9 week old son always protests at going to sleep

[muslimah28]

Has anyone else experienced this and have any tips? My son is 9 weeks and is quite an easy baby thankfully, especially as I'm ill with serious post natal complications. The only issue is when he has to sleep or take a nap, he kicks up such a fuss and cries so much. Then when he's had enough of crying, he conks out in about 10 seconds or less!

I never leave him to go to sleep by himself, I don't agree with controlled crying at this age, so I either hold him, lie next to him in my bed, or pat him to sleep in his moses basket. But either way, he always cries for about 5-10 minutes when he feels sleepy, protesting at the prospect of going to sleep.

Does anyone have any advice? So far I've just put it down to his genes- his dad is quite similar though his protests about going to sleep do not involve crying himself to sleep lol.

TBH this is pretty normal behaviour... I struggled with endless cuddles etc for DS1 for ages, then with DS2 just accepted that a bit of whinging always precceds a sleep. The amount of whinging is now down to about 2 mins, unless he is really overtired and totally wired, in case it's longer, or I relent and give more cuddles!

I fed to sleep despite all the warnings, worked like a dream and we broke the habit when it felt right (about 15 months).

Some babies just need to fuss/cry a bit to get the tension out of their systems, even when you're feeding or rocking them to sleep. See here for more info.

Hope your health problems improve soon.

Agree with nesomja - feeding to sleep worked like a charm for us and when dd was ready she was quite happy to go to sleep without breast (regardless of all the dire warnings from the HV/ book!). But angeldog's right as well - a lot of babies just have a bit of a fuss before going to sleep, and it's usually easy to tell the difference between that and really upset.

thanks for all your advice. am glad to see that feeding to sleep isn't so bad as in the last couple of days he's really been rooting when he's been tired. i thought it was my fault after doing a couple of lying down feeds which got him into the habit of wanting some milk before sleep, and associating lying down with me with having a feed. i try to avoid teh lying down feeds for this very reason as in the early days it caused this problem which i then managed to sort out. but maybe it's not so bad to feed to sleep after all.

will read the link during the next feed, thanks AngelDog! and thanks for your warm wishes. i had to have some minor surgery for my episiotomy wound on monday which hasn't healed and is causing lots of pain. am going to have a tea tree bath now while DS is asleep (after a short feed lol).

So sorry you've had so much discomfort, good luck with your healing.

I wholeheartedly agree with the feeding to sleep advice. I fed all three of mine to sleep (or starting to be sleepy) with breast and later bottle until they were comfortable going down by themselves. They all happily sleep in their own beds for 12 hours nearly every night and still have milk or water as the final part of their bedtime routine, before cleaning teeth and story. There was never a problem with an association developing.

I also used white noise, a lullaby cd and a baby swing from time to time. Plus, I always made their cots ultra comfy using ultrasoft sheets and extra blankets, (but still flat so they are safe if they roll over). They still have blackout blinds too, sometimes with a night light.

Hopefully you will be on the mend soon