How can I get my daughter to sleep????

[adorableangel]

My DD is five months old and she sleeps between 11 and 12 hours at night (waking up once for a BF) but the day time is an entirely different story.

If I'm lucky I can get her to have 3 naps during the daytime.. but they seem to be getting shorter. Normally she'll have 2 x 25/30 minute naps and a larger sleep normally an hour to 2 hours. I can only get her to have a long sleep if I wrap her up and put her upstairs in her bassinet. She used to sleep anywhere (playmat, blanket, pram etc) now whenever I try and put her down during the day (even in her bassinet) she screams and screams. She is so very tired, constantly wiping her eyes and yawning. It feels like a battle sometimes.

Then at night time, I wrap her up and as soon as I place her in the bassinet her eyes are closed and is asleep in less than a minute.

What could be causing this sleep anxiety? It's making my day a lot harder and it's upsetting seeing her so very tired.

Any advice/tips would be greatly appreciated :lol:

[Shananaaah]

Hi there :wave:

She could be becoming more aware of her environment and starting to "know" when you are putting her to bed so she is fighting against it. Or she could just be changing her routine and not need alot of day sleep now?

It's always hard to say with the littler babies - my DD is a sleeper (lots of decent naps and a good night's sleep) but my friend's baby sleeps brilliantly at night with only little catnaps during the day. They are all different.

There is a woman on Sunrise, her name is Sheyne Rowley and they call her Australia's Baby Whisperer. She has a book out (again, I will look it up) that is all about sleeping and routines like using the same cues before you put them to bed, singing the same song etc. My friend swears by it.

Perhaps this might help? If she is sleeping at night, to me it doesn't sound like teeth or reflux or anything like that.

Maybe some other Hubbers will have some ideas for you. Good luck - I know it's frustrating when you want them to sleep so you can get stuff done!!!

[MissMetal]

i wouldnt be worried, even if she was only having her night sleeps she would be getting enough! think yourself lucky she sleeps that much!
lots of us with babies around here dont get anywhere near that amount at that age! your lucky!

[Jaspat24]

Contact Jo Ryan from Baby Bliss; she will have some answers from you. You can also check out the website or buy the book.
It could be that she's hungry, not tired enough, doesn't want to miss out playing etc.
Any new routine/ritual etc will take consistency and perseverance before you start to get results. I have concurrent issues with my DS (reflux and weight gain issues) but i now have a great sleeper. He is wrapped, dummy in music on and a few pats on his shoulder and then i walk out and he puts himself to sleep. If he doesn't go straight to sleep or wakes and i can't resettle him in under 2-5 mins then i know with him that he's probably hungry or in pain from reflux.
I used Baby bliss and a technique i learnt at sleep school. The technique is when they wake and need to be resettled i make sure he's still wrapped, put dummy back in, turn him on his side away from me and a few pats and then when he's calmed back onto back and walk out.

[wocket]

she is at tye age where shes disovering that the world is even more interesting than she previously thought. it's a tough time to try and get some day sleep in. She still needs to sleep every hour to two and a half hours. A 40 min sleep is a good one, anything less and she's not really caught up on it all. ofcourse you can't force them to sleep but you can create a set routine. it'll take a week or so but she'll start to associate what you do with sleep time.

Try the No Cry Sleep Solution for are awesome ideas. Most libraries have it.

After being up for an hour and a half we start the day sleep routine. We do a change, feed (sometimes a gentle sleep time song thats also usesd at night, while on the boob ) into the sleeping bag, continue the feed till she drifts off. Transfered to the cot and she sleep soundly for an hourish. it sounds so easy but really it took almost a month to establish. Try taking her into a darkened room, don't allow her to sit up, make lots of slow movements and talk quietly. it's not play time.

it's important to note that routines are all different for everyone.

my little one wakes up around 7ish, boob change, sample of daddies breakfast, cuddle, sleep at about 8:30. wakes around 920ish, brief boob, play for 30 mins or so, more boob, sleep at 10:30/11ish. i find that this is the crucial sleep. if she has trouble getting down for this one then she has trouble for the rest of the day. wakes around 12ish and stays awake till about 4:30. Boob, bed at about 5ish. Sleeps from then till about 7:30. play, bath, play, snuggle, boob bed at around 8:30. sleeps till midnight, quick boob and nappy chnage then repeat.

[wocket]

I used Baby bliss and a technique i learnt at sleep school. The technique is when they wake and need to be resettled i make sure he's still wrapped, put dummy back in, turn him on his side away from me and a few pats and then when he's calmed back onto back and walk out.

I wish this worked for me. it just ramps my little one up. If I need to settle she gets a gentle rocking then back down to sleep. If she persists then she probably needs a nappy change or more food.

[Jaspat24]

Hi Wocket: sometimes with my DS especially when he's overtired he actually needs me to leave him alone so i leave him alone and he has a small grizzle, then all goes quiet!

[wocket]

Hi Wocket: sometimes with my DS especially when he's overtired he actually needs me to leave him alone so i leave him alone and he has a small grizzle, then all goes quiet!

yep, we do that too! I'm getting used to those signs though. :)

[kar]

OP my 5 month old is exactly the same, has been since 8 wks old. We have used various techniques and I also recommend the baby bliss book. We have got to the point where DS sleeps through the 40 mins about 30% of the time, and frankly I think until he starts crawling it is unlikely to get better than that.

I try to resettle him for his first sleep which is his key sleep. For us rocking his cot is the best method in the cot. If that doesn't work I settle him in my arms and put him back into his cot once sound asleep. Generally for the rest of the day I just go with it.

I need to just accept it, but I can't! Always searching for a cure. I third the sometimes they just need to be left alone to do their own thing re settling. Until about 6 wks ago I was always fussing at him shushing patting etc now, I put him down he yells at me for a minute or two then he goes to sleep.

Could your DD be ready to be unwrapped? I noticed that F was really struggling with his arms when he stirred at 40 mins about 3 wks ago so we moved to sleeping bag and that has improved things I think. Before that if he was unwrapped he could not resettle but he was just ready for the change.