DD1 rubbing eyes/front of face - what does it mean?

[hbmummy]

She does this sometimes when she is awake - sign of sleepiness?

Also in mid sleep - she gives a small cry, rub her eyes/front of face (not mouth) and after a few cries and rubbing, goes back to sleep with some assistance (eg gentle rocking of the cot).

Is she frustrated about something or is she dreaming?

[Weegle]

How old?

My DS (19mo) rubs his eyes when he is tired but he rubs his face and also sometimes that includes his eyes when he is teething. Been like this since he's had the coordination. He never actually rubs his mouth area.

[belgo]

sign of tiredness, very simple. And also normal during sleep.

[hbmummy]

Also to add - DD1 does not have a deep sleep. Most of the time, she will gives out a cry/mosn/whinge/grisle every hour during sleep (she does not not sleep longer than 2 to 2.5 hours).

She does go back to sleep, but that is with me or DH sitting next to her, rocking the cot or putting a palm on her chest.

With such short sleeping cycle and the comforting in between, neither DH or myself are getting much sleep. Any advice?

[colditz]

Tiredness. She does it in her sleep because she has actually nearly woken up, realised she is still tired, and started rubbing

[hbmummy]

DD1 turning 7 coming Thursday. Too young to be teething. Reckon it is tiredness, but why in sleep too?

[colditz]

You got a moses basket? Put it in the bed next to you. Then you can just put your hand on her without even waking up properly. I had to do this with ds2.

[colditz]

If you mean 7 weeks, her sleep cycle is only about 50 minutes long, so she will nearly wake up and the end of it. It's normal and will stop happening as she gets older

[hbmummy]

Colditz - we started putting DD1 in another room at 5 weeks. She is too noisy during sleep, and everytime she makes a noise, DH or myself will jump. We cant sleep properly because we keep thinking - is this the cry that she will be awake and need a feed.

DH will walk back and forth between the rooms to attend to her. Sometimes if she needs too much comforting, DH will sit in the cot next to her and let me have a sleep in the room next door. However, DH travels a lot for work, and is due to travel few days each work in the next 3 consecutive weeks. Not sure how to handle this.

[colditz]

well, to be honest, the reason she keeps demanding your presence is because she is 7 weeks old and she needs it. You may have put her in a different room to get more sleep but it's not working, and you don't seem to be getting any more sleep than if she was in the room, so why don't you try having her closer? It was the only think that worked with ds2, he just needed me there, physically. It is a need he had, not fussiness or spoilt behavior. maybe your baby is similar?

[hbmummy]

Colditz - We will give this a try (sleeping in the same room as DD1) again this evening.

When you said DS2 requiring your presence - does it mean just being in the same room or do you have to rock him/pat/comfort him too?

Just wondering if baby can sub-consciously hear/feel the parents in the room.

[colditz]

At 7 weeks old she can smell you, so she knows if you are there or not, and the sound of your breathing certainly helps to regulate hers. He needed me to be in the same room, and if he woke and I was there with my hand on him immediately, he would settle instantly, but if I took a while to get to him, it would take ages for him to settle because he woke up properly to cry for me.

he grew out of it by 6 months, and was sleeping through by 11 months, 12 hours a night. Now he sleeps 12 or 13 hours in the same room as his brother, so don't believe that allowing a baby to need you will turn him into a bad sleeper - it just doesn't work like that/