Nursing and rocking baby to sleep

[jessmke]

My daughter currently does (usually) go back to sleep when she wakes at night. In the past week, she's been sleeping thru the night most nights although that's a new thing because before she was consistently waking up one time to eat. She needs help going to sleep at the start of the night it seems. Anyone else baby similar?

My LO is the exact opposite! She needs no help at all to go to sleep at night, I just put her down in the crib after I read a story, turn off the lights and leave the room, and she goes to sleep on her own. But in the middle of the nights she will not go back to sleep by herself if she wakes up. She used to wake twice to eat but now that we are in the 8 month sleep regression she is up at least 4 times every night and cannot go back to sleep on her own.

 

[Starlight32]

I'm scared for the sleep regressions because she sleeps pretty well now (after being put down for bed time).

 

[Left wonderin]

Don't be scared you will get through no matter what is thrown at you and come out the other side just deal with day to day that's the best way . You can't second guess the future with babies . They will do exactly the opposite of what you think they will most of the time lol... Just remember to breath !

 

[Nibblenic]

I'm scared for the sleep regressions because she sleeps pretty well now (after being put down for bed time).

No point in worrying hun. Now children get to adulthood without some really rough nights. All parents survive this and the kids do to.

 

[noon_child]

I'm scared for the sleep regressions because she sleeps pretty well now (after being put down for bed time).

No point in worrying hun. Now children get to adulthood without some really rough nights. All parents survive this and the kids do to.

Agreed. Also it can be helpful to think of them not as sleep regressions, but brain developments - they aren't losing abilities they are gaining them!

 

[Twag]

Nurse and cuddle away I still do with my daughter and i did with my son until he was 1

He is now 2.5 sleeps in a big boy bed goes to sleep after his story with no problems and never wakes in the night - he is a fantastic sleeper and will be the same wherever we are staying 👍

I like yo think it is because I gave him what he needed at a younger age - I never left him to cio it is not something I can emotionally do I know others do and that is their choice personally if my child needs me they need me end of

 

[thexfadingpat]

I have to nurse and rock/bounce my son to sleep. He will not fall asleep any other way and if we try to get him to "self-sooth" he will literally cry for hours and get so worked up that he gasps for air.

 

[minties]

Currently Emma needs nursing, rocking AND the hair dryer on to fall asleep during the day. She still fights her sleeps even with all the effort. Won't take a dummy either.

 

[broodymrs]

Currently Emma needs nursing, rocking AND the hair dryer on to fall asleep during the day. She still fights her sleeps even with all the effort. Won't take a dummy either.

Have you tried white noise minties? Finding a white noise app on my phone was a saviour for us. It had a hair dryer option too! I used to put it on flight mode so no calls or anything would come through then leave it in ds's room on a timer. I'd sneak back later to retrieve it.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

I rocked all of mine. They do honestly stop without training. I co slept with my 3rd till 2.5 and then she randomly started staying in her own bed

 

[MindUtopia]

Not bad at all. Do what works. Actually, through human evolution that's what everyone has always done and in most places in the world that's still the norm. It's really only in the West where we have these crazy theories about baby sleep (not surprisingly, we're also the only culture that thinks babies have a 'sleep problem'). Our daughter was always cuddled, rocked, fed to sleep. She eventually grew out of it and more easily fell asleep on her own, probably around 11 months. It worked and it was easy and it meant we had more time in the evenings to ourselves rather than dealing with a baby who was up and down and not settling because we were trying some wacky tactic that didn't work. She's 3.5 now and sleeps wonderfully and we never sleep trained or did anything to encourage it other than to do what worked and change things up when we needed to. Sleep really is developmental and things will change as she gets older (and there will be rough periods again here and there), but if it works, do it. I don't believe in this bad habits rubbish and I think it causes people too much stress trying to avoid doing something they think some sleep expert says they shouldn't do.

 

[JulieFlower]

I say: whatever works! I rocked and nursed to sleep until very recently. Now baby is 7 months old and learnt to fall asleep on her own with no 'sleep training'. We use myHummy, a white noise toy, and it definitely helps. She sleeps 12 hours per night, until recenlty she woke up once or twice a night, just for a moment, but now she sleeps through!

 

[Rainbow82]

Do what you need to do, you don't need to teach your baby to self settle they will learn it in their own time. My DS is 15 months now and I still cuddle him to sleep, it's ten minutes a day where I still get a lovely cuddle, the rest of the time he's my little hurricane, when he wakes in the night he looks for his teddy to cuddle and usually settles back to sleep in minutes without me needing to go to him.

 

[pradabooties]

I do this every nap and every bed time with my 7 month old! I've read both sides of the debate... Personally I practice "attachment parenting" in many ways and feel it's a very natural thing to do

 

[laila 44]

I know many are against this but I actually sleep trained my 3 month old this past week. She was a mess. Wasn't napping. Needed an hour of rocking then when put down she would cry and we would repeat 20 mins later until one of us gave up. Now j can simply put her down and walk away. She's aslee within minutes and is so happy and rested! She's a totally different baby! This also trickled into her nights and she seeps through now as well. for us it was a must. Wasn't easy but so so sooooooo glad we did!

 

[SarahBear]

At this very moment in time, my 17 month old is nursing to sleep. My 3 year old, however, fell asleep without me in the room and in a strange room the other night.

 

[ChocolateC]

Doctors say what they're supposed to. There's no single path to good sleep. I nursed my DD at bedtime until 16 months and she gave it up just fine (first we substituted a bottle, then nothing--for some reason she didn't protest). I nurse my DS to sleep now and he sleeps 8-9 hours without waking so I'm thrilled and wouldn't change a thing.

I think some babies learn self-settling better than others and it only has a little to do with you. My DS was sucking his fist in utero, no joke, and now he does that to self-settle at night. My DD, however, didn't do that, had no instinct for it, and it was harder to get her to sleep through the night. But it did happen. She's been great as a toddler.

 

[Starlight32]

I put her in her crib while getting ready for bed myself and she fell asleep on her own, no crying or anything! I was shocked to come to find her asleep. I'm sure that won't happen again anytime soon but that was different.