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MarieC
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| Posted: July 20 2006 at 9:43pm | IP Logged
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I'm looking for advice: our little guy has given up good sleeping over the past month. He'll be 3 months old on Monday the 24th and really good naps seem to be a thing of the past.  I've struggled with naps with all of my children but never this early (I don't think I notice their sleepiness cues very well).
Each baby at our house has been in a sling more than the one before him/her. My other babies all napped lying down. This little guy has always napped in a sling (wrap style) and is the first to share our bed with us  ; however, I'm beginning to wonder if the sling is at the root of the poor napping. He'll go to sleep fairly easily but then wake up 30-40 min. later. I know some children just don't need a lot of sleep but that doesn't seem to be his case. He's not happy a lot of the time and his nighttime sleep isn't as good as it once was.
Each of my children has become a good napper at a year but it is discouraging to think about 9 more months of this...I don't see how we'll get our school work done with a constantly grumpy baby nor do I think it's fair to him to have him be feeling tired.
Any suggestions??
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Marie
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mrsgranola
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| Posted: July 20 2006 at 10:14pm | IP Logged
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Marie, I can brainstorm a few things:
Teething?
Dairy sensitivity making him uncomfortable?
Some would consider chiropractic treatment for possible bad alignment from birth
Not getting enough hindmilk? So is hungry/restless and wakes?
Just a few jumbled ideas... I'll be praying for you both tonight!
JoAnna
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Rebecca
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| Posted: July 20 2006 at 10:21pm | IP Logged
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mrsgranola wrote:
Dairy sensitivity making him uncomfortable?
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That's the one I thought of also. Dairy intolerance was my oldest's problem and he was very much like your son, only napped in the sling. When I layed him down, he woke up within a half hour or so, usually right away. The dairy intolerance sometimes does not show up until around two or three months old.
For some reason, my son was comforted by the Homeopathic remedy, Pulsatilla. We bought a lot of it for him in his first couple of years. A few months after eliminating the dairy from my diet, he slept much better. The pulsatilla made the daytime much more peaceful.
I'll be praying too!
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Dawnie
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| Posted: July 20 2006 at 11:15pm | IP Logged
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Marie,
Does he wake up after you put him down, or while still in the sling?
My youngest baby has not napped as consistently or as long as my other two children have. During her first year of life, I homeschooled a lot w/ her latched on & napping in my arms. This meant that we did a lot less hands-on stuff and art projects, but we did cover the basics. I was homeschooling a kindergartner at the time. We were living in a small starter home, and I homeschooled a lot from the couch!
We recently moved, and one thing that has helped me to take care of a nursing baby/toddler is that I moved a comfy rocking chair into our school room so that I can nurse comfortably and still provide guidance/answer questions/read aloud. The other suggestions are great, but if your baby is still not napping well, would homeschooling w/ him napping & nursing in your arms work?
Good luck, and I hope you can find a way to help your little guy rest comfortably soon!
Dawn
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Bridget
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| Posted: July 21 2006 at 7:17am | IP Logged
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Marie,
I never got the hang of slinging, but I LOVE to rock my babies to sleep. However they don't sleep very long if I hold them. They need to be laid down to sleep in their crib where they have at least a little quiet. Mine like to sprawl out, even the little babies. It's funny.
I think a full sleep cycle is about an hour and a half. I don't know if that is the same for babies but that is what mine seem to need for a nap to be rested and happy.
Keep trying if you want him to nap in the sling. You and he will figure out what works for you two.
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ALmom
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| Posted: July 21 2006 at 9:41am | IP Logged
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I had a terrible time getting any of mine to sleep. I really began to wonder about what we were doing wrong as my sis and everyone else I knew could rock, carry or whatever their dc to sleep and then lay them down in a bed or a crib. Well my dc woke up just as soon as I put them down. It was very tiring and frustrating. I am not very coordinated so it was very hard for me to do anything during that time.
Well, sis ended up with one child that didn't sleep (her 10th) and I ended up with one that did (my 6th) and there was no difference in our particular patterns of doing things with these particular dc as compared to our others.
I can now conclude that most of my dc were very, very motion sensitive. So, could it be that your dc is sensing the change in position and waking up? If the dc is falling asleep curled up in the sling, is there a way to keep the sling snug around the baby as you put them down? Mine were too sensitive to be moved at all, so we ended up driving around the block and then bringing the whole carseat in (only my dh could transfer the dc with enough smoothness not to wake her)
My sis who had one motion sensitive child just had to make sure that hers went to sleep in the crib so that she didn't have to be moved. Unfortunately, that didn't work with mine - they just wouldn't give up and sleep as they were too afraid of missing something - but would fall asleep in the midst of chaos. We actually found that for one child, things were too quiet and we started playing music or tapes of household noise for her.  Wish we had found that out earlier, it would have made life tons easier!
I'll say a little prayer that you find the sleep solution for your dc as it is so difficult with a child that just isn't sleeping as they should.
Janet
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Meredith
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| Posted: July 21 2006 at 11:22am | IP Logged
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Marie, I did alot of what Dawnie did for our full year last year when my 4th ds was born. It was a little harder but he slept pretty well most of the time in the sling. I have since transitioned him to nursing down to sleep and then I'll put him in his crib either upstaris in our MB or in the school room portable crib if everyone is working quietly. He's now napping very well (1/2 - 1 hr) at a time.
I can definately relate to your concern and frustration as each child can present their own sort of sleep "issues" at different times. For me as our family has grown, the naps seem to have gotten reduced to "we'll take anything we can get from them" This goes for my naps too 
Blessings and wishing you a restful weekend.
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Angie Mc
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| Posted: July 21 2006 at 1:18pm | IP Logged
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MarieC wrote:
Each of my children has become a good napper at a year but it is discouraging to think about 9 more months of this...I don't see how we'll get our school work done with a constantly grumpy baby nor do I think it's fair to him to have him be feeling tired.
Any suggestions?? |
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Hey Marie,
I'm with you. Naps are the glue that hold this family together! I'm also with Meredith and Dawn. My babies sleep a lot in the sling for some time. In their first months I really try to nap each day with them, nursing them to sleep in my bed. Eventually, I'm not as tired and they are consolidating their sleep so I am able to sneak out of bed, leaving them sleeping. This has worked for us but if it didn't, I would make gently getting the baby and everyone else sleep, a priority. Here more than you want to know about how much I dig sleep. Praying you find just the right fit for you and your family.
Love,
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Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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MarieC
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| Posted: July 23 2006 at 3:48pm | IP Logged
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Thank you so much for your kind words and encouragement. Thank you most of all for your prayers. I got some much needed "friend therapy" on Fri. and Baby slept some. Yesterday wasn't too good but today has been sooooo much better.
I would like to respond to each of you (actually did yesterday but lost the post  ) but my little guy is fast asleep in my arms and I' not a great one handed typer.
Thanks, thanks, thanks!
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Lisbet
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| Posted: July 24 2006 at 4:04pm | IP Logged
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Marie,
I'm glad you got some support. I wanted to encourage you a bit also. My babies have all been sling babies too, each one a little more than the last, like you said. The last 2 and the current one being the in it the most. I generally just let them nap there off and on all day long, take them out to nurse, burp, change, and then back in they go to nap. I think one of the 'problems' moms run into with slings and napping is that they either put baby in when s/he is grumpy tired, or they take them out once they are sleeping. In my experience, this tends to tick baby off! :) They come to have a kind of love/hate relationship with the sling.
~"it's comfy cozy close to mom, but as soon as I doze off, she's popping me outta here..." Or "I know if I wake up and fuss, mom will put me back in..."
Okay, so I don't really think that their train of thought is that elaborate, but I do think they know what they like and they will let you know what they like!
Think of the sling as more than just something to soothe and comfort baby, or as a way to get baby to sleep, or as a way to get baby from point A to point B. Think of it more as where your little guy is for now. As an extension of the womb, where he was fed, cradled, and slept whenever he wanted, snug and cozy with you. It's not so much as a convient way to transport baby as it is a way of mothering baby right now.
I see your using a wrap carrier, have you learned back carries yet? 3 months is a good age to get him snug on your back. You can homeschool, read, eat, nearly anything with him right in the mix that way. When he's awake, he's right in on the action with the rest of the family, and when he get's overstimulated and sleepy, he can snuggle right into your neck or back and drift away.
I have mothered my last 3 babies this way, and after prayer and the Sacraments, it's truely what has kept my sanity in tact! 
I hope this helps, if you have any questions, pm me! :)
~Lisa, who has baby girl on her back and toddler nappin on her lap as we type! :)
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Meredith
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| Posted: July 24 2006 at 5:04pm | IP Logged
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Lisa, your post certainly helped me  My littlest is now 15 months (how did that happen so fast ) and he's not too big to sling or wrap, I just seem to forget, and he really does like it when I put him in. Are you still using a sling/wrap with your toddler when necessary??
Thanks for your thoughtful and loving post!!
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MarieC
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| Posted: July 24 2006 at 6:07pm | IP Logged
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Oh, Lisbet....I'm so glad you responded. Ever since I saw your sling presentation at the mom's night last spring I knew I wanted to mother this way (wasn't even pregnant!). When things started to unravel this last month I really started to panic a bit. I didn't know how I could meet everyone's needs if I was spending all day with a fussy guy.
Lisbet wrote:
| I generally just let them nap there off and on all day long, take them out to nurse, burp, change, and then back in they go to nap. I think one of the 'problems' moms run into with slings and napping is that they either put baby in when s/he is grumpy tired, or they take them out once they are sleeping. In my experience, this tends to tick baby off! :) They come to have a kind of love/hate relationship with the sling. |
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This is just the problem I think I've developed. When Alex hit about 2 months I started keeping him out of the sling more because the sibs wanted to hold him and he just seemed so alert and wanting to check out his surroundings...the position I was wrapping him in didn't allow him to see much.
Lisbet wrote:
| Think of the sling as more than just something to soothe and comfort baby, or as a way to get baby to sleep, or as a way to get baby from point A to point B. Think of it more as where your little guy is for now. As an extension of the womb, where he was fed, cradled, and slept whenever he wanted, snug and cozy with you. It's not so much as a convient way to transport baby as it is a way of mothering baby right now. |
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At about that same 2 month mark Alex got waaaaay overtired. We had some late nights out followed by two out of town days with lots of driving (hates the carseat and doesn't sleep). In looking back I fell into some old habits of trying to schedule sleep just to get him rested again. Should have just mothered him.
Lisbet wrote:
| I see your using a wrap carrier, have you learned back carries yet? |
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Nope, wanna show me?! I've tried a few times but I'm a big ole scaredy cat!
Thanks for all the advice...I REALLY appreciate it.
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Marie
mom to 6
dds-98, 00, 02 and 09 & dss-03 and 06
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: Advice Needed on Napping/Sleeping
