Ideas for Helping Baby Fall Asleep on Her Own

Hi K.. I never really had a huge problem putting my daughter to sleep because she soothes her self by sucking her fingers. On the occasion when I am having trouble, I use the Rainforest Waterfall Soother. She loves it. Once it's on, she watches it and falls asleep. I put it on for her almost every night. It is sometimes the only thing that will keep her occupied and keep her from crying.

She is too little to "cry out" as far as I am concerned. Try a music box. I rocked my boys to sleep some nights, kept a rocker in the room and I would play this music plus it helped them to learn that when they heard the music it was night time it was time it was soothing and it has something for them to watch. Fisher Price makes this awsome thing that looks like a fish tank and it plays cool music and the fish swim around. My 2 year old still loves that music and requests it and I have it in the room.

I do not agree with the "cry it out method" either! She is so little, don't feel like you have to rush her into a routine just yet! Enjoy those precious moments you share because before you know it they are long gone! My daughter is almost two and has just in the last four months began falling asleep on her own. It's taken a lot of patience to get to that point... along with lots of songs, stories and back rubs!

She's so young for the cry it out method...it may work later, but until then you'll both appreciate feeling safe and secure. Even for the little ones starting a very consistent and predictable routine at bedtime, if you don't already have one, now can reap benefits much earlier. Read a short story (goodnight moon was always a favorite, but the newspaper in the right tone of voice can work too!), then lay her down sing a soft goodnight song and give her a kiss goodnight. It may take a few nights, and you can make the routine fit into your life, but it should work if you can do it consistently. Low lights, calm routine, a bit of snuggle time before laying her down is not only comforting to her, but will be rewarding for you as well. Also, sometimes allowing your husband to start this routine will make breaking the nursing at bedtime habit less traumatic. Good luck, hang in there, enjoy every moment!

K. (is that you?) =),
Have you read the Weissbluth book (I think it's called, "Healthy sleep habits, happy baby" or something, I'm away from home right now). Several people highly recommended it to us and it's a nice alternative to "cry it out".
M.

You need to buy "The Baby Book" by Dr. Sears. It is my reference for EVERYTHING. It is ok that your baby needs to be close to you to fall asleep You are still parenting at night too. She is only 3 months old, not 3 years. Give her some years to become independent, she is just a baby and that is not the time to be an independent person. The cry it out method some say is a form of tough love - she is a BABY she doesn't need to feel fear or anxiety about anything, especially falling asleep.
Please read the Dr. Sears book or at least go to www.askdrsears.com
You will benefit greatly from their knowledge and advice.
Take care -

She's too young to let her cry it out. But buy a couple books and see what you like. Then start slowly. If your breast feeding, you could try to give one bottle by your husband at bedtime.

Why do you want her to fall asleep on her own at such a young age? If she is sleeping through the night you have it made! I am only an expert on my one 19 month old, and I know every baby is different but it hasn't been my experience thus far that just because I do x with her, she will always need x. I know people say that if she is nursing to sleep then she will always have to nurse to sleep but I just haven't found that to be true. It hasn't been true with anything.

Absolutely don't CIO with a baby that young. All those stress hormones are bad for brain development and I don't think even the hard core sleep trainers recommend it before at least 6 mos. I believe you can find information on studies which found that on the Dr Sears site someone else mentioned. I saw one of the Dr Sears speak recently and he had a laundry list of studies on the topic.

I'm not sure if anyone mentioned the book "No Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley. I found it to be a great book. There are techniques for younger babies and older ones.

Another thing to acknowledge is that babies and sleep isn't just a straight progression. She may not be sleeping through the night going forward, just because she is now. You still have so many sleep disruptions to look forward to: teething, physical and cognitive leaps, different seasons, etc. So having the skills in a book like NCSS may be very helpful in the future.

Hi K.. Count your blessings that she is sleeping through the night!
Have you heard of the book The No Cry Sleep Solution? She has some good ways of getting a baby to sleep.
She is also very young, and babies do not often respond to crying it out til they are older than 4 months, so don't waste your time.
You can get your baby drowsy by using the car, swing, or nursing, but before she goes all the to sleep, bring her to her crib, and lay her down. You can lay your torso down next to her in her crib (get a chair, sit down and lay your upper body in the crib), and say ssshhh-ssshhhh - over and over again while your rub her belly. She may cry, but STAY with her until she is asleep, and for about 20 minutes afterwards to make sure she is asleep. Start there, and then she will be able to go to sleep on her own after doing this few times. You will gradually be able to leave the room before she is all the way asleep. This takes patience and time, it is not an overnight fix.
Once she gets older and gets more mobile and more interested in her surroundings, you may need some other ways to get her to sleep, but you'll be way ahead of the game if you start with a gentler method now.
Good luck!

You should try the book healthy sleep habits, happy child. I had such wonderful luck with his methods and it never really required my little guy to cry it out. He just responded so well to it. Its worth a shot! But I must say I am jealous that she is sleeping through the night!!! My son wakes up for 1 feeding still, but he is so starving when he wakes I couldnt make him cry it out either....Anyway, good luck!

Hi,
Everyone who has already written has given great advice! I have a 13 mo. old girl and I just stopped breastfeeding. She often fell asleep breastfeeding-her whole life. Don't feel guilty about it! It's nice for everybody. I wouldn't worry about falling asleep on her own until she's about 6 months perhaps-bit later is fine too. I found "The No Cry Sleep Solution" great and "Sleeping Through the Night" really helpful. Whatever you do try not to stress about it because I did, and it took a real toll on my body. It wasn't worth it! My baby now falls asleep on her own without crying at all and I think it is because she became a secure little baby early on-I rarely let her cry it out. She always knew we were there for her! (We never picked her up though...it's all in the books...!) Have fun with your baby!

Hi K.,
My favorite book to recommend to friends is on this very topic. It's a book by Kim West - she is known as the Sleep Lady - and it's called "Good Night, Sleep Tight". I love it because it offers another option, besides letting them cry it out. And it works! I swear by it. It's more of a reference book and I referred to it at different times for both of my kids. You'll keep it forever, because it goes through every stage and age, from birth to older children. I hope you find it useful. I loaned it to my sister, too, and she now swears by it! Good luck. M.

I'm sure there's stuff out there, so take my post for what you will. We also wanted to find a "no cry" way to get our daughter to fall asleep on her own. Never happened. It was a source of endless frustration. We finally did the CIO when she was about a year, and I'm really glad that we did. That being said, three months is still pretty little and my advice is that if she sleeps well and through the night with some help from you, keep it up. I know you probably don't believe it now, but when they're bigger and go to sleep on their own, you'll miss all the extra cuddling.