tiger crawling

[Wivi]

I need some support about my 6 mo boy - he's doing strange things in his sleep!

Last night Will stirred in his sleep a lot (I hate to count how many times) and each time one of us went in there he was on his tummy leaning up on his arms. He has a dummy but can't put it in himself yet although he does look for it and tries. He also did the "tiger" thing this morning during his sleep but then threw up so that was the end of that sleep!

He is trying really hard to crawl at the moment - he can move himself around in a circle on the floor and looks as though he can move forward a little (if he does it will be commando style) - do you think this weird behaviour is related to wanting to crawl? Is he dreaming about it? Last night he was getting plenty of sleep - not really awake when we went in but needed his dummy and we flipped him over, we just didn't get much. I flipped him over 3 times in 30 minutes at 4am and then gave up and he slept with us til 6:30.

I have to say that while 6 months is a very cute time - Will can sit on his own for a while and they are fun to play with - I am also finding it the most trying time as he has been doing strange stuff in his sleep for about a month now. We'll get a few good even great nights in a row and then something else will happen.

Because he has always been a great sleeper I dread the thought of going to a sleep clinic with him (not that he is that bad - goes off to sleep no probs!) as I think some of Tresillian's methods are a bit harsh (my friend went there and has no flexibility now even when her daughter is unwell).

Do you think it is just a phase??

[ozzysmum]

sorry i don't have any suggestions to help but wanted to let you know that ozzy did this and has settled in the last week or so. he's still trying to figure out crawling on the floor - he's just about got backwards sorted but forwards is driving him nuts - and i find him in the most bizarre locations in his cot some mornings but it's no longer waking him up in the night.

i saw a lady on tv last week saying she teaches babies to find their dummies when they're in bed by playing it as a game during the day - lie them on their back and put the dummy just out of arms reach and tell them to find it (help by showing them;)) while saying "where's your dummy" or similar. within a couple of days, apparently, you can call "where's your dummy" through to the bedroom and they'll find it themselves, giving you a few more moments in bed perhaps!
good luck!

[Wivi]

Thanks for your reply. Sometimes it is just nice to know that someone else has had this problem. Whenever I have mentioned it to people they have just said "that's bizarre" or "what happens if you let him cry?". The answer to the second one is that he just becomes increasingly upset and less likely to fall asleep.

I've been trying to teach him about the dummy - but he can't get it in his mouth the right way yet and gets frustrated before throwing it away or accidentally swiping it with his wayward arms.

I guess time will tell and hopefully we will all get some :sleeping: soon!

[ETsMum]

How come you keep flipping him over?

[kyeaj]

Hi there!

My ds is almost 10mths and each time he does something new, sitting, crawling, standing, etc, he has a few unsettled nights thereafter. Apparently, (I have been told) that it is their little brains working overtime in their sleep.... Very similar to when we have a really hectic day and find it hard to get to sleep as our brains are still going. You know when you start a new job, or are studying hard, etc, how you seem to have weird dreams about it all - same thing for babies when they do new things!

It does sound like he is starting to crawl too. My bub did the same (commando style) until he worked out how to get his tummy off the floor and move his knees and hands... It takes a little but they get there eventually!

Also, with the dummy thing at night, I found that when he would wake looking for it I would pop it into his hand and guide it to his mouth (rather than put it in his mouth for him). This took a little time but within a few tries he worked out that he had to look for it and put it in his mouth himself. I actually got this tip from someone on here!

Hope this helps!

[cookie]

Hi ,
My little man is 6 mths old as well and by the sound of things he is doing the exact same thing as your little man.
Last night he was particually unsettled moving , wrigling , on his face upside down you name it ,he has one tooth that cut through late last week so I have been wondering if there may be another supprise around the corner :eek:
I flip my son over to I guess its because he is my first son that I have waited so desperatly for, for many many years and I feel more content when I know he can breath for sure.At least you know you left them that way.
I am hopeing that it is just a stage to I think we could all do with a good nights rest, you just cant help but worry, i know I am the worlds best panicer:eek: :eek:
All the same they are so cute , so funny wacthing them try so so hard and get so close to doing what they want to do then..... plonk .....start again ,makes me wonder what made us adults such impaitent things when we used to be so cute and paitent at 6 mths
Good luck

[Wivi]

Thanks heaps for all your suggestions. I guess I wasn't very clear about one thing. I flip him over because otherwise he doesn't put his head back down and loses the dummy all over again. I am not worried about him sleeping on his tummy - he has done that quite a bit and it isn't usually a problem.

I will try your suggestion about the dummy Kye. I think he is starting to get the idea but needs a little help actually putting it in his mouth. Maybe that will help.

As I said before it is just so nice to know that other kids have done this - and stopped again!!

[cjb/jbvd]

hi

my boy is the same age and doing exactly the same thing. there is no magic cure, and not much you can do about it. pretty much all i got told was "wait it out". even sleeping with me doesn't seem to help. there were a couple of suggestions to put him in one of those gro-bags, but all that managed to achieve was him tying himself into knots. i have found that if you suspend the "feed right before sleep at night" rule, that he appears to be more settled. i guess sleeping on your stomach when it's full isn't very comfortable. a big feed about an hour to an hour and a half before bed seems to be ideal. other than that, i can't help much. let me know how it goes with you, and if you find something that works, let me know.

on a different topic......when your boy sits up for a little while, do you have to actually put him in the sitting position, or can he do it by himself? mine is still at the pulling himself up, then i have to provide some sort of support stage. even if it's just a finger for him to hold, he needs something to balance with. is this normal, should i be worried that he can't do this yet??

good luck