2 month old never goes to sleep without a lot of help!

[pradabooties]

Is this still normal at 2 months?

My little one relies pretty heavily on either napping in her carrier, being rocked and patted to sleep or falling asleep while nursing (which I know a lot of people say is a bad habit... But it works for us so I'm not fighting it right now lol). Sometimes I feel like she'd stay awake for weeks if no one helped her to sleep! I know babies require that help but I'm not sure at what age should she be able to doze off? I just don't want to be causing any harm using these techniques.
Also just want to add although I'm sure letting bub cry it out works great for plenty of families and I respect that decision this is something I personally have chosen not to do so suggestions other than that would be appreciated

 

[ElmoBumpToBe]

Honestly I think at 2 months it's completely normal Hun. I know a lot of people say don't start bad habits etc, but at the end of the day I say they will all self settle at some point? They just do it at different rates. I know it's hard right now while your so tired, but I would just say enjoy this time of snuggling and nursing your baby until she falls asleep, it's lasts such a short time xx

 

[pradabooties]

Thank you! I definitely do enjoy it a lot and all the closeness, it does get hard at times always having to really work to get her to nap but my concern is solely that I'm doing her a disservice by allowing it haha. Other than that I'm okay with it! And congratulations on your pregnancy xx

 

[ElmoBumpToBe]

Thank you so much!!

I don't think you are doing her a disservice at all, can never give them too much love xx

 

[minties]

Oh gosh yes, completely normal! A two month old is still very fresh and tiny. Even my older kids still need help in some way often.

 

[staralfur]

My almost 4 year old still needs help getting to sleep. So yes, very, very normal for a two month old to need assistance. You're definitely not doing her a disservice, people wouldn't say you were creating bad habits by helping her out of her diapers or feeding her on demand, so I'm not sure why people are so insistent that sleep needs to be independent. Keep doing what you're doing, she's still so tiny.

 

[MindUtopia]

Totally normal and if it's working for you, just keep doing it. Our daughter either fell asleep feeding (during the day and then I just held her til she woke up from her nap) or in the wrap for the first 4 months. I think we did try to put her down to sleep once and it was a nightmare and I just thought, this is dumb! Why am I doing it the hard way when this other way works so well? For bedtimes, we wore her in the wrap every evening until we took ourselves to bed (we co-slept after that) until she was 4 months. That worked great. Then we transitioned to a bedtime routine where she had a bath, massage, book and a feed and went to sleep upstairs. I still stayed with her until she was asleep (she started to be able to fall asleep on her own when put down sleepy maybe around 10 months). But that worked great for us and it made things easy and stress-free. She's 3 now and has gone to sleep on her own (baring illness and things happening here and there) since then. I don't believe in sleep training and I don't think it's necessary. I think they grow out of those needs when they're ready, and I would definitely expect that at 2 months, so sounds very normal to me. If it's working for you, I'd just keep at it. You'll find something else that works later on when things change.

 

[Bevziibubble]

This is completely normal. My two year old is the same and so is my four year old!

 

[SpringCrane]

My 2.5 year old still needs help falling asleep... heck, sometimes I do, too! Your little one is still so fresh to the outside. There's nothing wrong with encouraging her to develop sleep skills on her own eventually, but at 2 months it's very normal for her to be completely dependent on you. That's all she's ever known.

 

[SarahBear]

It's normal at 2 months, it's normal at a year, it's normal at a year and a half. I am in the "wait it out" camp of self-settling. My 11 month old is nursed and rocked to sleep for nap time and naps in the carrier. On weekends (when I'm around opposed to my husband being alone with the kids), I can sometimes put him down in his rocker for naps or nap with him in bed. At night, he requires less rocking and doesn't require the carrier, but I lay with him and nurse him to sleep. My three year old requires that I sit in bed with her or cuddle with her. It's not a "bad habit" to give your kid what she needs. It's just a slower and more natural process toward independence. Also, my neighbor did sleep training and her three year old is no more independent than mine is.

 

[pradabooties]

Thanks everyone!!! Very glad. Yes I love nursing her to sleep. My favourite part of the day is her bedtime routine, we have a bath or shower together, a massage with Perfect Potion baby oil, a couple of Beatrix Potter stories and then I nurse her to sleep in our bed which is about 7pm. We have a sidecar style cot attached to our bed that I transfer her to a little later on, after she falls asleep I either just stay in the room with her and relax or if I need to tidy the kitchen or anything even though I leave no pillows, sheets or blankets on our bed I check back on her (like literally every 3 minutes lol!). Thanks again ladies! Very helpful for a FTM