Morning

I have been reading these forums for about a month or so and today I must ask for some advice please.

I am a daddy of a 2year old. Since she has been born the only way I could put her to sleep is by walking with her head in my arms and sissing her for about 30min. This has in time become a problem for myself and my wife, because this is the only way she wants to go and sleep now.

She cant "switch off" by her self (only if she is very tired). I cant do this anymore as sh is getting heavier and this can not be good for her either. Please mommies and experts , please assist me with some good advice of what I would be able to do.

She sleeps in a Cot in our room and drinks about 1x bottle at night.

Regards

Desperate Daddy.

I will give it a try. We are moving into a new house next moth. She and little sis (3moths) will each have their own rooms.

I have learned with her, and we are not making the same mistake with our new born. Will let you know how it goes.

Definatly agree on one thing posted, you and you're wife have to come up with a plan and both stick to it.

For me it was a case of tough love, leave the child to fall asleep in her cot alone. Yes she will scream and it will be hard but it does get better. It usually takes a week for them to get into the habit and in my experience after that it was very easy to get my children to sleep because they got used to the routine .

Both my children have (both boys 7 and 6) have alwasy had strick bed times and allways go to bed with out fuss.

I have friends who let their children sleep with them and didnt enforce any routine, they strugle every night and sometimes the children are awake till 2am

Wow, that sounds like torture! Thanks for posting this, at least we know there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

It's not a 'mistake' to have your child sleep in the same room as yourself - in fact, it's a 'johnny-come-lately' Westernised concept that children should sleep in a separate room to the parents. Look at all the cultures worldwide that routinely have a communal sleeping area custom - and tell me, for instance, that the Oriental culture is inferior to the South African one. Oh, and do it without laughing at your own ridiculous assertion...

Sleep therapy is a way of systematically terrifying your child until they fall asleep, exhausted with a primal fear that if they're not quiet they'll be eaten alive during the night. Repeat night after night. Nice! Sure, they figure out after awhile that Daddy and Mommy are still around in the morning when the sun comes up and they haven't in fact been eaten while it was dark and they were left all alone. But at what cost, and why resort to putting them through that ordeal - doesn't sit well with me at all. I prefer to protect my child, not terrify them repeatedly.
Infants are demanding but quite adaptable. You need to find a routine that works for you, and work towards it. You'll find you don't have to force it on them, but over time with a little coaxing, lots of patience, they'll adapt. It shouldn't be a case of 'no sleep' though, that's just not going to work for you. Give a little, and require a little. That way you just working towards what you need, and they keep getting the love they need.
And don't get me started on this rubbish that infants must sleep alone, in their own room. That's a recent, westernised idea that's only popular because it lets parents be selfish:- TV, blackberries, laptops, whatever. There'll be plenty of time when your kids will be alone, why not enjoy the time you have with them, while you can.
Don't listen to the masses. :) Good luck.