# nearly 2 year old still needs cuddling/rocking to sleep HELP



## Wriggley

Hi all

So this is not really a problem at this exact moment but im conscious that in the future it will be a problem. 

My LO is 2 next month and cannot just get in to his bed and fall asleep he still has to be rocked/cuddled to sleep

can anyone give me any suggestions as to how i can encourage him to learn to fall asleep himself?

like i said its not so much a problem now im just concerned that he will never learn lol


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## Jem88

Sophie was cuddled/rocked to sleep until she was 14 months. I actually liked doing it but found out i was pregnant again so thought it would be best if she could fall asleep herself in her bed/with me next to her but not rocking. 

She was still in her cot until a month ago so i guess it was a little easier than in a bed. But i started off by putting her into her cot and sitting next to her. She was angry & a little upset for the first 2-3 nights but i shhh'd her and stroked her face/head until she fell asleep then i left the room. x


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## TatorMom

With our first we did all kind of things to sooth him to sleep, until DS2 came along. With DS2 we didn't have the time, energy or desire for any of that "hold me while I fall asleep" crap, so both learned quickly to put themselves to sleep. They know a certain action will get a certain reaction. It gets to be a vicious cycle. We just let them cry it out. I felt bad doing it with DS1, but when DS2 came along he my sympathy meter quickly hit zero and mommy was tapped out by the end of the day. Now that they're older they go to bed when they're told and unless they're sick they sleep through the night. They usually hop into bed with us about 6am. They know that after 8pm that's mommy and daddy's quiet time and babies/kids need to be in bed. I'm very VERY strict about them going to bed though and I do NOT mess around because that's time for DH and I to spend together and to relax and unwind. DS1 is 3.5 and DS2 is 2.5. I do think that we don't have much of an issue because they share a room and aren't in there alone. The 1 time DS1 spent a night at grandma and grandpas DS2 didn't really sleep at all. He just kept crying for his brother or "MY Logan". They refuse to sleep in separate rooms too. They have always babbled to each other after bed time until they would fall asleep, and they still talk each other to sleep. I'm not sure what it would be like if we just had 1 child or children further apart in age. I imagine bed time would be more of a challenge.


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## OmarsMum

I still cuddle Omar to sleep. I don't see an issue with it. He's a toddler for a short time.

Sometimes he falls asleep alone but other times he will ask for a cuddle. I follow his lead, & we still co-sleep xx


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## jj-rabbit

Chase is 2 1/2 and only the past month he's started going to sleep himself. Prior to that he would want us to stay with him, cuddle him and stroke his face. One night he was messing around loads so i just asked if him mummy could go downstairs to do the washing while he went to bed, to my shock he said yes! So i left him, checked on him a bit later and he was flat out. Every night since that night i say to him after his story i'm going downstairs while he goes to sleep and he happily waves me off. This is a huge thing for us as up until 3 months ago he was still breastfeeding and sleeping in our bed. They get there when they are ready xx


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## Seity

Starting around 15 months we did a gentle withdrawl approach. Started with him awake but in his bed, but us holding him until he fell asleep. Then after a few days, him awake in his bed and us next to it, not touching him until he fell asleep. And just moved gradually farther away until we were at the door, then outside the door, etc.
Now, I simply put him in his bed, give him a kiss and leave the room. For a while I was shutting the door as well to encourage him to go to sleep, but I can leave the door wide open and he won't get out of bed.


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## Lu28

I wouldn't worry that he won't learn, he will in time so if it's not a problem for you to cuddle him to sleep then I'd just stick with what works :) If it does start to be a problem for you, then I'd use gentle withdrawal as Seity suggests so that he's still comfortable.


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## Dragonfly

Enjoy it while you can, they grow so fast and soon they wont need you and you will miss it.


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## harveydog

My LO was the same until about a month ago I waited till he was dropping off in my arms then laid him in his cot and then gradually got to the stage where i could see he was drunk tired and asked him to say night night to anyone in the room and put him in his cot and stayed with him but with no engagement. If he stood up I laid him back down and said it's peepy time.

Now when I ask my son to say night night he walks to the door to go up to bed lol


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## Wriggley

thanks everyone - we are still cuddling him to sleep and will continue to do so i think - i just got visions of us still doing it when he is 13 lol


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