love ideas on how to get 14 mo co-sleeper to sleep (preferably on her own)

[LuluMama8]

My 14 mo DD has always kept me on my toes in terms of needing lots of creative parenting to fall asleep. For several months, though, we had been in a great routine of bath, quiet reading and play, PJs, nurse, and snuggle together in bed with me hugging her/holding her down. That last part is not ideal and she initially resisted it but then was able to relax and fall asleep fairly quickly. Without the restraint she would just crawl all over the bed and room for hours. In the past couple weeks, though, she really resists the restraining and cries and cries.When I let go she crawls all over, reads a book, comes and lays down next to me, gets up and walks across the bed, and on and on. A couple times I have tried nursing and restraining again after that little exploration time with success but other times she just fights it again. She is obviously tired and yawns these huge yawns, but she just cries if I try to hold her down and crawls around endlessly if I don't. The only success I have had is after 1 -1.5 hrs of this her finally falling asleep nursing. I'm not psyched about that because she is falling asleep super late for her, it is taking forever and cutting into my time with DH, and I was trying to move away from her falling asleep nursing (to decrease the suck-to-sleep association to improve nighttime waking, in theory of course). I have tried leaving the room in the dreamy hopes she will play and read and just fall asleep in her own time but she cries as soon as I leave, obviously frightened, and I got right back in.

Any ideas on how to get a mobile babe to sleep? Any help would be so greatly appreciated.

[kdescalzi]

I really have no great advice, just commiseration. You have described my dd who is also 14mo to a tee. We are in the same boat. We usually have no other choice than to bring her back out in the living room or even outside to keep playing....it then turns into a late bedtime but I cannot fight her endlessly. I keep thinking that if she is truly tired then bouncing and nursing in a quiet, dark room should do the trick. You could try to go for a walk with her in a carrier..maybe an ergo?? that would get rid of the suck to sleep assc. hth

[dachshund mom]

I try to nurse DD to sleep and if she doesn't fall asleep pretty quickly, I let her run around the house. It seems to turn out that if she's wired up so much that she won't sleep, she's happy enough to play by herself. She usually wants to follow daddy around, and I think she just misses him and wants to play with him some more. If it's after my bedtime, I go lay on her bed and pretend to sleep or sometimes I fall asleep. Her room is baby proofed and I close the door, and leave out some books and quiet toys. Eventually she'll either come lay down by me and go to sleep, or start crying and will nurse to sleep. I read some parenting book that said you can't make them eat, sleep, or go to the bathroom, so don't fight them on it, and I'm finding that to be good advice.