'fighting' sleep

[Heirhelp]

I have a lovely 3 and half month old baby who generally sleeps well for a baby but she now seems to fight sleep. She sleeps in her cot at night and for most naps except if we are out for a walk she sleeps in her push chair. When going to sleep in her cot I rub her tummy so she know I am there and this seems to calm her down but she often thrashes around and crys a bit until she starts to settle. Her first nap at the morning is the worst and she gets it takes her along time to get to sleep. Apart from if I am pushing her in her push chair she has shorted her naps and seems to be getting over tired now. Is there anything I can do differently?

[ShinyDiscoBalls]

My advice is probably going to be slammed but I will give it anyway!

I had similar issues with my now 6 month old DS - he would fall asleep and the minute I put him down he would flail his arms around and thrash about and wake up crying. So one day I got seriously fed up & flipped him over onto his tummy. He stopped and went straight to sleep. He's slept on his tummy ever since.

Not saying he doesn't ever take effort to get to sleep, but he's a fairly good sleeper in my opinion!

[ShinyDiscoBalls]

I also have created a playlist of slow r&b songs that he likes to listen to, they seem to soothe him quite well

[Jellybean100]

My baby fights sleep so badly! He is also 3.5 months. He screams and thrashes around even with me holding him. During the day it takes a few minutes and he will nap but at night it can be up to an hour of battling with him to go to sleep and once he's asleep he sleeps solidly for 8 hours. I have no suggestions but I will watch this thread closely for some tips! I put him down as soon as I see him becoming tired and he has short 20-40 minute naps through the day but has them regularly so not convinced he is overtired.

[Heirhelp]

We use Ewen the dream sleep except for after night feeds when it can take a while for her to sleep but she is not distressed then.

shiny she can't roll onto her back yet so I won't not feel comfortable until she can do that. I am really surprised that she does not try and turn herself onto her tummy during the night but she does not.

[ShinyDiscoBalls]

What tends to be your routine before her naps?

[Heirhelp]

Normal routine is she wakes, nappy change, milk, play or go out whatever and about 90 minutes later I tell her it is nap time, offer her milk, take her upstairs for kiss her, pop her in cot, give her a dummy, switch on Ewen the dream sheep and gently rub her tummy.

[ShinyDiscoBalls]

I can't really see anything wrong with your routine! She is still quite young I suppose, maybe she's just still craving the comfort of her mummy to get her to sleep.

My DS has never 'soothed' himself to sleep, I always have to rock him a bit until he's really sleepy then put him down

[Heirhelp]

Thanks. I don't think I would be able to put her down when she is asleep without wake up. However she also thrashes around and cries when been held and rocked to sleep.

[ShinyDiscoBalls]

Could she perhaps have a bit of reflux?

[Heirhelp]

She does have reflux and take ranitidine for it reflux which we can increase. I will give that ago and see if it makes a difference as she has also been fussy about feeding.

Thanks for the suggestion.

[OrangeNoodle]

Some children are just this way inclined. My almost 8 year old fights sleep and always has done. I am stuck in her room every night for 1.5hrs.

My 5 year old is totally different.

Routine might or might not help. Being calm and consistent will definitely help but can't change personality.

[ShinyDiscoBalls]

Like orange noodle says I reckon some children are just bad sleepers! My niece has always been a fussy sleeper and even at 3 years old is a nightmare to get to sleep, whereas my nephew has slept through the night since birth & naps like a trooper

Good luck OP hope she starts sleeping better for you soon!

[chloechloe]

It's quite common for babies to fight sleep and she's still very young. Have you tried swaddling her? Perhaps that would settle her a little?

For the morning nap, this should usually follow the shortest awake time of the day. So maybe just change and feed her as soon as she wakes up and put her straight back down to sleep.

Your routine seems good though - stick with it and it will pay off. With time babies really respond better when they know what's coming next.