Independent sleep

[tealandteal]

Does anyone have any advice on teaching babies how to get to sleep independently? DS is 5 months and currently we rock to sleep, I can use shush pat to get him back to sleep if he wakes up but recently if I try to put him in his cot awake he thinks it's hilarious. Is he at an age he should be able to do this?

I layed next to DD on my bed. She was BF to sleep. I used to go to sleep at 8pm as soon as she was asleep, as I was exhausted.

She would be awake every 2 hours. She first slept right through the night at age 2.

Sorry Im no help, but I understand how hard it is.

Sadly you can't teach babies to do this - it's a developmental thing. The best thing is to do what works and modify your expectations.

Agree with nuttyknitter. Self soothing is a fallacy, it just doesn’t exist. You can aid Independent sleep with things like a dummy which helps to sooth baby. They’re only little for such a short time it all goes so quickly, just go with what works x

I've been so worried that I am doing something wrong and he will need to be rocked forever! Glad to know it is normal

Have a read of these:

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/sarahockwell-smith.com/2015/08/26/lets-talk-about-bad-habits-and-baby-and-child-sleep/amp/

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/sarahockwell-smith.com/2014/06/30/self-settling-what-really-happens-when-you-teach-a-baby-to-self-soothe-to-sleep/amp/

Does anyone have any advice on teaching babies how to get to sleep independently?

Dummy and sidecar cot.

Dummy in, being actively sucked. Then you snuggling in close for an in-cot cuddle to teach baby that going to sleep means doing so in the place they'll stay asleep.

currently we rock to sleep

I'd stopped rocking to sleep in the newborn phase, about 2 months old. Rocking to sleep longer term is not conducive to baby sleeping well.