getting a baby to sleep during the day without using motion

[Vix02]

Hi,

My 5 week old baby boy is really great at sleeping at night time but I cannot get him to sleep during the day unless I take him out in his pram or in the car.
has anyone got any ideas or tips that I can try?

Thanks.

[LoveBeingAMummy]

How do you get him to sleep at night?

[Vix02]

Well at first I just made sure he was well fed and winded and let him cry it out. Now he doesn;t even cry and settles himself. Guess I should do the same thing during the day?

[Fennel]

I used to pop babies in the garden a buggy, that often worked. Maybe they thought they were about to go out somewhere interesting and fell asleep in happy anticipation.

[IMoveTheStarsForNoOne]

sorry, did I read that right - you left a 5wo baby to CIO?

[Vix02]

it's a bit cold right now for me to do that but a good tip for the summer months!

[IMoveTheStarsForNoOne]

Just me that finds this thread weird then...

[ilovehenryboy]

OH MY GOD WHAT? 5 WEEKS OLD? THAT IS BARBARIC........ [SHOCK]

[Tee2072]

No, Imovethestarsfornoone, I am appalled actually, that she let a 5 week old baby cry it out. Of course, I am appalled that anyone ever uses CIO, but that's just my opinion.

Do you ignore it when it wanted to be fed in the middle of the night as well?

Have you tried rocking it? In a rocking chair or just in your arms and you rock? That's how I get my 5 month old baby to sleep, during the day and at night.

[ilovehenryboy]

IS THE OP A TROLL???

[daisyj]

Do you by any chance work for the DM? This is a joke, right? Next you'll be saying that if you don't feed them for long enough they go and get their own lunch from the fridge.

[IMoveTheStarsForNoOne]

Who's that nanny that believes in own room/4 hourly feeds/CIO even from birth - Claire something?

[fillybuster]

OK, lay off the OP's CIO for a moment everyone (although 5 weeks shocks even a 'tough' parent like me!), she's asking for help not judgment...I think

OP - I agree you don't want to have to resort to movement every time, so have you tried gentle shush-patting or rocking? I find a tired 5 wo will fall asleep pretty much whenever/wherever so maybe you are trying to get your lo off to sleep before they are tired or ready?

Btw, you might want to think about not leaving a 5 week old to cry it out (CIO) for quite a bit longer - at this age they really do still need at least one, and probably 2, feeds during the night. Bear in mind a well fed baby will sleep better in the daytime too...

[sparklycheerymummy]

i think people are getting a bit carried away here...... she is hardly saying she leaves baby for hours to scream and cry????? Maybe we should let her tell us in more detail before condemning her. Leaving a baby to whimper for a few minutes if it then has a good sleep is not barbaric....... what if you nee the toilet..... do you stop half way through to get to them. I do not believe in the whole controlled crying thing this young but at 4 months and after a hospital admission it was the only thing left to try with my dd and it worked ..... we did it over 4 nights with medical guidance..... it broke the cycle and she learnt to soothe herself...... unless she was hungry or in pain and then i would know what it was. It meant she got a good sleep as she could resettle without support and didnt make her tummy ache worse by screaming and taking in more air....... but this at 5 weeks would not be good. But lets let the OP speak first................ she came on here for advice not judgement!!!
DAytime sleeping...... try swaddling and leaving with white noise such as a tele or tumble drier etc in the background!!!

[IMoveTheStarsForNoOne]

Sorry, I think CIO is awful and would never use it - but that's just my opinion.

[nappyaddict]

What do you all do if you are driving and the baby is crying in their car seat then?

[IMoveTheStarsForNoOne]

nappyaddict - my DS would always sleep in the car, so that never happened. And anyway, when they're in the car you can talk to them and they know you're there. It's not the same as leaving them in a room on their own to CIO.

[Tee2072]

FFS Nappyaddict and sparklycheerymummy there is a big difference between leaving a baby to cry because you either can't get to it (i.e. in its car seat) or you have something you have to do (i.e. pee) and leaving a 5 week old baby to CIO.

I happen to think CIO is barbaric at any time but at 5 weeks it is down right neglectful.

[ilovehenryboy]

obviously nothing - unless he is in pain in which case i stop the car and see to him. but that's not really the same as leaving a 5 week old at night us it?

[fillybuster]

Hang on, this thread isn't an "IAMBU to let my baby cry it out" discussion. The OP is asking for help with daytime sleeping not in the car or buggy. I think some constructive support could be in order (this is a woman with a 5 week old baby) rather than tearing the OP to pieces, regardless of your thoughts on CIO.

[fillybuster]

"AIBU", obviously...

[ilovehenryboy]

ok for the daytime try cuddling to sleep

[daisyj]

OK, let's give the OP the benefit of the doubt and assume that when she says crying it out, she means a few minute of whimpering not hours of screaming (and I should add that I too am quite a toughie when it comes to a bit of crying while I'm trying to go to the loo or grab a slice of toast). I hear what you're saying, sparkly, but 5 weeks and 4 months are two very different things.

Have you tried using a sling in the day? There are still certain things that you can't do, but it beats having to walk/drive around the whole time if the baby won't settle. Also, do you want him to sleep so you can get stuff done, or because he needs the sleep but just can't get himself off in the day? If it's the latter, then definitely try a sling. If the former then you might have to try to do less housework, etc., for a few weeks more, till he gets into a daytime sleep rhythm. My DD didn't really nap at home during the day between about 6 weeks and 4 months, so I do know how hard it can be. Then for a while she would go down in the cot to nap (we used the Baby Whisperer's pick-up put-down for napping and nighttime for a few weeks and it worked really well), but only for half an hour at a time. Then once she was about 5 months she began to self-settle after I started to leave her to cry for 5-10 minutes, and her naps extended to between 50 mins and 2 hours (usually somewhere in between).

5 weeks is still really tiny, and you will probably find that your baby's patterns will change a lot over the coming months of their own accord as much as anything else.

[nappyaddict]

Tee So you wouldn't leave say a 3 year old to cry for 5 minutes or less?