when does a habit become a bad habit?...

[MiauMau]

... and what to do about it?
My 7.5 week old DS is a very alert baby and barely sleeps (I guess about 10 hours a day). I'm only able to get him to doze off if he is really tired and only if I either rock him to sleep standing up, sit down awhile later and eventually put him in his crib about 20 minutes later or if I lay him on my chest (harder to put him in his bed as I also fall asleep). I've tried the white noise sheep from cloud b and osteopathy to no avail.
Any suggestions?

When you get fed up of doing it. At which point, you can change it gently or gradually to another. :)

I wouldn't worry about trying to "pre-empt" problems, because if he's going to be a problem sleeper later, it won't be because of anything you've done. Some babies make the transition to sleeping alone very easily, others you can try everything, and the only thing that works is time and patience!

When u decide it does.

If u are happy doing things your way then do it.

But then I am a sling-happy co-sleeper.

My rod my back :)

Thank you both. My MIL was around for 3 weeks and each time she saw me rocking him to sleep in my arms - DS with his eyes wide open like a little owl, she would sigh, smile and many times would ask me to let her do it. Apparently DS is a carbon copy of DP

I was hoping for some miracle answers from her but, she said that she did pretty much what I'm doing sigh

that isn't a lot of day sleep hun. I think the average at that age is something like 14-16 hours a day. When babies get overtired they can be very difficult to put to sleep, & only flake when they reach absolute exhaustion, and once they get to that stage, are likely to only sleep for a short while (10, 20 or 30mins) before waking again. It is really hard, I remember it well b/c my LO would flip like a switch from happy & playing to screaming & very difficult to settle, but I soon realised this was him being overtired. Can you watch him really closely for tired cues, you are looking for a yawn, an eye rub, him staring into space - these are all signs he is ready to sleep. At that age the average awake time is around 1h 15 this is from the moment they wake from one nap until the moment they are asleep for the next nap. So keep a close eye on him & see if he gives any signals at around the 1hr mark & if he does, get him ready for a sleep.

Whether that is on you or elsewhere eg cot/pram is up to you. The rocking/cuddling to sleep only becomes an problem when you decide it does. I did it til DS was 3 months then I decided I wanted to be able to put him down & get on with some stuff instead of having to sit & hold him through all his sleeps. Then I had to teach him a new way of going to sleep, & I did this very gently using the baby whisperer method of sssh/pat as I wasn't comfortable with using CC/CIO.

HTH.x

It's fine, honestly, keep on doing what works and what you are happy with at the time. These miracle babies that people put down in their cot at 7pm from birth and magically sleep through with no crying or upset or whatever, they don't exist :)

Babies don't realise they are not still in the stone age. Their instinct is to keep close to you and keep you in close sight. If they were perfectly happy to be left alone, they'd be eaten by a tiger

My DGS was just like that at that age - barely slept during the day - just the occasional 10 minute catnap during the day after much writhing and rocking -and was a nightmare to put to sleep in the evening too, often not settling until midnight and beyond. My daughter transformed into a wailing zombie with tangled hair and gnashing teeth, so I understand what you are going through.

Take heart. It will pass. DGS is now 6 months old and, although he still doesnt sleep much during the day, he now manages an hour both morning and afternoon and falls asleep by himself now - no more having to be draped across his mothers chest or rocked endlessly. Bedtime is now a calm time. Baby and mother are now relaxed and happy.

What caused this miraculous change? My DD went back to work full-time and DGS goes to nursery, and absolutely loves it - he`s turned into a very happy little smiler after whingeing almost constantly for six months! :)

thank you all :)
omama I am aware that it isn't enough and can see how his behaviour changes when he sleeps even a little bit more. I always try to be as aware as possible of his little sleep mannerisms just to try and get him to sleep that little bit longer.