Settling tips?

[Newatthis]

My 3 mth old DS has always been a cuddly baby and this is my way of getting him to sleep and he normally starts crying every two hoursish for a nap. He likes his hands held and to be rocked or cuddled. I have been using a bath, massage, boob and bed routine and he is going to bed around 8.30-9pm most nights. He then sleeps (on a good run!) to roughly 2/3am. Last night was 4.30am but thats a personal best. He settles then no problem, but it is the cuddly feed when he is very tired that does it. Settling him after that is hard as putting him down in the cot tends to wake him and he wakes up quite soon. Has anyone got any tips for getting them to fall asleep without being cuddled?

He sleeps downstairs during the day as his nusery tends to be slightly cooler and the change in temperature seems to wake him during the day. I love cuddling him to sleep but am aware that he needs to learn to do this himself for both our sakes.He tends toi sleep 1 2 hrs sleep and two other 20-40 min sleeps in the day. Any tips?

Your DS sounds very much like mine at that age, except mine had to be bounced to sleep on a Swiss Ball. My DS now 11mths, couldn't get himself off to sleep evenings until about 4.5mths when he discovered his thumb. But I think that I probably could have tried earlier to let him get off to sleep on his own. One night when I'd got him to sleep and tried to put him down three times with him waking up each time, I thought, well - I need to go to the bathroom, so you are just gonna have to lie in bed and wait till I'm done and then we'll have another go - wouldn't you know it, by the time I finished in the bathroom (which was only a couple of minutes) he had cried himself to sleep.

I would try to have him sleep in his nursery during the day too. I incorporate closing the shutters and the blinds into our before bed routine and I use a sleeping bag. He should be more comfortable in a cooler room than a warmer room really. I think around 18 to 20 degrees is recommended.

HTH

Agree with AussieSim. I always try and put DS in his cot for naps when I'm at home.

We also have a clockwork mobile that plays a tune. It's our way of saying 'it's now bedtime and no matter how much you don't like it, you're not leaving until you've had a sleep'.

Others may not agree with this approach but it's small and light to carry and we take it with us when we go away. It's a nice familiar thing and seems to settle him well in a strange environment.

BR (Had this since DS went in his cot at 5 weeks. He's now 18 weeks.)

I also use a similar thing to BR ... it has been there since she was 4 weeks and now I think that she definitely associates the lullaby with sleep now. I also take it with me ! I also agree with having the naps in the cot when at home, it helps to solidify the association with sleeping too ...

I completely agree with trying to put them into their rooms for naps during the day. You say that you feel it isn't warm enough during the day though. Have you thought about buying an oil filled radiator with temperature control?Ours cost about a hundred pounds from Argos and gives us real peace of mind as it keeps dd's room at the right temperature at night and I put it on for her naps during the day if it's too cold. Just a suggestion. Good luck.

I think you are doing brilliantly. My ds slept far, far more erratically at that age. Cuddle him to sleep if it works for you. Do you like it? I suspect he will change as he grows.

I wouldn't worry too much at this age. You can have a child who settles all by themselves who then still runs into problems at the dreaded 7-8 month mark when they start 'fighting' sleep and getting in to separation anxiety problems. My daughter used to always fall asleep on my breast for her bedtime feed and I worried and fretted that it would cause long term problems but it didn't and is now quite happily replaced by a cuddle and a book.

Cuddle away, if you're both happy with it. Don't let worries spoil the niceness and closeness of it.