Am I doing this right??? Cot Sleeping...

My DD had never slept in her cot until 3 days ago. She would scream and I found it easier at the time to co-sleep with her (and through the day she would sleep in her bouncer, if she slept at all through day that is).

A few days ago, I started putting her in the cot, she would protest but I would pat her a bit and found she would go to sleep.

She had been awake 10 times+ at night for 3 whole weeks (teething issues and snacking through day, not taking in enough milk). She is now drinking more milk and I have cut her solids out after 3pm. This seems to be working and she is sleeping better at night.

Now for my questions and wondering if anyone can offer any suggestions.

I put her in cot half asleep and she'll grizzle for a minute and then I pat her bum. She tries to roll over a lot but I just keep a firm hand on her and pat harder. It seems to work most of the time. She will sleep for a little while and then wake. I will go in, pat again for 30 counts and walk away. Sometimes she will continue grizzling so I will wait 3 mins and go back to her and pat again. At times I have to pick her up, count to 50 and then put back in. If I don't pick her up, she'll really scream and it's distressing. Last night, after 1 hour, she settled finally and slept for a further 3 hours. I tried the wait 3 mins, then 5, then 7 but I can't go any longer than that! My eyes were popping out of my head and I felt so tired and wrecked. I have heard it takes a few crappy nights to get this right? Is that correct? I don't just want to bring her into our bed, I feel I need to do the hard yards for the benefit in the long run IYKWIM but OMG, I was so cranky and tired.

I find she is sleeping so much better now through the day/night but just wondering whether I'm doing the right thing because when she screams, it's so awful!

Thanks for your help...

Belinda :D

Don't worry about waiting for a certain number of "minutes" - just listen to the noises se makes. If she is just grizzling, you can leave her to put herself to sleep. If the grizzle turns into a cry, go straight in & comfort.

I try not to pick DS up - I try to settle him in the cot (I only pick him up if he won't settle with patting etc). So long as she falls asleep in the cot (rather than in your arms), I would say it's fine - I know other BB mums have taught their bubbas to self-settle that way.

Also, you may want to tackle the self-settling thing during the day for a week or so before moving on to nights?? That way you won't feel so wrecked??

Hi Ezz

The self settling is working! I am on Day 10 of a new technique I have been reading up on. If she cries, I wait 1 minute and then go in and attempt to re-settle. If she is only grizzling though, I just leave her and she seems to put herself to sleep. She now sleeps in her cot at all sleeps and self settles really well during the day. Some nights she will go down at 6pm and wake every hour until 10pm but then sleep through until the morning. I am still trying to figure out why she wakes to much within that 4 hours as she has a full belly of milk. Maybe it's developmental, not sure.

I will pick her up though if she is screaming and won't settle and then pop her in the cot before she is asleep again so she's awake and knows her surroundings.

It has been difficult but I am seeing great signs of self settling! This is a baby that wouldn't sleep anywhere but her bouncer, stroller or in my arms!!

Thanks for your tips too, they were good.

Belinda

Belinda, I'm so pleased that things are working out for you. Well done on sticking with it - I know it's not easy at first! :hug:

DS varies from night to night as to how he will sleep (actually, I've got a thread about this in the breastfeeding section - here). It seems other 6 month olds still wake during the night too. Some nights DS will sleep through. Other nights he will wake every 3-4 hours. Other nights he will wake every 40 mins until 11pm or so, then sleep well after that. There's no picking it! I just keep hoping he will get more consistent as he gets older (he has established a pretty solid routine of 3 day sleeps now - so maybe we will get a night routine sometime :rolleyes:)

Anyway - well done!!! :D I hope things continue to improve.

Might be completely of the wall, but my DD was a horrible sleeper, used to wake ever 15-20 min for the first 4-5 hrs of the night. One dr suggest we sedate her!!!! Obviously that wasn't the answer, instead we tried chiropractic, within 2 treatments i had a bub that would settled once she was asleep.

We settle Ari by rocking and now we lie down in bed with her and that helps her settle sometimes she just needs to know someone is there with her

Well the routine has been out the door for a while now. My DD got sick and wanted me all the time. Now she won't go in her cot. Even for day sleeps. Only way she sleeps thru day is on me. She is currently co-sleeping at night. I am not stressing too much but I certainly can't do anything but sit thru the day when she sleeps on me! I hope this is a phase and it gets better. Anyone's baby just miraclously go in their cot at their own accord?

Belinda - :hug: Its so draining when they are like this. My DD (who is only a few days older than yours) did almost the same thing, went from sleeping at least a cycle thru the day in her cot to flat out refusing and yep I did the same as you, just let her sleep in my arms. Well the last two days she has been happy to have that cycle in her cot again. My thought on this is that they have just gone through a mental development and had their world turned upside down so by us giving them as much security as we can then once they have adjusted they are more happy to be separated from us again.
Google livingcontrolsystems and you can read some excerts from the Wonder Weeks book.

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Wonder Week 26:
The World of Relationships
7


At about 26 weeks, your baby will start to show the signs of yet another significant leap in his development. If you watch closely, you will see him doing or attempting to do many new things. Whether or not he is crawling at this stage, he will have become significantly more mobile as he learns to coordinate the action of his arms and legs and the rest of his body. Building on his knowledge of events, he his now able to begin to understand the many kinds of relationships among the things that make up his world.

One of the most significant relationships that your baby can now perceive is the distance between one thing and another. We take this for granted as adults, but for a baby it is an alarming discovery, a very radical change in his world. The world is suddenly a very big place in which he is but a tiny, if very vocal, speck. Something he wants can be on a high shelf or outside the range of his crib, and he has no way of getting to it. His mother can walk away, even if only into the next room, and she might as well have gone to China if he can't get to her because he's stuck

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HTH