Putting my 1yo to sleep

Looking for some suggestions... I have always rocked my 1yo to sleep but now she is getting feisty and it's taking forever. We used to rock for about 20-30 minutes and then I would pop her in the crib once she was asleep. I loved the snuggle time so I was happy with our routine. Now she wants to turn and kneel and chat and try to put her binky in my mouth. By the time she's asleep I've been upstairs for over an hour. I think she's too old for any kind of sleep training and if she's not totally asleep when I put her down she wails. Any suggestions?


Edited for spelling.

Message edited 6/8/2015 11:45:51 AM.

Re: Putting my 1yo to sleep

I don't think she is too old for sleep training. My advice would be to let her wail when you put her down. Check on her in intervals and gradually make them longer each night. It should take 3 to 7 days max and she won't wail again. My DD never slept through the night until almost 2 years old. We had routines, drinks, white noise, pacifiers. When we ditched her pacifier and did CIO/sleep training she was so good for us. Now at almost 3, she is so content getting into the crib, she goes in happy - entertains herself for like an hour, falls asleep and stays asleep until the morning. wakes up happy. I totally recommend it, we wish we did it 2 years earlier!

Re: Putting my 1yo to sleep

No such thing as too old for sleep training, especially for a 1 yo. It's time to stop rocking. Get into a bedtime routine, then put her down sleepy but awake. It's ok to let her cry. You'll be thankful you did it once she's learned to put herself to sleep.

Putting my 1yo to sleep

I was in the same exact boat as you 4 weeks ago. DS (now 13 months) was nursed to sleep every single night. I was pretty sure I'd have to nurse him to sleep forever. One night I decided I was done. By that point, he would get distracted nursing and it would take 30+ minutes to get him to fall asleep. So I started a new routine where I'd nurse him on both sides and then I turned on a lullaby (which plays through the monitor) and put him in his crib. The first night, he fussed for 5-10 minutes. Four weeks in and he still usually fusses when I put him in the crib, but only for a minute or two. It's so nice. Now, anyone can put him to sleep - not just me!

ETA: Once I did this, he started sleeping better at night. I had tried to do this earlier with him, but it was not successful.

Message edited 6/8/2015 11:43:02 AM.

Re: Putting my 1yo to sleep

Is there a written "method" you could suggest to follow? She can be very independent but is definitely a snuggler and more attached than my oldest was. I don't think she would do well with me just leaving her cold turkey. It feels too cruel and I don't want her to truly be afraid.

Putting my 1yo to sleep

My sister did the shuffle method with my niece and it worked. I tried it with DS, but it was not successful. If he sees me, that just makes it worse.

The shuffle method is when you stay in the room so they know you are there, but you are not rocking them. Day by day, you move farther away from the crib towards the door - it allows you to comfort them without picking them up.

Re: Putting my 1yo to sleep

just put her in awake and let her cry. check on her after 5 minutes...dont stay long, dont make eye contact, dont say anything, just lay her back down and leave. wait 10 minutes before going in again.

i know its hard and its absolutely heart breaking, but they really do need to figure out how to get to sleep on their own.

when i did this with DD#2, i used to stay in and pat her tummy to calm her down before i left, but i found that it would upset her more because she was pissed i wasnt picking her up! lol so i stopped doing that, and she eventually figured it out.

now our routine is wash up, pjs, books and snuggle for a few minutes and put her in crib. Sometimes she doesnt even want the snuggle portion, she just reaches for the crib! lol

good luck!!

Re: Putting my 1yo to sleep

I did the same thing with my DD. One day I got tired of her bed time routine taking so long, so I started to change it slightly. I would give her the last bottle, take her in her room, put on soft music, read a couple of books, turn off the lights and rock for a few minutes and then put her down still awake. The first night she cried for 7 minutes. The next night 3 minutes and that was it!
Good luck!!

Putting my 1yo to sleep

Dd1 was 16 months when we sleep trained. Sleep had gone from okay to awful in a mayer of weeks. Check out troublesometots.com. she had great advice and exactly what to do. It was the best thing for us and I just used that site to help with dd2's sleep issues and it helped a ton.

Re: Putting my 1yo to sleep

we got a soother (musical aquarium for the crib) that has a nice light and plays music. it definitely helped during this process!

Re: Putting my 1yo to sleep

Try the 4B routine first, bath (maybe with some lavender drops in the bathtub or lavender oil afterwards), brush teeth, book then bed.

Get her in the mindset to sleep by reading in a dark room with just a lamp turned on. The do what the other ladies suggest with the shuffle method or something similar.

If you don't have the heart to try it out, ask DH to take over the reading and shuffle method.

We did this for our 18 mo who's now 6 and it worked for him. We're getting ready to try this on out 15 mo soon once this mommy can bring herself to doing it. :D

Good luck!

Putting my 1yo to sleep

If your not comfortable letting your child cry then dont. Cio is not for everyone. I never did and never will do cio. My dd like yours liked to be rocked. I slowly started to cut it out and lay her in her crib but stayed in the room with her. I would rub her back and explain to her its bedtime and im not going to pick her up because she needs to sleep.
I would then sit in the rocking chair or stay near crib. Eventually i get to the rocking chair. At first dd wasnt happy about it and would get upset but after a few days she got it.
She got used to going to bed in her crib. And now at almost 3 shes fine. And has been fine for years.
The only time i break or have broken from her sleeping in her crib is when shes sick or she wakes crying from a bad dream like a really bad one that i can tell.has really left her upset.

Cio may work for some but i know that would not work for my dd or me. Only you know your child and what will work for her. Only you know what you feel comfortable with.

Putting my 1yo to sleep

At 1yr old the habits are formed. I would do CIO. I know many don't like it...but this is why so many wind up having kids in the mom/dad bed

********** TOUGH LOVE*************

Message edited 6/9/2015 9:44:06 PM.

Re: Putting my 1yo to sleep

It was really hard to get my DD to go to sleep by herself. I don't remember exactly what I did, by I feel like the sleeping routine went easier when I stopped BF at 15 months. At some point I put a white noise machine on and I think that helped. I didn't do CIO, per-say, but she did cry a lot

Good luck, I know it's rough!

Re: Putting my 1yo to sleep

For us it was cry it out. I know it's tough but it worked so well in no time at all. And she's not too old, we did it with DS around 11 months. He would put his hand up & want us to hold it & then scream when we'd leave the room, it was just such a lengthy ordeal getting him to sleep & he was super anxious... we had to do something. CIO did him a huge favor because it only took a couple of nights & now he's an excellent overnight sleeper-- he goes right to sleep happily & does 11+ hours typically without a peep (naps are a different story because he was never properly trained so he still doesn't nap well). So I'd just bite the bullet & do it. You can go in if she gets too crazy or screams for too long, but mostly just let her deal with it & in no time she'll be better off in the end. Just my experience, maybe not for everyone.

Re: Putting my 1yo to sleep

She's not too old to sleep train. I did CIO, but my sister and cousin both used the Sleep Lady's Sleep Shuffle method with great success.