Hi,

My child is 8 months, old and she only falls and stays asleep when she is on my husband or my self. I know this is not good, but I tried the Ferber method and it did not work. Next step is the crying it out method. I find this method a little harsh. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thank You,

I think 8 months old is old enough for the CIO Method. Prior to trying that though, I would suggest you try to get into a really good schedule (daytime and nighttime) and stick too it religiously. My son is in bed for his one nap (now that he is two he only naps once) at 11 AM sharp and sleeps for about two hours. He is also in bed for the night at 7 PM sharp. I don't let anything interfere with his schedule. You could also try a white noise machine. It helped my son associate sleep with his crib and the noise machine. Conair sells them pretty cheap and they will block out any interfering noise. GOOD LUCK! I think the biggest advice I can give you is that you should never let anything interfere with your childs' schedule or sleep (even if that means missing out on some fun activities). If they get into a routine (just like adults do) they will be telling you at 2 they want to go to sleep.

I would agree with Heather's advice on white noise and a good routine.  the white noise has reallly helped my daughter sleep since she was a newborn.  she's 9 months now and we've just settled into a strict routine over the last couple months.  she's always slept good in her crib at night, but would only take her naps in my lap until just the last few weeks.  but, getting her to bed at night was not fun because I would rock her to sleep and God forbid she wake up when I layed her down because we would have to start all over!  but, the routine we established helps her realize it's bed time and I started laying her down while she was drowsy, but still awake.  we went through a few nights of crying, but only 5-15 minutes.  good luck!

Hi Kristy,

I found early on that routine was key like others have said. Find a routine of bath, last feeding, and story maybe that work for you to help establish that daytime to bedtime connection. I had to do a bath everynight for two months and then last bottle and story in my daughters room. She took to the routine and it helped her to fall asleep quickly and sleep through the night. Good luck. Let us all know how it goes.