Cot Gymnast - How To Stop

I've just moved my 6-month-old from a bassinette to a cot but she has trouble getting to sleep in there because she now has so much more room to roll around in and push against the sides. I've found her at the top of the cot, at the bottom of the cot, upside down in the cot, horizontal in the cot. You get the picture! I'm doing the same wind-down routine as when she went to sleep in her bassinette but she's just an active baby. She tried to do the same in the bassinette but obviously had much less room.

Any tips? I don't like the Air thingy that wraps around the cot and she'd still be able to roll around in the cot anyway.

Fiona,
I have no advice for you but am watching this thread because DD, also 6mths is doing the same, however, I have spent money on the airwrap, which did stop her from using the sides to help her roll, however, she then discovered she didn't need them to help her. I then also got the anti-roll pillow, however, she manages to wiggle her way up the cot away from the anti-roll pillow and which then means she can roll. This morning I found her horizontal wedged in the corner on her tummy yelling out for help.

So my only advice at this point is don't by the safe n sound anti-roll pillow because they little darling will find a way to roll around the cot.

Hi Fiona, there is a product called a Safe-T-Sleep which straps your baby into place so they can't move around. You can Google it to have a look.

Hope you find a solution soon! :)

Does it wake bubs or stress bubs out?
All babies will get more & more active, soon she will be trying to crawl in the cot & then stand up. It changes all the time but they do get used to it. I always hear a "thump" at different times of the night, when Charlie is moving about...but he's not fussed by it. We have times when he gets completely stuck in the corner & cries out but not often.

Claire did the same thing. As soon as she was able to roll, she was all over the cot. To be honest, I wasnt really fussed. Sometimes she would get cranky because she'd get her leg in between the bars on the cot and wouldnt know how to get out, so I'd have to go in and help her, but it only took a few weeks of her doing that before she got the picture and stopped doing it. She still moves around, but I figure she is safe in the cot and I feel theres no need for me to restrict her from moving around in there. I move around when I am asleep as well, and she's just doing the same thing.

Is it keeping her awake? If it isn't I wouldn't fuss too much; just make sure that there is nothing soft in there to squish her face up against and there are no gaps between the mattress and cot.
As she learns to stand you'll find that she'll use the rails to pull herself up and then shout for help because she can't figure out how to sit back down.

Mine have all been cot adventurers and for this reason co-sleeping didn't work for us ;)

Not much you can do about it really. If you're worried about bub being tangled in blankets or doing the opposite and getting cold then use a sleeping bag.

Those air wrap thing look like a good idea to stop limbs from hanging out too.

I think its would be just a phase that she is going thru, she has gone from sleeping in a bassinette to a big cot, its all new to her, and she is learning new things as well.

i am also watching this thread as my ds at 5.5mths does the same -- rolls everywhere. he's v close to crawling too.

i have heard of that safe-t-sleep -- has anyone used it? is it ok?

i wouldn't care about the rolling around but it wakes him up.

would love to hear suggestions ...

Hey nox, how often does it wak bubs up?
It did for Charlie a bit when he first started, but soon go used to it. I have not used the sleep positioner but once they learn to lift up & crawl etc that will prob be no use either & will have to get used to moving about.

Hi Erin_25 -- well put it this way ... his last feed was 630ish and he was 'fast' asleep at 7pm ... I still haven't gone to sleep and it's 11.52. He woke at 8,9,10 (I fed because we were desperate) then again at 11. I then put him in my ergo adn have carried him until now where I have put him back in cot. I am going to write this then try and lay down for 30mins before he wakes again!!! ARRRGGGHHHHH

This has only been happening this week (only!). He eventually gets a 3 hour stretch somewhere...
I also believe that he is teething although I can't feel it yet but he has all symptoms. I have put some Bonjela on his gums (again out of desperation).

I don't know what it is anymore that is waking him. But I find him crying on all 4s. Before he finally settles he really screams in our arms.

Any idea?

hopefully you are sleeping & not reading this til morning. How old is bubs....it could be teeth.
When Charlie first started moving about the cot he would wake a little, but only once or twice...as the cot is very large & when in deep sleep he wouldn't move around too much.
Have you tried any panadol or nurofen.....if it's teeth then could be the pain waking him up. Charlie woke every hour or two when his first 2teeth cut & we had no idea what was happening. Was like he was 4wks old again. We now can tell when he gets a bit of temp at night, has snotty nose and wakes before midnight........he gets a feed & some teething gel & if not settling nurofen & then usually gets a good sleep after that. Hope it gets better soon.
Perhaps you could borrow a sleep positioner off someone to see if it would help...I'm not sure of how much they cost but I would spend too much if he will be too big for it soon IYKWIM. I'd say if it's teeth then he's waking on all fours because that's prob his newest thing he's learnt. Charlie is always sitting up now when he wakes unsettled.
Hope you get some sleep soon.

OK, some progress made. Yesterday morning it took 45 mins to get her to have a day sleep in there but a bit less throughout the day. Last night she slept horizontally and woke up at 5am with all the covers off her and freezing feet so I put her into bed with us where she slept for another 1.5 hours.

This morning, before her big nap, I decided to extend her going to bed routine and gave her a long, big cuddle with lots of "sleepy time now" whispers and with classical music on the radio. So I think she just needs help working out that the cot is for sleeping in - it's not a playpen! Went to sleep with minimal fuss.

Thanks for tip about sleeping bag - had completely forgotten about them (derrrr) so will use that for her night sleeps.

That's good to hear........sleeping bags are great, we use it day & night here.

I am a huge sleeping bag fan too! Use one for every sleep. When DS learnt to roll, its all he did in the cot resulting in NO sleep for anyone! I started tucking the end of the sleeping bag into the bottom of the cot and he couldnt roll, so much better sleeps all around. Now he is a little bit over doing the roll, so it isnt really a problem any more. Good luck!

ohhh yes, I believe it is teething although you can't feel any teeth yet. i have tried bonjela but there wasn't too much of a diff. So Erin, you think that he wakes on all 4s just beacuse it's his new thing? You don't think that the beiong on all 4s is what is waking him up? I haven't tried neurofen but I did try panadol -- nothing!

I was also wondering about sleeping bags ... he used to be in one but b/c of all the rolling it just seemed so uncomfortable! So I have been using blankets now. I can't really tell if it is making a difference or not. I know he loves being held and will fall to sleep in arms but when we try to transfer down to cot (regardless of in bag or not) he wakes and cries on touch down!

Last night he was every 2 hrs before midnight and every 3 after ...

If it si teeth, from your experience how long before they come out?

Just thought I'd pop back to say what's worked for us. So I tried the sleeping bag for a couple of days and that was good but sometimes a hassle to get her into because she's a very wriggly baby. So then I stopped using the sleeping bag and started using a little blanket that she liked being tucked into in her bassinettte - a really soft fluffy one. I just put that down with her and she cuddles into it, rolls over and puts her thumb in her mouth. Very cute.

She still has her moments but if I"d thought of it earlier, I'd say make sure you give them something familiar when you're moving them from one bed to another. I honestly don't know why I didn't think of that earlier! :redface:

thanks for that fiona.
so you don't tuck her in..just leave blanket? my boy has a comforter so maybe that'll do. i'm starting to think so.
what do you dress dd in at night?

Sorry nox - didn't explain that too well. In her bassinette, I used to tuck her in really snuggly with her soft furry blanket. But when I first put her in the cot, I used to just pop her under her doona and that's when she started wriggling around. So then I put her in a sleeping bag which stopped the wriggling and I think she missed the snug feeling she got from having limited space in her bassinette. Then when I stopped using the sleeping bag I figured maybe she was missing her soft furry blanket. So now I tuck her under her doona and put her blanket next to her head - she normally grabs it and plays with it for a bit or rubs her face against it - seems to find it comforting.

At night I use a romper or jim jams.

Ahhh cool

I only have cotton blankets in his cot at the moment. He sleeps really well in our bed without us and I sometimes put a doona on him then and never the sleeping bag. I htink I may give the gab a miss once I put him back in the cot and see if that helps. A doona for the cot is another idea ...
How old is you DD?