teaching newborns to sleep

amother

Mon, Mar 23 2009, 10:19 pm

I'm embarrassed. THis is not my first baby. SHe slept constantly in the hospital, but now at home will not sleep unless she is held or in my bed (we did not room in so this did not happen in the hospital). I don't think that crying it out is appropriate but since other ladies talk about napping when their babies sleep there must be a way to teach them to do it, right. Also, waiting for her to fall asleep and then transferring her just seems to wake her up. I want to transfer her onthe way to sleep and have her fall asleep herself. Please help!!

BusyBeeMommy

Mon, Mar 23 2009, 10:31 pm

Swaddle, swaddle, swaddle! I can't say it enough. There is a special swaddle blanket they sell that has velcro to keep it closed so they won't undo it. Swaddle real tight as it makes baby feel like she is back in the womb. Baby only sleeps while being held because it is comforting and familiar to her and makes her feel like she is back in utero. The swaddling gives it the same effect. Also try a swing or infant seat, they are more comfy than laying flat in the bassinet/crib. Rocking or swinging gets them to fall asleep too. Do whatever you need to in order for baby to sleep because YOU need the sleep too! Good luck!

acccdac

Mon, Mar 23 2009, 10:32 pm

so I swear by the following book "Healthy Sleeping Habits, Happy Child"

because of it I have 2 good sleepers.
my second is almost 3 (34 months) and is still taking a 3 hour nap in the afternoon and sleeping through the night since 6 weeks.

Truth is, I give all the credit to Hashem for him sleeping through the night at 6 weeks (I mean 12 hours through the night)

his basic idea is to never have your child up for more than 2 hours at a time, he says that if you watch your child you'll notice that around 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours they'll show signs of sleep, that is when you put them in, not when they're tired but when they just start getting tired.

his real sleeping plan begins when a child is 5 months old but I started it at 3 months becuase I was going back to work.

also I dont know how young your baby is, but a trick that worked not only with my child is, when they'll little and still in the bassinet, suround them with recieving blankets, roll them up and fill the empty space between them and the ends of the bassitent, so there is no empty space (make sure they're rolled up well to prevent dangers - I think we would keep the area of the face empty - me and my husband are neurotic with this stuff).

chaylizi

Mon, Mar 23 2009, 10:36 pm

happiest baby on the block might help you: he tells you to swaddle, shush, hold sideways & shuckle/shake/dance with the baby. it supposedly works charms. I say supposedly because all three of my kids have been patients at the pediatric gastroenterologist at birth & are on loads of medications for 6-12 months. but for regular colicy babies, I heard this works.

I also have this great cradle swing. the fisher price papasan cradle swing & it swings sideways. my kids love it. so do I. the other thing you can do is get a baby carrier. if nothing else, my kids fall asleep while attached to me. I have this great carrier: it's called a pikkolo & it's awesome. or you could just get a sling.

shabbatiscoming

Tue, Mar 24 2009, 12:59 am

I second the swaddling. before I heard about this, my daughter would sleep, but not as much, then we started to wrap her, pretty tightly but not too tight (she cried as we wrapped her but then stopped once she was all wrapped up) she started to sleep a little bit more smoothly.
and I second the swing idea. we did note have one when my daughter was born, but maybe when she was 3 months old and boy did it help some nights. she slept that way if she would not go back to sleep any other way.

amother

Tue, Mar 24 2009, 4:58 am

amother wrote:

You're describing my baby and he's already 8 months! Doesn't sleep through the night and often has to be nursed to sleep, hates the crib and very often spends part of the night in his car seat.
I'm also really desperate for ideas, hints and tips!!

shabbatiscoming

Tue, Mar 24 2009, 5:57 am

drumjj wrote:

where online can u get this swaddle blaket and wat age is it used till?

to find swaddle blankets, just write that in a search and see what comes up.
as for what age, I was told that it is about 3 months because the baby is still so much like it was in the womb and it feels more secure that way. but when they start to move around more and more, its a bit difficult to wrap them as they come undone. we wrapped our daughter till about 4 months (she was a premie) and then she began coming out of the wrapping so it was pointless.

and just by the way, you dont actually need any special blanket. we just used regular receiving blankets and made it work for us. in the book the happiest baby on the block, it explains how to wrap the baby.

amother

Tue, Mar 24 2009, 9:12 am

amother wrote:

amother, I had ot re-read your post to make sure I didn't post it! My baby is also 8 months and does EXACTLY what you wrote.....any way to train a kid this late in the game?

Chippies

Tue, Mar 24 2009, 9:48 am

According to my limited experience, and from what I have read, it's actually not a good idea to use the swing or rocker to get your baby to sleep. You don't want your baby being dependent upon being rocked in order to fall asleep. Rather, he/she has to learn self-soothing techniques. Of course, this is much easier said than done. My son started sucking his fingers around 3 months, so that was when he could finally start going to sleep without any crying. He just sucks his fingers until he falls asleep. For other babies, the pacifier works well. I think the most important thing is developing a routine that you stick to every single time you put the baby down to sleep, whether at night or for a nap.

For those of you who have older babies who still won't sleep in a crib, from what I've read, it's really important to be consistent and gradually get the baby into the crib to sleep. Maybe begin by just holding your baby next to the crib when he/she is still awake time and let your baby have positive associations with the crib. Then very gradually you take other tiny steps to reduce crib anxiety so that your baby will go into the crib when tired and just fall asleep without a fuss. The Baby Whisperer goes into details with regards to how this gradual transition should go. I wouldn't recommend the book overall, but there are some helpful tips there, so it's worth checking it out from the library.

amother

Tue, Mar 24 2009, 11:09 am

Chippies wrote:

I'm the amother with the 8 month old. He's my 2nd but the older one got himself on a schedule and figured out thumb-sucking himself very young. This one is more stubborn and has refused all pacifiers. Plus, they share a room so I'm very reluctant to try any cry it out method.

Chippies

Thu, Mar 26 2009, 10:02 pm

amother wrote:

One method I read about is giving your baby a "lovey" which is some kind of comfort object, such as a stuffed animal or a little blankey. Whenever you nurse, you can put the lovey next to your baby, so that the hope is that he'll develop a positive, comforting association with the lovey. It may take a while, but eventually all your baby should need for comfort is the lovey. I'm not speaking from experience, though, but it may be worth a try. I've also heard criticism of this method because some mothers want their baby to find comfort in them, as opposed to a stuffed animal...but if it helps your baby sleep through the night, then it may be worth it!

BusyBeeMommy

Thu, Mar 26 2009, 10:36 pm

Chippies wrote:

I'm a big proponent of teaching babies self-soothing techniques, but I don't know if the time to start is when they are in the newborn stage. At that stage, you can never spoil a baby too much, so do everything to comfort them (swaddle, rock...). I also think that for mothers of two or more, especially children that are close in age, getting that elusive sleep is too important to fret about teaching babies self -soothing techniques. Just do whatever it takes to get them to sleep for some solid hours. When they turn 4 months or so (or whenever mom feels comfortable teaching them), let them start crying it out a little, etc.

wrote:

You should NOT put any stuffed toys or blankets in your baby's crib, for risk of suffocation, Chalilah!

Chippies

Fri, Mar 27 2009, 9:50 am

BusyBeeMommy wrote:

Well, I actually meant to be responding to those with the 8 month olds who still can't sleep in a crib...and so I basically agree with you. Although, according to the Baby Whisperer, it's never too early to start teaching good sleeping habits. We had a lot of difficulty getting our baby to sleep when he was about 6 to 9 weeks old - I got into the habit of putting him into the swing to sleep, but then he'd often wake up with a scream if I tried to transfer him...I don't think I would do that again. The swaddle worked very well, though.

wrote:

BusyBeeMommy wrote:

You should NOT put any stuffed toys or blankets in your baby's crib, for risk of suffocation, Chalilah!

Here I was definitely in direct response to the mother of an 8 month old, not a newborn...and I'm sorry if I wasn't clear, but I meant a safe toy. Someone gave us a cute little blankey/doggie thing that is meant for babies to sleep with...it's called "Angel Dear" and it meets the government safety regulations. Also, I didn't make up this method and I've never used it - it's just something I read about and thought I'd throw out there because that amother seems quite desperate!