours, waking once for food. It will happen eventually! Good luck!
It's not about "crying it out.". Sorry, but it drives me nuts when people write/say that. They are obviously referring to Ferber. Ferber never advocates leaving your child to cry abandoned in his/her crib. Rather, he recommends a systematic approach in order to rid your child of negative sleep associations. (a negative sleep association is anything you don't want to have your child continue to do in order to fall asleep.). It sounds like you want your child to stop doing the behavior you described (sleeping in the swing solely for extended periods of time.). Now is the time to try to change this behavior. Otherwise, the longer it goes on the more difficult it is.
Do yourself a favor and first read Ferber's "how to solve your child's sleep problems.". What he has to say is insightful and intelligent. Then utilize his approach. You should have your issue rectified in
a few days. I'm serious.
Good luck! :)
Hi, J.:
Don't allow your baby to cry it out. He needs to feel comfort and protection when he cries.
Go on line and learn about infant massage and when the time comes for naps and night time sleeping, give him an infanct massage.
Establish a ritual with massage in his crib for those times for sleep.
Good luck. D.
my son was the same way hes 8 months old now but he just recently started sleeping through the night. He loved his swing because of the movement it's different then the vibration. Sometimes he would even sleep in his carseat. I felt the same way, i bought this crib and he doesn't even use it but he sleeps in it now. it might just be that he likes to sit up. they have those little pads with sides on it so the baby doesn't roll well try getting a raised one it might help. But don't worry he'll sleep eventually and it's ok if he sleeps in his swing or play pin as long as he's sleeping. Also i do think you should let him cry because i never did and now he's spoiled rotten, So now i let him cry for a little bit and he goes to sleep but if he starts screaming and gasping like his dying then he's prolly hunger or something else is wrong and he wants you to fix that before he goes to sleep. Just try it and see what happens. but remember it's ok he'll get there
