I HATE rockers!!!!

[Ben01]

She is coming up to 4 months old now..
Shes usually really placid in the car, occasionaly will sleep but usually just relaxed and quiet.
Its so frustrating, not that long ago we had a week straight where she would show her tired signs, and we'd wrap her and put her in the cot and she went straight off to sleep. We were in heaven, but it only lasted a week then went back to this.
Sometimes she really goes off her trolley and ill cradle her in my arms and rock her while she's going off, and in an instant, almost like the flick of a switch, shes out like a light.
Usually though, we have to work through the screaming and eventually she pipes down and drifts off.
During the day is a nightmare, its constantly about a sleep deprived cranky baby.
At night though, once we get her to sleep in her rocker by 8 or 9pm, meg waits a while and then transfers her to the cot, no problem at all, and she will sleep sometimes through the whole night. Although usually she will wake at 2 or 3am for food and then she will go straight back in the cot. No drama's. It's just during the day shes a mega hassle and it really sucks!!

I still love her though

[~clover~]

Where does she sleep during the day?
If she's in the lounge, or where there's tv noise etc it might just be too loud & bright.
I was sleeping DS in the lounge room during the day, so his body clock wouldn't stuff up, but I put him back in our room, & he's gone from 10 - 20 minute day sleeps to usually an hour or more.
He's in a porta cot in our room & we just bought him a new cot, so I'm gonna start him sleeping in the new cot in DD2's room through the day to get him used to it, then when he's sleeping better through the night, I'll start putting him in there. I'm leaving him in the porta cot in our room for now though, coz he knows it & is more settled in there.


Janie - I only go out til Jesse starts crying. If he is just sooking I leave him, & I don't time it. If he's sooking for about 5 minutes I go in & try the dummy again. If I have to go in more than 3 or 4 times, I know he's not going to settle himself, thats when I go pick him up & rock til he settles, then put him down. If he starts crying then - very rare - I will rock/walk him to sleep.If that doesn't work then as a last resort I might feed him.
Is that considered control crying?? I never let him actually cry, just winge.

Sorry to hijack, hopefully I'm clearing this up for everyone. I haven't read about it yet.

[Isadora]

We rocked our DD to sleep every night in her bassinet (on wheels) when she was younger. Now she self settles, so yes it does get easier. Hang in there. I can recall many nights of spending half an hr rock rock rocking.

[Nadine216]

We were in heaven, but it only lasted a week then went back to this.

I don't want to kill the moment, but they DO THAT!!! They get into this nice comfy routine and when they did it for four days, you all excited go around and TELL ppl and THEN WHAM, they stop doing it and wants something different, you know what I mean

Just thowing this out there .. could she be hungry during the day?? I can't remember if you guys have her on formula or on the boob?? DD was like that during the day and it turned out (aside form the colic) that she was hungry First time parenting is really, really hard.

Nice comment that you still love her We would have never thought anything else

[kirsty_lee]

LOl ahhh sounds like my dd.. we got it down to a fine art now... feed her put her in her cot, put her dummy in, turn on her mobile and stand there with our hand on her belly doing 'shhhh shhhh shhh' start off loud and pat her fairly firm.. then quieten the shhh... soften the patting... and keep softening until your really quiet.. take off your hand.. still shhhh'ing.. walking slowly out the room going shhhhh shhhh shhh.. then when you get out the door one more really loud SHHHHHH .. yes you will be slightly parched afterwards lol but if she sleeps the 12 hours she usually does it's bliss. Also we have one of the fisher and price battery operated swings that someone else mentioned.. it's bliss.. i highly suggest you invest in one

[~clover~]

I think the situation has alot to do with it. I have 3 kids. If I comforted him to sleep all the time, it would be impossible to do anything else. I still have to get DD1 ready for school & DD2 always wants something while I'm trying to get him to sleep.
I would love to cuddle him to sleep. I often do, but with my older kids it's really hard during the day.
Everyone is different, the same as every child is different. I need DS to learn to self settle.
If I have a bad night I can't catch up on sleep the next day. Sure I can handle a bad night on occasion, but the sleeping problems here have been going on for weeks. I need him to start to sleep better for the sake of my family. I don't know how else to do it.

[*charmalea*]

i had problems last winter with DS not sleeping he was 7mths and i wrapped him and then hew was about 11mths when we stopped it, it was a lifesaver and had no cranky bub !!! and i love the fisher price papasan , get your hands on one , we used it for day naps until he was big enough to sleep in the cot ,, it too was a lifesaver !!

[Marlene]

I'm not going to get into the whole CC debate....I just wanted to say that I got a hammock a few weeks ago and my little man has pretty much put himself to sleep nearly every single day and night sleep and he now also sleeps a lot longer. I wrap DS then cuddle for a few minutes untill he is sleepy then I put him down. I think they are fantastic...and you can hire them fairly cheaply, just google "hire for baby", they have lots of outlets.

[suse]

Ben - how's it all going? Have things been a bit better, or are you still going off your rocker (pardon the pun, but I couldn't resist it)?

[suse]

Just a reminder that the OP didn't ask for a debate on CC. Thanks!

[LuluHB]

Ben - I think the secret here for yours and Meg's sanity is accepting as well as you can that babies do exactly what Isabell is doing. Whether you advocate CC or would fight against it with all you have, babies cry! It is exhausting. It can be demoralising, depressing and frustrating but that's the package deal. My DD#1 had all her day sleeps on me for the first 5 months and then we graduated to her going to sleep on me so I could then put her down. It took until 10 months of age for us to be able to put her down for the night at 7.30 pm. Until then it was anything up until 11pm. I found I went pretty nutty fighting her to get it any other way and as soon as I accepted it, the better it was for all of us. You definitely need to still keep trying to get her to settle on her own, but your little girl is so tiny. If she goes to sleep better while you're holding her, look at it as the blessing it is that you are cradling your daughter in your arms.

And like someone said previously (sorry - forgot who), you will think you've got it going perfectly and something else will happen - a growth spurt, a tooth, a cold etc and it will all go out the window again for a while.

Hang in there, take deep breaths and try to see beyond the screaming so you can enjoy this very precious time with your daughter because they grow way too damn fast.