As you may or may not know I had a tiny guy back in August. This is my third time around and it really has been the easiest. He is a great eater, is only up twice in the night and goes right back down after eating, he is a mild mannered little guy too. At night I lay him down in his crib when he is drowsy and he usually wiggles for a few minutes then falls to sleep.
My only hiccup has now been naps. For the first weeks he of coarse slept most of the time and I would just tote him around the house where ever I was and he would sleep in his bouncer or swing. But the past few weeks (he is 9 weeks now) I have been trying to get him to sleep in his crib for naps and it hasn't gone well. Like at night, I will lay him down when I know he is sleepy and he will wiggle in there for a few minutes, no crying, then will then fall asleep. But the problem is he doesn't stay asleep. He always wakes up after about 10-20 min. Sometimes I can go stick his binky back in and he will go back to sleep, but again only for about 10 min. Today I thought I would just leave him alone and let him cry a little and see if he would go back to sleep. He cried for 30 min straight and didn't fall back asleep. So usually after about an hour of the battle I just get him out bring him around the house with me. Although the past few days he doesn't really sleep well in his swing either.
I am at a loss. So what do I do? Am I going about it all wrong? He doesn't really have any issues falling asleep its just staying asleep. None of the books that I have address this. They only talk about getting them to sleep, not staying. Please help if you can.
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8 comments:
My daughter was the same way, with the binky as well, and unfortunately for me I had to let her cry it out and the first night was 2 hours long. It did get better though, after the first night, it was only 15 minutes the next 2 nights and then she was "cured" and again sleeping through the night. It killed me to let her cry that long, but it worked.
No advice here just a big ol' I'm sorry. Few things are more frustrating than a baby who won't sleep well. I depend on good naps during the day to keep me sane.
Good luck, keep us posted on how he does.
How frustrating! I can only think of one small suggestion that may not pertain to you at all, but might be worth a try. Some babies have a hard time sleeping on their backs because of a little acid reflux, but they do okay being upright or on their stomachs. If you can, try putting him down for a nap on his stomach, in a place where you can see him. If he sleeps better, you might talk to his doctor about Prevacid, and whether that would help him or not. It doesn't sound like acid reflux is a major problem for him, since he's generally happy and sleeps fine at night. But it might be worth a try to see if it makes a difference.
If it makes you feel any better I am going through the exact same problem with my little guy right now. (born August 20) Reading your post was like reading my own words. The only thing keeping me sane is that he is sleeping 10 hours straight at night, but those naps are troublesome. He does sleep better for naps when I lay him on his tummy but he has to be tired and ready to sleep to be able to fall asleep otherwise he gets frustrated. It's been the hardest part for me - trying to figure out when I need ot put him down. If I put him down too early he gets mad but if I wait too long he gets overly tired. I wish there was an easy fix for this problem... I'm not sure if there is!
My little guy was born on Aug. 20th too. Good news is--he has taken a two hour nap in his crib two days in a row. I didn't really change anything. Although I am getting a little bit better at getting him down in that window between tired and over tired. Maybe he is just getting used to his crib in the daylight? Let's hope the trend continues.
Yeah my kids aren't good at napping if it's not dark in their room. Kendall's old room had crazy good shutters that made it PITCH dark when closed. Gage isn't so lucky so I went all white trash on his window and covered it with foil. Looks bad but it sure stays dark in there.
I read a book about babies sleeping habits that was hugely helpful for me. The book itself was quite extreme, but the basic premise of it was simple and worked perfectly with all 3 of my kids. I forget the name and author, but the idea is set up a schedule, which you probably have done. The way I remember it is E.A.S.Y.
Eat-feed baby after he wakes up
Awake-keep him awake thru feeding and for a while afterwards
Sleep- let him fall asleep with self-soothing (like you are doing with him already, letting him fall asleep by himself)
You- have some time for yourself till he wakes up again.
This technique worked SO well with my kids. I had to be really consistent though. They were sleeping through the night and had regulated their naps before they were 2 months old. Another thing it mentioned was to always have them sleep in the same place. I don't know if any of that is helpful at all. Best of luck!
Baby Wise by Ezzo and Bucknam
My life revolved around this eat wake sleep theory with my babies.
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