One Year Old Refusing to Sleep in Crib

I know how frustrating that can be. With my 1st baby I was told by numerous moms to start training early on a sleeping schedule since I work fulltime. I was told never to have the baby fall asleep in our bed, breastfeed and then lay the baby in the bassinet next to our bed. At 6 months I mixed rice cereal with my breastmilk for the last evening feeding (boy did he love that and started sleeping all night long) and also did an every night ritual; bath time, pajama time, feeding, and then layed my baby down on the crib with a soft lamp on and soft music playing and I would gently talk to the baby telling him it's time for bed and close the door. At times he was wide awake and would CRY (monitor)but I would only go in the room if it was more than 8 minutes or the crying got out of control. Believe me I don't like hearing crys either but it only took 2-3 days and it worked! I had my baby sleeping about 10 hours every night and in his crib at 6 months old! Good luck to you and trust me babies are smart and start testing you at an early age but remain strong and stand your ground ;)

Unfortunately, crying it out (which hurts us more than it does them) is sometimes the best alternative. Was her bassinet in the same room where the crib is now located? If not, put her in the bassinet (if she'll fit) for a few nights next to the crib and then try moving her again. If it was, again, crying it out will probably be the best option. You have to remember that crying it out could take several long, horrible nights of you feeling like a monster, and the time period should be longer than 5 minutes. Put her in her crib, give her 5 minutes of crying the first time, then come in, DON'T take her out of the crib, pat her or rub her tummy, sing to her, calm her down, then walk out again and give her 10 minutes. Try again to calm her down. Then leave and give her 15 minutes everytime after that until she stops. Take turns with daddy, to limit your frustration and don't take her out of the crib or she will have won. Remember, allowing her to cry it out does NOT make you a bad mom or mean or uncaring or cruel (even if it makes you feel that way).
You could also try giving her something special to sleep with (find a cuddly animal or a favorite blanket), try sitting in the room next to the crib for a little while, give her some soft music or a mobile over the crib. Something to make her feel more comfortable in the crib when she is awake and so safe while she is asleep.
You aren't alone, we all go through it. Good luck.

I am sorry to say that "crying it out" is more like an hour (or longer) than 5 minutes. This method WILL NOT work if you give in and bring her to bed with you, no matter how long you have let her cry first, if she knows that you will give in at some point she will hold out for that. If you want to use the "crying it out" method you need to not pick her up at all during the night (except perhaps for a planned feeding) if she needs a diaper change you do it with her in the bed; if you want to try to comfort her, go in every 15 minutes or so and talk to her, pat her back, sing, whatever but do not pick her up! This may take only one night but is more likely to take around three nights.

Best of luck with this or whatever other method you choose!

wow i dont know what i would have done if my baby wouldnt sleep in a crib at a year. i have my daughter on a awesome daily and night schedual (shes been on it since like 3 months old) and has been sleeping in her own room since 3 1/2 months (i put her in her own room when she was only waking up once eat at night). she did go through a time at about 6-7months where she would scream and cry for 30mins to an hour i let her cry it out unless it was bad. now shes a 13mos and i give her a cup and she drinks it and i hold her for about 30mins till she gets drowsy and between 7 (at the earliest) and 8 (at the latest) shes past out in bed and if she does fuss its only for like 5 mins. its a little different because you breast feed so your little girl craves that closeness and comfort. you just have to be consistant with her. i would assume you do i bed time routine. maybe try putting her to bed an hour later. what i do with my lil one is we go into my room at 7p to calm down and drink our milk and get a breathing treatment then she basically cuddles and falls asleep. i was starting his routine at 6 but by 7 she wasnt tired so i pushed it back an hour. good luck i hope my rambeling helps!

What has worked for me is to let her cry the 5minutes and then if she doesn't stop. Go in the room and sit by her crib patting her. Don't stop touching her but also don't pick her up. She needs to know you are responsive to her even if you are out of sight and that she now has to stay in her crib at night. Start by patting fast and firm not hard and then gradually slower and lighter until she is able to settle herself. If you respond quickly after 5 minutes, for a few nights in a row, I bet it will be done. Talk to her at first saying it's time for bed and you're there for her and then get quieter and lighter with the patting.

We have the same problem with our one year old daughter. We finally put a toddler bed (has a saftety bar)next to our bed. Once we get her to sleep (she usually starts off in our bed), one of us moves her to her own bed and she has gotten to where she will usually sleeping the rest of the night in her bed. Both my husband and I work so sleep is very important to us and this is what works best for us currently.

If she's a year old my guess is that they nap on mats at daycare? We put my daughter in a toddler bed just before she was a year old. She's always been good about sleeping, but once she started sleeping on the mats at daycare she didn't like being in her crib anymore. Another trick we learned was a consistent night time routine. Bath, PJ's, one cartoon (make sure its the same one each night - Sprout channel has some 15minute cartoons that worked great) after that cartoon, it was a book in bed, then lights out. Hope this helps! Hange in there!