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Behaviour/development

6mo won't settle in wide expanse of cot, just squashed into her carrycot ... Suggestions?

7 replies

Chestnut99 · 02/03/2013 00:05

My DD has been in her cot for a while but has slowly become more and more difficult to settle and we have had a couple of weeks now of her waking every 30 mins across 3 or 4 hours in the middle of the night. I have finally worked out that she doesn't like the unrestricted freedom of the cot - she settles to sleep almost instantly when I put her down in her carrycot (either on the pram base or detached on its own) which is basically a bit of a squash now, at nearly 6 mo. The last few nights, we have started to put her into the carrycot in her cot when the unsettled phase has begun, just to get some sleep, but I am conscious that the mattress is not suitable for use as her main bed. Plus she is going to be too big for it very soon.

Any suggestions for how to make the cot narrower and more snug for her? I wondered about rolling a pillow up in a sheet to make a sort of sausage that I can put down the length of the cot on one side, tucking the ends in securely under the mattress. Or maybe a positioner? I saw the Sleepyhead bed guard on the John Lewis website, but she's probably too big for it already.

Any thoughts would be very welcome. The nights where we are up every half hour are just exhausting.

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ExBrightonBell · 02/03/2013 01:46

Do you put her in a sleeping bag? That might help her feel more contained when in the big cot.

We used the Sleepyhead for our ds when he was under 6 months but he is now too big for it really. Although you can unclip it at the foot end so that their feet can go beyond the end, which might help. I would add though that you only get one cover for the Sleepyhead, and we had to order spares direct from the manufacturer in Sweden (not cheap!). It was brill whilst he was little and in our bedside cot as he also liked to feel snug. Using sleeping bags definitely helped the transition to the big cot.

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EMS23 · 02/03/2013 01:49

I use/ used rolled up towels for both my DD's.

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robyn2 · 02/03/2013 13:44

Just got over a similar problem re: the big cot. For us weve put her in a grow bag, they are brilliant things. I also have a lovely soft blanket which i cuddle her in and she snuggles up in all the time. I lay her on top of it. It goes over the baby pillow in the cot as she will not sleep totally flat. I also have to put her to one side of the cot but I also put rolled up towel each side for support (touching shoulder down to her feet) Guess its just about making them feel snug and secure and safe.

Hope your baby gets used to the cot soon.

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Debs3013 · 02/03/2013 16:44

She may like the Sleepyhead but at six months, it's not going to last long. My ds loved his but he's now six months and I've just sold ours as he'd had enough of it but then he was the opposite to your lo as he's started sleeping with his arms outstretched, so likes the vast space of his cot bed.
I sold ours on ebay and there were other second hand ones, so that may be an option rather than forking out ninety quid. Replacement covers are also now sold on ebay, although I only ever had the one.
I loved the Sleepyhead when nipper was very small, saved my sanity!

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Chestnut99 · 02/03/2013 23:59

Thanks all Thanks
We do already use a sleeping bag, but I will try rolled up towels on each side of her which should make her feel more snug. Do you put them under the sheet, or just beside the baby?

I think also she likes to feel the top of the cot on her head, so I'll try putting her higher in the cot - with a sleeping bag on, she can't get stuck under her bedding so I think that should be safe enough?

Last night she woke for a feed at about 2am, settled in my arms, went back down into the carrycot and slept on through till morning - the first time in a couple of months that she's settled so easily or slept so well. It makes me nervous about putting her down anywhere but in the carrycot but I am also conscious that we need to solve this!

Thanks again for the support and suggestions.

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WickWackThurso · 03/03/2013 00:02

I used to put dd in the other way on, iyswim?

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MamaBear17 · 03/03/2013 08:41

I put a pillow underneath the mattress cover and two rolled up blankets either side of DD (also underneath the mattress cover) She had been used to being swaddled so liked the security! I figured that she couldnt pull the blanket or pillow onto her head if it was safely tucked under the sheet.

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