Whats your "trick" for soothing babies to sleep?

Ok, I'm sure everyone has something that works every single time they do it to soothe their child to sleep if they are overtired but having trouble getting to sleep.

So I thought I could start a thread, in case there were people out there having troubles and out of ideas - maybe this could help!!

Mine - to get my kids to sleep, I have always put them face down on my chest. I then pat their bum in the rhythm of a heart beat (think dirty dancing, da doom, da doom) while I also breathe really deeply against their ear - sorta like darth vader.... lol

With those two combined, it always seems to work with my kids in getting them off to sleep even when they are at their crankiest (well it just worked with Miss M - even food wasn't putting her to sleep!!)

Sooo.. what's your tricks?

close cuddles ;)
stroking down the side of the face and/or slow patting if a bit restless as well

I dont know who is more addicted though - him or me!!??!!

atm my trick for ds2 is just to hold him really tight and rock him in my rocking chair. works every time :)

Mel, I do something similar to you. I place her on my chest right up high, and slow my breathing down and make sure im exhaling onto her head. It seems to slow her breathing down too and make her very settled. I also slowly rub my hand up and down her back at the same time. With my spare hand I stroke gently from the bridge of her nose up her forehead, to get her to close her eyes. This usually works! When this doesn't work I shove a dummy in her mouth and try again LOL, and after a few minutes yank the dummy out and try again.

Bouncing DD up and down (say on a fit ball or in the sling) and singing out a low monotone, often using her name "lou, lou, lou, lou, lou". I also press her ear to my chest so she can hear the voice reverberate.

We have done it since she was little, and she loves it (strangely she will also accept a modified version in the cot, where I hum in her ear while cheek to cheek and shake the frame of the cot!)

I do the face down on chest and patting, and sing.
DS1 liked old macdonald, but DS2 likes 'Im Henry the 8th I am" lol

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Bouncing DD up and down (say on a fit ball

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my dd loves this as well

Fast, fast walking! I hold her on my chest with one arm under her bum and the other supporting her head whilst doing laps of the house. I always sing rockabye baby and it is now at the point that I can lay her down half sleepy and she will drift to sleep if I continue singing.

Finally somebody enjoys my singing!!

I wrap Georgia up and walk around the house, just the walking alone sends her off to sleep I dont need to pat her or anything.

Oh these are so sweet!

DS is such a wiggle monster if I tried to lay him down on my chest he would just crawl off. How do you stop that?

If DS is overtired and won't settle, I have to hold him in the rocking chair and "rock all the wiggles out" (hold and keep rocking until he eventually gets still- not easy), then eventually he will fall asleep with his head against my chest so he can hear my heartbeat. He also needs his dummy and his "moo" (blankie).

Ohhh, man, I have so many! A lot have been mentioned already.

Singing - You are my sunshine is my fave.
Find some silly sort of distraction for yourself, like swaying, and counting each sway until you get to 100 or similar. Makes the time pass faster.
Count out loud very softly and slowly.

For bigger kids:
Stroke the forehead/eyebrows in a directiont hat makes your hand shadow their eyes.
Close your own eyes.
Stroke downwards along their legs.
Hold their hand and stroke their back at the same time.

I think the most important thing is to just be patient. Go until you just think you can't do it any more, then go a little bit further.

When DD is really upset, I hold her tight in my arms and gently bob up and down fast which kinda mimicks how it would have felt her being in the womb if that makes sense? And I go "sssh ssh ssh, ssh ssh ssh etc" in a rhythmic tone if that makes sense.... she usually calms down pretty quick with that.

If she's in her cot and needs settling but not picking up... I stroke her nose and forehead and she closes her eyes that way and i rub her tummy... she loves that. I whisper in her ear and tell her I love her very much and will see her when she wakes up.

At the moment (he's 20 months) I either stroke between his eyes up to the top of his forehead very lightly and slowly. He closes his eyes instantly.

When he was a baby I simply either tucked one arm under my arm with him on his side and held him chest and belly to my chest and belly as tight as possible. Or often snuggled his face into my neck.

There are some wonderful ways to settle babies and children in this thread.

Hi, i hope you dont mind me coming in to pick up some tips, rather than giving them!! i've tried pretty much everything mentioned here to settle my little one, with no luck!!! i'm so happy to hear that these strategies have worked for you and am so jealous ;) here's hoping something starts working for me soon too!!

=)
When i was little mum use to stroke my face from the top of my forhead all the way down to the tip of my nose, i was the worst kid apparently and would never ever sleep...

even now, how many years later if anyone does that to me i instantly close my eyes and feel calm and relaxed...crazy how that sort of thing sticks

well for the newborn days, it usually involved lots of tight wrapping and cuddling with soft *singing* (not sure if what i do could be constituted as singing though LOL!).

now that DD is approaching 21 months we lay her on my chest and breath deeply with my face very close to the top of her head. for some reason the feeling of my breath on her calms her down. i also stroke or pat her back/bum. and i sing her fav song 'one night the moon'. i have sung this to her from the moment she was a little chook in utero. she loves it and calms her down straightaway.

Anyone else tried the 5 S's - Dr Harvey Karp?

We have had success with only using Shooshing combined with swinging or a bit of rocking.

I don't have the best sleeper, but the thing that I can do that sometimes works is a nice cuddle, Ds's head on my shoulder with my head touching his and me humming while I pat his bum or back rocking and bouncing all at the same time... probably tires me out more than him lol

Some things I have tried as both a mummy and child care worker are;
*Rocking baby/toddler under a fan or tree to distract them from the fact that they are going to sleep.
* Have the radio on sofly.
* I hold Olive firmly and always cover her with either a blanket or put her in a sleeping bag. I shoosh and rock.
* I used to wrap her as a newborn and always think babies look naked without a wrap or blanket when they are little.
*Olive has pretty much always settled with boobie or now bottle but she also calms down when we take her into our bad and just hold her really firmly, shoosh her and pretend to go to sleep.
*Pretend to yawn and close my eyes.

The only thing that settles Orson is wrapping him up, cradle him tightly and pat his bum while doing the jiggle. He will only settle/go to sleep with a lot of movement. Must have something to do with me running around after 2 kids while i was pregnant with him i think. But no matter how upset he is, as soon as i start it he is off to sleep.

if Mia is really upset and overtired, i stroke her head and sing to her. Her concentrating on my singing stops her from crying and she dozes off. For us its just about getting the crying to stop, then its easier.

We just love Dr Karp - the happiest baby on the block!

The 5 S's still work, although we have been pretty lucky as Edison sleeps pretty good now (touch wood)
I have been telling everyone I know about it.

Swaddling was great and we did it all the time, rocking forward (got to see DVD) with Edison laying on my legs whilst swaddled was amazing, he would just settle & sleep. If he was very grumpy then a nice loud SHHH whilst rocking would work too.

I do love running my fingers over his head and down his nose and across his eyebrows too - I think that is more for me though :)

for us different things work at different times but shh, shh, shhhing in a rythmic way while stroking his head seems to work the best at the moment

Ive tried the 5 s's and they just dont seem to work for us. Had a docs appoint today and doc thinks my girl has severe reflux, so here's hoping once thats under control we will be able to get her to settle more easily! i do love the book though!!!

I used to just lie down beside my little guys and breastfeed them to sleep. Worked a treat except I would end up putting myself to sleep too :p

ATM I hold DD against me while I slowly 'dance' around the room, and I play with the hair at the nape of her neck and pat her bottom slowly (like a rested heartbeat). She loves it and I only have to do it for about a minute before putting her down and she goes right off to sleep :)