Hello everyone. My baby girl is 8 weeks old this week. She is a very good sleeper at night and during the day. She does not mind sleeping in her crib or bassinet at night but hates it during the day. She either wants to nap in the bouncy seat or swing in the living room. I have tried to rock her to sleep and put her in the crib but as soon as she stirs and wakes up she wants out. How can I train her to sleep in her crib during the day? My other little problem is she needs to be rocked to sleep. At night she will go right back to sleep after she eats but during the day she has a hard time transitioning from wake time to nap time without a little help. I am worried that she will never be able to fall asleep on her own. Any tips?
The best advice EVER came from the book The Baby Whisperer.
E.A.S.Y.
Eat, Activity,Sleep, You,
It has ways to get baby to fall into the routines you want, like sleeping in the crib. Charts for quick referance. It was the smoothest transition for my grandbaby once Dad and Mom looked at how it could work. (also helps to keep from getting those nasty ear infections!)
T.
Hi R.,
Do not worry that your baby will never fall asleep on her own, she will one day. Is it not natural for her to do that at such a young age but she will when she is older. You are a 1st time mom and I remember what that was like. I have some specific advise at the end of my post but 1st I want to share what I have learned. The key to sleep issues is to understand what a babies natural sleep rhythms are & working with that. Don't fight nature! Your daughter is still a fetus and is still getting used to being out of the warmth and comfort of your womb. That is why she wants to be rocked (as she was in your womb) and held (for warmth as she had in your womb). Babies cannot be spoiled, as they only desire what their biological needs require. That is warmth, closeness to mother for comfort & nourishment. She may not fall asleep on her own until she is much older. It is unrealistic to expect an 8-week-old baby to do such a thing. There is a wonderful book out there about babies and sleep called "The No Cry Sleep Solution". Also Dr. Sears book "The Baby Book" will explain how to put baby to sleep, tips on making easier and explains babies natural sleep patterns. They are VERY different than adult sleep patterns. Once you have this knowledge you will be able to understand why your daughter does what she does and you will not worry any longer. It's OK for her to sleep in her bouncy seat car seat or swing. Why move her if she is in a comfortable position? It's also OK to rock her to sleep.... you just need to do it a bit longer (wait until that arm is limp and she stops smiling in her sleep). Then she is in deep sleep & you can put her down without her waking. Nap time, some babies don't take long naps (none of mine did) and some do. Maybe she is just a cat napper taking 30 min naps throughout the day. You cannot force her to be one of those babies that take 3-hour pour naps. It may be inconvenient for you but it is the way she is. Get yourself a sling and you will see how easy it is to get her to sleep without even trying. Good luck to you. The journey has just begun. This difficult time will soon pass!!
L. K~
Hello R. ,
I'm a mom of two wonderfull boys . 6 year old and two year old . My older boy would love to nap in his swing , that is not a problem as long as they are well strap in . He will sleep well during the night on his crib , He would like at times when he was a Baby to be rocked to sleep. My younger boy would nap in play pin . Your daughter is a Baby and they love to be rocked they will grow out of that.
She will eventually sleep on her own one tip the pediatricain gave me is let them cry it out , and it works they will sleep throuhg out the night offcourse after a few nights . Oh my gosh it is incredible how fast they grow !!! Good Luck
~ A.
Room darkening shades for the daytime will probably help her sleep longer. The room needs to be as dark as possible. They have them at Home Depot and they're not too expensive. Or you can just drape a blanket over the window. At 8 weeks I'd say you need to just rock her and love every minute of it. When she's older(they say as early as 6 mo, I waited till 9 mo) then you can teach her to go to sleep on her own. Below is a link with some options on how to do this. I recommend Dr. Ferbers method. Most of the moms I know will swear by this. I've discovered the very few who criticize the method never actually read the book so they don't understand how it really works. http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/parenting%5Ftips/sleep/
Hope this helps.
R., I'm a 70 year old grandmother with 50 years of parenting behind me. I raised three children and I raised one granddaughter. It is not unusaual that a new infant has trouble transitioning from awake to sleep. Especially these days when we are instructed to put babies on their backs, this position tends to make babies a bit "nervous" because it's like being in open space. My suggestion is to wrap the baby very securely in a receiving blanket and place her on her side with a bolsted behind her back adn place her close to the top of the crib across the headboard. Make her space as small as possible.. it will give her a more se4cure feeling. Soothing her to sleep is not unhealthy, she is a very NEW little person..
She is not used to the big world.. holding her and rocking with her until she falls asleep is ok.. wait until she is deep in sleep befoe placing her in her bassinett. Keep her inthe bassinette until she is quite a bit older or she outgrows it. The smaller the space the more security.. Also switch which side you put her on each time she goes down for her nap.. Make her nap time a ritual.. diaper change,wrap her up, feed her, soothing music, rocking and sleep. Before you know it this time will practically fade from yu memory until you have to stop and think about it with baby #2
Nana J.
R., my son loved his swing!!! he would take his naps there until he was maybe like 9 -10months. I would strapp him well and add some comfortable blankets and he will sleep there for hours.
And yes, I went thru the same thing as you, he would wake up if put him on his crib.
So, give it time and don't stop trying, and when he is big enough then you have no other way than to make him sleep safer in his crib or play yard.
Hope it helps!!!
Hi R.
I'm a mother of 3 children. All 3 of my kids at that age always fell asleep in their bouncy chair or car seat. Later on when they were a little older they all started sleeping in their cribs for nap time. You can slowly start transfering her into the crib around 4 or 5 months old. As for rocking her to sleep it's fine at this age. Enjoy it while you can, because when they get a little older they will settle on their own. I really enjoyed them falling asleep on me when I could. Once they were asleep I would put them in their crib. They sometimes would stir a little, but then settled right back to sleep. Hope this helps.
CoreyA
My daughter, now 2 yrs old did the same thing. I ended up having to place her in the bassinet /crib. I had to put her on a pillow that I had slept with (so it smelled like me) and sometimes a t-shirt of mine in the bassinet/ crib with her. It was the only way to get her to sleep.
BEST WISHES ON GETTING MORE SLEEP.
R.,
Don't worry because your daughter is only 8 weeks old. My daughter was the same way as far as rocking her to sleep till she was about 1yrs. old. I actually enjoyed it because it was good time spent with her. If she feels comfortable sleeping in her swing or bouncer during the day then let it be. When she gets older you can then start transitioning her to take naps in her crib.
I had a similar situation. My daughter only wanted to take naps in her playpen for some reason. I allowed her to take naps in her playpen till she was 1yrs. old then I started teaching her that the crib is for big girls and the playpen is for babies. It took about 1-2 weeks before she got used to it. So don't fret, she's only 8 weeks old. Enjoy.
1st. time mom also of a beautiful 2yr. old daughter.
Hi R.,
I do not think you have to be too worried since your daughter is sleeping in her crib fine in the nights. Where the rocking is concerned...in the day, maybe you can put her in her crib when she is falling off to sleep, she may cry if she doesnt like it but if you leave her she will be ok. She will adjust to it but you have to leave her in there...maybe rub her back so she knows you are there. It will not take her long to adjust to it. My daughter didnt like to sleep in her crib, she wanted us to be in the bed with her (my mom caused that) :) but we left her in her crib for one night...she was older though..she was 2 plus...she bawled her little eyes out..but the next night was fine... it wasnt every night that was a breeze but it gets easier...i hope you work it out.
K.
I'm a huge believer in doing what works until it doesn't work anymore- babies are like that- once you get used to something they do, they go and change on you! so if she's happy sleeping in the swing or bouncy, go for it! she won't still be there in college, lol! actually she'll change her likes/dislikes soon, so take advantage of what works in the here & now!
as for sleep training, I'm all for it, but for when baby is older, like 8 or 9 months old. Before that they are still 'undercooked' and need to sleep according to their own needs and their own schedule. they make their own schedule, you'll see as you follow her lead & patterns...
so, for 'gentle' sleep training, there's a great list here:
http://www.thebabywearer.com/cgi-bin/bookshop.pl?locale=u...
enjoy your baby!!!
Both of my babies were the same way. As long as they slept in the crib at night I was fine with it. I bought my son one of those fold out chairs that turns into a sleeping pad for nap time and now I just let my daughter sleep on our bed for naps. I just keep a close eye on her so I'm close when she wakes up. There's just something about the crib during the day time. I don't get it. 8 weeks is still young - enjoy the extra cuddle time you get by rocking her in the day time!!
J.
