Why do my babies settle at night but not in the day?

[WantToMoveNorth]

I have 10 week old twins and I'm trying to get them to sleep in their cots in the day (as opposed to car/ pushchair). What I don't understand though is at night they seem to sleep in their cots quite happily but won't in the day? We put them to bed at around 9ish and they will coo & grumble a bit until they fall asleep. Ive tried to let them fall asleep like this in the day but they just cry & won't sleep. They have blackout blinds & blackout curtains in their room, so I don't think it's the light that's making a difference. Does anyone know why they are so different at night to the day & will they eventually sleep in their cots in the day? Or will I have to sleep train when they're older? Thanks

We are just working on cot naps (and nighttime sleep) with my baby (quite a bit older at 8 months) with the help of many books, websites and finally a sleep consultant...a few things to think about below...(and apologies if you have already covered all these bases!)

Could they be overtired? If they've been awake too long it'll take them a long time to 'wind down'... Try looking up maximum recommended awake times for this age?

Do you do a 'nap time' routine (ie shortened version of bedtime) - to give them a clear 'sleep cue' (ours is sleeping bag/blind shut/the same book read then into cot).

These are the two things that are helping us. Your babies are very little still so don't worry too much about 'habits' but its good to get them used to napping in different places early on - it took us 8 months til he'd have decent naps in his cot!

Apparently daytime sleep is controlled by a different part of the brain to nighttime sleep, so what works for one won't necessarily work for the other.

Good luck :)

I'm struggling with this too, although DD is younger, 7 weeks. I can't put her down to nap at all during the day, she will only sleep on someone. Evenings she needs rocking to sleep for several hours sometimes and then will sleep in the cot for a few hours longer if transferred, but won't fall asleep in the cot at all. How did you get yours to do that?

Oh we are in the same boat.
DS was fine with daytime naps. He didn't take them for a long duration but took them in his cot.
DD, who is currently nine weeks old, needs holding due to reflux but at night will sleep in her cot and sometimes rise from sleep an settle herself again.
During the day however she won't sleep in her cot, won't even be transferred when asleep to her cot. It's driving me crazy!!

My DTs napped in their bouncers or the pram until they were nearly one, I gave up trying as it was just creating stress. We walked a lot, every day, for their main nap, in all weather! If they're good at night I wouldn't worry.

We didn't have to sleep train. When they dropped to one main nap they went happily off in their cots.

Thanks all.

lovelyweatherforducks thanks for your tips. I'll try the sleep cues, it's worth a go. I'm already conscious of them getting overtired so I put them down as soon as they show any signs of tiredness. It's very interesting that a different part of the brain controls nighttime sleep- they're different babies at night!

phillbee up until a week ago I was rocking them to sleep at night for up to 3 hours! We moved their bath & bedtime back to around 9ish & my DH takes them for a walk for a nap in the pram at 7:30 for an hour or so. They suddenly started settling themselves. If we try to put them in the cots any earlier I feel like we are fighting a losing battle. It's almost as if they switch to nighttime sleep at 9pm.

doodlealley my eldest had really bad reflux and would only sleep in the sling for months. She's now 2 & sleeps 12 hrs at night and a couple if hours in the day- all in her cot! It was a long journey to get there but we did. I just need the DTs to be better sleepers as its harder to manage them with a 2 yr old too. I wish I could put the DTs in a sling but they're already over 11lbs each & growing so fast i dont think itd be long before id find them too heavy.

Silverangel did you have any other DCs? I find it hard to fit their naps in around my 2 yr old as I feel that endless car journeys & walks must be boring for her- most the time I can't even stop the car or stop walking because they wake up! But maybe she'll just have to get used to it.

Thanks again

Ah, no I don't have any others thank God! I'm afraid I have zero advice on that front then. Hope it clicks for them soon, good luck.

My DS was exactly the same. He never slept in his cot during the day for some reason. I tried everything. I eventually gave in and had him just sleep in the lounge on a toddler mattress, followed by the couch when he was older and knew how to get off when he woke. This was the only way he would day sleep.

I always envied daytime cot sleepers ;) Only now that he is 2 1/2 and in his bed will he sleep in his bed during the day. And that is because he is in a bed and not a cot. So don't worry, they will eventually get there! If you try other things and nothing helps, you can always try sleeping the on a mattress (even if the mattress is in the bedroom instead of the lounge). It's just something about the look of that cot during the day that displeases them! haha.