Ok I have tried everything to get this little guy down. He falls asleep pretty easily in my arms, although he wont settle for DH. He will also sleep for hours in a sling or carrier, but will NOT sleep on his own.
If I put him in the car I might get more time in before he wakes, or the pram for that matter, but I have tried the swing, my bed (where he sleeps at night) etc etc.
I wrap him and cuddle him and he will fall asleep, but as soon as I try to put him down, he will either wake up or will only sleep for one more sleep cycle, 20 mins max, and will wake up.
I have tried:
Swaddling, soothing music, warmed up heat pack, my clothing draped over him, the swing, dummy, etc. There isn't much I haven't tried to mimic me holding him, but he is just too clever!
So is it now better to teach him to get himself off to sleep so that he wakes in the same place he fell asleep? Is this what he is trying to tell me? I guess that might be my only option unless I just keep holding him for the next few weeks until he learns to do it on his own.
Has anyone else had this? What did you do to finally get him to sleep on his own, and did it involve alot of crying?
Dragonbub, I don't know if I'm in exactly the same situation as you, but most times my three week old DD will only fall asleep if we're holding her. If I put her down too soon she's awake immediately or in a few minutes.
We found one reason seemed to be because the bed was cold compared to us holding her, so we'd hold her wrapped in her blanket, then when we lay her down it was behind her back and warm, and we draped the rest over her.
The other thing is that she wasn't in a deep enough sleep. Now we wait till she's well and truly out of it before putting her down and almost nothing could wake her lol
Has he been the same consistently over a few weeks or is this something that has changed recently? The reason I ask is that he is about the right age for a wonder week or fussy period when things can get a whole lot harder, but are (thankfully) temporary. But if it has always been the same I would be less inclined to think it was a passing phase. Does it seem like he doesn't like to be laying flat? That can be a sign of reflux? Just trying to think of what other things could be changing when you are laying him down that could be an issue.
I am not really sure what else to suggest you try, I used to get my DD to the very very very drowsy stage then lay her down so she only had to do the last little drop off to sleep on her own, then gradually make that time longer, but TBH if he is aware of going into his bed during light sleep he will probably also be aware of it while just awake.
Personally, I wasn't that concerned about teaching a baby of that age to get to sleep entirely by themselves because it is still really young and it is pretty hard thing for them to master. Also I found that even though 'they' like to say all sorts of things about forming habits I didn't personally find any habits forming until way way older.
I think in the first 12 weeks you are still really in that 'doing what ever you can to get by' zone and it can make it a bit hard if you are trying to teach or enforce something. Things are hard enough as it is so you need to go easy on yourself! Also many babies have quite a period of change at around 12 weeks so what you are faced with today may be quite different to what you are faced with in 3 or 4 weeks time.
my dd used to do that horrible one sleep cycle thing at that age, the one thing i found that helped would be to time the sleep (and she would be 30mins on the dot) and go and start soothing her before she even starts to wake, so say like at 25mins. It worked for us, we had a horrible few months!
Sounds very similar to my son. Would fall asleep in my arms or in the sling, but not by himself in bed, and would never sleep longer than one sleep cycle during the day. I even used to have to sit on a fit ball and bounce him to get him to fall asleep.
We tried all the "tricks" but it just seemed to be his personality. I also liked the snuggle time, even when he was in the sling
Without changing anything, over time his sleep patterns changed. He eventually started sleeping for 1 1/2 hours for some of his naps. But he fed 2-3 hourly around the clock until he was about 16 months old. Then the night feeds went down to 2-3 per night. Eventually it was like a switch clicked and he slept through one night and has been doing it since. He was 19 months old when that happened (the month before my daughter was born). It's now very rare for him to wake at night and he sleeps from around 7.30-8pm until 7.30-8.30am.
The reason I think it's a personality thing is because we have done everything exactly the same with our daughter and yet she is a great sleeper! She has very strong tired signs and a very distinct tired cry. As soon as she even seems tired we can pop her down wide awake and she goes off to sleep without a fuss. She still feeds 2-3 hours around the clock though, but she's a nice easy night feeder which helps.
I know things must seem hard now, but fingers crossed that things will improve without you having to do much. Something that really helped me when I was waking lots during the night with my son and not getting a rest from day naps was remembering that's it's not like I was waking and having to go and shovel snow from my driveway. I was waking to have cuddles and precious breastfeeding time with baby. Sure, there were times when I got frustrated and thinking about that didn't stop me from wishing we were both asleep, lol, but I definitely found that I felt less tired once I stopped worrying about the lack of sleep, and just sort of accepted it as my son's way of life
My DS1 was like that, it's so tiring! The miracle that worked for us was an Amby baby hammock . Because he loved to feel snugged up and also motion while sleeping, the hammock mimicked those feelings and he slept wonderfully in it. I'd put him in it awake and then bounce him off to sleep, if he woke up after a minute, I'd bounce him again until he was in a really deep sleep. It was a little frustrating having to work so hard to get him to sleep, but better than holding him all the time! He eventually worked it out for himself and would happily bounce himself off to sleep LOL!
I remember the first time I put him in it, he slept on his own for a full 2 hours, it was an absolute miracle! I felt a bit like a fish out of water and didn't know what to do without him in my arms .
Hope you find something that works for you guys soon .
2 month old wont sleep anywhere but on me!
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. Because he loved to feel snugged up and also motion while sleeping, the hammock mimicked those feelings and he slept wonderfully in it. I'd put him in it awake and then bounce him off to sleep, if he woke up after a minute, I'd bounce him again until he was in a really deep sleep. It was a little frustrating having to work so hard to get him to sleep, but better than holding him all the time! He eventually worked it out for himself and would happily bounce himself off to sleep LOL!
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