What's the strangest technique you've used to get your child to sleep?

[ElleOhElle]

As I stood leaning into 1yo DD's cot gently tapping the bidge of her nose I started to wonder what other weird and wonderful techniques parents are using in a bid to get their DC to sleep.
Would love to hear your stories.......

None, but there was a very funny post once by someone who had to drum on their baby's bottom to get them to sleep.

#bRidge!

When DS was 3-4 months old and needed to go down for the evening, DH would put cybertrance (or something) music on fairly loudly, sling DS over his shoulder and dance around like a man possessed.

DS would be fast asleep in minutes

Let him romp around our bed headbutting, scratching and kicking us unt he just crashes :o

I used to hum very loudly to create a kind of white noise effect (when I couldn't be bothered to go and fetch the hairdryer!)

I used to babysit a 7yo who could be put to sleep in about 20 seconds by rubbing a circle on her forehead - which her parents had done since birth. It was quite miraculous!

Elleohelle, i hate to tell you this but my ds is 9 and we still have to rub the bridge of his nose for him to go to sleep! Actually i say we, i mean DH as apparently i have never learnt to do it right .

He does however have SPLD and ASD. We DH should never have started the whole nose rubbing thing!!

It does take up to 3 hours for DS to actually settle to sleep i fear it may take longer if DH didn't do the whole nose rub thing!!

Stroked her eyebrow gently from the bridge of her nose to her temple.

Also Bon Jovi. Only ever the 'Cross road' album though. She would drop off in the middle of the first song 'Livin' on a prayer' but we had to keep the album on until at least 'Lay your hands on me' or she would wake back up. DH dislikes Bon Jovi but can sing pretty much all of those songs on the album now. When she woke in the night she could be pacified with my attempts but any other time it had to be the real deal.

My other child (who is two) now requires two impromptu songs on the subjects of his choice. They have to be at least three verses long. Today I sang about 'curtains' and 'door handles'. At the end of a long day its bit much sometimes, especially when I know family members are listening in downstairs and pissing themselves.

oh these are making me chuckle! Morethan, how does your DH keep that going for 3hrs!? Anything that helps him sleep though, I guess.

r2peepoo, so funny. Would love to hear a rendition of the curtain song!

It is usually both of us involved for first couple of hours then `DH takes over for the nose rubbing etc. We don't really have a choice, like you say anything to make him sleep is good by us!!!

He is currently nose rubbing .

Luckily for you ElleOhElle I can remember the curtain song (mostly because I was thinking 'Oh bloody hell, what can I say about CURTAINS??!!!)

Curtains are so lovely
They help us sleep at night
Curtains are so helpful
They cut out all the light

Mummy has some curtains
And DD has some too
We have blinds in the bathroom
To hide us when we poo

Curtains also hide us
When we need to change our clothes
It stops people looking in
At our boobies or our toes.

Sung preferably out of tune and with a fixed and jolly smile haunted look in eyes is optional

As a baby, DD would only fall asleep in her bear snowsuit.

Every night we'd put her in it until she was asleep, then carefully try and take it off.

She slept in it for months; we cut the feet out of it so she would fit

r2peepoo, that has made my day!

When DD was about 2 the only way I could get her to sleep easily was to lie on my stomach usually with laptop propped up in front of me and let DD lie across my back and then gently sway from side to side. When she had dropped off I would then slowly roll over until she dropped off my back and onto the bed!

Aaarh, I love the curtain song! R2PeePoo, you should publish a book with your songs!

Thank you thank you

No where near as good as the classic 'door handles' song though

Love these mad ideas - have to wonder how some of them were ever discovered though!! Looking at you muminthecity

Curtain song is ace!!

Can you remember the doorhandle one? I am in awe at your improv skills!!!

My friends used to switch Sherlock Holmes audio books on and then tiptoe silently out of their DD's room at night.

It took them some time to discover that one of the stories on the compilation was Hound of the Baskervilles, complete with terrifying howls.

She's 8 now and doesn't seem to be too disturbed.

I have to rub DS's face - not a gentle cheek stroking, but a firm, polish the dirt off kind of rub up and down the middle of his face. Goodness knows how he sleeps through it at all, I can only assume that because it forces him to shut his eyes he can't help it.

Oh please can we have the door handles song pleeeeeeaaaase?

Cough

DOOR HANDLES

Our house has one, Our car has one
We use them everyday
To open and close, walking through;
To tidy up and put away

Door handles door handles
Metal, ceramic and wood
Push and twist and pull them tight
And leave alone if you should

Some are long and some are round
Some creak, some don't even make a sound
Some are even set into the ground
What would we do without them...

{LOUDER} CLIMB OUT THE WINDOW!

Brrrraaaavoooooooo!!!

Vair good indded. You have a talent! Do you come up with them like that, on the spot?