Getting my 9 WO to go to sleep, and stay asleep - day or night!

[lbandrb]

DS is 9 weeks old and I'm finding it a big effort to get him to go to and stay asleep. I'm concerned that we'll soon get to the point where expectations are formed, and what I have to do to get him to sleep right now is exhausting me. What works: feeding sometimes (if, of course, he's sleepy); walking in the baby carrier; walking in the buggy. I have a stretchy sling to use at home, which can work well, but he always wriggles his head out of it, which is not ideal! DH is also quite adept at cuddling, rocking and singing him to sleep, but I struggle to find the energy for this, for some stupid reason!

The main challenge I am finding is that to get his daytime sleep I have to walk for most of the time. This then leaves me really physically drained for the night-time process of sleep inducement. I really want him to sleep as he has gone through periods (e.g. the heatwave) where he's struggled to do so, and I fear the overtiredness that results. I find that as soon as I stop walking or try gently to move him off me when he's fallen asleep after a feed, 9 times out of 10 he'll be wide awake again, even if he's seemed to be in a deep sleep beforehand.

I'm starting to try to work towards an evening routine, but basically, day or night I'm very far from him being able to be 'put down to nap' or sleep for the night. Help welcomed!

I should add that DH rocking, cuddling and singing DS to sleep can work to get him to sleep, but then as soon as DH sits down or tries to transfer our baby to his basket/cot, he wakes right back up!

No advice but a survival tip that worked for me: I rode the bus in a circular journey. DD in the pram & me with a pillow. I chose routes that were at least a hour and quiet. I slept & baby slept.

DH & I also had a night a week in the spare room drugged up on Night Nurse. DD had silent reflux and didn't sleep longer than 40 minutes followed by 4-13 hours of screaming without pause

Riding the bus in a circular journey - love it!

I had the same with ds for all his daytime naps till he was about 7 months old when I ended up doing controlled crying to get him to nap in his cot. He's now 21mths and naps brilliantly in the day. You cant do that before 6 months tho and only if really desperate! My ds would only sleep on me but he would let me sit down so I would get prepared with a drink, the tv remote and some biscuits and watch loads of telly. I also covered quite a few miles in the week pushing him in his pram which helped burn off some of the biscuits...
Have you tried a baby swing? Would be a constant motion, we tried it and didn't work for us but it did for a friend of mine. Good luck!

Have a look at shh-pat. We started to introduce this at 10 weeks along with bath at 6, pjs and then watching for a tired sign like a hawk. It's long winded but there are no quick fixes at 9 weeks old.

I personally think pram naps are great -there will be a time when you want to be out and not tied to the house for 2 hours whilst they sleep.

I would start with bedtime then move to naps afterwards.

My DD (now 4.5 mo) was exactly like this at that age for naps - would not be put down, or if she was she'd wake up within 10 mins. Plus she wouldn't go in pram at all. Now I can get her to nap for 45 mins in cot at home and for 1.5 hrs in pram. What changed? I believe the nap-length thing was purely developmental as that's quite recent. In terms of putting her down, also probably partly developmental, but also instigating a short nap time routine for cot naps helped. For the pram I started using a white noise app on my phone, which seems to help make the naps last longer.

I think instigating a bedtime routine might help you. We had one with DD from about 3 weeks and she was fine with being put down at night from about 5 weeks. I did, and still do, feed her to sleep at night getting her to stay asleep now she's hit the 4 month regression is another matter