I'm still trying to teach DD to fall asleep in her crib. She's nine months and she is really good at falling asleep with the right cues, but I'm failing miserably to control what those cues are. I accidentally taught her to fall asleep in minutes if she's in a stroller dressed to go out, and sometimes she'll nap very well in her car seat, but everything I've tried with the crib has been a fail. Mobiles don't work, soft toys don't work, blankies don't work. The most progress I've made is that she doesn't freak out when put in the crib awake - she just plays around for a few minutes, then gets mad and starts yelling until I get her out and nurse her. This is turning into an out of control thing that I can't take much longer.

I'm really hoping to create a new habit for her that doesn't involve all that comfort sucking. A couple of nights ago I gave her a light up toy in desperation, and she cried a little, then hugged it and went to sleep, and woke up in her own bed for the first time in months. It was heavenly... but when I tried the same thing the next two nights, she just yelled at the toy, threw it across the crib, and carried on as usual.

Now that toy is kind of loud and not meant for soothing... I only grabbed it because it lights up. I'm wondering whether to get a proper light up soothing toy, but I'd hate to do that if it doesn't help, because we're already drowning in toys.

If you've tried those, do they really help your baby calm down and go to sleep?