https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Tue, 14 Apr 2026 15:06:26 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/drowsy-but-awake-3#post-2048140 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 19:16:23 +0000 Pumpkin Pie 2048140@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I started sleep training around 9 weeks to put her in her crib, and then drowsy but awake. Just before 3 months, I started bouncing her until she was drowsy, but awake, and then set her down in her crib. In the beginning she cried a bit, but it got progressively better. Now at 4 months, I just put her in her crib for naps and nighttime and walk away. </p> <p>She never took a pacifier.</p> <p>ETA: If you don't have a natural sleeper, I'm convinced that there is no such thing as sleep training without crying. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/drowsy-but-awake-3#post-2048130 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 19:01:45 +0000 spaniellove 2048130@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I always do drowsy but awake. He cries once or twice as he sees me leaving the room but it only lasts a second. In the beginning we might have had to wait it out while he cried a little longer and I seem to remember having to listen for the sound of his crying coming to a peak before he fell asleep. Eventually the crying after we put him down got shorter and he'd just cry once and fall asleep. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/drowsy-but-awake-3#post-2048087 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 17:51:19 +0000 Miss Ariel 2048087@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We were really lucky. Most times I'll set our 7 week old in her RNP for naps and her eyes will open, but she'll fall asleep in 10 or 15 after looking around for a bit. Although at night to get her to sleep in her crib she needs to be all the way asleep. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/drowsy-but-awake-3#post-2047842 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 15:53:25 +0000 Adira 2047842@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I kind of think this is just luck of the draw. Some babies can just fall asleep on their own and others can't. We've been really lucky with both our kids that we can put them down drowsy and they fall asleep on their own. Hopefully your LO will get there soon. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/drowsy-but-awake-3#post-2047753 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 15:05:23 +0000 LuLu Mom 2047753@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yep, my daughter never cared for a pacifier, so we did not force it </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/drowsy-but-awake-3#post-2047668 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 14:32:08 +0000 Mrs. Lion 2047668@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I honestly wish I knew why it worked for us, but we did drowsy but awake from day 1 and it never was an issue. We fed immediately upon waking, then changed his diaper, then had a little "awake" time. When he started to yawn or show sleepy signs we put him in his crib and he went to sleep. I think we just lucked out, but I plan to do the same routine with baby 2 and hope for the best. Nursing to sleep never would have worked with us anyway. We always had to change his diaper after a feeding, and that would have woken him up. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/drowsy-but-awake-3#post-2047575 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 13:51:09 +0000 swurlygurl 2047575@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Raspberry: I bottle-feed to sleep, and skip burping. She burps for every other feeding and is fine skipping it for bed. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/drowsy-but-awake-3#post-2047567 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 13:45:50 +0000 Anagram 2047567@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our LO could never do this without scream crying. Eventually when she was older we let her CIO and now she's better at putting herself to sleep. She still has night wakeups, though. And she's a toddler, haha </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/drowsy-but-awake-3#post-2047557 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 13:38:46 +0000 MenagerieMama 2047557@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yep. LO rarely takes a pacifier so it wasn't an issue. That being said, we didn't get remotely successful with drowsy but awake unti at least 3 mo. Things that helped were consistent sleep cues (like her white noise), having a low stim (no lights, sound, motion) for her to "read" while falling asleep, and then we stay in the room with her until she's all the way asleep and sometimes if she gets fussy just hearing our voice helps. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/drowsy-but-awake-3#post-2047420 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 12:39:44 +0000 Meridian 2047420@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It's so much easier to put LO down asleep! I KNOW I should try drowsy but awake more often, but I'm scared to mess with a good thing. *sigh* </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/drowsy-but-awake-3#post-2047411 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 12:34:24 +0000 BabyTsMom 2047411@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>at 9 weeks, no way. At that age, reading that phrase everywhere pissed me off so much! Because I could NOT put LO down drowsy but awake. Only after sleep training at 3.5 months. Now he goes down drowsy but awake for all naps and bedtime. No pacifier. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/drowsy-but-awake-3#post-2047081 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 09:57:33 +0000 Raspberry 2047081@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Bubbles: Thanks for the suggestions. I'll look into that book.</p> <p>Sounds from everyone's responses like I either have a kid who will or won't and I won't be able to avoid sleep training. :(</p> <p>Those of you who nurse to sleep, do you skip burping? DS often can fall asleep nursing but really needs the burp, which wakes him up - hence the bouncing/rocking. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/drowsy-but-awake-3#post-2047048 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 09:36:41 +0000 MrsF 2047048@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My kids have never slept with a pacifier. I've introduced them during the day but neither one was very into it and I didn't want to get stuck replacing it all night long. I basically just reduced the amounts of soothing gradually. </p> <p>DS is 9 weeks and I always try to give him a chance to fall asleep on his own first. I nurse him and then put him in the rock'n'play awake and walk away. Sometimes he'll fall asleep, sometimes he'll fuss or cry for a minute or two and then fall asleep and sometimes I'll have to go back in and rock him. I figure each time he falls asleep without rocking he's learning.</p> <p>Eta: I don't think there's anything wrong with pacifiers. My kids both cried for reasons other than hunger and if a paci is soothing to them I'm all for it. It just seemed challenging to use it for sleep. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/drowsy-but-awake-3#post-2047041 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 09:33:59 +0000 FaithFertility 2047041@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DD is 6 weeks she has been a champ with going down drowsy in her PNP ..no pacific and I don't plan to give her one she only ducks when hungry! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/drowsy-but-awake-3#post-2047018 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 09:20:57 +0000 Mae 2047018@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our babe uses a paci, and I may be wrong about this... but I feel like she is going to give it up on her own. She used to need it every single time she fell asleep and now she usually spits it out after she falls asleep and will wake up/go back to sleep without it for her first few wake ups. </p> <p>So I feel like pacis are not always a huge deal personally. But... who knows maybe it will become a bigger deal later. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/drowsy-but-awake-3#post-2046955 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 08:36:55 +0000 catomd00 2046955@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We started at 12weeks and it takes a long time of practice but my daughter is so easy to get to bed now! We have always used a pacifier but she can take it or leave it. We used wubbanubs so they stayed in easier when she was smaller! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/drowsy-but-awake-3#post-2046912 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 08:20:56 +0000 illumina 2046912@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm not sure I ever really achieved drowsy but awake. I tried to aim for tired, but not overtired and stick to wake times as much as I could. My LO never had a pacifier and I either fed her to sleep or held her until she was properly out and then transferred her. </p> <p>Honestly if I could do it over again I wouldn't even worry about sleep crutches etc. for the first 3 months. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/drowsy-but-awake-3#post-2046907 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 08:18:03 +0000 BandDmommy 2046907@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The main thing I do is not nurse to sleep. I let her fall asleep on her own. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/drowsy-but-awake-3#post-2046906 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 08:17:55 +0000 sera_87 2046906@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Ds1 never did drowsy but awake &amp; he would FLIP out if I tried to transfer him. There were many a nap spent sleeping on me. </p> <p>I lucked out majorly with ds2. He's always done drowsy but awake without a pacifier. I found that usually he'd fall asleep while nursing and if I waited 5ish minutes, he'd wake up just a little and that's when I could transfer him successfully. I continue to be amazed every time it happens even at 5 months, lol. </p> <p>Every kid is so different! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/drowsy-but-awake-3#post-2046905 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 08:17:08 +0000 Mrs. Jump Rope 2046905@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't have any tricks up my sleeve. It's totally hit or miss for me. </p> <p>With my oldest, I would have told you drowsy but awake was a myth, just like being able to carry a sleeping child in from the car. I couldn't even put her in the crib if she was in a deep sleep because her eyes would fling open and she'd start shrieking. She's 3 and is still like that! I really don't know how the kid is half me and hates sleep so much.</p> <p>My second, on the other hand, thinks sleep is awesome and I think that's great. I didn't introduce a paci to either of my kids. If she has a full belly and is rubbing her eyes, I can lay her in her crib and turn on the mobile. Within minutes, she's out cold. </p> <p>But it has to be that combination: fully belly, rubbing eyes. </p> <p>Sometimes she still nurses to sleep and that's okay. Sometimes she wakes up if we lay her in the crib or RnP, but she goes back to sleep. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/drowsy-but-awake-3#post-2046893 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 08:11:08 +0000 Bubbles 2046893@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My DS has never had a dummy, but he didn't do drowsy but awake until maybe 4 or 5 months? I used to BF him to sleep and then one day he just didn't fall asleep during his feed, so I tried just putting him in the cot and he dropped off. By the time he was about 9 months he didn't even really need to be drowsy when I put him in the cot, as long as we'd been through the routine. </p> <p>One thing you could do is to introduce some regular pauses into your rocking/bouncing routine before you attempt to place him down, to try and help him adjust to being stationary vs. being in constant motion. Then placing him on the mattress feet first and leaving a hand patting him for a few mins. The book No Cry Sleep Solution has lots of advice about the transfer! </p> <p>But generally I'd just keep doing what you're doing and try not to stress about it too much at this age. Just because he needs a bit more help now doesn't mean it will always be that way! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/drowsy-but-awake-3#post-2046822 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 06:54:52 +0000 twodoghouse 2046822@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My kids gave up the pacifier around 3 months and do drowsy but awake. They're 9 months now and it was only after sleep training recently that they've really done it without any fussing. They have little Fisher-Price soothe and glow seahorses that they look at until the light switches off at 5 minutes. Then they just fall asleep! You could try something like that, but I know at 9 weeks my own babies wouldn't have gone for it. They were nursed to sleep for nighttime and naps until recently. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/drowsy-but-awake-3#post-2046808 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 06:08:12 +0000 wonderstruck 2046808@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>With DS #2 I lucked out - I do his bedtime routine, turn on the soother, and can usually just walk away...but occasionally he will need/want a pacifier.</p> <p>DS #1 hated pacifiers and screamed when I tried to do drowsy but awake. We ended up having to use Fetber to get him to fall asleep and it worked very quickly. (Whereas using Ferber with his brother just leads to endless screaming - they're very different!) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/drowsy-but-awake-3#post-2046787 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 04:35:03 +0000 Raspberry 2046787@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Has anyone been successful with "drowsy but awake" WITHOUT a pacifier?</p> <p>DS is 9 weeks and until now we've had to bounce/rock him fast asleep before putting him down. I've tried putting him down "drowsy but awake" many times but as soon as he feels the mattress beneath him, eyes fly wide open and wailing ensues. Doesn't matter how many times I PU/PD or shush/pat. After reading dozens of pages all over the web, it really seems like the common theme of successful parents is "I set him down drowsy but awake and insert his binky and walk away."</p> <p>I really, really don't want to introduce a pacifier and move from one sleep crutch to another! Please let me know how you do it. </p>