Books and suggestions for getting 10 months old to sleep....

Their pediatrician said to put them in their crib when they are awake, but sleepy. Um, too late. We had been holding them. Now....

One baby screams if put down before they go to sleep. the other one does, too, his brother works him up.

We let them cry one day. One baby fell asleep. The other one... not so good. Turns out this isn't a good option for them, as they have asthma and this triggered some odd breathing after 45 minutes of crying (and me giving and picking him up, when he fell asleep) ended up in a trip to the ER.

What to do now? What the pediatrician suggested, is too late. Mostly my fault as I coddled them. Now they are at an age we need to start healthy sleep habits, but I'm not willing to let them cry like that after what happened last time.

it doesn't help that they used to use their pacifiers for some self-soothing, and they don't really like them anymore, after being sick with some disease where they got sore mouths.
No more paci soothing, now...

Need some good suggestions, and book references, for bedtime without crying-it-out or holding babies until they sleep.

 

I think HSHHC by Weisbluth will give you a sleep plan for that age range. Can you put them down at night gradually and gradually less drowsy and go from there? Will they go down for any of their naps without you soothing them?

 

I have been very happy with the no cry sleep solution book. I got my one son who won't fall asleep without help to go to sleep while i pat him on the back in his crib, and hopefully I can reduce the amount of time I pat them on the back. The other day my other son who never gives me a problem got upset and I was alone and now they are too big for the bouncy seat so I was like no what, so I put them on opposite ends of the crib and patted them both on the backs and they passed out and I moved one of them. I would start by rocking them to sleep then putting them in the crib after they pass out and pat them on the back and gradually put them in the crib more and more awake and the reduce the amount of time you are patting their backs. I just had to be firm with my son because he likes to move all around the crib and pick his head up. He now has learned that he has to be lying down with his head down. Got to go hope this helps

 

I'm so sorry for your issues! i've read HSHHC and its great, though doesn't he talk about CIO... ? anyway, the other one I would suggest is The Baby whisperer, at least in the earlier months she talks about you being there with them while they cry/fuss... and patting them, or picking up & putting down once they calm down, and not holding them after they've calmed down... I know to some degree it worked for us.

One other help is that ours now LOVE their little loveys... maybe that could be a self soother for yours.... my dd - even though she loves her paci - picks the sewn nose on her teddy blanket, she either picks it with her teeth or her hands... anyway, she loves that little blankie... (the 12" sq ones)... hopefully you get sleep soon!

the Baby Whisperer calls what you have done a "prop"... and she talks about getting them to sleep w/o props and to sleep on their own. hopefully you have that soon.

 

I agree with PP, The No Cry Sleep Solution has some good ideas. We started giving lovies at 5 months and I think it helped, especially with DS. We do a combo of CIO and the ideas from the No Cry book. I'm sorry you're having trouble!

 

I used the baby whisper technique although that was around 5 months. It worked very well.

 

I would recommend introducing loveys as well. One book that I found helpful was Sleep Solutions for Your Baby, Toddler and Pre-schooler by Ann Douglas. She talks about different sleep issues you might encounter at different ages, what might be the cause and what you can do to help. Good luck!

 

Just wanted to 2nd (or 3rd) the suggestions of The No-Cry Sleep solution and The Baby Whisperer.

Good luck, I hope you find something that works for you and your babies.

 

Nope- they cry every time the get sleepy.

This didn't used to be as much of a problem, then they got reaalllly miserable sick and were crying most of their waking time for about a week.... now they're in this odd needing to be comforted to sleep state, ever since.

I'll check out the book, thanks for the suggestion!

 

Thanks for the story and the suggestion, I'll check it out!

 

Thanks everyone, for the book suggestions! I'll check all three out.

What are loveys? I'll gladly try them

Thanks again, everyone who replied!

 

loveys are just any little blankie/stuffed animal that they will love on! we must have gotten 5 or more sets of those cute little 12" square blankies most with little bear or other "heads" on them... most have a blanket side and a silky side.... kinda makes it the best for whatever your baby likes... I never wanted to put blankets in the crib, but these are so small and the babies are able to move now so I'm not worried about them suffocating under them if they end up over their head.

I usually have 1 or 2 things in their cribs for them to snuggle with. I'm realizing that they each totally love one specific one, and I'm debating on hiding it for naps, and seeing if I can get them to like/love another so that we aren't screwed if we lose it!

 

Thanks! We actually have some of those, didn't know what they were called I think it's time top pull them back out of the toychest