https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Tue, 07 Apr 2026 07:28:14 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/falls-asleep-by-self-for-naps-but-not-for-bedtime#post-1420043 Thu, 13 Feb 2014 10:40:36 +0000 Kb 1420043@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@NerdBee: that makes a lot of sense. My boy hasn't been "textbook" since day one, so I don't know why I'd expect it to be easy now! I'm trying to figure out what the perfect amount of awake time is for him in the evening but it's been tricky. I really appreciate your feedback and it's really helpful knowing other moms have gone through the same thing so I know I'm not crazy :happy: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/falls-asleep-by-self-for-naps-but-not-for-bedtime#post-1413894 Tue, 11 Feb 2014 10:34:42 +0000 NerdBee 1413894@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Kb: hi there! Thank goodness for email notification or I would never have known that you replied to this thread. </p> <p>My LO is now 22 months and since my original post I have learned what his patterns and sleep needs are. What I have discovered is that he is a low sleep needs baby. From trial and error, I have discovered that when he naps too much during the day or does not have enough wake time before bedtime, he will put up a fight when it comes to bedtime. When I started to lengthen his wake times he started going down with very little to no crying and stopped waking up in the middle of the night. It took me a really long time to figure this out. In fact, it was not until he was about 18 months that I finally put all the pieces together. The problem was that it flew in the face of everything I had read about baby sleep which is to minimize overtiredness, keep wake times short, and early bed times. However, the early bed times was causing early wake ups. While he was having fairly good naps, he was not tired enough to go to bed early! It took me a long time to wrap my head around the idea that my baby was not a text book baby in terms of sleep. </p> <p>Anyway, I don't know if this will help you but I wish I knew this when I was struggling. Good luck and feel free to ask more questions! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/falls-asleep-by-self-for-naps-but-not-for-bedtime#post-1413797 Tue, 11 Feb 2014 10:08:02 +0000 Kb 1413797@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@NerdBee: hi there! I realize this post is from almost 2 years ago but I am having the exact same issue with my almost 4month old! He goes down for naps easily (sometimes fusses but almost always falls asleep within 10 minutes). At night though he cries and cries when he's put in his crib. I end up nursing him to sleep and even then he will wake up when I put him down. I don't pick him up unless he cries for more than 5 or 10 minutes. Just wondering if you ever found a solution? I hate just letting him cry and I really don't want him to be dependent on nursing to fall asleep. Anyway, I really hope you still check this site! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/falls-asleep-by-self-for-naps-but-not-for-bedtime#post-252761 Thu, 09 Aug 2012 08:42:23 +0000 NerdBee 252761@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@artbee, mrshotdog, stiffaknee: I know, right?? I thought bedtime was supposed to be easier than naps but it's been a huge struggle, which is why it's so confusing to me! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/falls-asleep-by-self-for-naps-but-not-for-bedtime#post-252754 Thu, 09 Aug 2012 08:38:05 +0000 NerdBee 252754@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@sandy: your post really struck a chord with me! Sometimes I am not sure if he is hungry or not because when I pick him up, he stops crying and sort of roots and sucks on my shirt. So I nurse him but I can tell he is not actively sucking and he falls asleep. When I transfer him to he crib, he wakes up and cries. We did this for over two hours last night. It is getting exhausting! He's already over 15lbs so it's killing my back to rock him. I have been letting him cry a bit before going to him but haven't been timing it do maybe that will help. Thanks for he advice!</p> <p>@mrs. Wagon: I am going by the when he woke up from his last nap but I generally put him to bed around 6:00-6:30pm. </p> <p>@sammyfab: I do start off by putting him down completely awake like I do for his naps but he starts screaming as soon as I leave the room. </p> <p>Could this be a sleep regression thing? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/falls-asleep-by-self-for-naps-but-not-for-bedtime#post-252749 Thu, 09 Aug 2012 08:32:21 +0000 stiffaknee 252749@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My problem is the exact opposite, but I think its because I have a strict bedtime routine, but haven't quite figured out naps (or a good nap routine) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/falls-asleep-by-self-for-naps-but-not-for-bedtime#post-252654 Thu, 09 Aug 2012 06:46:08 +0000 Sammyfab 252654@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Maybe you can try putting him to bed less asleep/drowsy? Fir the first couple of months I would nurse LO until he was completely asleep and ever so gently transfer him. Then I started passing him off to my DH to put him down and we would just be less and less gentle. It never really involved any crying for us fortunately! Naps we a different story though :). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/falls-asleep-by-self-for-naps-but-not-for-bedtime#post-252562 Wed, 08 Aug 2012 21:31:14 +0000 mrs. wagon 252562@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>What time are you putting him to bed? When we sleep trained his bedtime was 6 to 630pm and he did great. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/falls-asleep-by-self-for-naps-but-not-for-bedtime#post-252561 Wed, 08 Aug 2012 21:30:20 +0000 sandy 252561@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I had the same problem and posted about it here </p> <p><a href="http://boards.hellobee.com/topic/any-tips-for-putting-baby-down-drowsy-at-bedtime" rel="nofollow">http://boards.hellobee.com/topic/any-tips-for-putting-baby-down-drowsy-at-bedtime</a></p> <p>She napped great but bedtime was harder. I used momsoncall.com as a guide for a general day routine which gave me the confidence to know she was not hungry but sleepy. And I did end up letting her fuss/cry at bedtime bc there just was no way I could hold/sway her to sleep...she was getting too heavy for me even when she was little...also I knew she could do it for naps</p> <p>I only let her cry for 3 minutes at most and I used a timer on my phone...when she cried I would go in and pick her up and hold her and she would stop crying right away so I knew she was ok. Then I would pat and shush and put her back down and she would cry again but I would make myself wait outside her door for at least 3 more minutes and honestly it was not that bad bc she would fall asleep and stay asleep...there were not many days where I had to go in more than 2-3 times before she fell asleep...and after less than a week she was not crying or just fussing or if she sid cry it was less than a minute or so. For me it worked and I just had to give her the chance to do it...sometimes she would let out a piercing cry and then be dead asleep... I know some babies take longer than others but it only took a few days of a few minutes of crying. I'm so glad I did it bc now she sleeps great (13hrs without waking). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/falls-asleep-by-self-for-naps-but-not-for-bedtime#post-252521 Wed, 08 Aug 2012 20:34:07 +0000 MrsHotDog 252521@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Mine was the opposite as well but within a couple months she started putting herself down for naps as well. Now I miss the snuggle time since she won't sit still now. </p> <p>She was about four months when she put herself down at night and six months for naps. </p> <p>I wouldn't try CIO if you don't think it will work for him. We never did for my daughter and she just put herself to sleep when she was ready. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/falls-asleep-by-self-for-naps-but-not-for-bedtime#post-252477 Wed, 08 Aug 2012 19:38:40 +0000 heffalump 252477@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My lo was the opposite. She would always fall asleep fine at night but used to have trouble at nap time. I have no advice .... by the time she turned 8 months she was able to nap great on her own, it just took her a while to get to that point. Good luck! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/falls-asleep-by-self-for-naps-but-not-for-bedtime#post-252418 Wed, 08 Aug 2012 18:42:04 +0000 NerdBee 252418@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My LO is almost four months old and he has learned to fall asleep by himself for naps without any real training on my part. However, bedtime is a different story. He will scream and cry until he is either nursed to sleep or rocked to sleep. Lately, he has been preferring nursing to sleep. Even so, it will take over an hour to get him to sleep and he wakes up crying multiple times.</p> <p>I don't understand why he can fall asleep by himself for naps but not bedtime. His wake time is about 1.5 hours and he will drift off to sleep for naps when I put him down around the 1.5 hour mark but not for bedtime. I have tried putting him to bed earlier and later than 1.5 hours wake time with the same results. I am running out of ideas. </p> <p>Do I need to sleep train him? I've tried letting him cry for a bit and he just gets more and more worked up. I don't know if CIO will work for him. </p> <p>Any insight or advice would be greatly appreciated! </p>