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Can anyone who has a 'success story' with sleeping/settling please share it?
I would really like to find a gentle way to help Milo develop better sleeping habits, esp. in the daytime.
I am going back to work in June, and he will be in childcare or with relatives, so it needs to be something they can do too..
Rach,
Jack had been doing really bad sleeps through the day too, so I tried wrapping him in a warm blanket quite tight (cause when he's overtired he fights me with every last bit of energy!) , and then holding him close to me and put his dummy in, if Milo likes them and rock him side to side. I also put on his Sounds for Silence CD, which is noises they hear in the womb I think, and it works everytime and puts him to sleep.
But I think re the wrapping him, he realises he can't fight me anymore or flap his arms and legs around, so he has to give in and sleep. ;)
Also now it's getting colder, Jack really likes being warm, so I use a nice thick blanket. But whatever works for u.
HTH luv :sleeping:
When Aidyn was about that age I used to lie next to him on my bed and stroke his face until he went to sleep... I remember it working quite often... though I dont know if its suitable for someone else to do (lying on the bed), but the face stroking may work.
If he is going to daycare, the women there will usually be pretty skilled at settling babies down... at our daycare they will sit there next to the cots and pat them to sleep, and if they are crying they will pick them up and cuddle/rock them....
I am a big believer in lots of comforters that can be replicated by others, or that can be taken anywhere ie. that isn't mum. For example Paris had dummy, mobile, wrapped, patted/stroked etc for a long while. Mobile she had the music to till she went to a big bed and even now she can hear it and it will put her off to the land of nod. Dummy till she was 18 mths old, wrapped till she was 8 mths then sleeping bag till she was about 15 mths, patted & stroked depended on if she needed it or not. Other things we've used have been fairy lights as she got older, the kissing certains toys goodnight, picking a DVD or a toy to play with for after "naptime" etc. But above all its been consistancy even when you are ready to jump off a building LOL Sometimes I remember being up and down 20 times a night at least, and that is tiring but then the next night it gets easier. I know these things don't work for everyone and not every child is a willing sleeper ;) Luckily I've had two, we've implemented the same things for Seth and he's already sleeping 8 hrs a night (well this week ROFL!).
Sorry I can't be much more help!
*hugs*
Cailin
I think babies are just designed to take some time to get the hang of sleeping solo. When you are limited by language and still learning about the world, going to sleep on your own, by yourself I think can be a freaky experience for them. Routines that we have now have been able to help some babies to sleep sooner, but I think it's something that if left naturally, will happen successfully. Two years seems to be a big milestone with lots of babies I know going into their own beds successfully, sleeping through a majority of the time etc... but each child is an individual and I think it shouldn't really be measured as 'success', iykwim? I think it's a natural process that takes time (unless you find routines work well for your family). I have to say I am pretty bloody buggered with four years of not sleeping through having had two children, but I know Elijah is 18 months and it wont be long. Then all that hard work will be well rewarded and will feel like a brilliant acheivement for me - letting them adjust in their own time. We have tried routines and all sorts of thing, and this is what worked for us.