The bedtime routine for my 21month old is fairly short. Pjs, sleep sack, then I hold him in he rocking chair and sing amazing grace for a few minutes and we cuddle. I am pretty short (5'2") so already he is like half my size ha. I LOVE holding and cuddling him before bed but I'm just wondering when that usually ends? I would gladly hold him till he is 18 if he lets me 
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My almost 4 year old would probably still be happy to do that. She usually snuggles with DH and they watch a song video on his phone before bed most nights.
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We just stopped rocking DS in the glider and reading books/singing after he turned 3.5, and only because we are having another baby and went ahead and took all the baby gear out of his room! Bedtimes snuggles are the best
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I still rock my 3.5 yr old for 5-10 mins before he gets in his bed. I figure he's only small for so long! My 5.5 yr old asks to be rocked every once in awhile but she's tall & I'm 37 weeks pregnant so it doesn't really work out at the moment!
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We don't have a rocking chair that works beyond baby stage but my 5.5yo still loves for someone to cuddle in bed with her while she falls asleep.
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I just realized the other night I still hold DS for a moment before bed. He recently turned 2. I'll probably do it until he's out of the crib. At this point it's just a stolen moment as I pick him up to set him in there.
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DS is 4 and would probably love to be rocked before bed but the glider hasn't been in his room for some time. Instead we cuddle and read a book.
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We stopped holding my daughter before bed when we stopped rocking her to sleep right around that age (we switched to a full-size bed then because she was climbing out of her crib). We just lie and snuggle with her until she falls asleep now, I love it!
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Still rock/snuggle our 2yo before bed, but now she usually lets us know when she's had enough & slides off my lap and shuffles over to her crib & waits to be picked up & put in bed. I love bedtime snuggles.
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I was just thinking about this last night. Right before we transitioned to his big boy bed (but he knew it was coming) he asked for us to stop singing his bedtime songs. He said they were for "babies." We still cuddle in his bed to read, but no more rocking, etc.
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@justjules: Awww I hear ya! I think all kiddos are different! DD is 2.5 and isn't rocked, but I think if I asked her she would!
DH does rub her back in her bed for a bit (like 2 minutes)
DS is 9 months and is a very independent sleeper, IF he falls asleep drinking his bottle before bed I hold him for awile and cuddle, because he normally wants his crib lovey and thumb lol -
As long as he will let me! He will be 2 in a month. I usually hold him and rock in the glider while we read bedtime stories (or he sits on daddy's lap in the glider). Then I nurse him a little with the lights off while I rock him, give him hugs and kisses, then in the crib.
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DD (21 months) is in a toddler bed now. I sit on the edge of it and hold her in my lap for a few minutes before she lays down. I hope she never wants me to stop cuddling her!
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I rocked DD until she moved into her big girl room and big girl bed at 3 yo.. only bc that was the time we moved the rocker into her baby brother's room.
Now, we snuggle in her bed and read books so I equate it to the same thing, kind of.....
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Right now we rock our 8 month old to sleep every night while feeding him his bottle. I actually find it to be pretty relaxing. He's currently going through a season of not wanting to nap in his crib so we're also holding him during naps pretty frequently (I know this can turn into a habit but for now we're just doing whatever works to get him to nap a little bit during the day). At or last pediatrician appointment the nurse was asking us whether we still have to rock him to sleep in a tone of voice that implied that if we are there's something wrong. I kind of felt like she was over-stepping her bounds a little bit considering how we choose to deal with our child's sleep issues is a pretty personal decision unless it is directly affecting his physical health in a negative way. Has anyone else's pediatrician asked about things that you though were none of their business?
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@msglass I rocked DS to sleep until he was 17 months. At that point I sleep trained him b/c he was awake for 4-5 hours in the middle of the night every night and I almost wrecked my car from sleep deprivation. But if he would have STTN after being rocked to sleep, I might still be doing it. Lol. Do what works! I don't regret rocking him to sleep one bit.
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When my 2.5 year old is sick I will hold her even if she's like half my length (I'm 5'1). For these special occasion I'll tell her if I'm too tired and need to sit/lay and cuddle instead
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@Msglass: No, my pedi has never asked about sleep other than just saying sleeping ok?! I think they feel if we have what we think is an issue we will bring it up!
I actually would be kind of offended!
I could see if you said he isn't sleeping well.and we are tired, that they can ask certain?
But other than that?!?!?!!..... -
My almost 5.5 year old still asks to cuddle in the rocking chair sometimes. He's almost 60lbs and a couple inches shy of 4 ft tall! It's a squeeze but I will do it as long as he wants, though we may have to move to just cuddles in bed...
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I rock my 16 month old to sleep every night and there’s no end in sight. She can’t fall asleep without it but I don’t mind; I love the bedtime snuggles.
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DD sits on our lap in the glider while we read stories, then she climbs into bed and we sit next to her while we do songs and goodnight. So I guess it's been a very long time since we held her the way you're describing, I can't remember exactly. Maybe when we transitioned into the toddler bed at 22 months? She's 28 months now.
We still do cuddles at other times, though - she'll ask for "mommy cuddles" or "daddy cuddles" and we'll lie down together on the couch or on our own bed if it's early in the morning.
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My 4 year old sometimes sits in my lap during story time, but sometimes doesn't. It all depends on his mood, I think. But he was never as much of a cuddler as my youngest. My 2.5 still sits on my lap for story time and I suspect he'll continue to do it for a while.
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DS is almost 3 -- we just switched to a big bed last week and had to get rid of our rocker, so now we do cuddles in his bed before he falls asleep.
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I'm still holding my 3.5 year old. I'll keep holding her (and her sister) until they don't want me to hold them anymore.
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@justjules: That is sweet! I say do it as long as he wants to!! We don't anymore (LO is 20 months) but that is just because when I ask him if he is ready for bed he nods and walks right in and up to his crib. I don't want to jinx it by adding songs or books HAHA!
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My daughter is 3 and she still crawls onto my lap for a few songs before bed! It's not really holding/rocking anymore because she is too big. But she lays on me and I rub her back and sing
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I still hold my 4 year old and sing him his bedtime songs. If its a night I'm working late then DH reads him his stories and I'll cuddle him in bed when I get home (he waits up for me). If I'm there for bedtime then he sits on my lap in the recliner and I sing (badly). I nurse my 20 month old and DH rocks her before laying her in the crib (I'm always with the 4 year old at the time).
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2.5. When she moved into a big bed we switched over from rocking to cuddling in bed while we read. Still rocking my baby boy (16 months).
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We did a bottle before bed every night until 19 months. Once we dropped that the cuddling while reading has been hit or miss. I think I am going to reintroduce a small cup of milk during storytime so we can snuggle again!
DH does rub her back in her bed for a bit (like 2 minutes)Reply
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