Young mothers often face the problem of “relocating” the baby from the parent's bed to their own. And I am no exception. From about the age of three months, I began to pick up the child at night in my bed. It was convenient for me to feed at night in this way, and even with me the baby fell asleep much better. After a while, when the child’s sleep became stronger, I carefully transferred him to the crib. But at some point, my baby no longer wanted to sleep in it. He used to sleep with me, and as soon as I put him in the crib, he immediately woke up. I knew that this should not be, it was time to wean the child from a joint sleep.
How to teach a child to sleep separately from mom
I began to search for information on this topic, scanned many sites and forums. As I expected, the problem of joint sleep is quite common: many mothers feed their babies on demand and often take them to their bed for night feeding. And then, when the kids get used to sleeping in the parental bed, mothers try to wean them from this.
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Question to Dr. Komarovsky: How to wean from joint sleep?
In order for the child to quickly fall asleep and sleep soundly, many mothers are advised to carry out certain bedtime rituals. For example, bathing your baby in the bathroom, dressing in warm pajamas, having a massage, reading a book or singing a lullaby. This advice, of course, is good, but it works only with older children, because you can negotiate with them. And how to negotiate with a ten-month-old bootuz, when he cries, clutches at his mother and tries with all his might to “escape” from the crib?
This is exactly the reaction I observed in my child every evening when I tried to put him to sleep in a crib. And I felt sorry for him, decided not to injure him or my psyche again.
I began to teach my baby to fall asleep independently, gradually, from daytime sleep. After morning or lunch feeding, when the baby began to fall asleep, I took him in my arms and, swaying lightly, quietly sang him a lullaby. When the baby fell asleep, I carefully laid him in the crib. I didn’t leave right away, and for some time I sat nearby, not taking my hand away from the child, so that he felt that his mother was nearby. And only when I was sure that my baby was sleeping soundly, did I remove my hand and quietly leave the room.If at some point the child woke up, then I just gave him a bottle of baby tea or compote. Of course, not everything went smoothly, sometimes he began to act up, but in the end he fell asleep anyway.
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Over time, my baby got used to waking up not with me, but in his crib, and this ceased to cause him to cry. But if during the day he learned to sleep independently, then in the evenings to put him to bed was still problematic. It was hard for me to lay the child in my arms, so I put it next to me. But as soon as the baby began to fall asleep, I put him in the crib. If he began to cry, then I again shifted it to me, waited until he fell asleep and again sent him to bed.
A week later, my efforts were finally successful: my baby woke up at night, ate a little, and then rolled over onto the other side and fell asleep. Myself! I think he just got used to his crib, just as he got used to mine before. Still to learn to fall asleep independently, and the problem will be completely solved.
Of course, many mothers may decide that my method is too loyal, that the child should be immediately put to bed. But what if, as soon as he is in it, the baby immediately wakes up and begins to cry? I am sure that every mother should feel her baby: to know when it is better to put the baby in the crib, and when to take it to itself, when the baby is ready to sleep on its own, and when he still needs to feel mom's warmth. I felt that my baby was ready to “move out” into his own crib, and the whole process went smoothly, without any tears and worries.
The most important thing is not to rush things, but to do everything gradually. It can take a long time for the child to get used to his own crib. Be patient, and the result will be!
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- The baby is sleeping with mom - is it dangerous or not
- Sharing a dream with a child - benefit or harm
- At what age does a child need his own room
Experience Anna Chizhova: How to teach a child to sleep in his crib
Family is: How to put a baby to sleep and put in a crib
Tips from sasha korshun: How I taught to fall asleep baby in my crib
For the first time, a crib should be put close to his. Or push to be able to touch the baby at any time. I did so with both children for almost a year. It’s also spacious to sleep, and the child hears breathing, feels a hand, sleeps calmly.
As soon as I tried to put the sleeping child in my crib, he immediately opened his eyes. For myself, I found several life hacks, thanks to which my son began to sleep in his crib. Firstly, the bed may have a cold sheet.looking up from a warm mom to a cold one, the baby will immediately wake up. I laid him with a swaddle on which he shook him, or on which he lay in my bed. Secondly, if you put in the crib with the baby a thing that smells like mom, the baby will sleep more calmly. I have such a thing - a bathrobe. It is necessary to lay a falling asleep child, but not already sleeping!
And is it that simple? My wakes up at once and starts to cry, I don’t know what to do. Who would advise what? He’s a solid age, the third year is coming, but he sleeps exclusively with us.
I gradually accustomed her, firstly, put a crib not far from our bed, he understood that my mother was nearby and was not capricious. At first she put them in her crib for a nap, then she started for a nap every other day. Just a month later, he began to sleep without his mother and without tears.