If your baby didn't nurse to sleep - what did you do? DS is 4.5 mos and doesn't like movement either, never was crazy about the swings we tried. He will not fall asleep in our arms. We tried pacifiers but he wasn't into them and made faces and spit them out. He will sleep briefly when nursing but wakes up immediately, even when I hold completely still, then he is even harder to get to sleep. Because of all this we had to sleep train earlier than we were really comfortable with but he was screaming all the time anyway and has been much better off since. But he still has one nap every couple days when he just screams and will not go to sleep! What can be the backup plan when CIO is not really successful and he needs to get some rest??
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Have you tried curling up in bed with him until he falls asleep? This sometimes works for my LO.
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@Zbug: Tell me more - how close to you get to LO, how are you both positioned? He is just so active and his arms and legs seem like they are moving all the time... When I try to lay down with him I end up getting poked and scratched a lot
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@shellio: ha yeah mine sometimes will claw me in the face. Not cool. So I usually put her on her back and sort of big spoon her. I will rest my hand on her chest and sing softly or hum. If she kicks and squirms a bunch, I usually move away for a bit and let her burn the energy before trying again. It only works for us about half of the time, but it's worth a shot.
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We started sleep training at 5 months. Nights went well pretty quickly (3 days). Naps took much longer. I think it was 6 weeks before he would consistently stop protesting naps. Back up plan: drive LO in the car or push in stroller - for at least an hour! I would also put headphones in and listen to music when hearing the crying started to make me upset. Sleep training really worked for us and he now sleep 3+ hours during the day and 12-13 hours at night. Be as consistent as you can and naps will get better with time!
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What about a carrier, car, or stroller like @Seattlemom recommended? Sometimes coming back in 30 minutes to try a nap again works too!
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@Zbug: You're right - worth a try. I just need a backup plan and will try anything!
@Seattlemom: Thanks! It has been rough, especially when I read all the success stories about LOs who cried for like two days and slept like a dream. It wasn't that easy with my older DS and this hasn't been either - just need a way to avoid the overtiredness that makes him into a total mess.
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@scg00387: I love carrying him in the ergo but he will only tolerate it for about 15-20 minutes. He is sort of hit or miss in the stroller, sometimes he wants nothing to do with it and sometimes will tolerate it but has yet to fall asleep in that. And he rarely falls asleep in the car! He is so interested in everything around him!
The thing is, he is a really happy baby, just frustrating that he fights sleep.
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@shellio: I could've literally written everything that you posted above me. Seriously!! My son was so happy, unless it was time to sleep. Absolute torture. All I can tell you is that it got better with time! By 6.5 months he was taking two solid naps and going to sleep peacefully at night. Hang in there!
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@scg00387: Thank you! I feel like all the sleep info out there is about nurse to sleep vs not NTS... and he would have none of the NTS so I don't know where to turn. I'm optimistic that he will keep getting better, he turned a big corner around 3.5 mos but we still struggle. So glad to hear we aren't alone!
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I loved momsoncall.com - they have a quick and easy online course. It helped me put her on a loose schedule so by the time it was naptime/bedtime she was tired and fed. We used sleep cues - swaddle and white noise. She never nursed to sleep in the day for naps bc we did the eat, play/activity, sleep routine. I did nurse her right before bedtime but she rarely fell asleep while nursing after the first few months. I think sleep cues are helpful and having them on a good schedule is helpful. I don't understand how people expect sleep training or CIO to work if they don't have their baby on some type of loose schedule where you know they had enough feedings and awake time and where they kind of know what to expect as well. I know sleep training and CIO does not work for every baby but if you want to give it a real shot and say for certain that it did or didn't work, it's only fair that some amount of preparation is done before diving into it. Not saying anything about you, but just my rambling thoughts.
Every baby is different. My friend did sleep training and still nursed to sleep and it worked for her. Her daughter went from a crappy sleeper to a champion sleeper even at 29 months. Good luck and hugs!
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@shellio: oh yeah, forgot to mention that we swaddled until 5 month old and also started using white noise. The white noise (we use rain) really helps my LO sleep.
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I'd even have the white noise going in the car or stroller for our back-up plan naps!
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@sandy: I totally agree about loose schedule. We had a much more consistent schedule with my older DS and were very dedicated to it but he couldn't tolerate as much waketime as this one and he did great with the schedule. Current DS is on a fairly consistent schedule, his bedtime has been essentially the same, give or take depending on his last nap, since he was just a couple of weeks old.
@Seattlemom: I love white noise! We still turn on my 2 year old's white noise machine when he goes to sleep and actually DH and I sleep with a fan going so we are all on board in my house
I have also figured out that the best way to change a behavior is to post here asking for help... he has been doing well all week. Maybe as he nears 5 mos he is starting to settle down in the sleep department
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@shellio: I really hope sleep is getting better for you guys! I think its one of the hardest things about parenting. We had a horrible 4 month sleep regression, but after sleep training at 5 months life got sooo much better.
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First sign of a yawn or droopy eyes and my LO is off to bed! She'll only fall asleep in a dark room too, so we had to get wooden blinds and black out curtains. Have you tried following your bedtime routine for naps too? That helps.
She won't fall asleep rocking or anything.
If she still won't go down, we curl up in bed together. I form a spoon and sleep with her in the crook of my arm. We snuggle close. I honestly don't worry about squishing her or anything.
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