anyone else still rock their 13 month old to sleep??

[eva0897]

Hi!

Quick question.....I still need to both swaddle and rock and bounce my DS who is 13 months old. It takes anywhere from 30-60 mins of bouncing, and at 23 pounds and 31 inches....I'm getting tired :-) Is there anyone else out there in the same boat? I'd love to know b/c my DH is getting frustrated....even though I tell him it's very normal for co-sleeping/BF babies. Thanks so much mama's!

[NEastMomma]

Hi,
I'm a BF, cosleeping mama to a 9.5month old boy. I don't bounce, but my guy nurses to sleep. Then I nurse him... all... night... long.

So not exactly same boat, but I know that pple (husbands included) sometimes have expectations that we should be able to put a baby awake in a crib and have them drift off to sleep. Happens organically sometimes, but most pple I know only are able to do that if they CIO'd.

My babe goes no longer than 2 hours before waking up crying and on nights I feel frustrated I just tell myself that he won't be in high school still waking every 2 hours. And you certainly won't be bouncing a freshman to sleep.

Hang in there!

[kittykat2481]

When DS was 13 months old, it didn't take him quite that long to fall asleep anymore, but I certainly did rock him to sleep every night. I rocked him every night until he started requesting to lay in his bed to read bedtime stories. Now we cuddle in bed to read and then it's lights out and he falls asleep on his own. On rare occaision he will ask to rock for a minute, and I'm happy to do so. I always said I would rock him as long as he'd let me because the day would come that he didn't fit in my lap anymore. He's 2 1/2 and I'm not even considering taking the rocking chair out of his room yet, just in case. I clocked so many beautiful hours in that chair, I think I'd cry to see it moved.

[triana1326]

My DD is almost two and still needs to be bounced on the yoga ball or swung in her swing to get to sleep. It's very rare that she nurses to sleep anymore - simply because I'm pregnant, dried up, and couldn't take the dry-suck feeling anymore. Both DH and I are looking forward to the day that she goes to sleep without help, but until then, we're bouncing.

[hopefulfaith]

I rocked until well around two for both kids. After that, I would lay down with them and chat/snuggle with them until they fell asleep. Around 3ish, I started the whole "Good night, sleep tight!" and getting out of bed while they were still awake. They were both old enough then to do very well with that. It's a process, but I still get the sweetest snuggles and most wonderful conversation before bed.

[CherryBombMama]

my ds is 13 months and required bouncing until we bought a 2nd hand glider a couple months ago. then he was just rocked/patted on the butt to sleep. just recently (with in the last month or so) i can lay down with him and pat him and he goes to sleep. thank goodness too, because he was hurting my back when i bounced him!

is there anyway to invest in a glider/rocking chair? im so lucky to have found a 2nd hand one, those things are pricey...

and it can take anywhere from five minutes to forty five minutes for him to fall asleep, all depending on how tired he is and how stubborn he is being

[Jend1002]

We don't cosleep but I have to rock my 20 month old to sleep every night! Not for long at bedtime, but when he wakes at night, I have to rock him then too. And that can take a loooooong time. Sometimes when he is fighting taking a nap, I have to go into the bathroom, turn on the fan, turn out the lights and sway while holding him. Ugh! He now weighs 29 pounds. But I do what it takes to get this kid to sleep.

[Mommy2Haley]

I rocked and nursed DD1 to sleep until she was 28 months and then one night it was the last time. The next night she was fine with snuggling in bed until she fell asleep!

[YvonneC-M]

My recently turned one-year-old either nurses to sleep or has to be swung to sleep. When nursing doesn't do the trick, my DH puts her in the infant carrier (which we no longer use except for this) and swings her until she's asleep--usually around 10-15 minutes. I've tried to do this myself but can't. It's quite an upper body workout!

[Baby_Cakes]

When DD was that age we still rocked her to sleep! Even now if she is having trouble falling asleep w/boob, I'll rock her a bit to calm her. She's 20 months! Totally normal - you're not the only one in this boat by a long shot!

[RedPony]

My current baby never wanted to be rocked... such a disappointment after our first who LIVED in the lazy boy like 24/7. We rocked her to sleep for at least 2 years.

[teachma]

My 13-month old is still swaddled from the waist down. He usually nurses to sleep, but when he doesn't fall asleep after nursing, I do need to rock him-- in my arms while standing, not in a chair/glider. He goes into his crib for the first 3 or so hours each night, but we co sleep from the time I go to bed until morning.

[blimbrick]

Hi eva,
My DS is only 8.5 months, but until recently I rocked him to sleep every night while nursing. He's about 20-21 lbs. now. I lie down with him and nurse and he falls asleep like that, or like tonight, he gabbed and cooed for 15 minutes or so after nursing then finally fell asleep after latching again. Sometimes for his naps though he needs movement, and sometimes he won't go down for a nap unless he's in the car or I have to take him out in his carseat/stroller. Such a picky, stubborn little guy just like his dad! He also hasn't been swaddled since he was about 3 weeks old. He would cry and fuss and thrash around until his arms were free, and he is still like that today when we try to put covers over his arms.
~Bren
Mommy to Lucas Raymond 9.14.09

[RachelJoy]

Absolutely! my daughter is 14mo and I still rock/bounce her to sleep. I did the same for her older brother Sam. Up until one day he had just turned two and I had him and a newborn to put to sleep. I had been rocking him for almost an hour and he was just sooooo wiggly! Finally I uncovered his head (he likes to cover his head with his blankey) and said "Are you tired? Do you want to just go to bed?" and he smiled at me and nodded. So I put him down and he toddled off to his little nest (in our bedroom) and wiggled around for a bit...about ten min while I anxiously sat outside the door on the floor and then he went to sleep!!! I was exstatic! I texted my ENTIRE family. From that point on he went to sleep on his own. I would rock him for about ten min then put him down and he would walk to bed. It was awesome to see him so confident about going to bed! No fears at all! He's three and a half now and every night daddy reads to him for about 30 min then we tuck him in, turn on his lullaby CD, give him his water bottle and he goes to sleep.

His sister Kate is 14mo and we're still rocking but now that I'm pregnant I'm hoping to transition to back patting soon then going to bed independently. I try and remind myself on the nights that it seems to take FOREVER to get her to sleep that these times are limited and I will never look back on this time and say "I wish I had taken more time to myself" or "I wish I had just 'taught' her to go to sleep on her own sooner" or "I wish I would have rocked her less...."

[TerraNoelle]

Both of my boys wanted rocked in the rocking chair until they hit about 15 months. Then they wanted to lay out on the bed to stretch out since they were bigger. At that point we just laid down then. I rocked them as long as they wanted too and honestly thought they'd go longer.

I can't believe how quickly that time passed and now they don't like to be rocked at all