I thought I was due a good sleeper after DD1, seemingly not...
Just like her big sister, DD2 really struggles to go to sleep. The main weapon in my arsenal is feeding to sleep, but nine times out of ten, the second I try to move she wakes up. I know, I know, that this is because she isn't in a deep sleep when I try to move, but I've got a toddler, and sanity to maintain, I can't lie there for the whole evening. Also, it doesn't always work. sometimes she arches her back and refuses to suck. I often end up co-sleeping part way through the night, which works ok, but is doing my back in (co-sleeper cot on the way to being handed down by her big sister when she moves into a bed, which might help on this).
Again just like her big sister, DD2 does not do 'sleepy'. She does 'awake' or 'lightly asleep'. There's none of that 'drowsy' stage you are meant to pick up on and put them down to fall asleep.
Other things that do not work:
-rocking, bouncing, cuddling etc. She goes mental;
-sling. She'll tolerate it if I'm walking somewhere, but standing still or sitting she wakes up;
-swaddling. She'll sometimes accept it for a nap if combined with a dummy. At night, an hour or so later she's struggling like mad to get out of it;
-sshing, patting, etc. Just doesn't do anything before my resolve cracks and I try feeding again. Then I move, she wakes up and the cycle begins again..
She has a dummy, which sometimes works but sometimes not. She's struggling to find her fingers/thumb to suck, but failing so far. She's very sucky.
For daytime naps we can get by: car journeys, pram trips, sling time, etc all add up, but I need to work out if I'm missing anything on getting to sleep at night. With DD1 I seem to remember weeks and weeks of just sitting with her cuddling, or rocking, or patting or whatever until eventually she went off. Eventually she got older, and better, and now sleeps ok.
So, am I missing anything, or do I just ride it out?