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Dear Marcia, I'm wondering, "How do you put your toddler to bed?" I have a 19 month old daughter. I normally warm her milk, lay down with her in a dark room and wait until she falls asleep which could be anywhere from 20 minutes to over an hour. I'm almost eight months pregnant. I'm getting exhausted from this routine and soon will have another baby. I realize this won't be a practical way of putting her down for the night. Every night I keep thinking there has to be a better way. I feel like I totally missed the boat on this one and now I have her used to falling asleep in my arms. Please help! Julie Re: How Do You Put Your Toddler To Bed. You might have missed the boat, but there is always another one to catch! Because you let her get into a bad habit, it will be difficult to break it. But the sooner you break it, the easier it will be. Explain to your daughter that she is a big girl now and big girls need to fall asleep in their own bed. Set up your routine such as brush your teeth, put on your p.j.'s, crawl into bed, read a book, go to sleep. The first several nights she probably will cry because it's not what she's used to. When she gets out of bed, calmly walk her back to her bed and tell she has to stay there. Don't give in to her by rocking her to sleep or you will lengthen the process. If she thinks there is a chance you will rock her to sleep, she'll act out until she gets her way. It might take up to two weeks of some very rough nights, but after that she will be able to fall asleep in her own bed. Good Luck to You, Editors Note: For more information on putting children to sleep, visit
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