Cry Whenever I Lay My LO Down

You are not waiting long enough to put him down. If you are going to rock to sleep, you have to commit. Wait until there is no eye flitting, no little movements, etc. It can take a little while so look for the signs. When he is out, put him down slowly. Also, if he is a newborn, swaddle. This keeps those arms nice and tight, and he will be less likely to wake up when put down.

I don't know how old he is. My son was a finger sucker, and when the fingers fell out of his mouth it was safe to move!

I always swaddled my babies and then nursed them to sleep at bedtime, they usually went right to sleep, or at least for a few hours until they were hungry again. As they got a little older,5-6 months +, they would sometimes wake up shortly after I'd put them to sleep...I found that if I let them cry, it would only be 5 min. of crying or less before they were fast asleep. I really think that a little crying is okay and that it's the baby's way of settling himself down to sleep.

I agree that you may not be waiting long enough - until he enters a deep sleep. With my daughter, I'd nurse her, she'd fall asleep and then I'd wait until her arm was limp when I picked it up. THEN I knew she was asleep. Best of luck!

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do you have a vibrating boppy chair?

Start night one with the usual, but put him in the boppy instead of lying him down (He might have reflux problems, so lying him flat might cause discomfort) put the vibrate on until he is asleep. Turn it off and let him sleep in the chair - just make sure he is safe and secure, can't fall out or suffocate on anything.

Night two, same, no vibrate

night three, no rocking, let him nurse, and put him in the chair and bounce the chair slightly

night 4 no rocking. no vibrate, no bouncing...

night 5 - no rocking, no vibe, no bounce - NO CHAIR just hold him - lay him down and see if he will sleep.

I also made the mistake of rocking my little one to sleep and that is what he demanded.. and when it was still he would wake up and demand to be rocked again... my NERVES....

I had to ween him off the rocking. and thank goodness I did. Then at age 4 months, he transitioned from his bed side bassinet to his own crib... I still rocked at that stage....

by age 6months I weened him off the rocking....

Good luck.

ALso make sure he is burped properly.. could be that he still has discomfort. ask your ped about reflux

Maybe make sure the sheet is warm when you lay him down on it?

You're fine with the rocking and nursing to sleep! It's a great way to bond with your child. When it's time to transition him, you'll be able to do that.

I had the same problem with my oldest. Drove me nuts! I began looking for signs that he was in a deep sleep: limp arms, quiet, shallow breathing. For naps I would often place him in the center or our bed, lie down next to him, nurse him to sleep then slowly role away.

Good luck! I think you're doing great.

Like others have said you don't give the age of your son, but with my son who is 4 months old now we found very early that for whatever reason he preferred to sleep on his side. I think having his legs curled up helped him rest easy. Worth a try. I know the whole "back to sleep" thing is very important, but to me as long as the mattress is very firm (which is better for babies anyway), being on his side is perfectly safe. I tried to alternate sides so his head wouldn't become flat, but now he rolls around by himself so it hardly matters how I put him down. Good luck!

I really liked "The NO Cry sleep solution" book. I bet you could find it at your library. One of the things it talks about is training your child to not need you to fall asleep, but to put them in bed while they are still drowsy and a bit awake. Then your baby will learn that it's OK to fall asleep "on their own" instead of relying on you to fall asleep every time and want you with him all the time. It really helped us with our 7 month old, who was sleeping well through the night, but couldn't figure out how to go back to sleep when he would go through the natural sleep/wake patterns at night. Now we hear him awake at night a few times, and he just "talks" to himself for a few minutes and goes back to sleep. I really liked this book, because she talks about how to do all of this without letting your kid cry and cry. Good luck!

agreed, wait for the limp arm.
good luck!

When my kids were babies, I used this technique. When you're sure he's deep in sleep, move very slowly, standing and walking, etc. Bend over his bed, again slow even movements. Lower him to the surface, but don't release him. Leave your forearms under him for a minute, or longer, without moving, then carefully slide them out. Be sure he's covered warmly, then move away very slowly. It can hard on your back, depending on the height of his bed, but it's only necessary for awhile. He should adjust to the change as long as you keep it gradual, no jerky movements, no cold sheets, that kind of thing. Good luck and hang in there. Hard to believe right now, but they grow up fast and you will be missing these times before you know it.

For my DD, it was temperature. She was all snug and warm with me, and then I'd lay her in her crib on cold sheets. I learned to put a heating pad on the crib while I was holding her, and then remove it just as I laid her down, this way she didn't wake up from the cold sheets. Worked like a charm for me. (keeping a blanket with you that is warmed by you would also work, but probably not safe to lay him on a bulky blanket?). Good luck.

Hi--
My little man did the same thing. I learned to wait until I heard him "Sigh"---that meant he was so asleep that he wouldn't wake right back up. Also, he slept in our bed with us, so sometime I would just lay down with him on my chest. My little man had severe food allergies that really messed up his digestion, and sometimes laying down was harder on his tummy. I mention this so you can make sure that there isn't some underlying issue that is causing him to wake right back up. Most likely it's just that he loves his Mommy, though :-) One book I found great for this kind of thing was The Baby Whisperer. She has great solutions on getting them to sleep that does not involve crying.
J.

Don't put him down!....

Just kidding! I read that they need to be asleep for 20 minutes before they hit that no wake up phase. So I used to wait 20 minutes. It worked MOST of the time. Occassionally she still woke up but not usually. I would say give it try. I also agree to NOT lay him down on a cold surface. I would have a blanket under her in my arms and lay her down on it so it was still warm.

Hi,
Honestly, I had two little ones like this. I would/will not do the cry it out thing either even though I secretly wish I could/would. I have a one year old that I sleep with for most of the night and I can rarely get her back in her crib after the first successful attempt that lasts for maybe 2 hours. Anyway, I am grossly exhausted, yet I have made a choice to basically give her what she wants at night, and this is to sleep with me and an endless supply of bottles. It looks like a baby frat part when I awake in the morning with many empty bottles all around. Perhaps it's because I work and feel like she deserves the time. However, it is tough. Have you checked out the Dr. Sears website? They have some tips and are anti-cry it out. I used to stroll the baby around in a stroller inside the house then lay her in the bed and if I were next to her, she would stay asleep. I would then wait til she was really asleep and transfer her. I would pick her up and without putting her next to my body I would just place her in the crib. I would then hold my hand on her back for a while til I knew I could sneak away. Ahhhh, just re-reading this I cannot believe I do/did this, yet I never really allowed my kids to learn to fall asleep on their own. Top enabler. I have to say that my six year old is the most awesome and secure kid and I have no regrets at all for spending the four years dealing with him up at night and wanting to be with me. Sounds crazy, but I knew what I was getting into and I just went with it. I do think that a nice warm sheet helps. Some people say to put a heating pad on the sheet and take it away before you put them in, of course. I found a nice chamois sheet at pottery barn which seems to be so cozy and helps a bit. So funny that when my little one wakes up in her crib you can totally tell that she looks around in horror as to how she was possibly tricked to be in there. Ahhhh....always something! But worth it!