Cant sleep on his own

[velvet]

I still put my 8 month old to sleep by staying with him and having my hand on his back in the crib. On a good day, I only need to stay with him for about 10 minutes and then he's asleep.

  I find if I leave him after I do a winddown, he will be quiet for about 30 minutes but then cry.  It's the kind of cry that isnt just for attention.  I find that its harder to put him down when I go back in because the 20 min. sleep window is now gone.  I dont know when my little guy will be able to sleep on his own and I dont know how to go about implementing this.  Should I worry?

[tylersmommy]

I don't think you should worry...if you're comfortable with the way you're doing things now, then there's no need to change. If you feel that it's time to start teaching him to sleep on his own, I suggest very gradually reducing the amount of time you keep your hand on his back. The idea is that he'll be just a little less asleep each time, and he'll get more comfortable with the idea of falling asleep with less help from you.

If he continues to cry after 30 min, you'd have to commit to pat/shh and/or pu/pd at that point to get him through it. Keep us posted!