Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Sleep

Join our Sleep forum for tips on creating a sleep routine for your baby or toddler. Need more advice on your childs development? Sign up to our Ages and Stages newsletter here.

Original poster

Holding to sleep

2 replies

Bumpforme2014 · 17/01/2015 03:26

My bubba is 16 weeks now and going through the sleep regression for past three weeks. Before this I had just started to get her to sleep on her own with me lying next to her but now I have to hold her again constantly as once I put her down for naps she wakes and cries.

I worry she has now gotten used to this at night hence crying when she wakes and needing held instead of being able to get herself back to sleep. Should I start training her not to need me to hold her for naps in hope it will help bedtime or will this phase just pass and she will grow out of it. We went through phase of her needing me to hold her at 8 weeks but she suddenly just stopped after a few weeks.

Sleep regression ruins everything!

OP posts:
fidgetywidget · 17/01/2015 04:31

Afraid I don't have any answers, will be following with interest as my DS is the same at almost 17weeks, though he's always needed holding/rocking to sleep, it's just now he wakes even more times than before (3-6 times a night).
Sending Brew your way Bump!

Eminybob · 17/01/2015 04:56

I feel for you as I struggle even now (6mo) to put DS down for a nap, but I think that with regression it's just a phase so hopefully you should go back to how she was before.

Otherwise, I have found perseverance to be the answer. When going down for a nap, I feed DS to sleep and then very very gently put him in his cot. If he wakes, start the process again. At times it has taken me hours but I have persevered and he will go down most nap times now. The one we struggle with most is the afternoon one so I tend to just go with the holding and settle myself with a brew in front of the telly with him on me. A nice bit of snuggly time Smile

I don't know about you but I have found night time to be a bit easier, but DS still wakes 1-2 times a night. I just feed and put back down. Which I guess is easy enough when bf, but a bit harder if you ff.

I know how hard it is though, and I've had times where I've been so frustrated I've cried, in the night and at nap times. I have found it better to just go with the flow rather than fight it. Far less stressful!

Good luck.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page