My baby is just over 5 weeks now, is it too early to start self-soothing? He does not want to sleep unless we are rocking him to sleep, on he is lying on his tummy on my chest or cuddled up with my hubby.
When he is asleep, if we put him in his crib he stays for about 5-10mins and wakes up and cries if we don’t pick him up.
He was fine at the beginning, I just fed him and put him in his crib and he went to sleep all by himself. But the problem started coz my hubby would pick him up the moment he opened his eyes, and then he would rock him to sleep in his arms ( he would pick the baby up coz he wanted to cuddle the baby, and his excuse “He was wide awake!!!” ) So now it has become an issue.
Also how long do you let them cry while you are training them before you go pick them up and cuddle them?
Does he take a pacifier? That, or their thumbs, are the best way for self-soothing. Or at least, for my kid. We gave him a paci very early on because otherwise he was sucking on our fingers and wouldn’t settle down. Same thing happened with him waking up multiple times for a bottle at night. His paed said he was doing it for the comfort of sucking, not because he was hungry, so we should either offer water, or the paci. We opted for the paci most nights and he picked it up very quickly and would turn to the paci if he woke at night and then fall back asleep. Babies need to suck on something for comfort- whether its mom’s nipples for those middle of the night feeds where they don’t really drink much, thumbs or paci’s. Having said that, some babies might just also not be ready to sleep alone. Our kid didn’t sleep in his crib until he was one.
How about having some white noise in the room? We always either run a fan, a humidifier, or a white noise loop off the computer. We found he couldn’t stay asleep in a completely quiet room and would wake at the slightest noise. Maybe try that too?
As for crying it out, I’m a non-believer in the process for kids under 1. They’re not crying because they’re brats- they’re crying for comfort, security, because they need to be fed or changed. ¥ou really cannot spoil a baby that small. Their needs are very few and very simple. And yes, it can be a pain especially when you’re sleep deprived but hey, you’re a parent now- that’s how life goes. It’s all part of raising your kid. Once he was past 1 and I knew why he was crying out (sometimes he was bored, sometimes he didn’t want to sleep, etc.) the maximum I leave him in there for is 10 minutes. And I’ve also learned to distinguish his cries so I know when he’s faking it because he’s rebelling against bed time or if he’s genuinely upset. I then respond accordingly. Some nights, we’ll put him down with a bottle, he’ll finish it and then either talk himself to sleep or sometimes he’ll fuss for a minute or two. I know that fussing is part of the routine- a last ditch attempt at a “rescue” from his crib haha- so I ignore it and sure enough, 5 minutes later he’s in sleepland. I would say he’s too small for letting him cry it out. It seems cruel I know that’s a controversial line of thought and sometimes parents feel it is for the best, but I never reconciled the need for letting a kid under 1 cry it out. If they’re falling asleep, its from exhaustion and tears, and who wants to sleep like that?
I tried the paci, as long as it is in his mouth he is ok…the moment it falls out, he wakes up…I have been meaning to buy a humidor…coz I feel it might also help with the winter as it is too dry right now coz of heating…
I hate letting him cry himself to sleep…it is very hard to stay away from him…
Right, so we have the paci attached to a paci clip- something like this- http://img3.etsystatic.com/000/0/6434421/il_fullxfull.297648027.jpg - obvs not this exactly one, but you get the idea. in the beginning, you will have to pop the paci into his mouth when it falls out but he’ll quickly learn its there all the time and later on, he’ll feel for it and pop it back in his mouth without even waking up.
That’s exactly what I used with the twins..it worked beautifully! They would put themselves back to sleep in a snap. I actually had an easier time with them than I did with my eldest who never took a paci. He would have to be rocked, held or nursed to sleep. To this day, when it’s bedtime, the twins just go to sleep by themselves..no fuss, no muss. But my oldest (9 yrs old!) still has to have me or my husband lay down with him until he falls asleep :bummer:
And that’s the thing too, right- different kids respond to different methods. And if yours wants to be rocked or held, well, then, enjoy this time! Its exhausting, yes, but it passes all too quickly and before you know it, they run away when you want a huggie. Little punks
Try to lie the baby down to sleep and see if he sleeps on his own without rocking etc. but do that before he is too tired and also when he has had his meal (milk in this case). The pacifier is a great idea, we used it too. Also, there are babies who still wake up multiple times even after they have turned one, like both of my kids, my eldest woke up 15-20 times a night till he was almost two. He had to be taught to cry it out. He was sleeping through the night in a week. Ditto his sister who was trained likewise at 16 months. She was starting to wake up more and more to play or cry. She was sleeping “like a baby” in a week.
We let my son self soothe from the day he was born…now at 4 months old I just pop him into his crib, lights off and he knows it’s sleep time. The earlier the better.. for comfort he likes to hold onto a cloth so i just give him one. He plays/sucks it and goes to bed…never give the paci/dummy. We did it with my eldest and had so much broken sleep when it used to fall out.
The trick is that you have to let them cry/winge for a bit. My little brat has been sleeping though since 4 weeks old, mashallah mashallah.
You will get different answers from different people. We loved holding our son, playing with him, rocking him/holding him till he falls a asleep. Our doctor also told us to hold the baby if that is what comforts the baby. Babies feel secure when they are held. I loved when my son would fall asleep on me, it was the most special time of the day. For almost 2.5 months, every morning he would fall a sleep on me after his morning feed. It also helped me stay in the bed till good 10am. At 10am when he would wake up, I would them give him a bath, eat breakfast, feed him, etc. Now that he is 5 months old, most of the time he wants to sleep by himself.
I would say if your baby wants to be held, hold him, they grow up to fast.
We never let him cry properly, just wingy moany sounds , he winges and then puts himself to sleep… He’s a totally different baby to tithe eldest .. We rocked held and gave the dummy . I could never let them cry for more than 1/2 mins . Thankfully my little one doesnt cry otherwise I would never do it . The eldest never self soothed. Every baby has a different temperament .. And I agree, they need cuddling holding etx to feel secure.
I stopped doing the self-soothing for now, coz I can’t handle his crying…
I found a little trick this morning, I place him on his side and pat him to sleep in the crib..then place his blanket between his legs so he feels like e is hugging someone…so far it worked
( he would pick the baby up coz he wanted to cuddle the baby, and his excuse “He was wide awake!!!” ) So now it has become an issue.
I know that’s a controversial line of thought and sometimes parents feel it is for the best, but I never reconciled the need for letting a kid under 1 cry it out. If they’re falling asleep, its from exhaustion and tears, and who wants to sleep like that?
I didn’t know you were expecting! Congratulations! 
