Toddler sleeping question

My one year old requires either walking or rocking to sleep and with a
pacifier.
I was trying to get her out of this habit and was trying to keep her
down on the bed for few minutes so that she can sleep on her own(after
ofcourse I have rocked her for sometime).
But as we know babies donot like changes - the end result was that she
took one hour to fall asleep.
I donot mind walking or rocking her to sleep..she falls asleep faster
and better.
But we are thinking of sending her to a daycare this spring..who will
do this to her over there?
How will she get her sleep( i mean daytime naps) there?
Als I am worried with time - when she weighs more - I will not be able
to walk or rock her to sleep..then what will happen?
How do kids fall asleep on their own? without any cry-it-out or
external procedures? do they start sleeping on their own as time comes?
Do I just continue the way it is and things will be okay naturally with
time as she grows older?

Your advice /thoughts will be very much appreciated.
TIA -

Mommy Mommy wrote:
My one year old requires either walking or rocking to sleep and with a
pacifier.
I was trying to get her out of this habit and was trying to keep her
down on the bed for few minutes so that she can sleep on her own(after
ofcourse I have rocked her for sometime).
But as we know babies donot like changes - the end result was that she
took one hour to fall asleep.
I donot mind walking or rocking her to sleep..she falls asleep faster
and better.
But we are thinking of sending her to a daycare this spring..who will
do this to her over there?
How will she get her sleep( i mean daytime naps) there?

She'll have to learn to adapt to a different system.
And, given that kids are flexible and smart, she'll likely
do that just fine.

Als I am worried with time - when she weighs more - I will not be able
to walk or rock her to sleep..then what will happen?

Once again, she'll have to adapt. That's just a
fact of life. We all have to adapt to changing circumstances
in our lives.

How do kids fall asleep on their own? without any cry-it-out or
external procedures? do they start sleeping on their own as time comes?

Yes and no. Falling asleep is a learned behavior.
You are teaching her how to fall asleep now. You're teaching
her to fall asleep via rocking or walking. As long as you
continue reinforcing that pattern, that's what she'll keep
learning and doing. If you want her to do something different,
you'll have to start making changes. Like any sensible person,
she is likely to resist changes. She's comfortable with how
things are and will vote to continue the status quo (as will
most people, regardless of whether something new is better
for them). So, it's quite unreasonable to expect that you
can change things with no fussing. That doesn't mean that
the only way to change things is to stuff her in her crib
and refuse to respond to her no matter how hard or how long
she cries. It just means that if you are not willing to
deal with any resistance from her, then you probably are
stuck until she decides she doesn't want you there (walking,
rocking, or maybe later, lying down in bed with her), which
could be quite a few years from now.

Do I just continue the way it is and things will be okay naturally with
time as she grows older?

It depends on your definition of "okay." If you're
okay with parenting her to sleep in one fashion or another
for possibly years to come, then yes, it is very likely that
she won't have you cuddling her to sleep when she's a
teenager. She will almost certainly eventually develop
some techniques of her own for falling asleep, and it's
not like she's going to be harmed for life because it
took her some years to be able to fall asleep on her own.
On the other hand, if it is not okay with you to continue
parenting her to sleep, then you'll want to look into ways
of teaching her other ways of falling asleep. There's a
whole continuum of choices out there, depending on what
you think will work best for her and for your family.
Basically, you just have to keep moving towards your
desired state, however gradually you wish.

Best wishes,
Ericka

"Mommy Mommy" writes:

How do kids fall asleep on their own? without any cry-it-out or
external procedures?

I recommend "The No-Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley. Essentially
what she advocates is gradual change, with the eventual goal of the child
going to sleep on his or her own.

As far as naps at day care go - FWIW, my daughter zonks right out for them
(and for my mother when she baby-sits as well!) with just a smooch and a
backrub until she's out. My theory is that when she's without Mommy she
doesn't look for the same kind of comfort.

Liz
mom to Emily (5/25/2004)

--

"No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. Man's reason and
spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable - and we believe they
can do it again." -- John F. Kennedy, 6/10/1963