"I am a new mom to an adopted 1 year old. My life is truly blessed, finally.
Unfortunately, his foster grandmother that has had him since birth has allowed the baby to sleep with her in bed. This is not a good arrangement for my husband and I.
How do I break the baby of this habit? We tried last night and he cried for almost 2 hours!!! We kept getting up (every 15 mins or so) laying him back down in his crib, rubbing his back until he fell asleep and then the very second we walked away from the crib, he started crying again.
After an hour or so, we gave him a bottle and still no luck. Any advice would be greatly apprciated. I don't want to traumatize the little guy.
And yes, after 2 hours of crying, my heart breaking, I caved and let him in bed with us. He was asleep in a nano-second. "
Daisy
5 comments:
You cant expect him to switch from sleeping with someone to a crib in one shot...it's going to have to be gradual. Try having him sleep in his crib for naps first and then work on night time sleeping in there. He's had some major changes in his life recently including a brand new home and a brand new mommy and daddy. He is going to need the comfort of sleeping with someone for a little while. Give him a break.
My daughter slept with me, fortunely my husband works nights, for 11 years. The only way we got her out of our bed was that we had a baby and their just wasn't enough room in it for all of us. My son is 2 1/2 years old and I still can't get him out of my bed. So don't woory, you're not the only one with this problem.
maybe you could try being the the room while he falls asleep and then leave.. but have a cd player or radio on to help him sleep a little more soundly.. my daughter is a VERY light sleeper and i find having a little consistent background noise makes her sleep a little more soundly.. i have a cd that is all instrumental lullaby's that i have on repeat the whole night.. it helps her.. maybe it will help you little guy.
there will be crying until he gets use to going to sleep this way, it's just his way of saying 'hey this isn't how i was taught to sleep' i know it is very hard to hear the crying but it will be there.. i went through the same thing when my daughter was 9 months old. to get her sleeping for more than a hour or two i would have to sleep with her on the couch. i finally bought a sleep e-book.. it worked wonders and let you choose what was best for your family .. you can find it here: www.sleepsense.net
good luck!!!
First congrats on your adoption!!
And here are a couple suggestions but I have no idea if any of them would work, but worth a try I guess
- moving him once hes asleep in your bed
- putting a spare bed in his room so your sleeping next to him but he's still in his crib
- rocking him to sleep and then putting him in his crib
- putting him in a toddler bed
I hope you guys can get him transferred to his crib, cosleeping habbits tend to be hard to break but not impossible! Good luck!
Congratulations on your adoption! My little boy is a little over a year and was adopted too. We adopted him at birth so fortunately we avoided the difficulty of transitioning. I think your situation is really unique and you have to be sure to make him feel really secure, first and foremost. At one year old to move a child to a completely new house with new people is very traumatic. It's hard enough breaking a year-long habit without adding that to the mix.
I think that Mayghan had the perfect suggesion: put a bed in his room or an air mattress on the floor. Cuddle him in his crib and try staying in his room. Eventually you should be able to move further and further away. You could even try it with a rocking chair but if you put him in his crib once he's asleep and he wakes up and you're not there he's going to panic. I'd try an single air mattress on his floor right next to the crib and then move closer and closer to the door and then eventually outside his door. It will take some patience but I really believe that would work and be the most reassuring for him.
Good Luck! You're a lucky mom!
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