I have a 7 month old baby boy who won't go to sleep on his own I haveto hold him until he falls asleep otherwise if I put him in his cot awake he screams for along time until I pick him up any suggestions on how I can fix this problem quickly and happily...

Well you can do it quickly or happily but probably not both. The problem is that he has got into a bad habit which needs to be broken.

The most quick way to break the habit is to keep him awake much longer than usual (for instance during an entire day) and then put him down to sleep in his bed. He will cry and you must not pick him up (you can stay in the room however) but will be so tired that he will not do it for long. You may need to do this more than once but he will soon learn how to put himself to sleep.

The happiest way is to transition him with a soft blanket or square of muslin. Hold him in the way you usually do for sleep but put it between you and his cheek. Best if this is something that you have plenty of as this will become his beloved cuddly. Then gradually he should become able to transition to the blanket and you should be able to put it down on his bed or anywhere you want him to sleep and he will nod off right away as soon as he feels it against his cheek.

With your next child do this from day one - it works like a dream!

It may take some time... but you have to STICK with it and not give in...

Start putting the baby in their crib to go to sleep and leave. Once the baby starts crying, go into the room and reach into the crib and touch or pat them to let them know you are there. Once he calms down, leave. When he starts crying again... wait 3-4 minutes before going in to soothe him... then leave. The next time he starts crying, wait even longer, like 6-8 minutes before you go in to soothe him, then leave... and so on until he falls asleep on his own. DO NOT pick him up when you go into the room. Once he knows that you are there if he needs you but you are not going to pick him up he should start falling asleep on his own more quick and more quick.

Again, do not pick him up... and stick with it :)

First rock the baby in your arms until he gets tired and when he can barely keep his eyes open lie him down on his stomach in the bed and gentley pat him on the back, this is a start because actually he will be going to sleep in a place other than in your arms,but like I was saying he may whine a little but continue to pat him in the back gentley pressing a little so he can feel secure and it should work and after about a week don't rock him just lie him down and pat him but let me remind you he will not be omfortable on his stomach if he's just eaten,and when he's asleep turn him on his back.

I hear you hun. I'm in the process of doing the same thing with my second son, who is also 7 1/2 months old. With my first son, I wasn't nearly as strict as I needed to be when it came to putting him in bed. He didn't put himself to sleep without my in the room, and wouldn't sleep through the night until he was 2 1/2... now let me tell you,that was pure havock, and you Don't Want that. Haha. I finally got smart and figured out that I needed to put my foot down and be the boss. So now, this time around, I have been trying to keep from falling into the same bad habits as I did with my first son. I'm not saying you have a to be a sleep glatiator hah, but you need to draw a line and soon. With my first, he wouldn't go to sleep unless I walked with him, and then when I would lay him down, he'd wake up and scream more. And he figured out that if he kept screaming, eventually I would cave. So it was just easier for me to cradle him and baby him... in the beginning hah, but it got real tiring real fast. SO this time around, when I noticed my second son starting to get attached to me holding him to put him to sleep, I decided it was time to start putting my foot down, and its paying off. Here's my suggestions. Each baby needs different amounts of sleep, however, make sure you aren't letting your baby sleep too much during the day. I limit my son to 1-2 naps a day. One in the morning, one in the afternoon. Play with them as much as you can during the day. As it gets closer to night time(one hour before for example.) get him in a bed time schedule. Feed him, bath him, read to him. Feeding him first will make sure that his stomach is settled enough that he won't have trouble sleeping, but he won't not long enough he thinks he's going to need to eat again. A bath helps relax and calm. Reading a story provides closeness and comfort. Once you are done with the story, turn off the lights(I like to leave the light in the hall on, so he can still see me, but its not bright enough to keep him awake.) then kiss him goodnight, tell him its bedtime, and lay him down. Sit in a chair next to his bed, and then let him be. Do NOT pick him up when he starts to cry, this will only encourage him to cry more. I like to bring my husbands nintendo DS in the room with me and play Mario Cart with the sound off hah, because this helps keep my mind distracted enough that I don't have to just sit there and listen to his crying. If I do, I cave in. so bring a book, a magazine, a little game or something that won't be distracting to baby, but will help you be slightly distracted. Occasionally look at him and smile reassuringly, rubbing him occasionally on the back or tummy, etc. don't do it too much though. The point is to help baby learn to put himself to sleep. Having you in the room will be reasuring to him, but he needs to know that you aren't going to take care of the situation for him, and he needs to do it himself. Eventually he'll tire himself out, and fall asleep. It will take time, patience and a lot of personal resolve on your part to not cave in, but eventually the amounts of time he stays awake and crys will shorten. Once he starts to put himself to sleep quickly, begin to move your chair farther and farther away each night, until you are completely out of the room, at that point you can lay him in bed and leave, and he will put himself to sleep. Some babies take longer then others. I've been doing this with my second son for 2 weeks. At this point he occasionally cries for 2-5 minutes, then falls asleep. More and more often however, he doesn't even cry, he just talks to himself, rolls around and such, until he fades off to sleep. He still checks on me now nad then to make sure I am still around, but its going so much faster and smoother now. Don't put baby down with a bottle. If you must, make sure it is water only. But eventually you'll have to take the bottle away, and it will become another bedtime battle. So limit your battles from the beginning. Good luck!