How do I get DS to sleep?

[isabel]

Let me preface this by saying that this is mostly a problem during the day and getting him down for the night. His nighttime wake-ups are generally ok. He's 4 weeks.

He gets so overtired and just won't sleep. Today, he was awake for nearly 4 hours straight. He'll start to drift off and then pop his eyes open. He's not fussy or crying, just wide-eyed and awake. I've tried a dark room, white noise, shushing, rocking, rubbing his back/head, laying him down and leaving the room.

Tonight, he ate around 8pm. I got him pretty close to sleep, but it's almost 2 hours later and he's still up. He started rooting around 9, but only ate for a couple minutes. Now he's on my lap, sucking on a pacifier. He'll close his eyes for a minute, maybe fuss for a couple seconds until I bounce him a bit, rinse, repeat.

Suggestions? I'm kind of at a loss.

[redpenmama]

Honestly, if he is content, I would just go with it. I know that's probably not what you want to hear, but it's really hard to force anything at that age -- you kind of just have to follow baby's cues. My daughter never slept, but my son slept all day when he was a newborn but was very alert at night and woke up a ton in the MOTN. We eventually settled into a routine, but definitely not a month in.

It sounds like you are doing everything you can to create a soothing sleep environment. If you are nursing, you could always try nursing to sleep, which was a cure-all for my kids. You can also try movement -- stroller ride, car ride, swing/bouncer -- all of those things may help lull him to sleep if he's ready.

[krystee]

If you put him down awake, does he drift off eventually? I have started lying mine down at a certain point because otherwise he'll stay up forever. He'll typically look around for 5-10 minutes and then conk out.

[isabel]

May 5, 2015 22:53:59 GMT -5 krystee said:

If you put him down awake, does he drift off eventually? I have started lying mine down at a certain point because otherwise he'll stay up forever. He'll typically look around for 5-10 minutes and then conk out.

Nah, he'll lay there content for a few minutes, maybe 5, but then he starts screeching. He's never actually fallen asleep without some kind of interaction. We're either holding him or at least rocking the rock n play until he drifts off.

MOTN is the only exception to this.

[curbsideprophet]

Are you swaddling? For night time I would combine swaddling, darkness and white noise. Will he fall asleep while eating? I nursed to sleep at that age.

[isabel]

May 5, 2015 22:50:29 GMT -5 redpenmama said:

Honestly, if he is content, I would just go with it. I know that's probably not what you want to hear, but it's really hard to force anything at that age -- you kind of just have to follow baby's cues. My daughter never slept, but my son slept all day when he was a newborn but was very alert at night and woke up a ton in the MOTN. We eventually settled into a routine, but definitely not a month in.

It sounds like you are doing everything you can to create a soothing sleep environment. If you are nursing, you could always try nursing to sleep, which was a cure-all for my kids. You can also try movement -- stroller ride, car ride, swing/bouncer -- all of those things may help lull him to sleep if he's ready.

I actually am ok with hearing that. I don't mind him being awake if he's content. It's just that I know he's tired. Sometimes I can nurse him to sleep, but it doesn't always work. He always falls asleep if we go for a walk, but that won't really be an option this week. It's been raining all day and is supposed to continue until the weekend. Meh.

[isabel]

May 5, 2015 22:57:29 GMT -5 curbsideprophet said:

Are you swaddling? For night time I would combine swaddling, darkness and white noise. Will he fall asleep while eating? I nursed to sleep at that age.

We do swaddle, but sometimes I take him out of it. He's not a fan when he's swaddled and awake. He does sleep much better when swaddled though.

My concern about straight up nursing him to sleep is gas. I'm worried he'll wake up really uncomfortable from not being burped. Should I stop worrying so much about that?

[jewel]

At that age, and for way too long after, mine really only slept well when worn and bouncing on an exercise ball.

The only upside? I had a nice, toned midsection due to about a zillion hours spent on that damn ball.

[jorja]

Do you wear him at all? My daughter still takes most of her naps that way.

[Birdie]

DS is 14 months and still won't nap unless I hold him in the recliner or I make him CIO. The latter usually results in a mediocre nap.

So that's to say that while I don't have good advice, you're not alone. I had to hold/rock DS to sleep at night until he was around 5-6 months old. Then we had to CIO to teach him how to fall asleep on his own.

[isabel]

May 5, 2015 23:08:58 GMT -5 jorja said:

Do you wear him at all? My daughter still takes most of her naps that way.

Yeah. I think that's why he naps on our walks. I always wear him. I'll start doing that more. I think being outside helps too.

[isabel]

May 5, 2015 23:08:04 GMT -5 jewel said:

At that age, and for way too long after, mine really only slept well when worn and bouncing on an exercise ball.

The only upside? I had a nice, toned midsection due to about a zillion hours spent on that damn ball.

Hmmm. Maybe I should get an exercise ball. lol

[Birdie]

May 5, 2015 23:29:27 GMT -5 isabel said:

May 5, 2015 23:08:58 GMT -5 jorja said:

Do you wear him at all? My daughter still takes most of her naps that way.

Yeah. I think that's why he naps on our walks. I always wear him. I'll start doing that more. I think being outside helps too.

We took DS outside a lot when he was tiny because it calmed him down. Still does!

[Deleted]

How long is he awake between sleep? (Sorry if I missed this info) my kids were only awake 45-60 minutes between sleep periods at that age. Maybe he is overtired if it is longer than that

[Deleted]

May 5, 2015 23:00:34 GMT -5 isabel said:

May 5, 2015 22:57:29 GMT -5 curbsideprophet said:

Are you swaddling? For night time I would combine swaddling, darkness and white noise. Will he fall asleep while eating? I nursed to sleep at that age.

We do swaddle, but sometimes I take him out of it. He's not a fan when he's swaddled and awake. He does sleep much better when swaddled though.

My concern about straight up nursing him to sleep is gas. I'm worried he'll wake up really uncomfortable from not being burped. Should I stop worrying so much about that?

Neither of my kids ever needed burping, even DS who is bottle fed since 5 weeks old

[curbsideprophet]

May 5, 2015 23:00:34 GMT -5 isabel said:

May 5, 2015 22:57:29 GMT -5 curbsideprophet said:

Are you swaddling? For night time I would combine swaddling, darkness and white noise. Will he fall asleep while eating? I nursed to sleep at that age.

We do swaddle, but sometimes I take him out of it. He's not a fan when he's swaddled and awake. He does sleep much better when swaddled though.

My concern about straight up nursing him to sleep is gas. I'm worried he'll wake up really uncomfortable from not being burped. Should I stop worrying so much about that?

I would not worry about it unless it seems like an issue, then you can reevaluate.

[Deleted]

I also wouldn't over worry about the gas issue until it is. DD never had that problem. DS did sometimes. It was never a big enough deal to stop the nursing to sleep. A couple bicycle legs or some gas drops and we were good.

I also agree with the "just go with it." DD was one of those up for hours sort of kids but then would pass out 8 hours at a time once she did..lol. You just never know. DS was downright awful at falling asleep and needed to. I honestly wore him a lot and went about my day. I also put him the stroller and took some of the longest walks ever. At that age I remember posting about going to Walgreens and the grocery store on errands at 3am because he was wide awake but wanted to sleep and he liked the movement between the car and carrier. Do what you have to do. I eventually started laying DS down on his own to see and he sort of learned to put himself to sleep. I didn't get him unless he was full on crying. He sort of liked to whine/fuss/notreallycrybutmakenoise himself to sleep.

Neither of my kids liked the swaddle but they did like white noise, the projector that put images on the ceiling and a fairly cool room.

Also maybe play with different places he likes to sleep? DD was a crib and crib only sort of kid. DS would still be sleeping in his swing I swear if he didn't outgrow it. He also had a thing about sleeping on a light blanket on the floor for awhile (I think he liked the texture of my carpet against his cheek or something). I had a nephew who only felt safe in a RNP.

[karinothing]

The only way I got my kid to sleep for the first 6 months was to nurse him until he passed out.

[thebreakfastclub]

I wonder if the swaddle is tight enough. We had to switch to Halo swaddle sacks with a velcro closure to get it tight enough. Our combo was pacifier, white noise and ceiling fan, with swaddle. I am still doing everything but the swaddle 2 years later.

[isabel]

May 6, 2015 5:47:14 GMT -5 @vicmo said:

Watch Happiest Baby on the Block. Apply 1-5 of the S's.

A friend gave this to me and I completely forgot! I'll watch it today.

[isabel]

May 6, 2015 6:02:29 GMT -5 @justdairy said:

I also wouldn't over worry about the gas issue until it is. DD never had that problem. DS did sometimes. It was never a big enough deal to stop the nursing to sleep. A couple bicycle legs or some gas drops and we were good.

I also agree with the "just go with it." DD was one of those up for hours sort of kids but then would pass out 8 hours at a time once she did..lol. You just never know. DS was downright awful at falling asleep and needed to. I honestly wore him a lot and went about my day. I also put him the stroller and took some of the longest walks ever. At that age I remember posting about going to Walgreens and the grocery store on errands at 3am because he was wide awake but wanted to sleep and he liked the movement between the car and carrier. Do what you have to do. I eventually started laying DS down on his own to see and he sort of learned to put himself to sleep. I didn't get him unless he was full on crying. He sort of liked to whine/fuss/notreallycrybutmakenoise himself to sleep.

Neither of my kids liked the swaddle but they did like white noise, the projector that put images on the ceiling and a fairly cool room.

Also maybe play with different places he likes to sleep? DD was a crib and crib only sort of kid. DS would still be sleeping in his swing I swear if he didn't outgrow it. He also had a thing about sleeping on a light blanket on the floor for awhile (I think he liked the texture of my carpet against his cheek or something). I had a nephew who only felt safe in a RNP.

Tell me more about this projector. He likes the TV. I'm probably setting my kid up for too much screen time already. Lol

[isabel]

May 6, 2015 6:23:31 GMT -5 thebreakfastclub said:

I wonder if the swaddle is tight enough. We had to switch to Halo swaddle sacks with a velcro closure to get it tight enough. Our combo was pacifier, white noise and ceiling fan, with swaddle. I am still doing everything but the swaddle 2 years later.

We used a Velcro one last night. I really do think it's tight enough, but the kid is so damn strong. He can't usually get out of the Velcro ones, but he definitely loosens them and ends up being able to move his arms quite a bit.

[Deleted]

May 6, 2015 8:02:31 GMT -5 isabel said:

May 6, 2015 6:02:29 GMT -5 @justdairy said:

I also wouldn't over worry about the gas issue until it is. DD never had that problem. DS did sometimes. It was never a big enough deal to stop the nursing to sleep. A couple bicycle legs or some gas drops and we were good.

I also agree with the "just go with it." DD was one of those up for hours sort of kids but then would pass out 8 hours at a time once she did..lol. You just never know. DS was downright awful at falling asleep and needed to. I honestly wore him a lot and went about my day. I also put him the stroller and took some of the longest walks ever. At that age I remember posting about going to Walgreens and the grocery store on errands at 3am because he was wide awake but wanted to sleep and he liked the movement between the car and carrier. Do what you have to do. I eventually started laying DS down on his own to see and he sort of learned to put himself to sleep. I didn't get him unless he was full on crying. He sort of liked to whine/fuss/notreallycrybutmakenoise himself to sleep.

Neither of my kids liked the swaddle but they did like white noise, the projector that put images on the ceiling and a fairly cool room.

Also maybe play with different places he likes to sleep? DD was a crib and crib only sort of kid. DS would still be sleeping in his swing I swear if he didn't outgrow it. He also had a thing about sleeping on a light blanket on the floor for awhile (I think he liked the texture of my carpet against his cheek or something). I had a nephew who only felt safe in a RNP.

Tell me more about this projector. He likes the TV. I'm probably setting my kid up for too much screen time already. Lol

Go to Amazon and look up the Homedics sound spa for babies. It has 4 sound options, a timer and a projector that displays either cows, rainforest animals, sheep and sea creatures depending on which mini disc you pop in. Both of my kids loved that thing. So much so that DD wouldn't give hers up so we had two for awhile. The reviews say it does stop working after awhileand I'd agree, but it still a good value for the $16.99 and worth every penny for my sanity. It has saved me more than once. DDs worked until this past winter and she's almost 4...lol..so it wasn't like it only lasted 6 months or something either. I mean it was on hours a day there for awhile.

My older DD loves her screen time, FWIW. She finds it calming. We're still alive.  

[lynn07]

Miracle Blanket. Best thing ever for escape artists who need a tight swaddle. Which has happened to be all three of mine!

[isabel]

To Amazon I go. You guys are the best.