getting baby to sleep?

[pupyia]

I know I have been doing the wrong thing. I have an 8 week old DD who I have rocked to sleep in the basinet since day 1. I know this is wrong but it is working and she is sleeping really well. But I think it is about time that I teach her to go to sleep on her own.

Does anyone have any advice as to how to change this over with out letting her scream it out.

A friend of mine used a CD of the mothers womb sounds. Has anyone used one of those bears that makes the womb sounds do they work and how did you start using it.

Please help

[meme]

just for the record i don't think it is wrong to rock a baby to sleep if it is working fot you and you are happy with it.
there are gentle options for encouraging more independant sleep associations. i like the book the no cry sllep solution. it offerred lots of suggestions and i chose which ones i felt comfy using

[only1mica]

Hi there

I am in the same boat - 8 week old...been rocking since bringing her home. And we are going to put her in her cot soon..which i wont be able to rock.

I did just go to a sleep settle course...it has been very hard to try and change. the rocking...she has been crying a lot when i try and get her to sleep...but what i have been doing is patting her chest, rocking her body a bit(holding her chest and moving her side to side gently), patting her head, saying shh,shh,shh and trying very hard not to rock the bassinet...I only do this if she is very unsettled, then once she calms down I go back to the other methods i mentioned.

Hope this helps...:fingerscrossed: for the both of us....I just hate hearing her cry!

Cheers
Mic

[alanasmum]

My DD is 3 months old. I have found that she's grown out of needing to be rocked to sleep. As she has gotten older and has started to be more aware of everything going on around her, she hasn't needed as much comforting. As soon as I notice she is getting tired, I wrap her, pop the dummy in and sit with her in a rocking chair for five minutes, with the room fairly dark. When she is sufficiently tired (but usually still awake) I put her in the bassinette. She might have a little cry but she can generally send herself off to sleep. If she gets worked up, I put the dummy in again, pat her gently for a minute and walk out. This works for us, but every bub is different. Good luck :)

[Seekrit]

:wave: My son's 9 weeks old and in the last couple of weeks he's learnt to go to sleep by himself! GOD SEND as he can wake up in the middle of the night and go back to sleep so he's already sleeping through!

What I did was cuddle him until he was just about asleep.. but I'd make sure he was awake when I put him down... he sometimes would lose his dummy and yell (not cry, he cries when he's upset, yells when he wants something), so I'd go in, put his cork back in his mouth and walk out. Lately I only have to do that once, if at all, and he'll stay asleep all night. :smiliedance:

I also leave just the radio on when he's in the room going to sleep. I found that in a quiet room he just won't sleep. I'm thinking of buying a classical music cd for his room when he eventually goes in his own cot. :)

Good luck!

[JumpingBean]

Hi!

I am in the same boat as you! My DD is now just over 3 months old and won't go to sleep on her own without me rocking her in my arms for a bit first. I've been reading the baby whisperer book, which has explained a lot and the first thing it mentions is - "start as you mean to go on!". I wish I knew that before DD came home from hospital and this habbit began! I have also found that doing her night time routine during the day when I put her to bed is making her fall asleep quicker now. She's fantastic at night to go to sleep when it's dark, so we've now darkened the room and I play the same music so she knows that means sleep time. The trick is to get her down before she is fully asleep. When she's really blinking slowly, so she then won't wake up in her cot wondering where she is instead of being in your arms. This has been working now for us:fingerscrossed: (touch wood!)
But I find I am still rocking her a little first, which is what I need to overcome, but it's so nice to cuddle her tho!
Hope it works out for you. Get it sorted now, as it will take a long time to fix, the longer you leave it, believe me!!! Good luck!:thumbsup:

[elissas]

First of all, throw the "rules" out the window. If rocking works and it doesn't bother you, just go with the flow!!

Rocking is a natural and beautiful way to settle your bub - we do it automatically without even thinking.

Remember that she's been rocked for 9mths inside you. To suddenly remove all of her known comforts is harsh IMO and not what we want.

By rocking, you are actually stimulating chemicals in her brain that help her settle and sleep. This works for all of us. Even now if you're a passenger in a car it'll make you sleepy, yes? :yes:

So, on a chemical level you are helping her learn that sleep is a wonderful, soothing and beautiful thing, that there is nothing to fear and that you are there for her when she needs it.

Babies don't usually learn to self-settle until they are 3 or 4 months old, and some babies even older.

I still rock DS a little to help him sleep. But it's only for a minute or two and he's out cold. It works for me, I don't have to fight with him to get him to sleep, and he is learning at an increasing rate how to sleep (he's better at it than DH, who still doesn't know how to sleep and he's 30 :eek: )

The best thing to do is relax and enjoy this time. Soon enough you won't be able to cuddle her to sleep like this and you'll look back and cherish these moments.

:p

For a great book, try "The No Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley.

[filmgirlgail]

Hi Pupyia

Firstly, I have just skimmed so haven't seen what the other mummies have said so I may be repeating stuff.

It isn't "wrong" if it works for you. With DD, I rocked her to sleep until she was about 15 weeks old. Then one time I put her down so I could do something else and she fell asleep all by herself, and after that mostly fell asleep with no problems. It just depends what works for you.

Good luck

[filmgirlgail]

Hi Pupyia

Firstly, I have just skimmed so haven't seen what the other mummies have said so I may be repeating stuff.

It isn't "wrong" if it works for you. With DD, I rocked her to sleep until she was about 15 weeks old. Then one time I put her down so I could do something else and she fell asleep all by herself, and after that mostly fell asleep with no problems. It just depends what works for you.

DS on the other hand has no problems getting to sleep by himself. I'm on here just looking for advice about him as our problem is night waking.

Good luck

[Issey]

Best book I've read on the topic is 'Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems' by Dr Richard Ferber, also recommended by Midwives who run a sleep settling business and reinforces what I was told by my paedatrician (sp?). I have read heaps of books, ie: Babywise, Babylove, Contented Little Baby Book :ecomcity: :ecomcity:

I think it is between 2-4months that sleep association can begin. I made the mistake of getting up 3-6 times a night up until last week and DS is 9months :banghead: . My lack of sleep was affecting my day to day life and relationship so I did control crying and it wasn't nearly as awful as I thought it might be. I only started it 6 days ago and only had one episode that lasted 2 hours of going in and out reassuring.:yelclap:

Once you decide what to do sticking with it is what is the hardest but you must stick to it to get results. My main concern was feeding during the night and now that I know DS doesn't need a feed I felt okay within myself to stop the feeds. You must do what feels comfortable for you and when you feel ready. I didn't feel ready until now and I had to gain confidence in myself as a mother too.

Please feel free to PM me if you need support or a chat. I hope all goes well with whatever you decide to do. There is no wrong or right way.

[the_queen]

What works for me is co-sleeping, I rock him during the day, but generally he feeds to sleep. At night, he wakes and kinda wakes me up, either by just moving around, or by whacking me in the face LOL, I pop out the boob, latch him on, and go back to sleep, and when he's finished feeding he goes back to sleep too (I assume, because I'm always asleep by then LOL)

[Seekrit]

What works for me is co-sleeping, I rock him during the day, but generally he feeds to sleep. At night, he wakes and kinda wakes me up, either by just moving around, or by whacking me in the face LOL, I pop out the boob, latch him on, and go back to sleep, and when he's finished feeding he goes back to sleep too (I assume, because I'm always asleep by then LOL)

:laughing: Cobes wakes up for a 5am feed and spends the rest of the time in bed.... there have been too many times that I've woken up with a fast-asleep baby beside me, and my top up around my neck... wondering if I did feed him or not...

[the_queen]

Nik, I've been woken occasionally by my sucking-monster who has missed my nipple and is giving me a gigantic hickey next to my nipple :laughing: The nipple is left exposed from the previous feed, it gives him easy access :p my goal is to eventually get to the point where I can sleep topless and, while he may not sleep through, I WILL! :D

[Mischief]

Have you tried sitting beside your bub and patting his tummy instead of rocking?

For a few nights you do that, then you move to just putting your hand on his tummy, then you eventually stop, and hopefully they are used to it then.

I did controlled crying. I would let Oliver cry for 2 minutes, then 5, then comfort, then another 5...but only had to do that once. Usually he is sound asleep without a wimper now.

But I have found the above worked really really well for the nights when he was upset and couldnt settle himself.

Dont make eye contact, just sit there and pat him with your head down. :)