Advice - Where to Sleep?

[studentmomma]

A bit of background - we co-slept with DD who was, to be frank, a terror at night until 18 months. I never got any sleep and as a result my parenting suffered. We tried Sears, Gordon, Pantley and really nothing worked - eventually I separated myself from her, let DH do the soothing, (I was pregnant and simply couldn't nurse all night any more) and she sleeps *better* now.

I did a very dumb thing and decided that I could do graduate school with a newborn. (DS was born the same night the first class session was held.) Long story short - I'm extra tired and so I went to the old standby of sleep to nurse and my previously good sleeper (until about 2.5 months) is having very frequent night-wakings. I've implemented the gentle sleep approaches that are suitable for babies his age... He's nursing and rocking to sleep after a calm bath around 7 - he sleeps well for a few hours with rocking, then is transferred to crib around 10-12 - depending on how long the next bought of nursing/rocking/walking/etc takes. He was doing OK in the crib (about 3-4 hours - which I'm totally happy with) until a few weeks ago - shorter and shorter amounts of time - and when he wakes he comes into bed with us where he now fidgets all night.

He is sleeping well during the day - 1.5-2 hr naps - in a swing next to my desk. He is nursing well during the day - again, right next to me - so I don't think he's trying to make up for lost calories at night. I am tempted to let him sleep in his swing or something but I know that's not safe - any ideas on a safe compromise?

[3 Star Mom]

Do you swaddle at night? That might help. My Ds is also going through a waking and fidgeting all night stage. He is 6.5mo. and I think he may be giving up the swaddling. But my first liked to be swaddled until she was 9mo. and she was a pretty good sleeper.

Does the swing have a buckle that would make him more secure? I have also slept with my Ds on me in our recliner, not the best sleep but at least it's rest. I try to enjoy the snuggles now as much as I can.

Also if there is any way that you can nap with him please do. I know that it's hard with an older kid.

You will get through.

[studentmomma]

Thanks for the recommendation on swaddling - we do, and it does seem to help.

The swing does have a buckle...

[odoole]

My DS had the same pattern of great sleeping until around 3-4 months then a steady decline. I agree the swing probably isn't safe at night, nit because of the buckle but because the upright position will block the airway a bit with the chin restig on the chest.

We cosleep fulltime now, but back when we were using the crib, I found DS tended to sleep in longer stretches if we put him in the crib from the beginning. It was very tempting to hold him or keep him in bed with me until DH came to bed, but he was much more prone to waking up repeatedly when we did that abrupt environment change in the middle of the night.

I wasn't sure in your post, but it sounds like you hold your baby between 7 and 10 pm when you make the transfer to the crib??

It sounds like you don't want to cosleep, which is fine, but I think in order for the crib to work, the baby should fall asleep in the crib if possible. As they get older, they become more and more aware of their environment (and their preferences) and changing locations becomes very disruptive. At least that has been my experience.

[sosurreal09]

please dont have hi sleep in the swing. its too dangerous. its the same as a car seat babies die all the time sleeping more than a couple of hours in them!

read the babywhisperer or go to babywhisper.com they can help you there

[momma-z]

Babies die all the time in car seats??? I've never heard that. Please explain. I frequently visit my mom 3.5 hours away and my DS usually sleeps most of the trip. I thought this was a good thing, but now I'm worried. Can you please tell me where this info is from?

[Rowansmama]

Originally Posted by momma-z

Babies die all the time in car seats??? I've never heard that. Please explain. I frequently visit my mom 3.5 hours away and my DS usually sleeps most of the trip. I thought this was a good thing, but now I'm worried. Can you please tell me where this info is from?

I think "die all the time" is a slight exaggeration, but this is referring to the infant "bucket" seats. There have been baby deaths related to infants sleeping in the seats for a long period of time, due to the position the baby is in while in the seat. The recommendation is to take the baby out of the infant carrier every 1.5 hours if you're travelling long distances. This does NOT refer to regular car seats, just the infant bucket. This is what was told to me by my doctor and the hospital when I left with both my babies.