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Parenting

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Original poster

Please help me get my 8 month old to sleep!

6 replies

sparklyskyy · 30/09/2013 22:30

He's always been rocked, fed or shushed etc to sleep. This is no longer working! The feeding to sleep sometimes works and then we transfer him to bed and he may or may not sleep through. It's really a case of fingers crossed and hope for the best.

I am going back to work in a few weeks and really need him to go to bed early which he does sometimes but it seems to be just the luck of the draw.

I have seriously looked into the cry it out method but this is not the route I want to go down.

Please please help me

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HighVoltage · 01/10/2013 03:50

At about that age what worked for DS1 was a combination.

Bedtime routine (bath, massage, bottle, soft story) then dummy in (intro-d at 7 months to get him to settle so held in at first), on side and bottom pats whilst shushing. He also had a Fisher Price mobile on which had soft rainforest noises that we would leave on as he drifted off. It took a few nights for that to work then eventually it was just mobile on, dummy in, pop him on his side lay my hand on his bottom and he would start dropping off so I could go pretty much straight away. Oh, and he wore sleeping bags that would be on from after bath.

Sounds like you've tried most of it so not sure if it's helpful but thought there might be something in there - good luck.

Original poster

sparklyskyy · 01/10/2013 07:04

Thanks High for your suggestions. As you said I have tried all of that

He no longer wishes to be patted to sleep and starts crawling about in his cot or pulling himself up and never settles.

I don't know what to do, everything leads to cry it out when I look it up online and I don't want to do as he gets very very upset and is awful for all of us. Plus my DP works late so I do the majority of the bedtimes and he is even worse than me about leaving him to cry because he is not at the end of his rope like me!

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blushingmare · 01/10/2013 08:07

You don't have to do CIO/CC - it just depends how much patience and tolerance you have. DD was like your's - eventually the rocking, feeding, patting etc to sleep just stopped working. I just ended up sitting with her and repeatedly lying her down every time she stood up and cried. I find giving her a drink of water helps to settle her a bit. It meant I was sitting with her for 2 hours every night at the beginning, but gradually that time became less and less and she became much happier to go in the cot awake. Now I just lie her down and sit with her til she's getting sleepy and then leave the room and she is fine with that. But it's taken 4 months to get to that stage! It also tied in with me going back to work, so I know how hard it is. I just wanted to say that CIO isn't inevitable, but the alternative is much more tedious and time consuming. For me that was the right choice, but I can see why it wouldn't be for everyone.

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quickchat · 01/10/2013 22:43

A little bit of crying won't effect him in any way, shape or form. He needs to learn something very new to him - settling himself.

He will be better off for it when he is getting more sleep himself.
I have 3 and once they got older and on solid food I did a bit of CC. It didn't take long, 2/3 nights roughly. They are 6, 3 and 1 and all go to bed at 7 and get up at 7. It's worth it for everyone in the house. Sleep is as important for babies as well as mummy's!

Choos123 · 01/10/2013 23:01

Dd liked the same repetitive tunes on loop til asleep every night, same bedtime, same routine, complete darkness...she slept better when she started nursery as she was more tired in the day. So he can get up in a sleeping bag?

heymammy · 01/10/2013 23:07

Ds (now 18 months) was a horrendous sleeper at 8 months but what has eventually worked (but it's had its ups and downs) is just lying with him on our bed, in the dark, until he falls asleep. Its the only way to get him to sleep without screaming the place down. He used to crawl around the bed and basically fanny about for over an hour but would eventually pass out cosy in and go to sleep, now he flops around getting comfy for 20mins or so and is usually asleep by 8 and usually sleeps through.

This is huge progress by the way, this boy's sleep has had us both weeping (the DDs were classic 12 hour sleepers by 3 months). Everything we tried only seemed to work for a couple of weeks at a time and then it would all go tits up again, but lying with him thankfully has stuck.

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