Bad sleep habits vs surviving??

[anaps28]

This was DS1. We would rock and rock and rock and then wait and then transfer for bedtime but wait like 10 minutes.He would stay asleep for a few hours though. We waited till around 8 months to CIO.
Will he cry if you transfer to the RNP?

[Deleted]

ds is like this too. He wants to be held alllll day long. He does a little better in the Merlin suit though. It's supposed to make them feel cuddled. Have you tried it? Also, my h is more successful than I am at putting him down. Once he puts him in, he will lightly lay a hand on his chest for a minute or 2 so he feels some weight there like as if we are holding him.

I wouldn't let him sleep in the car seat at night because I read that the incline can be bad for breathing and they can get caught up in the straps or something if it's not tight.

Also, does he still poop a lot? ds still poops almost every diaper and I was thinking it might be one of the reasons why he still doesn't sleep for longer periods.

[noodleoo]

Ugh, that sounds so rough. Will a swing work? We let DD sleep in the swing a few nights because nothing else worked and we needed sleep. I know you probably aren't supposed to, but desperate times. I think I would try to avoid the car crutch if you can just because that sounds like a huge PITA. And I've heard the car seat is risky for sleeping. But honestly, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

[ijack]

I'd do whatever you can to sleep now and deal with the rest later.
Just throwing this out there - I had a friend with a similar situation and around 5 months she went to a chiropractor as a last ditch effort and her baby that would never sleep became a happy, sleeping baby. It was a special baby chiro, but she swears by it.

[kershnic]

You're still in the survival is okay zone. But I worry a lot about driving to get baby to sleep - parents are at very very high risk of falling asleep behind the wheel when they do this. And I'm sure you know that letting him continue to sleep in the carseat is quite controversial. We definitely did it, but the idea of it being an everyday overnight sleep option while adults are sleeping too makes me really nervous.

Have you tried RNP? Swing? Do you swaddle? Or other types of swaddle-like comfort? Is your H taking some of the overnight wake ups?

[undecidedowl]

I'm all about survival, but I would try to find something that didn't involve driving while exhausted. Co-sleeping is what worked best for us.

[rugbywife]

DO IT.

I barely co-slept with E, she didn't need it and frankly, after a while, she hated it.

P was totally different. I was really worried it would become a habit but it hasn't, now, at 11 months old, he sleeps in his crib. But for about 4-5 months it was the only way I could sleep. It was worth it.

[patbutcher]

We had a lot of issues where the second we tried to transfer dd, she woke up. She napped on me for the first 6 months because of this and we put her down for the night the same way, we waited like an hour with her in our arms before we transferred and held our breath.

Rock n play not working? How about a swing?

Another thing I did was put her in the pack n play top level and just help my hand on her the whole night. Super uncomfortable but it got her to sleep. Tbh from 3-6 months I also co slept the second stretch as it was the only way to get her down again.

[dochas]

Apr 28, 2016 12:15:47 GMT -5 gravytrain225 said:

Sorry I haven't been around as much everyone! I'm back at work and am really busy here. My evenings are pretty full with a crazy 2 year old and a screaming baby.

The above screaming baby also doesn't like to fall asleep. He'll fall asleep for 10 minutes, and the second we go to transfer him he's screaming. The past 3 nights I've driven him around for 15 minutes at around 11/1130 to finally get him to sleep. Then I let him sleep in the car seat until he wakes up next to eat (which is still every 2 hours or so....)

Is this okay to be doing now, at close to 3 months old? Or do I really need to nip it in the bud now and try to figure out something else?

Hannah was one of those babies who slept through the night basically from day 1. She also still wakes up super ridiculously early, so by the time Nick is finally asleep and the time Hannah is up for the day, I am so tired.

My son also could not be moved when he fell asleep, he would even wake up if the car stopped moving. He slept swaddled in a swing with white noise until he was 8 months old. I vote whatever you have to do to get him to sleep now. He also only slept for 2 hours at a time all night long and I would have done absolutely anything to get him to shut up and sleep. It didn't ruin him. He still uses white noise (as does almost every adult I know) but goes to bed and stays there until morning.

[dochas]

Just to add - his position in the swing was more like being on his back. I would not have let him sleep in the car seat or a bouncy/vibrating chair because they allowed his head to fall forward. It didn't happen with the car seat was IN the car, but it did if he was sitting in it on the floor.

[loreleigilmore]

Do you have a rock n play? That saved my life with baby 3. He wanted to be held all night but the rock n play was acceptable for several hours.

[wanderingenough]

Something to note on the car seat breathing thing, I remember someone telling me that the car seat issues were less risky if you put the car seat into the stroller attachment when you take out of the car because it keeps it in the proper position or something. I'm sure someone more knowledgeable about car seats could chime in as to whether that's correct though.

[soozy87]

I think you are still in do what it takes to get through it mode.

[nachos]

Survival.

DS was my first who needed to sleep on me. My older two hated it, but this one had to do it. For the first three months, he slept on me all the time. I could occasionally get him to sleep in a bassinet right next to the bed, with my hand on him.

When he had his worst regression (about a month ago), he would only sleep right next to me... so that's what I did to get through.

Now that's passed, and he's finally decided that naps in his crib are acceptable! I tried CIO and it didn't work for us; it amped him up so much that he was inconsolable and would end up vomiting at some point.

Bottom line: do what you have to do right now, but be safe. Don't drive when tired, try co-sleeping (even sitting in a recliner with baby on yous chest would work). It's too early to worry about bad habits. You've got this.

[Blue Moon]

I would do whatever it takes to get sleep as long as it's safe. I think you are still in survival mode.