Baby crying to sleep

[Clairikins]

My baby is 12 weeks old and the only way she will go to sleep is by crying herself to sleep, for naps and bedtime. I have tried feeding to sleep, rocking to sleep, cuddling to sleep and she just screams at me. If I put her down she cries quite hard but is always asleep within five minutes (though the five minutes feels really long). Do you think it is an issue that she cries herself to sleep? I hate it but it seems like it is her way of releasing before sleep. Will she eventually grow out of it? I think I fed my dd1 to sleep so this is new territory. Tia x

 

[sarah34]

Could you be putting her down when she is overtired? I would try putting her down a bit earlier and she may go off a bit easier? I know my lo fights sleep and cries until he drops off if he is overtired xx

 

[Clairikins]

I think at bedtime she probably is a little overtired but in the day she is only up for a maximum of 2 hours and does the same. Tonight it was less than 3mins of crying.

Eta - she doesn't even drop off in the car, she cries first.

 

[sarah34]

Maybe she just hates sleep! It won't do her any harm Hun, she is not upset probably just annoyed as she doesn't want to miss anything. I'm sure it is something she will grow out of xxx

 

[Moolia]

Remember crying is their only way of communication. My toddler talks himself to sleep so maybe your baby is doing the baby version of this? My baby cries herself to sleep most times too!! X

 

[Clairikins]

Ahh, thanks moolia, good to know she is not alone! It doesn't seem like she's fighting sleep, just having a (loud) moan before she sleeps. I'd rather she didn't but if I persist with trying to feed or cuddle she just ends up crying for longer. It's like she's saying "leave me alone, I want to go to sleep!"

 

[parrotlover]

My baby cries himself to sleep (naps and nighttime sleep). He cries for about 5 minutes, than he is out. He is starting to talk to sleep now, so I am hoping it weans to just falling asleep with no sounds. I bet it passes, at least I hope so. I am in the same boat. I have gotten used to it, but when my in-laws saw it happen in person, they felt so bad for him, and wanted to pick him up.

 

[Doodlebug88]

My lo cries to sleep for naps and at bedtime. I just see it as a protest to being put in his cot on his own. You know your babies cries and if it's a whiny cry and they go to sleep pretty quick it's fine. If my lo cries sound more distressed then I do go in and pick him up until he's calmed down then out him down again. All normal

 

[Wilsey]

My daughter used to get rocked or cuddled to sleep and now she just seems to put up a fight if you try and do it. So after a while I think 'ok, well this isn't working! How about we just try you in bed' and sure enough she might whinge for a moment and then she just settles down and dozes off. So I assume I'm just dragging it out by trying to cuddle her!!