Hello!! This is my first post and I will admit that I haven't read the whole book just yet (got it late last night and I read the sleep chapter and how to change bad habits). I do plan on reading the rest of it I just had to ask a question about transitioning to the crib with a 4 month old. A little background...
This is my 4th child so I am no novice but I have always had a hard time finding the middle ground between the getting them to sleep themselves and crying it out. I have always nursed my babies at night in bed and then put them back in their cradle. My DD, Bella, who just turned 4 months old never lets me put her in her cradle and since I am tired, I have just brought her back to bed. She is also a bad sleeper during the day, barely ever sleeping longer than half an hour. It has gotten to the point that I have just laid on the bed to nurse her to sleep for naptime as well (about evey 2 hours for every feeding). I have realized that this isn't the way I should be doing it, but until I was sure how to proceed to break these habits, I prefered this to letting her "cry it out".
So, now, I am excited about implementing these techniques (as well as scared that she isn't going to cooperate). So, instead of being an all night buffet for my precious DD (as has been the case the past few nights), I used the pacifier to help her get back to sleep until I fed her at 5:30 am. Let's just say I was full and in PAIN.
So, when I did this, I had her in my bed because I was exhausted from the previous nights' escapades, it was easier for both of us. I am just curious if I should move her directly to her cradle or crib for naptime or get her used to going to sleep on her own in a familiar environment. She has never slept in her crib since I have a cradle in my room for her and her crib is in her sister's room. She has never liked her cradle. So, I am trying to figure out where to help her learn to fall asleep. I do know that she is going to need to move out of her cradle in a couple of months (and DH and I need our bed back).
As I read the account of the 8 month old in the sleep chapter who had to be worked with just to be comfortable with his crib, I thought it was a good point to take it step by step, but I didn't understand how they did it while he was still scared of his crib. Would you just spend time acclimating them to it, but get them to sleep the way they were used to until they were ready to go into the crib or what?
Sorry for the lengthy post. I just hope to read more and begin implementing this ASAP.
THANKS!
