# anyone still rocking their toddler to sleep?



## gribbit (Aug 30, 2004)

DD is 21 months old and I am still doing it







. I dont really mind, I was just curious to see if I was the only one...

michelle


----------



## sunnylady303 (Sep 17, 2004)

We are! DD is 27 months though and I do mind. It is so frustrating. To be fair, I have only rocked her to sleep three or four times in the last five weeks (because we have a 5 week old baby) - dh has taken bedtime over. But neither of us like it really and I wish we knew how to transition her out of it. But twice a day she gets rocked - naptime and bedtime. It drives me batty. I'm glad you still like it though. At 21 months we were still nursing to sleep. If anyone has any advice on how to stop rocking to sleep, I'd love to hear it!


----------



## juju's mom (Mar 30, 2005)

15 month old sleeping in arms right now.







my butt hurts


----------



## USAmma (Nov 29, 2001)

Nitara has never been that snuggly but she's sick right now and for the first time ever, is wanting me to rock her to sleep and even co-sleep with her in her twin bed! It's really nice to have her snuggling next to me rather than kicking me away.


----------



## lizabird (Jan 19, 2004)

I have always put DS to sleep in bed, laying down. But DH often rocks DS to sleep in the rocking chair and then lays him down in bed. So, yes, we are still doing some rocking, usually DS requests the rocking chair when DH puts him to sleep. He's about 27 months.


----------



## artgoddess (Jun 29, 2004)

I'd love to be able to rock him to sleep. But if I sit in the rocking chair he's on to me and starts having a temper tantrum. So we nurse to sleep. Often on the couch cause if I wait to long and take him to bed to nurse down when he's too tired, he'll fight me on going to bed.


----------



## kalisis (Jan 10, 2005)

I still rock DS to sleep - I have every single night of his 18 months except for a couple of times my mom walked him down.

I don't mind at all (usually...you know how it goes). I like watching him let go of the day and drift off in my arms. It's some of the most tender moments we have.


----------



## ShadowMom (Jun 25, 2004)

My DS is 27 months old and he still nurses to sleep.

I hope I don't sound critical when I say this... I know it is frustrating for them to be dependent on us still every single time they go to sleep.. .BUT, I also know that I will FOREVER remember, until I am 95 years old and a crazy old woman embarrassing my children, the incredibly cherished moments DS and I spend nursing and laying down together.

On so many days, it is a wonderful way to us to reconnect.

So, I empathize, but just also wanted to gently remind us all (including myself) to enjoy these short moments of snuggling while we can.


----------



## mariank (Jul 26, 2005)

Our bedtime routine for DS (who is 30 months old) is me holding and rocking him in the rocking chair while listening to music, then I (usually) put him into bed asleep. If rocking doesn't work, I lie down with him until he or both of us fall asleep. I much prefer the rocking, because I almost always fall asleep while lying down with him, and then my evening's over. He weaned about 2 months ago, prior to weaning I nursed him to sleep while rocking. We have #2 arriving in April so who knows what bedtime will look like then!
Marian


----------



## janerose (May 9, 2004)

DD is 17 months and still gets rocked to sleep for every nap & bedtime. I







it too!

She self-weaned at 11 months, but still gets water in a bottle to go to sleep, so we rock while she takes her bottle. For naps she generally has to be ALL the way asleep before I can lay her down. At bedtime though she'll let me rock/sing to her for a few minutes while she has a drink, then I can put her down in her crib still awake. I kiss her, tell her how much we love her, rub her back for a minute, turn on one of her crib toys that plays a song, and walk out. Sometimes she falls right asleep, other night she play for a few minutes then falls asleep. It's SOOOO nice to not have her *have* to be asleep when we put her down at night. Looking forward to when we can do that with naps too.

Anyway, I don't think your child is that old to rock at all. DH & I both come from a family of rockers though. My Mom still occasionally rocked my DB in our big recliner rocker until he was in about 4th grade. Our Mom was always a WOHM and rocking with her was our special time.









Holly


----------



## boatbaby (Aug 30, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *KristiMetz*
My DS is 27 months old and he still nurses to sleep.

I hope I don't sound critical when I say this... I know it is frustrating for them to be dependent on us still every single time they go to sleep.. .BUT, I also know that I will FOREVER remember, until I am 95 years old and a crazy old woman embarrassing my children, the incredibly cherished moments DS and I spend nursing and laying down together.

On so many days, it is a wonderful way to us to reconnect.

So, I empathize, but just also wanted to gently remind us all (including myself) to enjoy these short moments of snuggling while we can.

















: That is exactly how I feel. I dread the day when my sweet baby boy won't need me anymore to sleep, when he will wipe off my kisses and shrug off my hugs.
I savor every snuggly moment and DH and I always say that DS will probably run screaming from the family bed before we ever kick him out. He is 20 months and still nurses/ snuggles to sleep everynight. And I love it!


----------



## christiab (Jan 13, 2004)

I'm sitting here holding my 23 month old DS, while he naps. Same as every other day...I think he's allowed me to lay him down 10 times in his life!! He has to nap in arms, nurse to sleep just like a newborn!!


----------



## Mama Faery (Apr 19, 2004)

Oh, I rock and nurse my 21-month-old every nap-and-bed-time!







At naptime, he nurses and gets rocked pretty much all the way to sleep and when I lie him in his crib, I have to pat his back for a couple of minutes to assure that he will *stay* asleep.
At night, I nurse and rock him and then he goes to DH, who lies him down in bed and pats him until he's sleeping. My babe has never really gone to sleep on his own (except in the car)...sometimes it drives me







, but often I love holding and nursing him...the problem with that is when I have to do it at 4am! *sigh*

But I also know it won't last forever, I mean, he is no longr co-sleeping, by his own volition, and I miss it. So, when I feel irritated, I remind myself that, like PP have said, there will be a time when I miss these cuddly days!

But yep, you're definitely not the only one!


----------



## the_lissa (Oct 30, 2004)

Me too- almost 2 year old dd rocks to sleep in our arms each night.


----------



## MamaScout (Feb 22, 2005)

Yes, I rock my 20 month old DS down for his nap and Daddy rocks him down at bedtime. I don't mind it at all. It's about the only time he sits still and cuddles with me.


----------



## gribbit (Aug 30, 2004)

Wow! looks like many of us are still rocking our kids to sleep







I have to admit that I really like doing it and I agree that those are some very precious moments! I have to confess that I actually kind of dread the day that dd decides that she doesn't want to be rocked anymore...

michelle


----------



## rere (Apr 21, 2005)

my babe is 15 months old and although i'm sure she would go to sleep at night by herself(she does at nap time) i hold her until she does.it's super sweet for me.she's a constant wiggler so it's nice to have a time where she's just still in my arms.plus it's nice because my husband sits on the couch with us.usually after she falls aslep my husband and i just end up looking at her for awhile.ahhh....


----------



## amybw (Jul 12, 2004)

I rock when he lets me....sometimes it is just him laying on me, sitting in the glider, as we stare out the window and tell eVERYTHING good night









Sometimes he is so tired that he wants to lay right down. But sometimes he is also so tired he will lay on my shoulder with his arm aroud my neck.

I am being extra snuggly when he lets me because in 5 mths i will have a newborn and will miss my alone time with DS!

With DH, he goes right to bed !







No complaints, no hold me longers, no one more stories....
Boys and their mommies!


----------



## Diane B (Mar 15, 2004)

We rocked her to sleep every night until she was about 22 months. Then it started to get too hard to move a rather heavy, sleeping child into her crib. We took the rail off (thus creating a bed) and now rock and read and nurse first, and then sit beside her in her bed until she falls asleep.

I was told when my daughter was little that rocking her to sleep would "ruin" her sleep. Not true. She's a fine sleeper now - sometimes she comes in with us, sometimes she chooses to spend the whole night in her bed - but rocking was (and is) a lovely ending to the day.


----------



## LovinLiviLou (Aug 8, 2004)

I just wanted to post to tell you all that this whole thread warms my heart. I am so glad to know that there are this many parents who get the fact that either a) one day they are going to miss these times, or b) they may wish they didn't have to do it, but they do it because its what their child needs. Either way, you are all super-moms and dads. There are some times that I wish I could just magically get my dd to sleep and have that time for myself (or the house or whatever needs doing), but most nights those are some of our best times . . . like last night when I thought she was asleep, and she randomly sat up, kissed me on the forehead, and then laid her little head back down. The dishes in the sink would never have given me such a sweet memory!

Anyway, I digress - you all rock!


----------



## sunnylady303 (Sep 17, 2004)

I'm glad that so many of you feel that way! I too realize that I will miss these days, but with all the stress with a newborn I still wish I could do it differently.


----------



## Alkenny (May 4, 2004)

I don't rock him, and he'll go to sleep at night fine. But I hold him for his naps. I don't mind.


----------



## thismama (Mar 3, 2004)

We never rocked to sleep, but my daughter is almost 2.5 and she still needs to be nursed or comforted down to sleep. For awhile we did a bottle too, but I've cut that out.

Lately she is big on putting her legs inside my pj pants and laying against me (as tho I'm a bed and my pj's are her blanket). I pat her until she falls asleep. We do a big routine of "Who is sleeping." I list all of her friends, saying, "E. is sleeping, and M. is sleeping, and L. is sleeping." I often run out of people and have to repeat them. She'll tolerate people and animals, but I tried to branch out into "the library is sleeping..." and that was a serious no-go.

I really like the "Who is sleeping" routine. Sometimes I find it boring and repetitive, but it's also really nice to list all of our important people at night as she falls asleep. I know it will be one of those memories I will always have of her early childhood.


----------



## rere (Apr 21, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *thismama*
Lately she is big on putting her legs inside my pj pants and laying against me (as tho I'm a bed and my pj's are her blanket). I pat her until she falls asleep. .


----------



## boingo82 (Feb 19, 2004)

DS is 22 months and we never really rocked him to sleep - but much of the time we sing him to sleep.
DH made up a song long ago, and if we sing it now, DS will lay right down. From there, we lay down with him and sing while we gently run our fingers across his cheeks and forehead. (He loves this for some reason.)
So it's not exactly rocking to sleep, but it is the same type of thing.


----------



## meisterfrau (Sep 24, 2005)

We still nurse to sleep, but when that doesn't work (like it didn't last night; dd has 2 teeth coming in) we rock, we carry her around, sing, you name it. I miss co-sleeping. It made everything so much easier (and cuddlier, and cozier). She won't do it anymore though, like a PP said, she kicks me away.







I keep joking (sort of) to DH that we will have to have another baby soon so that I can co-sleep with him/her!


----------



## janerose (May 9, 2004)

I just wanted to add that I'm a licensed Kindermusik instructor & one of the things we do (especially with the baby classes) is rocking back & forth. Rocking is great for the brain & actually stimulates the part that helps with balance!

Thank goodness my mama rocked *me* for so long. I'm a total klutz as it is, I can only imagine how bad I'd be otherwise!









Holly


----------



## EveningGrace (Oct 20, 2004)

I still rock my DD to sleep for every nap and nighttime too -- she's a little over 2 years old. I don't mind at all (especially because it only takes about 10 minutes or so







)


----------

