Toddler sleeping!!

[KJ11]

Hi

My little girl is 18 months old and we rock her off to sleep each night - this usually takes 10-20 minutes then once she's asleep she goes through until 7am ish.... just wondered how people managed to get their little ones to go into the cot awake and send themselves off??

thanks

There are many different ways and you have to choose the one you like most and stick to it. If yoiu give up after a few night you will teach her that if she makes enough fuss yiou will give in and she will fight it even harder next time.
Some of the ways people do it are:

1. Controlled crying, go in every 5 mins stroke her and say sshh sssh it is sleep time. Next night do 6 minutes etc
2. Lie next to her and grdually over time move further and further away. You can sing or whatever helps.

My opinion is that you are going to have to do something eventaully as she is getting too big to rock and the older she is the worse it will be.

Be prepared for it to take a week, it may only take a few days. Don't do it when you have anything special going on like people visiting or starting nursery or anything else that may unsettle her.

Mine just grew out of it - think she got too big.

If she's sleeping through the night then she obvioulsy is able to self settle as every little sleep cycle starts and finishes.

The 'props' that we used were Milk, story,cuddle, comfy toy....

Have you tried putting her down sleepy but not asleep?