Sleep Issues with 11 Month Old

First, rest assured (no pun intended) that just because your son is a bad napper/sleeper at home, that does not mean he will be at daycare. Kids are amazingly 'different' at daycares. First and foremost, he's doing it at home because A. It's been life for him as long as he knows it and B. It works!!! But if/when he starts out at daycare and has to nap at the same time as other kids, sleep in a crib, etc. he will quickly adapt to that. I was amazed the first day my 12 month old went to daycare and slept soundly on a cot!!!

That being said, if you are still interested in getting him to sleep in his crib, I have a few suggestions. Try these out and hopefully one works!

1. Put him to bed with you. Then when he's sound asleep, move him. If he wakes up you can choose to move him back to your bed or pat his back, rock him, etc until he's back asleep and put him back into his bed.
2. Rock him in a dark room with a blanket and sing songs to him until he's drowsy and put him down. If he fusses, rub his back but do not pick him up. Even if he cries when you leave the room, give him a few minutes. If this does not work, try a variable or two - turn a light on as a nightlight, leave the door open or close it. Make sure there is a fan blowing for sound (or a sound machine, music) to drown out other sounds.
3. Rock him until he's completely asleep. This may start a bad habit but I did this with my daughter off and on from 0-16 months and she now goes to bed without being rocked (but we do cuddle) and I do sit in her room for a few minutes after she goes into bed.
4. Let him cry it out. I'm only mentioning this because I'm sure other mothers will. I could never do this with my daughter until she was around 2.5 and even then, it only happened when I realized/knew she was capable of falling asleep on her own and I was getting ready to move her 6 month old brother into her room and knew she needed to learn to self soothe. It was easier for me because she was older and not so much a 'baby' crying for mama. Still, I don't really recommend this!

Good luck!! It may be a few hard nights, or you may luck out and it may be easy. Be sure to play extra hard each night to really tucker him out. And start a new bedtime routine that includes putting on pjs, reading IN his room, singing IN his room and rocking or sitting IN his room before bed. He'll slowly start to realize that at that certain time, it's time for him to go to bed in his bed.

Now I say all this and have a 3 and 1 year old and the 3 year old coslept with us (middle of night and or/ early mornings) from 0-24 months then when her brother was born, she wanted nothing to do with our bed (he slept in a cosleeper next to us for six months). At 2.5 we started leaving her door open and she started going to bed MUCH easier, but she STILL gets up every night (now it's usually around 11pm) and gets into bed with me. My husband does not come to bed until around 4-5am (due to work) so I don't mind this.

... you will just have to try it. Put him in it.
Or, have him sleep on a floor mattress in your room.

Also, the Fisher Price "Ocean Wonders" crib toy is great. Both my kids loved it as babies, in their crib.
Also, make his crib comfy and cozy. You can put baby safe stuffed toys in it. My son liked that. Give him a lovey, if he does not already have one.
Crib mattresses tend to be hard and uncomfortable... so UNDERNEATH the fitted sheet, you can put some padding under it. A mattress pad or a blanket. That is what I did for my son, for his crib. It makes it more comfortable.

If he is a bad napper... maybe he is just over-tired. Over-tired babies/kids do NOT sleep well nor fall asleep well nor stay asleep well.
If you miss the window of time where he is tired, then a baby gets over-tired and can't sleep. Also, putting him to naps at regular consistent times....

At Daycare, they will have naps. Ask them HOW they put the babies to nap, and where... and what they do if a baby has trouble napping... or does not nap, nor well. You need to ask them that.... it is a basic parental question most parents will ask, and they SHOULD have a suitable answer for that.
Your baby, is not the only one, who may have trouble napping.... at Daycare.

good luck,
Susan

Well, you are battling two issues here. The first is the fact your DS is used to sleeping in your bed. The second is right around this time children often go through separation anxiety (whether or not they have been sleeping in their parents' bed). So, it might take a little work to get him to sleep in his crib, but for sure you can do it.

If you are willing and have a little patience, I suggest putting his mattress on the floor in his room and either you or your husband sleep on a air mattress next to him. Get him used to sleeping in his room in a situation that is close to what he is used to already. Once he gets to the point that he can sleep okay this way, then put some type of barrier between the two mattress, such as couch cusions, etc. This way if he wakes up and needs comforting you are right there, but he gets used to not being right next to you. Then, once he has mastered that, put the mattress in the crib while one of you is still sleeping in his room. He will get used to that and you can start lying down on the mattress on the floor, but then getting up and leaving once he is asleep. Eventually you will be able to just sit in a chair in his room and leave, and then just put him down and leave.

This takes time and some effort, but if you are like my husband and I and don't like to do the "crying out" thing, we have found this works best. Our youngest daughter actually just needed us to sleep in the same room with her while she was in her crib, and then sit in her room until she fell asleep and now she actually waves and says "bye-bye" when we put her down and she contentedly goes to sleep. It did not take her long to get to this point.

Our middle daughter was a different story and it took quite a while, but she had other issues involved (recovery from surgery at 11 months old), so that is not surprising. Our oldest never had a problem, so...

Anyhoo, if you want to try starting with the crib and seeing if just your presence in the room is enough, start there, but you may need to take a step back...he will let you know quickly if he thinks that is just not going to work for him!

Whatever you decide to do, just remember, he is still very young and attached. Mommy and Daddy are his safety and security. Try hard not to make him feel like he is being punished. That will just make the whole transition that much harder on everyone!

Best wishes.

I would start putting him in his crib now...a few weeks b/4 he starts daycare. If you wait, going to daycare & sleeping alone in his crib will be 2 big life changes for him...more than he should be expected to cope with. Do your bedtime routine in his room, read him books w/ music, etc., etc., then put him in his crib. If he cries, pick him up until he stops, then put him down again. If he cries again, pick him up until he stops (but do not rock him), then put him down when he stops. Continue this until he's asleep. Once he's asleep, stay in the room for about 5 minutes to make sure he's in a deep sleep. This is called the pick up / put down method from the book The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems. We did this w/ my daughter when we transitioned her from nursing to sleep & it worked. I suggest this b/c since he sleeps in your bed you are obviously into attachment parenting to some extent & probably would not be comfortable w/ letting him cry himself to sleep (I'm against having a baby cry himself to sleep). Good luck...and start now & be consistent. If he is crying...you are there next to him so he won't feel abandoned.