Argh, DS is driving me mad!

[BendydickCuminsnatch]

He is SOOO tired, so I'm tempted to just rock him to sleep, but he's getting heavier and heavier so I'm trying to resist and get him to fall asleep in his cot. We were doing well but he was ill just before Xmas so we went back to rocking him and now we've undone all our work.

He is 7 months old and if he's tired he gets super wriglgly and kicky, so when I lie him in his cot he just rolls into his front, gets up into his knees and stands up. He STILL can't roll front to back, so if he gets stuck I have to rescue him, and he can't get down from standing without falling and banging his head so again I have to rescue him. He's currently on his hands and knees and roaring. He's been really whiney lately but I think it's tiredness through learning to crawl.

I just have to keep lying him back down don't I. And then when he gives up and just cries through tiredness I have to shh pat. I've had all this advice before, I am just losing the will!

He falls asleep perfectly well in his cot at night time, we just dump him in his cot and leave, just these nap times! I spend all day putting him down to nap.

Rant!

[BendydickCuminsnatch]

And this is the 2nd nap of the day already! After 40 mins I gave up and rocked him to sleep. No doubt he will arise soon, then need another nap in 90 mins. Wah!

[FATEdestiny]

I find that a firm hand on baby's chest serves several purposes through this stage

• It stops baby standing/sitting up
• It teaches baby that he needs to be still in order to sleep
• It provides a reassuring parental presence at sleeptime.

It does indeed mean you staying with him when he goes to sleep. Firm hand on chest, maybe patting or shushing as needed. Lying back down should he manage to wriggle free.

Over time he will grow out of this. I actually think 'now is the time' to sort sleep issues, during this developmental phase. If you've not sorted sleep by the time baby can stand/sit/climb at will, then it becomes infinitely more difficult to sort out

So I would highly recommend persevering now, it will be worth it. Definitely don't rock to sleep anymore. Try to not even pick baby up. Lie him in the cot and do all of your reassuring and settling with him in the cot.

[BendydickCuminsnatch]

Thanks FATE, knew I could rely on you! You helped me stop rocking him a month or 2 ago (different username). He's in his bed now, I KNOW he's tired, but sometimes he almost manages to convince me otherwise haha :) firm hand on the stomach it is..:

[BendydickCuminsnatch]

50 mins later, he's asleep! Wahoo! Only picked him up once for just a teensy bit. Gosh, how do people do this with a toddler to care for too?? Will be hard to not get into the rocking habit with DC2 :-/

[FATEdestiny]

Yeah for his sleep!

how do people do this with a toddler to care for too?

Well, if you are anything like me you make millions of mistakes with how DC1 sleeps.

Then DC2 comes along (14 month age gap) and I went completely the other way and was sooo strict and regimented (I had to be with a 14m age gap) that while he was a great sleeper, his baby years felt too military.

Then DC3 comes along and you are all cocky and think you know what you are doing - but get thrown a curve ball you weren't expecting (like failure to thrive) . But you cope because by then you are a million times more relaxed.

Then DC4 comes along and you know she's your last (precious last born) so all rules go out the window and you fully over-indulge in the baby months because you know how fast they go - DC4 is currently 15 months old.

[BendydickCuminsnatch]

Haha :) ahhh, you have 4 kids, hence your expertise

Aw DS was failure to thrive too. Maybe hence my neuroses!