You mentioned that you have an eleven month old little boy who loves to be held by you but as soon as you try to put him down for a nap in his crib he cries. You mentioned that you tried crying it out for a day and it didn't go so well. You're wondering now what to do. Many babies have a tendency to be happy in their parents' arms and then cry when they're put down because, let's face it, they have what they want most, which is you, when you're holding them. If you want your baby to sleep in his crib either at nap time or at bedtime then you need to teach him how to self soothe. You can do this one of two ways. The first is crying it out. It's actually been proven to be a very effective method of sleep training because they learn over time that crying doesn't get them what they want. You mentioned that you tried it for a day but it often takes up to four to seven days and for very, very persistent babies even a few extra days past that. If you can just be persistent and stick with it for that long then all of the sudden you'll notice that your baby starts to go to sleep without help from you. It's a very happy day when that happens. After a full tummy, diaper change, lots of love, and some sort of routine that starts to clue him into the fact that it's time for sleep, set him down in his crib, turn around, and walk right back out of the room. He will cry and his cries might get louder as a signal that he's not happy with what is going on. You can let him cry with as long as you're comfortable. If you feel like you need to go check on him at any point, do. But know that it's okay to give him a few minutes and let him cry it out. If this is not effective or it feels a little bit harsh for you then you can try a more graduated approach. After you've put him into his crib and turned around and walked back out of the room, give it five minutes before you go in and respond to him. When you go in, don't pick him up. Resist the urge the do that because that reinforces the behavior and teaches him that crying gets him what he wants, which is to be held by you. Instead just touch his tummy, turn around, and walk right back out of the room. This reassures him that you're there but again, doesn't reinforce the behavior of crying. Now, if he continues crying, which he probably will, give it another 10 to 15 minutes and then go and do the same thing. If he's still crying 20 minutes later, go in and do it again. Slowly increase the amount of time you wait before you go in and check on him again. Be persistent and consistent with this for at least four to seven days, and then I think you'll find that he starts to go to sleep without help from you. Best of luck with it. If you have more questions for me in the future, feel free to ask them on our Facebook page at / intermountainmoms and recommend us to your friends and family too.