Is there anything more beautiful then rocking your new baby to sleep and enjoying some wonderful snuggles as they doze off to sleep? Rocking your baby to sleep can feel great those first few weeks or months together. But your baby is going to get bigger and heavier. Your baby may have once slept great when you rocked them to sleep, but now is waking up shortly after you put them down into the crib. You might even be at the point where your toddler still needs to be rocked to sleep.
At some point, you’re going to be ready to break the habit of your child being rocked to sleep. But a lot of parents get very nervous when they think about how they’re going to be able to stop rocking their little one to sleep. Take a deep breath. It is possible to get your child to sleep without needing to be rocked to sleep. Let’s walk through how you can wean your baby from needing to be rocked in order to fall asleep.
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Why Do Babies Need to be Rocked to Sleep?
Before we address how to wean the rocking to sleep habit, lets talk about why babies need to be rocked to sleep. You probably began rocking your baby to sleep when they were a newborn. Newborns do really well with a rocking motion. It brings them back to that womb-like experience. When your baby was in the womb, they were gently moving around. Any time you moved, your baby would experience a gentle rocking motion.
So when your baby entered the world, it was reassuring for them to experience that rocking motion. It is helpful to be able to calm an upset baby. If your baby was crying around bedtime or naptime, you likely found that rocking them helped to soothe and relax them. And that helped to get them ready to sleep.
Baby Will Only be Rocked to Sleep
This may have become a habit over the last few months or even years. If you’ve got to the point where your baby will only be rocked to sleep and can’t fall asleep without being rocked, it can become exhausting. It may take you a long time to rock them to sleep. Or you might even find that your baby is waking up several times throughout the night and can only fall back to sleep by being rocked back to sleep.
The reason why your baby is having a hard time falling asleep without being rocked to sleep, is because they’ve come to associate needing this rocking motion from you in order to go to sleep. In other words, they’ve developed what I call in the sleep coaching world, a “sleep association” between rocking and sleeping.
What happens when a baby develops a rocking to sleep association, is that they need you to help them fall asleep. They haven’t developed the skills to self soothe. The only way that they can possibly start their journey into sleep, is by being rocked to sleep.
Rocking Baby to Sleep for Naps & Bedtime
It is very common that you will find your baby waking up throughout the night. Or your baby is taking very short naps. You may also find that when they wake up at night or after a 30-minute nap, they need you to come and rock them back to sleep.
The reason why you’re seeing those night wakings and short naps is because your child isn’t in the same place they were when they fell asleep.
Think of it from their perspective. They fell asleep in your arms, feeling safe and warm. They felt that gentle swaying motion of being rocked as they shut their eyes and drifted off into baby dream land. Then you very carefully laid them down into their crib or bed, and quietly walked away.
After they completed the deep, restorative part of their sleep cycle, they briefly wake up and take in their surroundings.
And that’s when they get upset. They are tired. But they’re not in your arms anymore being rocked. They’re in a completely different place then they were when they fell asleep. And they’re not experiencing that gentle rocking motion anymore.
So what do they do? They begin crying out for you to come and help them get back to sleep because they haven’t developed the skill to fall back to sleep on their own, without being rocked to sleep.
Still Have to Rock Toddler to Sleep
Babies are not the only ones who need to be rocked to sleep. I have worked with a lot of parents with toddlers who still need to be rocked to sleep as well. And it does get harder the older your child gets. A 2 year old is a lot heavier and wigglier then a 2 month old.
But the good news is that you can wean both babies and toddlers off of needing to be rocked to sleep!
When to Stop Rocking an Infant to Sleep
There isn’t an exact age limit that you need to stop rocking your child to sleep anymore. The right time to breaking the rocking to sleep habit is when it’s not working for your family anymore. Ask yourself a few questions:
- Do you dread bedtime every night because you don’t know how long it’s going to take your child to fall asleep?
- Is rocking your child to sleep getting uncomfortable? Are you feeling physical pain in your back or arms as a result of your baby needing to be rocked to sleep?
- Is your baby not getting enough sleep because they’re waking up throughout the night and can only fall asleep when you rock them back to sleep?
- Is your baby taking short naps (anything less then a hour and a half)?
- Have you been thinking “I can’t rock baby to sleep anymore”
- Have you found yourself passed out with your baby in your arms? Don’t be ashamed, this has happen to many of us. This is a very dangerous sleeping environment for you baby.
- Are you exhausted by needing to rock your toddler to sleep?
If you answered yes to any one of these 7 questions, then rocking your child to sleep just isn’t working for you or your child anymore. And it’s time to teach your child to self soothe, so that they don’t rely on being rocked to sleep anymore.
Babies are old enough to self soothe once they are around 15 weeks (adjusted). So if you have a baby who is over 15 weeks old, and you’re ready to break the rocking to sleep habit, NOW is the perfect time.
I don’t want you to stress about not getting that special bonding time with your child in the bedtime routine anymore. You can still have some great cuddle time before they go to sleep in the bedtime routine! Let’s talk about how you can do that while weaning them from being rocked to sleep.
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Step 1: How to Wean Rocking Infant to Sleep
The first step to wean your baby or toddler from being rocked to sleep is by creating a bedtime routine that still includes lots of snuggles.
Your child’s bedtime routine can start off with a bath. Then you can get them dressed into their pajamas. If you’ve got a baby then also dress them into their arms free sleep sack.
If your baby is under a year old, then this is the perfect time to give them their last feed of the day. This is a great time to snuggle and bond with your baby. If you have a baby or toddler over a year old, then you’ll skip this step.
Next, pull out a book or two and read to your child. It’s never too early to get your child interested in books. And this is another great opportunity for closeness, snuggles and touch in the bedtime routine. But limit the number of books to just two. You don’t want the bedtime routine to drag on too long that your child gets drowsy or overtired.
If you’re looking for good books to read in the bedtime routine, check out my two favorites for children of any age:
- Wherever You Are My Love Will Find You by Nancy Tillman; and
- Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
But mix up the books you read. Give them some variety to begin expanding their horizons.
Then you can say good night to your child and lay them down into their crib or bed (if you have a toddler).
You’ll notice that while there’s opportunities for snuggles in the bedtime routine, there’s no step for rocking them anymore. Instead, you’ll go from reading books and saying good night, to putting them down into their crib awake now.
Step 2: How to Stop Baby From Wanting to Be Rocked to Sleep
Yikes! Did what I just say make your heart skip a beat? Did I really just say that you’ll put your baby or toddler down into their crib wide awake? Yes, that’s exactly what I said.
Your child needs to learn how to fall asleep without your assistance of being rocked to sleep. And your job as their parent is to help them feel loved and supported on their journey of learning the skills needed to fall asleep on their own.
Stop for a moment and think about what you’re going to do a few years from now when you teach your child to learn how to ride a bike. Learning how to ride a bike is a skill that they need help practicing before they’re able to completely do it on their own.
They’re going to need you running along next to them, cheering them on, and helping them up when they fall. There may be a few bumps and bruises and even tears along the way. But they will absolutely get it with your help and a little time.
And it’s the exact same thing with sleep. It’s very likely that your baby will cry or that your toddler will protest. They’re protesting this change. It’s the only way that they can communicate that they’re not happy about this change.
But you don’t need to leave your child alone to cry it out and figure out how to fall asleep without being rocked all on their own.
Baby Sleep Without Rocking
In fact, in my Live Love Sleep Coaching Program, I almost always recommend that parents stay in the room with their child when they’re teaching their child how to fall asleep without being rocked. Think about it. Your baby has been so dependent on you in order to fall asleep. Completely removing you from their sleep situation would be very tough on them. And it would probably be even harder on you.
You can stay with them, sitting by their crib or bed. Be comforting by letting them hear your voice. Be supportive by letting them feel your touch so that they know that you’re still there and that everything is ok. If you have a younger baby who responds really well to being picked up, then by all means pick them up if they’re crying.
And do you want to know the best part? Your baby is going to learn how to fall asleep without being rocked very quickly! The families I work with usually see HUGE improvements within 3 – 4 nights!
When you follow the steps I’ve outlined above, you will find that within a few nights, your baby will be falling asleep quickly and easily at bedtime and at nap time. But I understand that embarking on a big journey like sleep training can feel overwhelming.
Breaking the Habit Rocking Your Child to Sleep
If you need help creating the perfect sleep plan for your child, I’m here to help solve your child’s sleep struggles and support you. I work with families to establish healthy sleep skills for life. Just imagine doing a 20 – 30 minute bedtime routine with your child each night, putting them down into bed, giving them a kiss, walking away, and knowing that they will happily close their eyes and fall asleep all on their own without anymore rocking or crying. And they’ll sleep all night that way!
Click here to schedule your free Sleep Discovery Call with me today so that we can dive into your child’s sleep challenges and to see if I’m the right fit to help your family sleep well.
4 month old baby and he has to be rocked to sleep each sleep but resists and arched his back until he is to tired and falls asleep or is in a twilight phase and I’ll put him down then but usually still wakes every 1-3 hours through the night
Hi Shaye, it sounds like your little one may be getting overtired, which could be leading to him waking so frequently at night. I’d recommend around a 1.5 – 2 hour awake window at 4 months old.
My four month old will only sleep if she’s rocked to sleep. I’ll start rocking her at 7pm, she will fall asleep, soon as I put her down she wakes up crying, so I pick her up and repeat the process. This goes on until 11pm! Then she sleeps for 6-7 hours. My back is in agony by the end of the night. Help
Hi Rosie, ouch that does sound really painful needing to rock her for 4 hours! That’s definitely something I can help you with. Just shoot me an email at kaley@livelovesleep.com
I have the same problem with my 16 week old baby who needs to be rocked to sleep for every nap and bedtime and many night time awakenings also.
Hi Anna, that’s so tough to need to rock your little one to sleep so frequently. Your baby is at the age where they’re not old enough to learn the skills needed to self soothe so that they can fall asleep happily on their now. If you need any help with gentle sleep training, feel free to email me at kaley@livelovesleep.com
My 5 month old naps is my issue, he sleeps long at night in his bed but during the day he must be backed to sleep, same for night but during the day he wont sleep long when dropped but would sleep long on the back, so we end up backing him the whole duration of his nap but at night when dropped from back, he sleeps and wakes 2 to 3 times to feed and sleep off.
Hi Temi, that sounds pretty exhausting needing to rock your sweet little guy for his naps. The way to get him sleeping longer for those naps is to help him develop self soothing skills so that he can put himself to sleep and connect sleep cycles. And you can do that in a gentle way through sleep training. Feel free to email me if you need any help. kaley@livelovesleep.com
I delivered my baby by C-Section operation and now my baby is 3 months old. Every-time she is sleepy she rubs her eyes yawns but starts crying because she is used to the rocking to fall asleep.
And now it’s been around 15 days I started following a bed time routine for her. The routine is as follows:
I bring her in my room at night 9 PM and then rock her to fall asleep but she starts crying and demand for the feeding
Then I feed her lying down with her on bed and she fells asleep after 1 hour of feeding
Then she wakes up every 3-4 hours and I feed her lying on the bed only and she falls back to sleep
I feed her 3 times at night and then she wakes up at 9 AM in the morning
Then during the day time she sleeps for 30-90 minutes 2-3 times during the day time
But everytime First I have to rock her with my hurting spine and then I have to feed her for an hour and then she sleeps only for 30 minutes or an hour.
Please help me in making her sleep independently without nursing or rocking.
Oh Sanjana I’m so sorry to hear how rocking her is hurting your back so much! That sounds exhausting needing to help and feed her so frequently. You can absolutely break her of this habit and get her falling asleep happily in her crib without needing to be rocked to sleep anymore. If you need help teaching her how to do that, I’m here to help. You can email me at kaley@livelovesleep.com
I’m the exact same with my 6 month old
Since food weaning it’s hard to settle her for bed with a bottle she fusses so much and doesn’t end up finishing it so won’t sleep cause she’s still hungry so I end up rocking her for hours and then she constantly wakes up soon as she knows she’s in her bed😫 then it’s start all over again bottle rocking and 🤞🏻
That sounds really exhausting Tia, I’m sorry to hear that you’re struggling so much. You can absolutely break that cycle and get those good full feeds in during the day and have her sleeping well at night. It’ll likely be tough for the first 2 – 3 nights but she’ll adjust quickly with consistency. Send me an email at kaley@livelovesleep.com if you need any help.
My baby 4 months falls to sleep while I hold him in my arms and walk and rock at the same time. He cries when I dont do this and I end up thinking he is feeling any stomach pain or wharever and get up and walk with him until falls asleep. My back hurts really bad. Is his crying a protest of not walking to sleep or it might be sth else.
Thanks in advance for reading this comment as a new mom I really need some idvice 😬
That sounds really tough right now Pashije. I’m so sorry to hear that your back is hurting so much. If you need any additional help, feel free to send me an email at kaley@livelovesleep.com
My 2 years old would never sleep without rocking can’t feel my neck and arms anymore it’s becoming too exhausting also when I don’t rock her just lay down next to her she would turn all directions kick legs struggle for hours out my hand under her neck and always jump off her bed and climb our every night I am really tired physically and mentally
That does sound both physically and mentally draining. Sorry to hear that you’re going through that right now Marwa. With 2 year olds, I recommend setting some rules at bedtime now that she’s old enough to understand them and doing some sleep training with her to teach her how to self soothe without needing to be rocked to sleep. If you need help with that, you can email me at kaley@livelovesleep.com
Almost 6 month old just started waking almost every hour the last 3 days.. Will settle when picked up and comforted or rocked but aside from that whenever we try to out him down again he starts screaming…
I feel for you Natasha! It’s so hard waking up every hour all night! I’d take a look at how you’re getting him to sleep at bedtime. Consistency is key for him to develop a strategy to put himself back to sleep in the middle of the night. If you’re currently needing to do anything to help assist him to sleep at bedtime or naptime, that’s likely the underlaying cause.
Hi our little one is 7 weeks. We are trying to break the rock to sleep association. She does sometimes settle in her assinet by patting and shushing,not often, we are in need of some tips on breaking the rocking completely.
HI Emma, congratulations on the birth of your little girl! I’ve got some tips in my free newborn eBook. You can access that at: https://livelovesleep.com/consultants/kaley-medina/free-resource-guide/
My son will not get drowsy by himself it seems. He will sit in the crib and just get overtired unless I rock him. How can I encourage drowsiness
Hi Emma, the right strategy for how you get your little guy to sleep will depend on his age and personality. If he’s under 3 months of age, then getting him drowsy will work really well. But if he’s over 3 months of age, you’ll actually want to be putting him into the crib wide awake instead of drowsy. I’ve got tips on both in my free resources guide at: https://livelovesleep.com/consultants/kaley-medina/free-resource-guide/
But how do you break this need/association for a willful 2 year old without the screaming and tears? Both bed and naps take at least 20 min (5 to read, 5 to rock asleep, and 10 to get into a deep sleep) before he can be laid down but I’ve also a 4 month old to care for who – I learned from my first to insist – puts himself to sleep for both bed and naps.
HI Desteni, it is more of a challenge with two but can certainly be done. I recommend putting your 4 month old to bed first and then focusing on sleep training your 2 year old so that you’re able to dedicate the time and be consistent.
Hey. My little 3 month old can’t sleep without being rocked or boob either.
I’ve tried the lying down drowsy by awake or just awake.m, none of them work. She just cried so much and doesn’t stop until I pick her up. So I pick her up rock a little and place it back into the cot. Still doesn’t work and that goes on for hours.
Question is.. how long do you try picking up and putting down again ? How many times is enough to not stress the baby?
Hi Magda! Sorry to hear what you’re currently trying isn’t working. Every baby is different on which strategy is going to work best for them with sleep training and how long it takes for them to fall asleep. I’ll send you an email to learn a little more about her sleep.
Hiya,
I want to start using your sleep strategy with my 6 month old. Would you recommend the same routine I apply at bedtime for nap times too? I.e helping them wind down, reading a book etc? Would you recommend putting her down drowsy or wide awake?
At the moment I just shut the curtains and turn on the white noise on and then she’s usually rocked to sleep. But now I’m finding that it’s taking her longer to fall asleep and I’m just spending so much time rocking her.
Hi Alisha, that’s great that you’re ready to teach your daughter how to sleep well! Yes, you can usually use the same methods at naptime that you’re using at bedtime. The exact strategy that you’re going to use is going to be dependent on her age, personality, and how much help she’s currently requiring from you in order to get to sleep. Feel free to email me at kaley@livelovesleep.com if you need any help!
I am having the same exact problem! My 13 week old (almost 3 months) only sleeps good in his bouncer or when I’m holding him. I made about 3 attempts to lay him down in bassinet, and he only sleep for like 10 mins each time. Woke up crying hard. But now it’s 11pm and he’s knocked out
That’s so tough! He’s almost to the age where you’re able to sleep train him so that he’s able to connect into those longer sleep cycles. Once he’s 15 weeks adjusted, you’ll be good to go!
Our 13 month just refuses to lie down in his cot, even if we are there to gently soothe him with voice or patting. He just sits up and cries and/or tries to climb out of the cot: even if he’s been showing all the tired signs.
That’s tough at this age because as he’s learning to stand and walk, he’s going to practice that in the crib as well. Do some practice during the daytime where you’re helping him go from standing (maybe while he’s holding himself up on the couch or a chair) to sitting to then laying down. Practice that at least twice a day for the next couple weeks until he’s perfected it.
Our 4 month old currently has her last night feeding (breastfeeding), falls asleep during feeding and will sleep in crib for 9-10 hours straight every night, but during the day the only way to get her to nap is to rock constantly for 15-20 min until she’s asleep in our arms, and even then she’ll only sleep 30 min per nap. Only longer naps have happened during feedings. Every time we put her down drowsy or awake she’ll cry loudly until picked up and rocked
Hi Will, how wonderful that you’re getting such a long stretch at night, but those naps do sound challenging! Consistency is crucial for sleep once babies turn 4 months old. Creating a routine a consistency putting her down the same way for bedtime and nap time will help her develop a consistency strategy with how to put herself to sleep.
My son is 13 months and can only fall asleep laying on me. I then carry him to bed. Once he’s in bed he’s fine, if he wakes up he will always self soothe I just can’t initially get him to sleep by himself. I’ve tried staying with him, patting him, leaving him to cry. Nothing works. He just stands up and messes around for over an hour whereas it I take him out I can get it done in 5 minutes. I don’t know what else to try! I fear if I carry on, it will be this way forever.
Sorry to hear you’re having such challenges teaching your son to self soothe Antonia. It is absolutely possible to get him falling asleep in his crib, it doesn’t have to be this way forever. If you need help, feel free to email me at kaley@livelovesleep.com
Baby girl is 4 months and now only sleeps when rocked she will fight her sleep untill I hold her and rock or rock her in her cradle on wheels. She also wakes up every 2-3 hrs at night as I stretch the last sleep cycle for 2 hrs as she wakes up at 5pm and 6:30 is early for her bedtime but by time she gets to sleep she’s been up for over 3 hrs as it takes a while to get her to stay asleep.
Hi Nicole, thanks for your comment. It’s tough when it takes so long to get her to sleep at bedtime because she’s fighting sleep like that. It’s great that you’re following proper awake windows but the reason why it’s taking so long to get her to sleep is because of her dependence on needing to be rocked to sleep. Once you are able to get her falling asleep independently, she’ll be happily falling asleep within 5 – 15 minutes after you put her down!
We have established a good bedtime routine and try our best to keep him up during his last feeding. He then will wake up at 3am and is very tough to get back down. We always revert to rocking him because it’s the only thing that will work for us exhausted parents. Any tips on what to do with our 4 month old?
Hi Samantha, that’s great that you have a good bedtime routine and he’s staying nice and alert during that last feed of the day. I recommend sleep training at this age since he’s developed that dependence on needing to be rocked back to sleep in the middle of the night.
Hi Kaley,
Our 6 month old has developed a rock to sleep association. I have a very fast let down when breastfeeding, which means he swallows lots of air. I have to bounce him for ages to get the trapped bubbles out (he also has Hirschsprung disease so can’t always pass wind) he always falls asleep on me and it sabotages my efforts! Do I have to wake him up just to put him down again?
Hi Natalie, sorry to hear your little guys is struggling with that final feed. I recommend moving that feed to the first step of the bedtime routine so that he’s more alert and you’ll have more steps afterwards to keep him awake. Feel free to email me at kaley@livelovesleep.com if you need any help.
Hi Kaley,
I have a 4-mo. He doesn’t sleep without being rocked. Usually, he starts rubbing his eyes and gets ready to sleep by 7:30. I change his diaper, warm his milk but he wouldn’t drink. So I start rocking him but most of the time he fight the sleep for first 30 mins. Then he finally sleeps so I sit on a chair keep him in an upright position for another 20-25 mins and then lay him down but as soon as I put him down, he’d wake up with his eyes wide open. So have to repeat the process all over again. What do you suggest? We tried but He doesn’t have or follow a schedule. Please help!
Thanks,
Vipal
Hi Vipal, the way to break this process is to teach him how to self soothe so that he can be able to fall asleep on his own. Feel free to email me at kaley@livelovesleep.com if you need help with sleep training.
I have a 12 month old who has never been able to self sooth. She had horrible reflux and colick from 0-6 months so we just did what we had to to survive. Now she is older and still wakes up screaming and standing now in her crib and will not go back to sleep until we rock her. We have tried sitting next to her, laying on the ground next to her, rubbing her back, everything. We have a standard bed time routine too, we have for months. But she still wakes up screaming until held multiple times a night. How do you sleep train if all the “right things” aren’t working with your little one?
Hi Caitlin, sorry you’re still struggling with your daughter’s sleep after a year, especially after you’ve tried so much. Since you’ve tried so many things and haven’t had success, I strongly recommend getting some one on one support to get a sleep plan that will work for your daughter. Because she just hasn’t learned the skills for self soothing from what you’ve tried. I’d love to help you get her sleeping well. You can email me at kaley@livelovesleep.com
My almost 6 month old baby always needs to be rocked to sleep. Whether is the pram, car or my arms it’s the only way he’ll sleep (usually unless they’re a random rare occurrence). My back is killing me and I can’t do it anymore. If I put him down even half asleep he just cries until I pick him back up and rock him. I don’t know what to do.
Hi Maxine, I’m sorry to hear that your back is hurting so much with all the rocking. Consistency in teaching him how to self soothe is the crucial piece of teaching him how to fall asleep without needing to be rocked. I know how tough that is. If you need any help with it, feel free to email me at kaley@livelovelseep.com
My son is 16 weeks and we still swaddle him. He hasn’t rolled from back to front yet so we haven’t made the switch to a sleep sack. I have been rocking him to sleep for naps and feeding to sleep for bed time and he has 50min-1hr naps and sleeps through the night . I am trying to stop the rocking so that he is able to sleep without assistance and because my back is dying from getting him gently into the crib. But, I don’t want to mess up the routine we have. Should I switch it up? And can he self soothe while being swaddled?
Hi Melissa, yes you can still teach a baby to self soothe in a swaddle, but at his age you will want to begin that transition out of the swaddle and into a sleep sack. If he’s showing signs of rolling in any direction (even to the side at that age), it’s time for that transition.
Hi our 9 month old little girl is still waking frequently in the night 3-4 times each night. When she wakes up she stands up so we lay her back down, give her the dummy and her cuddly toy and she goes back to sleep. But we have to do this multiple times a night. During the day she has to be rocked to sleep for naps for about 1-3 minutes with the dummy in. She sleeps fine in the buggy or car but obviously it’s a similar motion. I try to put her down without rocking her but she just stands up and wants to play or stands up and cries. How can we get it so we don’t need to rock her for naps? Also in the nighttime if we aren’t rocking her back to sleep just laying her back down to sleep with the dummy and toy why is she still waking up so much.
Hi Amy, it sounds like your little girl has developed some sleep associations around needing to be rocked to sleep and needing the dummy in order to fall asleep. The way to get her falling asleep easily and sleeping through the night would be to teach her how to self soothe so that she doesn’t need anything external to fall asleep. If you need help figuring out how to do that, feel free to email me at kaley@livelovesleep.com
My 1.5 yr old has been religiously rocked to sleep, shouldn’t have done that but we did scenario. She gets really really upset if we leave her in the crib for naps and bed time. Are your steps still valid for an order kiddo?
Hi TJ, yes you can still use the same steps for a one and a half year old. In the bedtime routine, you just wouldn’t include the feed since she’s over a year old. But all the other steps would be the same.
8 month old baby who only falls asleep on our arms, either rocking or just being held. As soon as we go to put him down he starts crying non stop until being picked up and rocked again. We gotta put him down when his fully asleep or he won’t stay asleep. Same for naps, which his been taking less also.
Hi Jorge, that’s rough having that cycle of needing to rock or holding your little guy and having him wake up as soon as you lay him down. The way to break that cycle is to teach him how to self soothe and fall asleep independently. You can do that in a gentle way with sleep training. If you need help figuring out how to do that, feel free to email me at kaley@livelovesleep.com
My baby is 13 months old. She’d still want me to rock and squats for her at bedtime and nap time. She wakes up 4-6 times during the night and this means rocking and squating the whole night. Also i have to get up early to go bed. She’s ready to cry out loud for 2-3 hours without falling asleep. I’m helpless and over tired. Note she’s not over tired, healthy, eating well and ofcourse she still drinks milk during the night
That’s so tough waking up 4-6 times a night. I’m so sorry you’re going through this Sarah. But you absolutely can get her sleeping through the night and self soothing at bedtime without needing to leave her alone to cry it out. You can email me at kaley@livelovesleep.com if you need help doing so.
Going to try this with our 18mo who we still rock to sleep for her nap and at bedtime. Any recommendation on if you should try to stop rocking at bedtime first or nap time first, or should you just cut it out for both at once?
That’s a great question Lexi. You’ll want to start at bedtime on the first night and then move on to doing the same thing with naps the following day.
My 10 month old needs rocking for every nap and bedtime, my back is killing me!! If I put him down he thinks it’s playtime again, he’s very go go go! I guess I need to just keep him calm until he’s sleepy enough to lay down and chill?
Hi Amber! Yes, you’ll want to follow his awake windows for his age and do a calm bedtime or naptime routine so that you can cue him when it’s time for sleep. I’m here to help if you need it. Just shoot me an email at kaley@livelovesleep.com