Calling all co-sleepers?

[Loula]

I'm in need of some advise/ help!

DS usually goes to sleep anywhere between 7/9pm and usually starts in his cot then gets into bed with us from around 3am and stays there. (his cot is in our room)

I am however having trouble with his day sleeps! If i put him in the cot for a day sleep or go out in the pram he usually will only sleep for 20 to 40 min tops at best. If i lay in our bed with him he will sleep for upto two hours, i dont mind somthings as this means i get a rest too, but nothing gets done lol and i was hoping to us ethis time to get things done so i can play with him when he is awake.

Im not one to leave him to cry at any time, day or night so i dnt think i could just put him in the cot, even his grezzles makes me want to get him up when i know he is just so bloody tired!

How do you do it? Day sleeps?

[Peach*]

When DD was your Boy's age we were in the same boat. I would either have to hold her while she slept or lay next to her and try and creep away on egg shells. She would only sleep max 40 mins too, if we were lucky! The older she got the longer she slept and we ended up putting her into her cot full time as it was getting too hard.
So I dont really have any magic tip, we just had to ride it out untill her sleeps got longer and longer and eventually she grew out of it. It was a constant battle, and at 23 months Im still feeding her to sleep during the day but she does now sleep for up to two hours. Sorry Im not much help, but hang in there and Im sure it will get easier.

[Loula]

No thankyou for the reply ....there is light at the end of the tunnel and if i continue to do what we are doing things 'may' just improve with time and maturety? that is great hope for me

I didnt wnat to be a hard ***** that everone is telling me i have to be, im a bigger sook! lol

[*TripleJ*]

i wish i knew lol DD sleeps with me for some of the night like ur DS but during the day she'll just fall asleep whenever in her rocker dunno wat im gonna do when shes older

[MummaSue]

I just roll with the day sleeps babe, and my DD was doing that at around his age too - her days sleeps change like the weather!! He'll sleep for longer spells when he starts moving around loads

[ss_storm]

Same as Peach..in the first few months DD would only sleep for a decent amount of time in my arms, but eventually she would sleep on her own for longer periods of time. She was always just a cat napper though, it's only been in the last few months that she will have a decent day sleep. It does get better/easier. Do you have a sling you could put him in for some of the time? He'll still be close to you and you can get some things done without having an armful of baby.

[LimeSlice]

Ah...time for the Hug & Roll... lol

Lay down on the bed, to get them to sleep. When their breathing changes - you know, when he is really asleep - slowly extricate yourself and replace your body with a pillow. Make sure they can't fall off, put some pillows etc around them, and off you go.
Try and get him off to sleep with the TV on, or radio, or some noise in the house, that way he won't wake when you do what you need to do.

Could usually get at least 90 mins out of Charlotte like this, often 2 hours

HTH!

[turtleschell]

Mm yes sometimes DD would go through phases where she'd only do day sleeps in my arms, and then the phase would change, and she'd happily sleep in cot for 2 hrs straight.
Currently her day nap has shortened to only 40 minutes but this is 10minutes in my arms then a very gradual tiptoey transfer to cot.
I make sure I have my computer all ready so I can hit up BB while she sleeps in my arms!

[Jakabella]

Yep DD was the same at that age - and being a first time mum I just thought that I had to hold her! I used to lay with her on the bed and when she drifted off then buid the pillow barrier and sneak away - I would also put the tv on low in our room for the noise. Then when she was in her cot I would put her in and sit and put my arm on the bars and pat her then as she was drifiting off I would go - so she knew I was gone but still drifted off. From 3 months she was sleeping 12hrs a night and 3 x 2 hr sleeps in the day - she has not changed mush at 2 she still goes all night and has 1 x 2-3 hrs sleep at lunch.
I just found if I helped her to learn to self settle without it being upsetting then that was 1/2 the battle - that and she was in her cot in our room till she was 16 months old - I think it gave her security.
HTH

[Hollybolly]

Try Limeslice's idea hun
Thats what I did too.... you'll find he'll start sleeping better during the day now that he's started rolling/moving.
Carmelo is still crapola if we're in the pram and we're out (lucky if we get a 20min cat nap) but if we're at home he'll sleep 1-2hrs in the morning and then again in the afternoon... and he's back in the bassinett now where as before I was doing what you are and laying down with him on the bed.

[dusty]

You could try resettling him as or even before he wakes between sleep cycles? I do this at least once a day to get a longer sleep for DD who still wakes every 40 mins. I have the baby monitor on and around the 30 min mark I listen out for her to wake and run in pop the dummy in, and pat/stroke her head. She can look wide awake and kic her legs about but if she needs more sleep she will normally drop back off after 10 or so minutes and then will sleep 1-3 more sleep cycles. At least this way you can get some things done at least once a day

[DaintreeDream]

Lay down on the bed, to get them to sleep. When their breathing changes - you know, when he is really asleep - slowly extricate yourself and replace your body with a pillow. Make sure they can't fall off, put some pillows etc around them, and off you go.

Yep, this is what I do too... maybe also it is the smell, have you tried laying one of your used pillow cases in his cot where he lies? This works for me too with a heavy blanket tucked on either side for comfort.

[Honeybee]

When DS was little I could only get him to nap on my lap, after BFing to sleep. Then I transitioned to BF to sleep on a mattress on the floor, and once he was asleep I would creep away. Some days I got two hours, some days 20 mins. Now I cuddle him off to sleep (not BFing any more) on our bed, creep away and he reliably sleeps for two hours. But he's almost two so it's been a really, really long process for us.

Best of luck, with patience you certainly don't have to go the tough route.

[Loveinamist]

ds sleeps on our bed for his naps. Most times he will only sleep for about 40 minutes alone but if I nap next to him he will sleep for 2-3 hours. I look upon it as a chance to rest! After 11 months of this I have got to the point where i have accepted that i have a bad sleeper and my house will not be perfect nor will i be able to cook lovely food for a few years! DH helps alot as he cannot settle him (no boobs!) so his job is to do the majority of the cooking and cleaning when ds is at his most unsettled with sleep. He has had good patches though so i am able to look positively on prospects of more time for me in the future! Good luck!

[~Kim~]

My DS has only ever slept about 40min total in his cot ever, so I totally hear you.
I used to do (heck somedays I still have to do it) what Limey suggested. I have a bed rail on one side of the bed and a pillow on the other.

[lise]

DS sleeps for 30 mins (if i'm lucky in his cot) but will sleep for hours in our bed if I lie next to him while he dozes off. He used to have all his day sleeps in my arms, so this is a great improvement. I've just come to terms with the fact that if I want him to have a longer sleep I have to invest some time. But i'd rather have a happy baby than leave him to cry himself to sleep so it's all good