When you say your baby cries before going to sleep....

[Granadilla]

..for how long do they cry?

I've read several posts about getting babies to sleep in the evening where parents say "she cried for a few nights". How long did your baby cry for on each of those nights?

My son is almost 10 months and has become a real pain to get to sleep without breast feeding him. I try cuddles/lullabies as an alternative but after 30 - 60 mins of messing around I usually give up and feed and he is asleep in minutes. I wouldn't mind, its only he seems to wake more in the night as a result. By faff I mean crying in cot - lullaby - pick up - cuddle - back to cot - cry - pick up.....I don't leave him to cry, but I wonder if I'm not giving him enough of a chance to sort himself out.

[CuteLittleToes]

What kind of crying is it? I wouldn't pick him up if it's just peed off frustrated kind of crying. If it grows into upset crying, then i would pick him up.

[BotBotticelli]

Agree - I would stop picking him up, singing, he's probably confused about what;s going on. Is it bedtime or not?

Sounds harsh but I would cuddle, sing lullaby, and then put in cot and do not get him out unless he is ill/something is horribly wrong.

Yes, he might cry. Go out the room and leave him for a few mins. If you must, go back in in silence, put your hand on his back or tummy and say shhhhh shhhhh to reassure him you;re then. Leave the room again. Stay out for slightly longer. Return for another shhhh shhhh if you must but if he's just fussing/grizzling I would leave him to get on with it. Some babies need to fuss/grizzle themselves off to sleep. Obvs if he is hysterical then return a few times to comfort with a hand on his belly/back. But dont get him out the cot.

It's at this age they need to start to learn it;s bedtime, imho!

[thisvelvetglove]

Or just feed him if he goes to sleep easily?

:)

Its not a bad habit or anything for babies and they do stop by themselves eventually!

[workingtitle]

My DS is the same age as yours and so far has almost always cried before sleep. We try to leave him to it unless it escalates into upset crying (as the others have said). If he was still grumbling after 15-20mins one of us would go and do some sush-patting. We avoid going in if we can as it seems to wake him up.

Our bedtime routine is pretty short - around 15 mins: into nightclothes, short feed and a story (all in our bedroom), then into his room, tell him it's sleepy time, say night night to toys etc, in the cot and a lullaby, say sleepy time a few more times, lights out and leave.