[josephine_e]

this is truly amazing. 10mo ds has started falling asleep by himself! about a week ago i started to put him down -- we usually lay down together and i rub his head and sing to him till he goes out (he sleeps in a small bed next to ours and against the wall). he was being really restless and was playing with my face and using me to distract himself, so i decided to experiment and see what would happen if i went in the next room. he babbled for a little while, kicked around, then went silent. when i peeked in, there he was, fast asleep! this has turned into the primary way he takes naps and goes to bed!!!

dd was two before she even considered this, and even then it took a lot of help from mommy and daddy! ..... it's amazing how different babies can be from one another.

 

[liliaceae]

Cool! I'll have to try that some day.....

 

[StrawberryFields]

Wow!

: Congratulations! I can't imagine that my ds will ever do this. I am dead sure that I will have to nurse and rock him through adulthood. DEAD sure.

 

[junomama]

That's so cool! My son is almost 10 months old, and he occasionally goes to sleep on his own if he's lying between us and we turn the lights on. Otherwise, we rock him to sleep in our arms. I hope he will learn to do what your son is doing soon!

On a side note, I have wondered if/how/when babies who are AP'd learn how to put themselves to sleep. (The only advice I hear from well-meaning friends involves CIO.) I am glad to hear that your 2-year-old managed to do it on her own, eventually. I am sure my son will figure it out in time, too. (Any tips?)

 

[rzberrymom]

That's great OP!

Quote:

Originally Posted by junomama On a side note, I have wondered if/how/when babies who are AP'd learn how to put themselves to sleep. (The only advice I hear from well-meaning friends involves CIO.) I am glad to hear that your 2-year-old managed to do it on her own, eventually. I am sure my son will figure it out in time, too. (Any tips?)

I let my DD do it on her own time. She was also about 2 before she was developmentally ready to give it a try. It will happen.

 

[josephine_e]

Quote:

Originally Posted by junomama View Post On a side note, I have wondered if/how/when babies who are AP'd learn how to put themselves to sleep. (The only advice I hear from well-meaning friends involves CIO.) I am glad to hear that your 2-year-old managed to do it on her own, eventually. I am sure my son will figure it out in time, too. (Any tips?)

with dd, we moved and she got her own bedroom. for a while i'd ask "do you want to sleep in your bed, or mommy & daddy's?" she usually said ours, but during naps i didn't really give an option b/c i had to put ds down in our bed. so i cracked the door of her room and told her "you don't have to go to sleep, but if you get sleepy you can. you can just play quietly. it's quiet time. and if you need us, you can come get us." this eventually went into night time. the "if you need us, you can come get us" thing worked really well b/c dd didn't have as much anxiety about being all alone. most nights she came out 4 to 7 times and we just picked her up, got her some water or whatever, went back into her room, maybe sang a song or something, then went over the whole "it's bed time. if you need us..." also, she had a record player that had little blinking lights on it, and for a while she really enjoyed laying in her bed and watching the lights while listening to songs or stories.

still, this was amazing for dd. she's a very spirited child and always had a tough time getting to sleep w/o lots of dancing and singing and rocking, sometimes crying. ... haha. once, for about a week and a half i had to sit in the rocking chair w/her every night saying "grandma goes night night, and ryan goes night night, and the cat goes night night, and lyla goes night night, and it's okay to be sleepy, and the moon goes night night...." on and on for about an hour. . . i think i totally earned ds's sleep habits w/her!

 

[SugarAndSun]

Wow! My ds1 is almost three and would never even consider going to bed alone. He won't even go with dh unless I am nowhere in sight.

 

[Misbehavedmeg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by josephine_e with dd, we moved and she got her own bedroom. for a while i'd ask "do you want to sleep in your bed, or mommy & daddy's?" she usually said ours, but during naps i didn't really give an option b/c i had to put ds down in our bed. so i cracked the door of her room and told her "you don't have to go to sleep, but if you get sleepy you can. you can just play quietly. it's quiet time. and if you need us, you can come get us." this eventually went into night time. the "if you need us, you can come get us" thing worked really well b/c dd didn't have as much anxiety about being all alone. most nights she came out 4 to 7 times and we just picked her up, got her some water or whatever, went back into her room, maybe sang a song or something, then went over the whole "it's bed time. if you need us..." also, she had a record player that had little blinking lights on it, and for a while she really enjoyed laying in her bed and watching the lights while listening to songs or stories. still, this was amazing for dd. she's a very spirited child and always had a tough time getting to sleep w/o lots of dancing and singing and rocking, sometimes crying. ... haha. once, for about a week and a half i had to sit in the rocking chair w/her every night saying "grandma goes night night, and ryan goes night night, and the cat goes night night, and lyla goes night night, and it's okay to be sleepy, and the moon goes night night...." on and on for about an hour. . . i think i totally earned ds's sleep habits w/her!

I pray that my next one has a better time sleeping. My dd who is almost 10 months old just isn't a good sleeper. She wakes up with every little sound and I have a really hard time just getting her to sleep even when she is way tired. We do live in an apartment with very thin walls though. I have learned to run the dishwasher when she naps because it cuts out a lot of noise. I used to rely on the tv to do this but now she wakes up from certain commericals. I bf her to sleep but sometimes that doesn't even work because she is just so busy at this age.

 

[WillyMom]

Hi Josephine.
Our DS's have the same birthday!
And bizarrely enough, my DS has been putting himself to sleep. He nurses to the point of very relaxed and then nuzzels his head in my chest until his eyes get heavy and then wants to lie down. Its so bizarre.
All I have to say is that all the "sleep training" books are crap because I have nursed DS down for every nap and bedtime and we co-sleep part of the night on most nights. And here we are and he did this on his OWN.
I just want to tell everyone b/c it can and will happen with a nurse-to-sleep co-sleeping baby when the baby is ready with no crying

 

[junomama]

Quote:

Originally Posted by josephine_e so i cracked the door of her room and told her "you don't have to go to sleep, but if you get sleepy you can. you can just play quietly. it's quiet time. and if you need us, you can come get us." this eventually went into night time.

I love this idea. It's so gentle and loving, and such a refreshing change from what I often hear (not on this board, of course). I love that you really try to alleviate her anxiety, and that it seems to work. I myself felt less stressed somehow reading it. Thank you!

 

[Carma]

Our DD did it for one week or so when she was ~19 months. Then she wanted to nurse again. Like she tried it out and didn't like it

At daycare she does go to sleep on her own, but at home it has to be me nursing her.

Carma