Cries to sleep

[eatplaysleep]

My ds is 5 months and believe me I don't want to leave him to cry it out but seems to be the only way he will go to sleep. We put ds down when he shows sign of being tired and put him down awake but he will then cry for anywhere between 5-15 mins before going to sleep. Obviously if he is hysterical I pick him up but if it's grizzles/ general cry we now leave him as it seems if we are in the room it makes him worse, takes longer and is more stressful for everyone. He has 3 good naps a day and sleeps 10 hours at night before waking for a feed so he is a great sleeper once he gets to sleep, I just wish there was a way to make going to sleep less stressful for him. He has structured routines, we've been doing the leaving him to it approach for a couple of months now and thought the crying would have reduced but it hasn't. I've even tried going back to rocking/patting/ stroking which used to help but has no effect at all anymore. The funny thing is if he does stir during night he then seems to soothe himself to sleep again without any fuss so not sure why he can't do that at beginning of naps/ bed. Any advice to make this less stressful for ds would be great.

[TheresLotsOfFarmyardAnimals]

DS was the same until 18 months ish. He cried for nearly every sleep, regardless of where he was - in my arms, in his bed, in the pram or car seat.

I think that some babies just have to let off steam. It's horrible though and now I'm not used to it, if he cries at bedtime I'm a bit of a softy.

[eatplaysleep]

Good to know not the only one and that will hopefully grow out of it- even though seems that may be a long way away. It's just frustrating especially if out or around others as feel judged, even on here by the mums that say to never leave the baby to cry. Just found only way for us as if we go to him it makes him worse or we go in he stops and smiles but then still won't go asleep and whole crying process starts again. Thanks for the reassurance.

[TheresLotsOfFarmyardAnimals]

You are doing a good job - you're choosing the path with least upset for your baby. As they get older you can tell the different cries. I couldn't at that age but with DS I found that it was just his falling asleep cry, not upset or in pain but just going through that process.