anyone else got a leg thumping baby ????

[yoda]

Hi all,

My ds is nearly nine months now and has degenerated into a fairly poor sleeper (i'm being kind ). He has this habit of bringing both of his legs up and then slamming them into the mattress - sometimes i think that we will find him in the lounge. He tends to do this when i settle him for his sleeps/nappy changes/and when he is still asleep ! I have tried leaving him, 'cos it does go quiet - but not for long and eventually he manages to wake himself up. Any got any suggestions (bar tying his legs to the cot ) It would be really nice to find out that i am not the only one with a thumping baby !

Thanks

Yes! Dd used to to do this all the time. She didn't/doesn't do sleep and was generally in bed with us. I'd wake with a jump in the night when she made an almighty thud exactly as you describe. I didn't find a way of stopping her; she grew out of it eventually. Sorry I can't be more helpful, except to say time will help.

Had to grin when I read your message - me DS (6 months) does exactly the same thing (though not when he's asleep, luckily!). His bed is above the living room and the thumping sometimes gets so loud that we almost expect bits of plaster to fall onto our heads
Have no idea what you could do about it, though - it's never bothered me, I think it's just a phase that he's going through!

DD used to do this when she was really tired. We found it was worse if she was in her grobag/baby sleeping bag. It lasted about 2 months and then she must've just grown out of it, I guess.

Our ds used to do this as well, although I don't think it interfered with his sleep particularly. He's 2 now and seems to have grown out of it. Is it the thud that wakes your ds or the fact he's kicked his covers off? Our ds was definitely waking because he was cold as he'd kicked off his covers, so the grobags have been a godsend.

My ds 6mo does this too in his grobag. We tuck a thin cotton sheet under the cot and then across his legs, secured with a handtowel down the other side (not sure if I've described that well). It doesn't stop him from moving his legs, but he can't lift them up more than an inch or so and the slamming is less. He can then drift off to sleep. He's been doing it for a month or so now (since he discovered his feet/legs) and I too am hoping he will grow out of it!

Mine thumps too and middle of summer here so I can't even put a sheet over him. My sympathy.

Thanks for all your suggestions, it's really nice to know that he isn't the only one ! I tried the sheet - and it worked, except he woke every 1-2hrs after 11pm instead, finally deciding that 5.30am was morning

I have now decided to try and go cold turkey on his dummy to see if this will improve his night time, as i can only believe that it is habit he is waking. Normally i give him back his dummy, blanket and lay him down and off he drifts. He never needs his dummy at bedtime (has his bottle), but needs it to settle. I tried it with his nap this morning, and he screamed blue murder for a couple of minutes (felt longer) and then dropped of to sleep. I cannot tell you how bad i felt leaving him to cry, his scream is sooooo high pitched and he goes really red in the face - but he did fall asleep and still seems to love me

Thanks again

Hi Yoda, Glad you had some success with the sheet. I've had to modify the way I put my little one to sleep several times now and each time I find it takes a couple of days of being consistent with the new approach before DS accepts it. You do feel how upset they are the first few times you try, but they get the hang of it quickly and everyone is happier all round in the end. They key is definitely consistency so try it when you know you've got the time and aren't out visiting or shopping. We also start any new change the first nap of the day on a Friday so DH can afford to have a couple of sleepless nights if it comes to it. HTH and good luck!

BTB, maybe just a thin sheet about 6-8inches wide over his lower tummy and thighs? Or an extra fan?

My ds does this too ? used to really worry us but we realised it didn't bother him. He has a grobag and still does it! We also do the sheet over the top but he still manages to move himself round so much he often ends up across the cot ... but luckily seems fine with it. No idea how long this will last but started at around 4 weeks and still going strong at nearly 6 months... hope yours either stops or ends up sleeping through anyway.

I have a leg thumping baby. Don't know if it really bothered me, since I thought she was getting exercise and strentening her legs. Believe me now, if has paid off. I think she is ready to lift weight with them now.

She has to be doing something with them, if she is sucking her dummy, she will now tend to want to climb the side of the cot lying down.

The grobag didn't quite work. Pajamas seem to work well. For the past month she has been crawling to a corner with dummy firmly in mouth, and going to sleep with her bum tucked in the air. If you can picture a puppy searching for a toy in a corner, by jove, that is her. She sleeps like that. She sleeps on her tummy no matter how many times we put her on her back to sleep.

She is capable at doing anything in that cot. Her latest on New Years day was to stand up, holding onto the top bars of the cot and showing us both a big gummy grin, as if to say, "aren't you proud of me, look at me.

The thumping now, has just been to hit the musical toys instead of using arms and she enjoys that. If it amuses her, I guess it is a good thing and she is a happy baby. What more can one ask for.

LOL GenT

Question for dinosaur?
Was that the ex-girlfriend's baby or the ex-girlfriend? Who thumped the leg?

She refused to go to sleep, and started thumping again, so I put a stuff toy under her thumping leg and it only eased the noise. Then I told her, why don't you just read a book and fall asleep afterwards. I gave her a bath book, she lied down, held the book above as if reading it and continued thumping the leg.

What else can one do, but give up!!! She will tire out soon we hope.

Oh, it must have worked, she slept from 10:15 until 9 am ish this morning. Heaven I tell you.