How long does it take your baby to fall asleep?

[Babydreaming]

Mine takes about 30 mins from me putting him in his cot to him being asleep and he spends about 10 mins crying each time...

Is this normal? I give him dummy, darkness and white noise and try to put him in when he’s showing tiredness signs

He will fall asleep much quicker if I feed/cuddle to sleep but he’s 11 months now and I really want him to be able to settle independantly

Mine is 10 months and he also takes about 30 minutes but doesn't cry, just plays with his toys, rolls around and bangs a book against the cot.

I've got one of those slumber buddies which plays really nice music and puts stars on the walls which he likes to look at. They soothe him when he is upset too so maybe something like that is worth a go?

We sorted this with a good strong routine I think. That way by the time he got to his cot after pjs on, books, milk and teeth brushed he was sleepy enough to drop off very quickly.

Hmmm I don’t think it’s his routine? He’s had a bedtime routine since 6 weeks! Bath, pjs, story, milk and bed. He starts rubbing his eyes and closing them during milk time so he definitely knows it’s bedtime. I think he just struggles to fall asleep? He’s always been like that though...even as a newborn! When all the other newborns default was to sleep he would need hours of rocking and cuddles. Never falls asleep in car/pram even after hours! I think some ppl just find it more difficult to go to sleep than others?

DS used to take about 20 mins but that was with a cuddle. I didn't find 20 mins of cuddling to be the end of the world, was much better than an hour up and down the stairs, which is how long it would take (minimum) if I left him to it.

Sorry to say this was the case until about 4 when I could finally leave him to it. Of course he wasn't having cuddles at 4 (too big to fit!) but I'd have to sit on his bed with him and keep reminding him not to talk or distract himself. He had to learn how to relax. He did get there eventually but it took so much coaching.

A lot of people will tell you to be strict and it is time to sleep train but there is a growing number of people who public say and research to support it that it is not right to let your baby cry.

If an adult was upset you would comfort them.

You don’t have to be strict or leave your baby to cry.

DD is 15 months and can take anything from 20 minutes to an hour to settle, in my experience a routine makes no difference if they don't want to sleep. If even when you've eliminated all the factors that could be causing them to fight sleep (hungry, teething, ill, too hot or cold) they are still taking a long time then that's just how it is. I personally believe it more of a person to person thing, and if you have a baby that takes a while to settle that's just how they are. Really pisses me off when people just shout about how their routine was the answer, it really wasn't and doesn't help anyone.

Dd is 16 months and usually falls asleep within five mins of putting her in cot. She been like this for about 4/5 months, she doesn't have too much sleep in the day and is also shattered by bedtime so ready to sleep. She was a bit of a waker though and only up until 3 weeks ago was having milk in the night, had to put a stop to that and now she goes through the night. Never thought it would happen as the first year she was a pretty bad sleeper!

@silkpyjamasallday if I could like your post I would! I do think some of it is personality. I’ve tried really hard with routines etc. Some of my friends babies were just better sleepers from day 1 and their parents knew much less about bedtime routines and all that!

@beansprout when did your little one drop down to 1 nap a day? Wondering when I should be starting to work towards that!

@baby probably around 13 months? Nursery just started doing it and she seemed fine with it, some days she will have an extra little nap in the car etc but generally I don't let her sleep past 4 pm and she's ready for bed at 7/7.30

I say to her, are you ready for bed and she gives me the nod lol

11m is tiny. Feed it cuddle him to sleep. 10mins if crying is very sad. If it’s quicker and less stressful for all why would you not. I’ve attachment patented my DC2 way more than DC1. She falls asleep happily on her own at 18m. DC1 is 3.5 and needs us to lay with him still. You won’t make a rod for tour back you will just male your baby and probably you happier at bedtime.

I would respectfully disagree: feeding to sleep is a habit that needs to be broken by the parent. The earlier the better! I didn't crack this with DD1 or 2 but trying my hardest with the third!

10 mins of tired crying is different to 10 mins of being very upset. OP, I think it sounds perfectly normal and fine.

I would agree feeding to sleep can become a habit, it certainly became a habit for my dd to wake for milk at least once a night, however I didn't feel she or I was ready to tackle it until she was the age she is now. We had two nights of tears and it wasn't pleasant but she sleeps far better now the habit is broken.

Mine are 2yo and 4yo. They both fall asleep the minute they lie on their side and close their eyes HOWEVER getting to that point can be anything from 5 minutes to 2 hours

DS 2 years has always taken ages to fall asleep.. He's just like me!
DD 9 months falls asleep as soon as her PJs are on.. She's just like DH/her dad.

I also think this is down to personality genetics and you can't force it.

I actually feel guilty that DD doesn't get cuddled as much as DS because she's such a good sleeper.

14mo takes between 2-15 minutes to go to sleep. Went through a stage when he was around 10mo where DH kept going into the room when he cried which made him think crying was working and he could get out of bed, which resulted in me lying DS back down and forcing DH out of the room and DS screaming for fucking ages because he believed crying more would get DH back in & he could get out of bed. Most stressful few nights!

Sorry that should be 2-5 minutes.

Yeah it’s like a frustration cry rather than him being upset. I think he’s tired and wants to go to sleep but finds it difficult and then gets upset. He usually stands up a few times and I end up going back in and putting him back down and giving a kiss (but not picking up). Last night it took 15 minutes and only 5 mins of crying/whinging so maybe we are getting there! I don’t want to feed and cuddle to sleep as I need him to go to nursery for work and I’m worried if gays what he’s used to then he’ll really struggle to nap at nursery which is unfair on him!

I think little kids just fit in to nursery life and the environment is so different they don't need they same crutches for getting to sleep. My 18 month old likes me to hold her hand through the cot bars for 5/10 minutes while she's drifting off. I happily do that rather than let her get distressed and all wound up.

And just because feeding to sleep is a habit it doesn't mean it's a bad one.