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teachingmyown
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| Posted: Aug 07 2008 at 3:38pm | IP Logged
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I have two separate sleep issues going on right now that I am hoping to get some help with.
The first is with the baby, 7.5 months. Up until recently, he would nurse to sleep and then nap in his infant car seat. He would nap for up to an hour, usually 30 minutes or so. Now he only sleeps a few minutes there. If I lie down with him in my bed and then sneak away he might sleep 30 minutes. Usually not. I am thinking that he might actually sleep if I put him in a crib on his tummy. But then I would worry the whole time. I am desperately afraid of SIDS. My two year old slept on her tummy and was a great sleeper.
So, how do your babies sleep? What techniques are there for getting a longer nap out of them? I do wear him in the sling sometimes, but this Virginia humidity makes all close contact miserable!!!
The next issue is with my almost 5 yr old. This child cannot settle down while she is asleep. She thrashes around all night. Most nights she ends up with us in our bed,where we already have the baby. I wouldn't mind her being there, but she is just so hard to sleep with. She ends up kicking dh in the head while head butting me or the baby. Often she ends up on the floor. She has a toddler bed at the end of our bed and in her room she sleeps with sisters 8 and 6.
What can I do to settle her body down? She is always exhausted and ends up wanting to sleep late. She seems to really pass out around 6am. By that point we are all worn out!
Thanks for any and all advice, ideas and sympathy. 
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In Christ,
Molly
wife to Court & mom to ds '91, dd '96, ds '97, dds '99, '01, '03, '06, and dss '07 and 01/20/11
Remembering Today
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doris
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| Posted: Aug 07 2008 at 4:49pm | IP Logged
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Much sympathy with any and all sleep issues!
How about a dummy (pacifier)? I know it's probably late to introduce one but my son sleeps like a log with his dummy in. Also, I've heard that babies go into another sleep cycle after 30-40 minutes so if you can get your baby back to sleep after he wakes up, he might stay asleep for longer.
How about putting him down for a nap in his cot? My baby is now too big for his car seat -- maybe yours is getting hot/uncomfy (ours was very synthetic and made him sweat like mad). He sleeps beautifully on a sheepskin (amazingly, it keeps him cool) -- but i know that some people have concerns about sheepskins and SIDS.
Personally, I would be reluctant to put him down on his tummy -- my baby seems to be wanting to do that, but I'm also too scared to do that. I know some mums do. It's just a personal decision.
No ideas for your 5yo I'm afraid -- I'm sure others will chime in!
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Home educating in London, UK with dd (2000) ds (2002), dd (2004), ds (2008) and dd (2011).
Frabjous Days
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teachingmyown
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| Posted: Aug 07 2008 at 5:25pm | IP Logged
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He is big for the car seat. He seemed to like the coziness of it. Not so much now, I guess. He never really took to the pacifier. I think perhaps if I just put him down when he was really tired and let him cry a little while he would go to sleep. I am just such a pushover for a crying baby.
FWIW, when my oldest was born, no one would have dreamed of putting a baby to sleep on his back. 
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In Christ,
Molly
wife to Court & mom to ds '91, dd '96, ds '97, dds '99, '01, '03, '06, and dss '07 and 01/20/11
Remembering Today
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jdostalik
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| Posted: Aug 07 2008 at 6:05pm | IP Logged
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Molly,
If it's any consolation, I was in the same place as you with my little one this time last year. I have noticed a pattern with my babies...they begin having trouble napping and become terrible sleepers from about 6 months to about 8 months or so...
They are more easily awakened and have gotten to big to go in the swing or car seat, and they don't like it when I try to nurse in bed and sneak away--they would wake up after 5 or 10 minutes. I think it's just a stage--that they have to mature a little bit in their sleep patterns and learn to put themselves back to sleep when they begin to awake. I have never let my little ones cry it out, I have just toughed it out and tried to nap and go to sleep when they did--we kind of shadow each other for these tough months. Usually, around 9 months, this problem miraculously disappears and all is well--and I enjoy the freedom of being able to read to the kiddos, sweep the kitchen floor--do all those fun things we can get done only when baby is sleeping....
I do have a dear friend who had the same problem, same age, and she put her baby to sleep on his tummy with a fan nearby to filter out noises--and she started him on a pacifier, too. All three worked wonders for her and he began to take 3 hour naps!! He had been miserably fussy and tired but the combination of noise filtering and sucking and tummy time did the trick...
As far as your five year old goes, no tips...my almost four year old is a terror to sleep with...I know one morning I will wake up with a black eye! 
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Jennifer in TX
wife to Bill, mom to six here on earth and eight in heaven.
Let the Little Ones Come
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guitarnan
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| Posted: Aug 07 2008 at 9:31pm | IP Logged
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Molly,
Some babies just don't nap well, on any schedule or in any bed. My first baby was this way...I charted his naps for months, hoping he'd show me a schedule I could work with. No luck...15 minutes here, 20 minutes there...in the car seat, in a pack and play...it was horrible. My daughter napped well until about 16 months and never napped again. (She will nap now at age 10 if I nap with her...nice but unproductive.)
My dd is my "starfish" child...put her in any bed and she goes for the middle and then stretches out her arms and legs at angles, as far as they can go. Needless to say, this is not good, as she is 10. I occasionally have to redirect her and remind her that she has her own bed and needs to be in it. We bribed her to get her to finally learn to fall asleep on her own (I think it was a bribe involving coveted Big Girl Underwear), and she still reverts sometimes. I have to remind her that only big girls get to do certain things...I try to do this gently and with love, not in a critical way.
It is all exhausting, I know. They will grow out of these stages, but not very quickly...I thought I'd let you know that you aren't alone; this happens to many of us.
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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LisaD
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| Posted: Aug 07 2008 at 9:41pm | IP Logged
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My personal feeling is that once baby can roll over, it's okay to let them sleep on their tummies. None of mine were back-sleepers, but slept with a side-positioner until they could roll over on their own.
My 4 1/2 year-old is also a pretty wild sleeper. He comes into our room most nights, and we have an extra twin next to our bed, but he always ends up between dh and I. My others were pretty wild sleepers, too, but seemed to calm down and stay all night in their own beds by 6 years old. Not very encouraging, I know.
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~Lisa
Mama to dd(99), ds(01), ds(03) and ds(06)
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: Sleep issues
