Help me find a way to stop rocking 4.5 month old to sleep

[BergamotMouse]

DS is 4.5 months old. He is quite a fussy baby, needs a lot of sleep but won't fall asleep when breastfeeding. He doesn't like the sling. He will only fall asleep when in the pram or when being rocked in the pram cocoon thing which he has really outgrown and it's doing my back in! He's started waking regularly during his naps (4 month sleep regression?). I wonder if he needs to be somewhere quieter to sleep but I'm aware of the 6 months SIDS guidelines.

I don't know how to stop doing this rocking as don't want to cause him distress. Though to be fair he does often cry himself to sleep.

He sleeps quite well at night, 3 hour stretches then wakes, feeds back to sleep and goes down asleep.

He's baby number 2 so can't be too time consuming as the toddler will wreck the place if giving the chance.

Any tips gratefully received.

Have you got like a travel cot type thing he could lay in and you just move him room to room to keep an eye? Does he use a dummy? I may get flamed for using one on DD who's the same age but when colic?/reflux it really helped and now she uses to it to get over to sleep. When she needs to nap, I place her down after I've fed changed an played with her and give her a dummy and gently ssssh or use whitenoise. When she fusses or cries, I keep going back and giving her dummy then gently sssh
again and she goes over.

PS DD fights sleep over last week or so (regression?) hence the need to keep ssshing til she has a nap.

I have tried and tried to get him to take a dummy but he won't. I wish he would as think it would help him. He has started sucking his thumb but only when awake and doesn't seem to use it to sooth himself to sleep.

Shushing and white noise do help but I seem to have to use them with the rocking. If I don't rock he gets more and more overtired but doesn't seem to give in.

We have no routine with times of naps so maybe introducing that might help.

He’s tiny. Just rock him to sleep, honestly.

When mine has got overtired it's near impossible to get her back over, I've put in a loose routine to help increase her feeding and maintaining day time sleep hours. Doesn't always go to plan but you must be very tired constantly rocking and ssshing! Just reread your post. Maybe he's confused with the dummy as you're breast feeding.

Bouncer? On vibrate, gently bouncing it with white noise helps DD when she won't nap any other way or os overtired (5 months and usually feeds to sleep ) I had a swing chair with DS but it didn't help much and is cumbersome. However some people swear by them.

Have just looked into a swing chair but it says they can only be used until they sit which won't be too long away. Still tempted though.

PotteringAlong - I'd be happy to rock if it was in arms or in a sling but it's a in weird cocoon with handles that's neatly outgrown and it's very uncomfortable to do.

I agree that he’s tiny. Rock him to sleep, feed him to sleep and worry about all that when he’s 18 months old. Enjoy the lovely cuddles

Ps just make him go in your arms. He’ll soon realise it’s lovely 😊

Think the OP is finding it uncomfortable to do so and would like an alternative.

The way I broke the rock to sleep association, if it helps (it might be too time consuming for you). I had a baby that required us to rock him to sleep and stay standing.

I rocked him to sleep, then sat down. If he woke, I stood back up again and started rocking. Eventually he didn't wake up when I sat down. Then I gradually started sitting down when he was less and less sleepy. Eventually he started falling asleep in my arms while sat.

Then I worked on getting him into his cot...

Can you maybe rock him less and less in his cocoon until he'll fall asleep with it stationary?

If you have another DC you need to start putting your baby in a different room to sleep. I put my youngest up to nap in his cot from 6 weeks old because he kept getting woken by his brother. We had a video monitor and usually I would play with eldest in the next door room and check in on him occasionally. I would shut the curtains so it was nice and dark and put white noise on for him.

If I had to cuddle him to sleep etc, I'd put the telly on for the youngest downstairs. I do live in a terrace house so a bit easier to keep an eye on everyone!

Will your DC let you cuddle them to sleep? My eldest always wanted rocking to sleep and he was a huge baby. By that age I just used to cuddle him on my lap in his room, again with the room nice and dark and then transfer him to the cot when asleep.