Rocking baby to sleep

Hi mamas!! My boy is almost 6 months and I still have to rock him to sleep.. I have friends who can just put their babies down and they will sooth themselves to sleep but my baby just screams if I leave him. I don’t mind doing it at all I’m just worried it’s not normal for him to not be able to put himself to sleep? He’s fallen asleep on his own maybe 3 times since he’s been able to self sooth? He does settle back down in the night but I have to initially rock him to sleep. Please tell me there’s other mamas that do this? - picture of my trouble maker for cuteness 🩵

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Mines almost 10 months and still gets rocked for naps. When he was around that age it really stressed me out but now i’m not bothered. It’s still very normal.

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Mine is almost 10months and he breastfeeds to sleep at night 😂. It’s okay mama don’t be so stressed, honestly you can’t compare babies! They are all different

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It’s possible but you can’t go straight from rocking to sleep to putting them down and having them fall asleep on their own. Try habit stacking - maybe while rocking baby play some lullabies and/or stroke baby’s hand or something, so that they come to associate that with going to sleep. Gradually rock more and more gently until you’re barely rocking, and then not rocking at all and just holding them / stroking their hand while the lullabies play. Then eventually you’ll be able to put them down in their cot and stroke their hand there and they’ll fall asleep to the lullabies. Finally you remove the hand stroking (and the lullabies if you wish).

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I had to sleep train to teach my baby to fall asleep independently. I don’t think he would ever have done it otherwise. I recommend the book The Helping Babies Sleep Method by Dr Sarah Mitchell, it’s really gentle and worked really fast x

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Oh my goodness this is so so normal! You are not doing anything wrong and you are doing great responding to your baby’s needs! My son turned 2 in January and I still support him to get to sleep and there is nothing wrong with him. At this point I mostly don’t even need to rock him or sing to him, just lay with him in the recliner in his room, but that’s only been in the last month or so. I nursed him to sleep for 22 months.

MOST babies cannot be put down awake and fall asleep. If they do, they just have a very easygoing temperament or they’ve been sleep trained.

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18 months and still fed/rocked to sleep.

Some babies are unable to self settle/soothe until a much later age. Please don’t think your doing anything wrong.

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My little girl is 8 months, i exclusively breastfeed and I still feed or rock her to sleep. All babies are different, they all have different needs and likes!x

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Still rock my 18 month old whilst she demands her top hits. (Twinkle twinkle and the wheels on the bus) 😅 totally normal. Just do what works for you

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I still rock my 21 month old to sleep for naps.

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Very common most babies are this way and it wont change for a while unless you decide to sleep train in some sort of fashion.

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Still rocking at 8 months

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Adorable 🥰

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Your boy just loves his mom so much - because you love him enough to rock him to show it!

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My 23 month old still gets rocked, he sleeps through 8-8am and for me it’s a small price to pay for that result. My 8 month old is also rocked. It’s comfort. I actually think I’ll miss rocking my 23 month old when he decides to stop lol

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My baby just won’t stay asleep after I put her down In her Moses basket

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It is 100% normal for him to need help to sleep.
Naturally, babies can’t really self soothe. Often people have sleep trained in order to do that. It’s not in their nature to do so.
My daughter is almost one and we still cuddle to sleep for every sleep.
You are creating a safe space for your child to feel comfortable enough to fall asleep. He wants to be rocked to sleep because be feels most secure when with you. What you’re doing is normal and healthy for you baby. Take pride in knowing that your arms is where baby wants to be and exactly where baby should be, you’re doing a great job.

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My daughters never been rocked to sleep ever (7m) but my son was and then we transitioned laying with him and he fell asleep then just put him in cot asleep. My daughter is just learning to self soothe and go to sleep without crying and she is getting there but I stay in her room until she does xx

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I do the same with my 7 month old. I find at least rocking him for 10 minutes and then laying him down while he's still a bit awake. I find I have better luck with him falling asleep alone then. Or I put a teddy bear on his chest for comfort as well helps.

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Not all babies are self soothers

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You're doing great, it's hard not to compare but everyone is different and every baby is unique. Some people just need more hugs, my 2 year old still needs to be held till she falls asleep sometimes.

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You’ve all made me feel so much bettter. Thank you so much everyone 🥰🩵

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Oh it's ABSOLUTELY normal! Infact, it's MORE normal to have to support your baby to sleep, for quite some time, than it is to have one that will allow you to just put them down and leave. My 2.5 year old is breastfed and or cuddled to sleep every night and through the night still.

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I've downloaded the audiobook but not had much time to listen to it as of yet, im desperate atm she's waking every hour or so and will only settle when rocked to sleep. Could you explain how you did it please? X

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