Moving after nursing- tips?

[penstamon]

We just set up the arm's reach and are trying to get ds to sleep in it for as much of the night as possible. We tend to wake each other up when he sleeps up against me after nursing, so I have been trying to scoot him a little/move myself away to keep him in a safer quieter place anyway. However, after nursing (side-lying), he gets sooooo upset at being moved. It took a good hour last night after the first feeding to get him back to sleep in the cosleeper. After that he spent the rest of the night in bed out of sheer exhaustion on our parts- and he woke up a lot. I try to wait awhile after nursing to move him, but I usually drift back to sleep and often he still wakes.

Any thoughts on how we could move him into the cosleeper with less fuss? I understand it will probably be a process...

[sunshynbaby]

I would wait until he is in a deep sleep (limp limbs), and gently move him. Leave your hand on his chest for a minute so he doesn't have an shocking loss of warmth from your previous body contact. It might also help to swaddle him at this point. HTH!

[Llyra]

Swaddling, even with an older baby, can really help with making the transition from breast to being put down or moved. We struggled with this with DS, because after nursing him I often had to move him so that I could take care of DD2 (they're twins.)

We swaddled, for a lot longer than people normally swaddle. You may need to experiment with larger blankets or with special swaddlers like the Miracle Blanket, if baby is able to break out of an ordinary swaddle.

We also used to set up the spot where we wanted to put him with rolled up blankets, and we'd lay him on slightly up on his side and put rolled up blankets behind him and by his belly, so that he still felt "held". You can duct tape the blankets so that they don't come unrolled. It helps to have a heating pad to warm the spot before you move him, too, so that he's not being put down on a cold surface. That can be startling.

For a long time, I used to actually climb into the side-carred crib and side-lying nurse him to sleep there, and then it would be ME that had to move, not him, and that worked nicely, but sometimes I'd go and fall asleep in there, and then I'd have terrible aches in my hips from sleeping in a scrunched space.

And with an arm's reach, I think it's probably too small for an adult to fit, right?

Have you ever tried a pacifier? If he'll take one, that can really help with the transition to moving to his own space. If he wakes up and fusses as he's being moved, you can pop that in. But some kids won't take them-- my DDs both did, and hence were easy to move once they fell asleep, but DS refused to take one.

I think you just have to keep trying. Very often, it takes awhile for baby to get used to the new way of doing things, when you're making changes to sleep routines.

[penstamon]

These are all great suggestions, thanks! He does take a paci, but rarely- only Soothies and they are getting too small. I wish I could fit safely in the arm's reach, but the weight limit is around 35lbs. I've been trying to stay awake so that he is in a deep sleep, but then I fall asleep too Last night we tried a "nature sounds" CD to help transition and it seemed to work once- although I don't know how quick because I was asleep within minutes!

DS has hated swaddling since week 2. He does not like arms or legs to be restricted- he sleeps as if making a snow angel, kwim? This was once reason for moving him; the kid loves his space. I think the body warmth is a factor, so maybe I will try the heating pad idea.

[Llyra]

Originally Posted by penstamon

These are all great suggestions, thanks! He does take a paci, but rarely- only Soothies and they are getting too small. I wish I could fit safely in the arm's reach, but the weight limit is around 35lbs. I've been trying to stay awake so that he is in a deep sleep, but then I fall asleep too Last night we tried a "nature sounds" CD to help transition and it seemed to work once- although I don't know how quick because I was asleep within minutes!

DS has hated swaddling since week 2. He does not like arms or legs to be restricted- he sleeps as if making a snow angel, kwim? This was once reason for moving him; the kid loves his space. I think the body warmth is a factor, so maybe I will try the heating pad idea.

If you do use a heating pad, make sure you remove it before you go back to sleep or leave baby unattended. This is common sense, of course, but I thought I'd mention it. Those get really hot, even on the lowest setting, and you don't want baby overheating.

I remember being told about the limp-deep sleep, and that you can move them then, but DS always woke up even when he was OUT COLD, if I tried to move him. For a long time, when we got past the me-climbing-into-the-sidecar routine (when I got tired of my achy hips), I threw a twin mattress on the floor in my room. I'd nurse him to sleep in my bed, then I myself would go sleep on the twin. I'd have to get up and go back to him when he woke, but he'd wake much less often with me away from him.