Day sleeping...or lack thereof ;)

[Cheerio]

:wave: everyone!

Well from reading a few posts it seems like there are a few of us with bubs who don't like to sleep during the day or are very hard to settle so I thought we could share ideas here.

Smarty bum me got a bit cocky and thought oh second time around I will know all the tricks mmmm, don't think so!

So for us Zane is hard to settle from the moment he wakes in the morning and the only thing that eventually works for me is in the pram over a bump. The sling thing doesn't work for me as my back just kills. He won't take a dummy (that only worked for a day). Cuddles, rocking and patting all work but as most of you know you lay them down and FLICK eyes open.

Also those with toddlers what do you do? I am just finding it really hard to find the time to keep Olivia entertained while trying to settle Zane.

So.... what are your tricks?

[MoOaNdLiTtLePoPpEt]

well day sleeps i don't have much advice...i just do what works but Anastasia is pretty good...she sleeps in her rocker mostly thru the day and her bassinet at night - this works for us! :)

re the toddler thing - i have a 2.5 yr old as well...and somedays he drives me around the bend...all in all he is pretty good, he is very relaxed and easygoing...he is sick atm :hair: he is on steroids and super hyper from them! but most days he happily plays with toys, he helps with Anastasia...he sits with me when i feed sometimes...i prepare snacks or give him snacks before i feed Anastasia and water as well...hmmm not much other advice as he is pretty good generally!

[Ushas]

There are times when Kian just will not settle during the day. I find that a nice warm bottle, followed by a warm bath and a massage (a friend gave us some Tinderbox Baby Massage Oil which is lovely and lavender smelling, just on his belly and legs/feet), followed by some more warm milk, usually works. Wrapping him tightly and rocking are also good. And I have to stop myself from going to him if he's making awake noises. I just leave him for a bit and he self-settles, eventually.

[bella77]

The day sleeps are/were an issue for us. Up to 40 mins to settle and up to 40 mins for a nap. :hair:

I can now reduce the settling time to about 5-10 mins and the past two days we've only had to settle him during arsenic hour - DS has gotten himself to sleep otherwise!

We do the same thing each time for day sleeps. I head to the nursery with DS at the very first sign of tiredness.
- close blinds
- wrap tightly in his cot
- say 'time for sleep now'
- give him a kiss and walk out.

If he starts cracking after a few minutes we go back in and turn him on his side, one hand firmly on his shoulder / upper arm and the other on his bum and rhythmic patting, slowly decreasing in speed as he calms down.

When he is calm and still awake but looking sleepy, we roll him onto his back and leave the room. The only time this goes longer than 10 mins is during arsenic hour. This is working this week - next week could be a different story! We're still trying to get past 40 mins sleeps but one step at a time for us I guess! I had to work pretty hard at getting the settling right as persistence is not my strong point - it probably took about 3 days before he started to twig that there was no point trying to fight it.

[Loulabelle]

Hi up until Wednesday Indie had been a really good day sleeper (she would go any where from 3 to 4 and a half hours between feeds, settle well amd sleep through more than one sleep cycle). Then on Wednesday I don't know what happened but all of a sudden she was wanting to feed every 2 hours and only sleeping for 40 mins (she was 5 weeks on Wednesday). Then on Thursday she started doing the same thing - I was TOTALLY exhausted and so did not want this to become a pattern. Anyway I had bought Baby Bliss by Jo Ryan and we have started using that (as of yesterday afternoon) and it seems to be working. In the evening yesterday she slept for about 2 hrs had a feed and cuddle then slept for 3 hrs, she was also great overnight and so far this morning things are looking good too (but who knows she might be lulling me into a false sense of security and kaos will reign for the rest of the day). Hopefully this system works for us, I like the fact that Baby Bliss is very gentle and not enforcing strict routines on babies and that contolled crying is NOT used). Is anyone else using this system???

[Mummy2R&K]

DD is being the same during the day. Sometimes I get a good sleep out of her.

Nothing works for me. Sometimes I heat my wheatbag and put it in her bassinette so she thinks the warmth is me lol.

She's never happy on her own. Çan't even put her in her swing for more than 2 mins without her crying.

I'm ready to :hair:

Got a sling, but after a while it hurts my back :rolleyes: and i think i'm doing something wrong putting it on, but can't find the instruction DVD that came with it and i've only had it for 3 days :laughing:

[willjess]

I feel blessed, my DD is almost 6 weeks and is a pretty good sleeper. I think she kinda tolerates the fact that i cant hold her all the time due to my DS who is goingthrough tantrum stage.

However, during the day when she is cranky, i usually just put her in her swing, pop the music on, and give her her dummy and she pops off to sleep.... my biggest problem with sleep was getting DS to finally sleep in his own bed...

[MumsieMel]

For those of you having sleep issues i highly recommend Karitane....
http://www.karitane.com.au/families/parentinfobrochures.php
You can browse their website or call them

They are really supportive and helpful.

And they also have stay in facilities if you are really struggling.

They have been great for our family ( stayed in there with Miss C for 1 wk) A great help!

[lozie2]

i have a perfect day sleeper and a horrid night sleeper!! i think she has her times backwards! atm i have her in the lounge room during the day, i leave the tv on all day with the curtains open, then at night we have limited noise, and out her in a darkened room, she is awake for an hour most mornings, early morning! she is getting better, i get up feed her, kiss her put her back down, she sometime sooks but not last night! hope urs gets better with the day sleeps,

[trin_007]

I swore this time around things would be different and that I wouldn't make all the 'mistakes' I made first time when it came to sleeping and settling.

However.....

Against all my resolve to 'resettle baby in his cot and not pick him up' I have often found that when he wakes up crying after just a short nap, when I do pick him up and give him a quick cuddle, he often brings up more wind and goes straight back to sleep.

So I would say that in your quest to 'do everything right' please don't overlook the fact that there may be other things affecting baby's ability to stay asleep :D Its only early days.

[MumsieMel]

I swore this time around things would be different and that I wouldn't make all the 'mistakes' I made first time when it came to sleeping and settling.

However.....

Against all my resolve to 'resettle baby in his cot and not pick him up' I have often found that when he wakes up crying after just a short nap, when I do pick him up and give him a quick cuddle, he often brings up more wind and goes straight back to sleep.

So I would say that in your quest to 'do everything right' please don't overlook the fact that there may be other things affecting baby's ability to stay asleep :D Its only early days.

I know what you mean, i sometimes burp him after he's gone down if he is carrying on, but then he stays down in the cradle to be settled.