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.......

Used to have to pat DS on the back quite vigorously and fast for up to 1/2 an hour, or jiggle him also fairly vigorously. He was a nightmare to get to sleep. Once asleep however, little would wake him. Later, only the fairly humdrum activity of bedtime stories would work, but for anything up to 2 hours. Thankfully he is now 18 and seems to be able to go to sleep by himself...

I never did anything out of the ordinary, but a friend of mine had a DD who could only fall asleep with the hairdryer turned on full whack - sometimes it would run for hours, hanging from its hook...always scared me a bit in case it caught fire but seemed to do the trick.

I struggle quite badly with DS bedtime .... most nights he falls asleep in our bed, with me next to him, watching the Octonauts on my iPhone

R2PeePoo

clearly your talent is hidden under a bushel - till now and shouldn't be!!!

Obviously you used this to create your fab name too!

I think you should bring out an anthology in time for the christmas market... put me down for one.

Pretty much. I have a set list of rhyming pairs in my head and I usually start with the tune for nursery rhymes. Both of my children were bloody awful at nappy changes so I started singing silly songs to keep them in one place.

Luckily both children have very low expectations.

I love them. I really REALLY think you should write a children's book.

why don't you talk to Nickel, she's got a bookshop!?

at all the praise. Thank you

They are great! You should compile a silly rhymes for bed times book.

With DD we had to pat her bottom to make her go to sleep. With DS I have put him up against my shoulder and rock back and forth.

When my boy was little we used to rub his palm round and round, just like they do at the start of In The Night Garden, and he would drop off. When sleepy he would hold it out to be rubbed. He then progressed to rubbing it himself, with his finger or his comforter. He now likes to rub his comforter up and down between his fingers, or on his face. If want to suggest a nap to him, now 2.5 year old, I can rub said comforter on his cheek and he gets the idea and takes over with the finger or cheek rubbing.

I'm afraid the thought of any thought of self-promotion or marketing myself makes me cringe and want to hide away in a cupboard.

But thank you all for the positive comments, I shall remember it when I am singing about ceilings or sellotape or poo tonight

Oh and I also wanted to say the curtains and door handles songs are very good. My husband sings a made up song about the boys day to him every night, it's called his special song.

Marks place to come back tomorrow to hear the sellotape song.

sellotape is sticky
selloptape is tricky
for presents and craft
you are not daft...
if you use sellotape

Nahhhhh!!! I'll be leaving it to R2PeePoo

Sellotape comes in a roll
Of sticky shining tape
And there really are no limits
To all the things that you can make

But first check with your Mummy
To make sure its Ok
And she will find that naughty end
And get scissors out to play

Sellotape belongs on paper
And not on walls or chairs
Daddy finds it painful
If you stick it to his hairs

So keep sellotape for rockets
and robot tractors too
Then Mummy will be happy
And won't take it away from you.

No weird bedtime routines here. Baby cakes likes all the standard things like milk and being rocked back and forth.

However it had caused a little issue...

I caught dh rocking back and forth the other day. Only problem was - I had the baby! Apparently he's been doing it at work, too. They must think he's due a breakdown!

My mum used brandy in the milk. Good times.

R2peepoo - can you sing me a song about socks please? Or telly? /sucks muslin and pulls ear/

I used to need my neck tickled in order to sleep...

I tried hypnotism, swinging a spoon in front of ds's face intoning "You are very sleepy..."
Didn't work.

Now I just use lectures on how the cuddly elephant he's nicked off me is a very tired and elderly elephant who needs lots of sleep and so if she gets kept awake she'll have to go back in my room...

R2PeePoo, I am in awe. DS isn't even 1 but you can tell he's unimpressed with my spontaneous song singing. He blew a raspberry at me on the weekend!

What makes me jealous here is that DS has had many of these... they work for a while, then he decides he doesn't like them anymore. For ages, I would let him get sleepy, then put him down on the side that was resting against me and he'd snuggle up to his muslin, role around a abit and go to sleep. Then it stopped working... at which point DH casually mentions, "oh, that's right, he likes to be laid down on his back now and you have to stroke his nose a bit then do a line down the middle of his tummy then stand nearby so that he can peak at you until he falls asleep." Because clearly, I was going to magically figure that one out by myself!?

R2, you're a genius and your songs should be enjoyed by kids and parents all over the world!

Nose rubbing certainly works on my dd. Sometimes she pulls at her ear and mumbles ''...tiny, baby girl Mummy... Muuuuuummmmmmmy tinee bay-be giiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrllllllll...'' this is my cue to sing a song i made up. Its to the tune of 'Twinkle, twinkle little star'. Aren't they all? :o
"Who's my tiny baby girl?
Mummy's little baby girl,
I love Erin yes I do
Even though she smells of poo
and of wee
as you can see
she's my tiny bay yay beeeee..."

:o

With DD, I used to have to hold her to my chestin that sitting op position (iyswim) and slowly walk up and down the stairs, not the best plan for the worlds clumsiest person and stbx-h just couldn't do it right

DS however, has to have Friends on (he's 5mo, and trust me it's not just the TV, have tried ALL kids programmes, it just has to be Friends, while I pat his bum

What a wonderfully lyrical thread.

DD (2.5) always insists that DH needs to hold her toesies before she can fall asleep. She never asks me