Soothing baby to sleep

one of my LO's is not the best napper/faller-asleeper. (if thats even a word!)
he has to be held in order to fall asleep. i just put him down for a nap and he will not fall asleep on his own. i am trying to break the rocking habit in my arms. i had to literally lay over him, rub his head, etc. and he is now peaceful.
is this part of a baby needing to learn to self-soothe?

ETA - he often wakes up just a few minutes later, too.

 

When he wakes up a few minutes later, do you have to go back in to pat him or rock him before he goes back to sleep?

 

yes

 

Some babies just get self soothing. And some don't.

I rocked my oldest ds to sleep until around 1 yr old. Every. Single. Nap/nighttime. I loved it because he was my only child and it was our special time.

My oldest dd was rarely rocked to sleep, but was an excellent sleeper on her own.

I was worried when we had the twins how it would turn out. My ds was the excellent sleeper but sometimes my dd would require extra snuggles/rocking motion to settle down.

If your one baby goes to sleep fine on their own, then I don't see the harm in gently rocking your other one to sleep. If you are ready to stop the rock, you can either do it gradually (time how long it takes to rock him to sleep, then gradually decrease the time you rock him each time), or you can quit cold turkey and do CIO.

Don't forget that their cribs are a much colder/harder place than your arms. Try giving him a lovey/small blankie that you have slept with for a few nights, it'll have your scent on it. You can also warm the crib with an electric pad/blanket or hot water bottle. Just turn off anything electric and check the sheets before putting him down.

Standing over them patting/shushing is a good way to break them of the rocking too. It may take awhile to get them to settle down like that, but it's gentler than CIO. Again, time how long it takes you to settle them down, and gradually decrease the time you are in there.

And be prepared for some tears, it's almost inevitable when you try to transition/teach them how to do something like self-soothing! :hug:

 

it's not that i mind sitting with him and getting him calm so that he can sleep. he doesn't stay asleep; he sleeps fine in my arms but if i put him down, he tends to wake up.
he has a lovey and i wrap him in a blanket once he's down.

 

I had one baby that always woke when we put him in his crib. Eventually we realized that he really preferred to sleep on his tummy...I know that isn't the best solution but if they are able to roll over my pedi. told me it was okay. He would go right to sleep on his tummy and sleep for 9 hours....before that we had to try several times to get him to sleep and usually he would wake several times at night.

 

You've got really good advice from other pps unfortunatelly I don't have anything to add just symphasize. One of my LO is doing the exact the same thing yours is, however my munchkins are a bit younger than yours. Matthew used to be a great sleeper but now its all out the window he literally fights fallings asleep and is most happy and content when we hold/rock him. I just pray its just a phase or I am going to lose my mind one day. Hang in there and sending hugs your way.