Reassurance Needed

[Bec]

I need some reassurance from other mother's who have gone through the same thing as me........
My daughter is 11 weeks old and is a great sleeper at night. She sleeps anywhere from 3-10 hours in her own bassinette ( still in our room) and when she wakes, she feeds and goes straight back to sleep. no hassles.

However, once she wakes between 6-7am, she knows it is daytime and the struggle to get her to sleep begins. During the day, she will fall asleep in my arms however as soon as we put her in her own bed she wakes up either straight away or within 5-10 minutes. This happens every day. She will happily sleep in our arms for hours but as soon as she is put down she wakes. We have been to Tresillian and they taught us to leave her in her cot and let her cry a bit and then she'll fall asleep. She doesn;t fall sleep and she ends up going between feeds with no sleep and then it is even harder to get her to sleep after that as she is overtired.
We have also put one of my t-shirts in her bed with my scent on it. If I carry her in my baby bjorn she will sleep but I can't wear that every day! It will drive me crazy. Also, the pram and the car seat will not put her to sleep. She only cries.

I'd love to hear from other mothers who went through the same sort of thing with their new bubs and when they grew out of it!!!! Everyone keeps telling me she'll change after 3 months. Well that is next week and I have a feeling there will be no change!!!!
It really drives me crazy some days! I'm lucky to have time to have a shower and eat something for breakfast and lunch!

[Mum2AandJ]

Hi,
My first was really hard to put down, he would wake up straight away. So I bought a baby bouncer. I also put a sheepskin mat in it to make it sort and warm. After a week or 2 the bouncer sorta moulded to his body a little. So then when I put him down he wasn't flat it was like he was still being held.
That worked for me. With both my boys.
But every baby is different

[FourAngelKisses]

Have you tried wrapping her? My youngest was also a non sleeper during the day (he had 2 naps until he was about 2mths old, since then he has one 3hr stint in the middle of the day and that's it) and the only thing that would work was wrapping. Oh, and a dummy, lol. He also wont sleep in the pram, the car, or anyone elses bed. It has to be his bed, or he wont sleep.

Maybe leave a radio on in her room, we also do this. I don't have it on softly, I have it on as I would have it on in the kitchen. I have done this since he was born, the radio goes 24/7 (no wonder my power bills are higher than usual).

I don't agree with what tresillian said about leaving her to cry. Babies under the age of 10mths haven't learnt how to get themselves to sleep. Will she sleep better on her stomach? I know they say not to do it, but my oldest son learnt to roll over at 5wks and would always sleep on his stomach no matter how many times I would roll him over. In the end I gave in and just left him, he slept better. I would also put my 3rd baby on his tummy and pat his back if he was really unsettled and he would fall asleep.

[elissas]

Well, for starters, sounds like Tresillian don't really know what they're doing, telling you to leave such a young baby to cry. Babies don't learn to self-settle till they're a few months old.

DS is a catnapper too. And yes, he has improved (he's now 4mths). He'll now go down during the day and sometimes sleep for an hour or so (yes, in a row) :)

I found that until his digestive system matured a little, his belly would wake him up a lot. And it did make for a tired little boy sometimes. But he has also always been a happy little boy, so the lack of sleep didn't adversely affect him. Now that his digestive system is a bit older and works better, he sleeps a lot more soundly.

He still has days where things are just too interesting and he doesn't want to sleep for fear of missing out on anything :rolleyes:. But for every day like that, we have a day where he'll have a few naps, and one of them might even be a couple of hours.

I also find if I lay down with him in our bed, we both get a nap, and he tends to nap for longer. I guess he figures if I'm sleeping he may as well too... These are lovely moments too, enjoy the rest and the bonding time. You'll both benefit from it. And IMO co-sleeping is safe as long as you follow the guidelines (ie. no smoking, drinking etc). There is even evidence now that if the guidelines are adhered to, then co-sleeping reduces the risk of SIDS.

Remember too, that those sleeping guides you are given (the ones that tell you how many hours a baby needs to sleep) are usually based on old statistics - I was told it was mainly based on a group of formula fed babies in the 50s. I reckon if I drank formula from the 50s I'd sleep that much too :eek:. Not the easiest stuff to digest.

If you are breastfeeding, again, you can expect bubs to sleep a little less than formula fed babies. Breast milk digests a lot quicker than formula so converts to energy more quickly too.

Good luck, I hope this helps.

[elissas]

Oh, and the best solution for me - use a sling.

It means bubs can sleep, you can get things done, and baby-wearing is shown to have many benefits for both you and bubs. Benefits include: reduced crying in babies, increase in levels of good hormones in both of you, and lower levels of stress hormones.

And if anyone tells you you're making a "rod for your back", tell them you'll do things as you see fit, and that you're doing what works for you. Such an old school saying. Seriously, your daughter is not going to be going to sleep on you or in a sling at the age of 10, or even 5.

The main thing for you is that she's a good night sleeper. That's what you want. Lots of babies aren't day sleepers and I wouldn't stress so much about it.

When people say babies grow out of it, they do. 3 months is a rough guide. You'll find though that the change will be almost instant. One day she'll just change, like there's a switch in her head - well, at least that's what it has felt like for me. Particularly with his digestion. About 13-14 weeks it was as if he had been given a new improved belly overnight.

[Funkychicken]

Ah, the memories! I went through this with our DS#1 but we also had similar issues at night bedtime. We ended up going to a sleep centre in Victoria for a day stay when he was about 8 months old-it was long overdue. They were fantastic.
But your bub is much younger and you may be able to sort it out sooner. Sleeping in the day (or just resting) beside your bub is a lovely way to help settle her. No need to worry about the whole habit of sleeping together thing. It is a myth! Babies adore being that close to mum-as you would know from carrying her. I've posted a link to a great article here for you. It may not be an option for you but it is wonderful to read nevertheless.
Good luck-and remember, she will grow out of this.:thumbsup:

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/7/T070200.asp (http://www.askdrsears.com/html/7/T070200.asp)

[amymay]

my son zane went throught the same thing. exactually by the sounds. i just keep persisting putting him down even though you get the back up as they are not going to sleep, but i think when they grow up it pays off. zane grow out of it around 4 months, they told me 3 months but that sisnt happen. zane went from good sleeper and not during the day to the opposite - broken sleep at night and good during the day.... keep persiting i know its hard :fingerscrossed:

[Bec]

Hi all,

Thanks for your comments. Yes I am breastfeeding.
I was thinking about getting a bouncer and maybe a sling to try aswell.
I know my daughter has a lot of wind as sometimes when she wakes, she does a burp or passes wind so that is obviously disturbing her too.
We have music that she listens to although it only seems to calm her and doesn't really help her to stay asleep.
She also has the dummy. I couldn;t survive without that. She seems to be sucking 24/7.
I have put her on her tummy sometimes and on the odd occassion she slept. However, 95% of the time she sleeps on her side ( in between one of those Safe N Sound snugglers). We figured when we are holding her she is on her side so we put her down in the exact same position so as not to disturb her... doesn't always work!!!

[Mum2AandJ]

My son Jake whos 3 now. When he was a baby he had all those symptoms and we were told he had colic. For that after trying everything we ended up seeing a product on A Current Affair call Murina Infant formula for colic. it works like a dream. Thats if that is whats upsetting your bubs. Talk to a pharmacist first.

Another thing that works I found was a muslim Wap they were actually designed by midwifes.You cn buy these off e-bay for a good price and Target carry them by a company called Lalito for about $25. They arnt to thick that the baby will over heat also Babies sleep ten times more better when thier arms are wrapped tight to thier body. Because they can't control thier reflexes yet, when thier arms fly up it startles them and they wake up. And them on top of that thier bellies are upset because they have trouble passing wind. I used to rotate Jakes legs like he was riding a bicycle and that used to help with some of the wind. Baths also help because it takes the pressure off a sore belly.

Hope some of that helps It can be very stressful getting them to sleep when they dont like being put down.
Good luck :hugs:

[FourAngelKisses]

Another thing that works I found was a muslim Wap they were actually designed by midwifes.You cn buy these off e-bay for a good price and Target carry them by a company called Lalito for about $25.

I used a single sheet cut in half, a cotton one of course.

[Chickadee]

I used a patting technique with DD on her side, which I won't try to give details of because it's been too long. But I've posted the method previously here(1) (http://www.bubhub.com.au/community/forums/showthread.php?t=997) and here(2) (http://www.bubhub.com.au/community/forums/showthread.php?t=1888) with a bit more info here (http://www.bubhub.com.au/community/forums/showthread.php?t=1589). Essentially it involves comforting them in the cot, which avoids that horrible moment when you try to lower a sleeping babe down and they wake up screaming. It's fairly flexible, you can stay and comfort them till they're completely asleep, or you can work towards leaving bub awake and encourage self-settling. I started doing it when DD was 3.5 or 4 months old. We had definite progress within 2 weeks, and eventually I was able to pop her in her cot (on her side), give her a few pats and walk out of the room. Yay!

You may also find some more suggestions and ideas in this thread: How do you settle your bub? (http://www.bubhub.com.au/community/forums/showthread.php?t=5609) and in the 2nd link I put above.

Good luck :)

[munchkin05]

ben was a shocker you could never put him down during the day to sleep or for that matter to even go to the toilet in peace

he did grown out of it but he was around 5 mths when he was 2 or 3 weeks old we bought a musical swing thing from kmart it cost $150 but it was the best money that we have ever spent
it rocked him to sleep and played music aswell and also had a play bar so he had toys to play with while in in
even if we were having a really bad night with him not sleepiing i woudl put him in it so i could get some rest

it was the best thing ever :yelclap:

[FourAngelKisses]

or for that matter to even go to the toilet in peace

Trust me, that never changes, lol, they start following you in there to help flush etc once they are mobile.

[munchkin05]

yeh i know we even have to hide the toiilet paper now cause thats the best toy lol :rolleyes:

[SnoozesWithCats]

Ooooh....memories! :D

yep, the Small Girl was JUST like that - great at nights (until she got to 5months ... but that's another story!) but a real catnapper in the day, and whatever you did to get her to sleep you HAD to keep doing just the same or she'd wake right up.

So ... walks in the pram - off she'd go for a lovely sleep, I'd carefully bring the pram back into the house, slow down to stop and ... KASPROING go the little eyelids. We're home mum! Wakey time now!

Or I'd have her in the sling, I'd be walking backwards and forwards (she insisted on movement!) - see she's asleep, slow down, stop, think 'hmm, can I get a rest now too?' - carefully slide into a chair and ... KASPROING! What you doing sitting down mum? More walking! More! More!

She's still a really light sleeper, she wakes up if I walk into the room (at least now I can say "go back to sleep"!) ... I think the turnaround for her in her daysleeps came at around 8 or 9 months when she suddenly started to sleep 2 hours at a stretch for her naps. Also she became "transferrable" at that point - I suddenly found out that if she went to sleep in the stroller I could lift her into the cot and she'd stay asleep. She suddenly lost that ability one day when she was about 15mos - that was a sad day I can tell you! ;) Hang in there. Soon she'll be a teenager and you'll never be able to get her OUT of that bed!

[SilverStarfish]

My 10wk DD sleeps well at night, but only rarely sleeps for more than an hour during the day at the moment. I've decided to stop stressing about it. In the scheme of things its a small price to pay for the lovely 6-8 hour sleep at night!

Speaking of wraps, I have one of these (http://www.downunderkids.com.au/) for my DD and it has worked brilliantly. :smiliedance:

I tried bunny rugs, blankets, and was starting on cot sheets when was given an 'angel wrap'. Even in the hospital she would wriggle and worm her way out of even the midwives wrapping! Esp during her daytime naps, if she isn't wrapped up like a little parcel, then in 5 minutes she waves her arms, whacks herself in the head :banghead: and wakes up :thumbsdown:

[FourAngelKisses]

Did any of you ladies ever try leaving the vacuum cleaner going while your babies were asleep? I know of one lady whose daughter wouldn't sleep during the day unless the vacuum was going. :laughing:

[SilverStarfish]

I once read about someone who used to put the baby in the sling and vacuum at night if the baby wouldn't settle. The noise drowned out the crying, the movement rocked her to sleep and the floor got clean :p