How to let baby fall asleep easily?
By Lee Ka
@kaka135 (14931)
Malaysia
November 30, 2009 2:09pm CST
My baby finds it difficult to fall asleep even though he is very sleepy and tired recently. He keeps rubbing his eyes, indicating that he is very sleepy, but yet he still couldn't fall asleep. Sometimes, perhaps he's too tired and cried. I have to carry him, walk around and sing him song for more than 10 minutes, then only he could fall asleep. But if I let him down and play, then he's fine. But of course, I can tell that he's actually very sleepy. Even night time, I need to wake up several times to carry him and make him sleep.
I'm not sure if it's teething that causes the problem, or it's just part of the child development process. He is 9 months old now, and he has recently learnt crawling and standing up when holding on the furniture. I am not sure if he is too playful until he refuses to sleep.
Any methods have you tried to let your baby fall asleep easily?
2 people like this
7 responses
@Shar19 (8231)
• United States
30 Nov 09
Sounds like maybe your baby needs to be going to sleep a little earlier. He may be over tired and that could be why he can't get to sleep. Also he's going to keep waking up crying at night because he knows you will come in and hold him. You have to train him to sleep through the night on his own. I know it's hard but letting him cry it out some (10 minutes or more) before rushing in to hold him will help him get back to sleep on his own.
1 person likes this
@kaka135 (14931)
• Malaysia
1 Dec 09
Hi there, thanks for your response.
I started to bring my baby back to the bedroom earlier, and switched off the light. He will still play for awhile. But it does help to make him sleep earlier, after he has been playing in the bedroom for awhile, then he started to feel sleepy. The reason I didn't let him cry out loud is that he seems really uncomfortable, I'm afraid he'll feel unsecured if I don't attend him. Yeah, it's hard to get the balance, whether to train them to be more independent, or make them feel secured....
@samigirl_69 (27)
• United States
30 Nov 09
It sounds like motion and noise are what puts him to sleep. Have you thought about a rocking swing? Like http://www.walmart.com/Fisher-Price-Smart-Stages-Swing/ip/10543158 Or a bouncy chair? Like http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=11160927 We use this for my best friend's daughter: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10543157
1 person likes this
@kaka135 (14931)
• Malaysia
1 Dec 09
Hi there, thanks for your response.
Well, we don't use the rocking swing or bouncy chair since he was young. He is not always like this, I'm just wondering if there's a better way to make him fall asleep easily naturally without any external tools.
Anyway, thanks for your suggestion. ^_^
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
12 Dec 09
10 minutes isn't a bad amount of time to spend to ease baby into sleep. Teething could be possible as well. My girls woke up at night from teething and had to be coddled back to sleep. I usually just sat up with them and snuggled or rocked them in a rocking chair or watched the late late shows.
Do you notice any teeth starting to come in? Sometimes you don't see them but they are under the gums waiting to erupt and that can cause pain too.
@celticeagle (166976)
• Boise, Idaho
2 Dec 09
Many babies get over tired. They also learn early how to push buttons. It is very important to start schedules and keep them. If you lead up to bedtime with some together time, nice warm bath(lavender liquid soap is a real help),soft music and respect in the rest of the household. This same thing done every night and no walking him or coddling and after afew nights he will understand. If you think it is teathing you can rub some numzit or whatever on his gumes at bath time.
@maygodblessu44 (7336)
• India
25 Dec 09
Hello my friend kaka135 Ji,
I fully understandthatit may be teething problem at this stage, You may use 'Teethers' and further, teghre is a combination of five 'PHOS' in Homeopathy, which makes children to grow teeth easily. Lasty like my own both DILs, may not sound correct, as they too are working women and think in switch-On and switch-OFF theory. Children wants to compensate their togetherness with such mothers who are workig ladies. So tehy want to play with you. Please do not resort to any pills/unwanted sources to make him sleep. Our sides when children attain paren-hood, mothers remid them about how they could not slee when they were being brought up. So it goes with you.How a mother can have sound sleep of 9 months old child. You have to adjust according to your son.
Wishing you a very happy New Year-2010.
May God bless You and have a great time.
@TheMonkeyKing (152)
• Philippines
9 Dec 09
Hi!
I rocked our baby to sleep. We also tried bundling her up. Sometimes it worked sometimes it didn't, but most times it did. Bundling and rocking. So I rocked her to sleep singing songs I could still remember. Babies tend to be comfortable bundled up until they're past a year old. What I gathered is, it mimics their time in the womb and makes them feel secure.
@JamesKYTan (1605)
• Malaysia
1 Dec 09
Hi kaka,
When my son was 1 year old, I used to drive him around in my car at night. He liked to see the bright sparkling lights. He enjoyed every moment of it. I could see the joy in his eyes. On the way home he fell asleep. From then on if I want him to sleep
I bring him around in my car and spin around to see the lights and back home and he fell alseep.
