14 Month Old Wont Go To Sleep Without Being Rocked!

Hi, I dont know anywhere else but here to post this and I'm hoping
someone here can help me. My son is 14 months old and HAS to be rocked
to go to sleep. It all started when he came off the bottle @ 9
months--this was his way of going to sleep so once he got off the
bottle we started rocking him, PLUS his been so sick laltey with ear
infections LITERALLY every other week that we had to rock him to soothe
him. Now his 14 months and 25lbs and getting to heavy for me to rock
for 25 mins every night/nap. I tried tonight to put him to bed with a
fav toy and some lullabyes but after 25 mins he STILL was crying--and
had himself coughing as if to throw-up. So of course I went in and got
him---which at this time he cuddled into my shoulder and fell asleep
within 5 mins--BUT I REALLY need him to start going to bed on his own
for 2 reasons. #1 his starting at daycare soon and needs to get use to
it and #2 I physically cant do it anymore. The worst part of it all is
that you have to pace the floor while rocking/bouncing him to sleep.
Anyone who can help I will be forever in debt LOL! PLEASE SOMEONE
ANYONE HELP ME! TIA

Blue Eyes Blue wrote:
Hi, I dont know anywhere else but here to post this and I'm hoping
someone here can help me. My son is 14 months old and HAS to be rocked
to go to sleep. It all started when he came off the bottle @ 9
months--this was his way of going to sleep so once he got off the
bottle we started rocking him, PLUS his been so sick laltey with ear
infections LITERALLY every other week that we had to rock him to
soothe him. Now his 14 months and 25lbs and getting to heavy for me
to rock for 25 mins every night/nap. I tried tonight to put him to
bed with a fav toy and some lullabyes but after 25 mins he STILL was
crying--and had himself coughing as if to throw-up. So of course I
went in and got him---which at this time he cuddled into my shoulder
and fell asleep within 5 mins--BUT I REALLY need him to start going
to bed on his own for 2 reasons. #1 his starting at daycare soon and
needs to get use to it and #2 I physically cant do it anymore. The
worst part of it all is that you have to pace the floor while
rocking/bouncing him to sleep. Anyone who can help I will be forever
in debt LOL! PLEASE SOMEONE ANYONE HELP ME! TIA

There is no easy solution to this problem. It's something that you should
have been working on well before you were incapable of holding him any more.
What you are going to have to do is start putting him down when he is drowsy
but not out. Of course, he'll wake up and cry. Wait a few minutes before
picking him back up, and repeat. Put him down drowsy but not out. Rinse
and repeat. It's going to be a long night, and probably take a few nights,
so you may need to have your mom or hubby get off work and come help out
during the day, so you can nap and recharge. But after a few days, he
should learn the new routine. Once he is able to lay by himself drowsy
without pitching a fit, you should be able to rock him less and less.

Good luck.
--

Jamie
Earth Angels:
Taylor Marlys, 1/3/03
Addison Grace, 9/30/04

Check out the family! -- www.MyFamily.com, User ID: Clarkguest1,
Password: Guest Become a member for free - go to Add Member to set up
your own User ID and Password

I'm the 1st one to admit I should of worked this out b4 it got to the
stage of not being able to rock him anymore...BUT WITH THAT
SAID.....please put yourself in my shoes---you have a sick baby whos
sick every wk of every month for the past 6 months, you would do
whatever you could to ease there pain and make them feel better.
Jamie Clark wrote:
Blue Eyes Blue wrote:
Hi, I dont know anywhere else but here to post this and I'm hoping
someone here can help me. My son is 14 months old and HAS to be rocked
to go to sleep. It all started when he came off the bottle @ 9
months--this was his way of going to sleep so once he got off the
bottle we started rocking him, PLUS his been so sick laltey with ear
infections LITERALLY every other week that we had to rock him to
soothe him. Now his 14 months and 25lbs and getting to heavy for me
to rock for 25 mins every night/nap. I tried tonight to put him to
bed with a fav toy and some lullabyes but after 25 mins he STILL was
crying--and had himself coughing as if to throw-up. So of course I
went in and got him---which at this time he cuddled into my shoulder
and fell asleep within 5 mins--BUT I REALLY need him to start going
to bed on his own for 2 reasons. #1 his starting at daycare soon and
needs to get use to it and #2 I physically cant do it anymore. The
worst part of it all is that you have to pace the floor while
rocking/bouncing him to sleep. Anyone who can help I will be forever
in debt LOL! PLEASE SOMEONE ANYONE HELP ME! TIA

There is no easy solution to this problem. It's something that you should
have been working on well before you were incapable of holding him any more.
What you are going to have to do is start putting him down when he is drowsy
but not out. Of course, he'll wake up and cry. Wait a few minutes before
picking him back up, and repeat. Put him down drowsy but not out. Rinse
and repeat. It's going to be a long night, and probably take a few nights,
so you may need to have your mom or hubby get off work and come help out
during the day, so you can nap and recharge. But after a few days, he
should learn the new routine. Once he is able to lay by himself drowsy
without pitching a fit, you should be able to rock him less and less.

Good luck.
--

Jamie
Earth Angels:
Taylor Marlys, 1/3/03
Addison Grace, 9/30/04

Check out the family! -- www.MyFamily.com, User ID: Clarkguest1,
Password: Guest Become a member for free - go to Add Member to set up
your own User ID and Password

Blue Eyes Blue wrote:
I'm the 1st one to admit I should of worked this out b4 it got to the
stage of not being able to rock him anymore...BUT WITH THAT
SAID.....please put yourself in my shoes---you have a sick baby whos
sick every wk of every month for the past 6 months, you would do
whatever you could to ease there pain and make them feel better.

It doesn't really change the outcome though does it? The easiest solution
to "right nows" problem often isn't the same one that you want for the long
term. It is hard when baby is sick, but even when baby was well, you were
rocking him to sleep. This is the culmination of a long history of bedtime
routines, not just this last few weeks during illness.

I do have a daughter who is sick all the time, and I still don't rock her to
sleep. I never really started down that path, so I didn't get stuck on it.
My daughter Addie seems to always be teething, or have an ear infection.
She's often cranky and whining and saying "owie." There are other ways to
sooth a child, but you have to break him of this habit first. It's not
going to be easy, and if every time it gets hard you give in and rock him
"to make him feel better" then you are never going to win this battle.

Good luck.
--

Jamie
Earth Angels:
Taylor Marlys, 1/3/03
Addison Grace, 9/30/04

Check out the family! -- www.MyFamily.com, User ID: Clarkguest1,
Password: Guest Become a member for free - go to Add Member to set up
your own User ID and Password

I posted on here for helpfull suggestions from understanding mothers in
the same or similar situaions....The only feedback I have received is
neg. I KNOW I CASUED THIS ROCKING SITUATION MYSELF....if you read my
post carefully you can see that---I HAVE REALIZED THAT AND I AM NOW
ASKING FOR HELP---not ppl to razz my parenting skills. And weither you,
tom, dick or harry agree with me rocking my child to sleep to ease his
pain I AGREE with it and thats the choise I as his mother made. If
anyone has any helpfull and NON-JUDGEMENTAL suggestions thank you very
much for your time.
Jamie Clark wrote:
Blue Eyes Blue wrote:
I'm the 1st one to admit I should of worked this out b4 it got to the
stage of not being able to rock him anymore...BUT WITH THAT
SAID.....please put yourself in my shoes---you have a sick baby whos
sick every wk of every month for the past 6 months, you would do
whatever you could to ease there pain and make them feel better.

It doesn't really change the outcome though does it? The easiest solution
to "right nows" problem often isn't the same one that you want for the long
term. It is hard when baby is sick, but even when baby was well, you were
rocking him to sleep. This is the culmination of a long history of bedtime
routines, not just this last few weeks during illness.

I do have a daughter who is sick all the time, and I still don't rock her to
sleep. I never really started down that path, so I didn't get stuck on it.
My daughter Addie seems to always be teething, or have an ear infection.
She's often cranky and whining and saying "owie." There are other ways to
sooth a child, but you have to break him of this habit first. It's not
going to be easy, and if every time it gets hard you give in and rock him
"to make him feel better" then you are never going to win this battle.

Good luck.
--

Jamie
Earth Angels:
Taylor Marlys, 1/3/03
Addison Grace, 9/30/04

Check out the family! -- www.MyFamily.com, User ID: Clarkguest1,
Password: Guest Become a member for free - go to Add Member to set up
your own User ID and Password

We co-sleep but I wonder if you could move him to a bed where you can lay
down with him. Rock him for five minutes and then lay down next to him and
just be there with him. He may cry but it's not the kind of crying they do
when they are alone. He won't be scared.

and FYI for whos concerned: my child was NEVER rocked b4 the illness
started or when teething etc....andhis ear infections are more than the
typical ear infections theres more to it than that...its an underlying
condition more than the usual "ear infection". Thanks
Jamie Clark wrote:
Blue Eyes Blue wrote:
I'm the 1st one to admit I should of worked this out b4 it got to the
stage of not being able to rock him anymore...BUT WITH THAT
SAID.....please put yourself in my shoes---you have a sick baby whos
sick every wk of every month for the past 6 months, you would do
whatever you could to ease there pain and make them feel better.

It doesn't really change the outcome though does it? The easiest solution
to "right nows" problem often isn't the same one that you want for the long
term. It is hard when baby is sick, but even when baby was well, you were
rocking him to sleep. This is the culmination of a long history of bedtime
routines, not just this last few weeks during illness.

I do have a daughter who is sick all the time, and I still don't rock her to
sleep. I never really started down that path, so I didn't get stuck on it.
My daughter Addie seems to always be teething, or have an ear infection.
She's often cranky and whining and saying "owie." There are other ways to
sooth a child, but you have to break him of this habit first. It's not
going to be easy, and if every time it gets hard you give in and rock him
"to make him feel better" then you are never going to win this battle.

Good luck.
--

Jamie
Earth Angels:
Taylor Marlys, 1/3/03
Addison Grace, 9/30/04

Check out the family! -- www.MyFamily.com, User ID: Clarkguest1,
Password: Guest Become a member for free - go to Add Member to set up
your own User ID and Password

"Blue Eyes Blue" wrote in message
ups.com...
and FYI for whos concerned: my child was NEVER rocked b4 the illness
started or when teething etc....andhis ear infections are more than the
typical ear infections theres more to it than that...its an underlying
condition more than the usual "ear infection". Thanks

I would never judge you ... I still rock my 2.5 year old to sleep sometimes
and my 17 month old son nurses to sleep for many naps. It's voluntary at
this point to nurse or rock to sleep, but something we didn't transition to
until I thought they were "old enough."

Blue Eyes Blue wrote:
I posted on here for helpfull suggestions from understanding mothers
in the same or similar situaions....The only feedback I have received
is neg. I KNOW I CASUED THIS ROCKING SITUATION MYSELF....if you read
my post carefully you can see that---I HAVE REALIZED THAT AND I AM NOW
ASKING FOR HELP---not ppl to razz my parenting skills. And weither
you, tom, dick or harry agree with me rocking my child to sleep to
ease his pain I AGREE with it and thats the choise I as his mother
made. If anyone has any helpfull and NON-JUDGEMENTAL suggestions
thank you very much for your time.
Jamie Clark wrote:
Blue Eyes Blue wrote:
I'm the 1st one to admit I should of worked this out b4 it got to
the stage of not being able to rock him anymore...BUT WITH THAT
SAID.....please put yourself in my shoes---you have a sick baby whos
sick every wk of every month for the past 6 months, you would do
whatever you could to ease there pain and make them feel better.

It doesn't really change the outcome though does it? The easiest
solution to "right nows" problem often isn't the same one that you
want for the long term. It is hard when baby is sick, but even when
baby was well, you were rocking him to sleep. This is the
culmination of a long history of bedtime routines, not just this
last few weeks during illness.

I do have a daughter who is sick all the time, and I still don't
rock her to sleep. I never really started down that path, so I
didn't get stuck on it. My daughter Addie seems to always be
teething, or have an ear infection. She's often cranky and whining
and saying "owie." There are other ways to sooth a child, but you
have to break him of this habit first. It's not going to be easy,
and if every time it gets hard you give in and rock him "to make him
feel better" then you are never going to win this battle.

Good luck.

If you reread my original post, I did give you concrete advice on what to do
to solve this problem. I just stated a fact that it's not going to be easy.
Not much in parenting is. Breaking habits like this are tough, especially
at this age. Toddlers get very set in their ways. As I've said from the
beginning, good luck. And I don't mean that sarcastically. I really wish
you well. It's going to be tough, but you can do it!
--

Jamie
Earth Angels:
Taylor Marlys, 1/3/03
Addison Grace, 9/30/04

Check out the family! -- www.MyFamily.com, User ID: Clarkguest1,
Password: Guest Become a member for free - go to Add Member to set up
your own User ID and Password

Thanks dagny I will try that Good idea, he just got a toddler bed
for his birthday.
Dagny wrote:
We co-sleep but I wonder if you could move him to a bed where you can lay
down with him. Rock him for five minutes and then lay down next to him and
just be there with him. He may cry but it's not the kind of crying they do
when they are alone. He won't be scared.