My baby hates his cot. What should I do?

Parents who have a baby who doesn't sleep well often think that he hates his cot. But it might not be that your baby actually hates it. It may be that he simply doesn't want to go there to sleep on his own.

For some babies, being put to bed in a cot means adjusting to a new way of falling asleep. Instead of being fed or rocked to sleep, which he may be used to, being put down in a cot means he has to fall asleep by himself. That's the source of the upset. Before making a drastic change in bedtime, work with your baby on making the cot a place where he wants to be.

You can do this by putting some of his favourite toys in the cot during the day when he isn't sleepy. Make a game out of reaching in and getting them out. Then step it up to putting him down in the cot to get the toy. Your baby will come to think of the cot as a pleasant place to be.

You could also work on developing good sleep habits for your baby. Try to make sure that he doesn't need to be rocked or fed to sleep. Once he's mastered that skill, you're on the road to peaceful nights.