Originally Posted by BrynleeJean:
I’m so embarrassed 
My new enrollment, 5 months, and only enrollment so far in this new house
His parents live right across the street and he screams in his crib.
I do the back to sleep thing just like I’m supposed to and have tried putting him down to sleep when I think he’s getting tired and tried also letting him get extra tired and even swinging and falling asleep and trying to move him.
He wakes up and screams in that crib for at least 10-15 mins
I feel the neighbors can hear him and like I’m gonna be reported as a terrible care provider but I legally can’t have him sleep in a swing or on the floor where he’s passed out before!
Soo frustrating!
Do I just let him scream and maybe the neighbors can hear him?
Or idk what other options I have. He gets so over tired he won’t play or do activities he just cries on the floor or do anything else.
What kind of schedule is he on? I find an eat, play, sleep schedule is best and for a five month old, they would be on a 3-4 hr schedule. The more consistent, the better. Putting to bed awake, and before they are overtired. For example, a 3 hr schedule would be like this:
Eat 7 am
Play 7:30-8:30
Sleep 8:30-10 am
(Repeat)
This breaks the day into groups and makes it easy to wean. 7-10 am, 10-1 PM, 1-4 PM, 4 feed, go home.
Let parents know he is having a tough time self-soothing, and ask how they do things at home. Make it clear that you cannot let him sleep in a swing and he must go on his back in a crib, so it is very helpful if they do the same at home. The main thing is going to be consistency at your house, and I have found that depending on the baby, it can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to get them adjusted. But I literally do the same thing every day, as well as the same thing for our nap routine. They thrive on consistency and knowing what to expect, and I make naptime a very inviting part of the day, versus stressful. Hope this helps!
* just to add, I do not rescue babies from their cribs. If he wakes up 15 minutes into nap screaming, he gets to stay in his crib and finish out his nap. Of course, I do check and make sure everything is okay, but with video monitors, that makes it a lot easier so that I do not disrupt his nap time or go in the room and give him the false sense that I'm going to take him out of his crib and make it worse.