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Sleep

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Original poster

Baby crawls around cot, so no longer falls asleep.

22 replies

macneil · 03/08/2007 20:08

I've checked around the threads and the answer everyone gives seems to be a grobag. But she won't sleep in a grobag, she screams.

She's 8mo and always went to sleep very easily, even though she's not a great sleeper. But now when I've left her, she's just going around on all fours for literally hours, and it stops her from falling asleep. When I hold the blanket down on either side she falls asleep, sometimes within minutes, sometimes after about 20 minutes, but I've read that you shouldn't make them go to sleep while you're there, but make them learn, instead, that they have to fall asleep on their own. But she just gets so tired after crawling around for hours that she gets angry and screamy after a while, too. Is this holding her still thing I can do obviously a bad habit to start getting into?

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Perigrine · 03/08/2007 20:12

Surely she will just crawl around until she falls asleep, or am I over simplificating!! I used to just go in later. 30 - 45 mins after last sound and put the blankets over them again.

dejags · 03/08/2007 20:12

First thing that springs to mind is that she may not be tired enough to go to sleep.

How much daytime sleep does she get? Or if this happens during the daytime, perhaps it might be worth cutting down on her naps.

I always find with my kids that if they have been sufficiently stimulated and have not slept too much during the day then going to bed is a doddle. I truly believe that in smaller babies "sleeps breeds sleep" but after a certain age (around 8 months) too much daytime sleep wrecks naps and bedtime.

Perigrine · 03/08/2007 20:14

How long do you wait before you go in and llift her when she gets "screamy". and is it an insist cry or a tired cry, coz I would tend to ignore a tired cry for a good while and not rush in to soothe.

Original poster

macneil · 03/08/2007 20:22

Hm, weirdly, while I was writing this, she crawled around until she fell asleep, face down. I think therefore your oversimplificating might have put the finger on my overanalysing.

I try to give her 2 x 1hour naps in the day, which she got today, absolutely perfectly. But what happens a lot (because I have to take her out to meet people, or someone comes round and wakes her up, frequently my foghorn of a mother) is that she doesn't get those, and it's when she doesn't get the sleeps that she seems to find it harder to go to sleep. So I think she's still just in the sleep breeds sleep zone (she was a bit premature) but will now keep an eye out for that changing.

Dejags: one problem I have had, actually, is that her second sleep comes too late, and that would tally with her not being tired yet.

Thanks for your thoughts.

OP posts:

Wilkie · 03/08/2007 20:24

When was the last time you tried a grobag? My LO wouldn't go in one for about 4 months, then 2 months ago I tried again and hey presto - he loves it.

He does still get up on all fours though and sit up but I just go in and lay him back down which he accepts no probs.

Original poster

macneil · 03/08/2007 20:28

It is yonks since I tried a grobag, about 5 months was the last time. I had two and left them in another country (I moved back to England around the same time) so didn't think it'd be worth trying it again just to have her yell after using it for 10 seconds. But as I'm always putting her blanket back on and as winter is obviously round the corner, maybe I should give it another go.

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foxinsocks · 03/08/2007 20:31

mine were both anti grobag children and big crawlers round their cots

I think children like that hate the fact that the grobag stops them from doing that - they like the space and feeling that they can move around

I think just leaving her to crawl around is the way to go.

Unfortunately, you may find this progresses to getting limbs stuck between the bars and then lots of jumping up and down holding onto the cot edges once they can pull themselves up so make sure the minute she can do that, you lower the base!

whomovedmychocolate · 03/08/2007 20:32

DD does this and stands up in her cotbed as well (normally resulting in falling headfirst on the headboard and then screaming).

I put her in grobags, she still bloody crawls and gets up. Some babies do this. She's 9.5 months btw.

Personally I put her down in a state of bm induced lethagy and hope. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. If you need to pin your daughter down to get her to sleep, why not try using a tucked sheet, halfway down (ie covering from the waist down) so she can't get down under it in the night) which will pin her without you having to be there. If you secure one side before putting her in, you have less to do and you can make it really tight with hospital corners, so she feels secure.

Wilkie · 03/08/2007 20:40

MacNeil - IMO Matalan does the best and cheapest grobags at £8 each.

Asda also do some fantastic lightweight ones for £4.

HTH

Original poster

macneil · 03/08/2007 20:45

It is good to hear my baby isn't totally crazy anyway! Well, when I say not crazy, I mean, not unusual. Standing up sounds terrifying! I think we have a good way to go before she starts doing that... then again not long ago I thought she'd never be able to roll off a double bed and she can get to the edge in 5 seconds. WHEN do they stop trying to kill themselves? Faced with an array of delightful toys, my computer and a chainsaw, she will go for a chainsaw, computer, scream, toys in that order. I haven't actually tried the chainsaw.

Will check the supes for a grobag, thanks! And will try the sheet method before I do that.

OP posts:

Nemo2007 · 03/08/2007 20:46

dd2 just got to this stage again she is nearly 7mths. I found wiht both my other 2 it lasted around 4-7wks ish then they started going straight to sleep again. At the minute DD2 thinks it is fab to crawl around, pull up on the side of the cot to stand grinning at you. What makes it worse with Dd2 is that DH will stand grinning back at her.

Nemo2007 · 03/08/2007 20:47

sorry meant ot say I always found if I turned awayfrom her so there is no eye contact that she tends to lie down and go to sleep after 5mins.

whomovedmychocolate · 03/08/2007 20:48

Oh it gets worse believe me. DD has (once) got out of the cotbed by climbing. We are seriously considering putting cushions in a protective moat round her bed just in case. Little monkey.

You wait till your DD starts pulling up to standing and then letting go to see what happens - boink - waaaaah...... boink, wwaaaaaahhhhh.

Buy some baby nurofen now!

uberalicelongbottom · 03/08/2007 20:54

Another suggestion re grobags - try putting her in it before feeding her. She might then associate it with milk / cuddles instead of just cot.

dollydumps · 03/08/2007 20:56

My lo has always slept in a grobag, but I have to say, she still manages to crawl around the cot (??) and stand up at the side to welcome you in the morning. She has also managed to undo the poppers on one occasion and take the damn thing off. And she's only 14 months! Have to say, though, I swear by them.

Nemo2007 · 03/08/2007 21:01

Will say about grobags,DD1 hated them once she could crawl and ended up taking her out of them when she could stand up on side of cot as she kept tripping on them and banging her head. DD2 has not entertained grobags from birth so cant see her enjoying being put in one now!!

Original poster

macneil · 03/08/2007 21:21

"You wait till your DD starts pulling up to standing and then letting go to see what happens - boink - waaaaah...... boink, wwaaaaaahhhhh."

I already hate the clonk of head on bars when she throws herself backward from a sitting position for no reason. Why? Why do they go back and do things that hurt?

I've done the moat of cushions, when I raised her head because she had a cold, and it was relatively close to the top of the cot, even though she couldn't roll at the time.

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whomovedmychocolate · 04/08/2007 18:35

Macnell - you have to learn to have a sense of humour about it. I like you was horrified the first twenty times, then I realised it was a developmental stage and realised that it was actually quite funny when she boinked herself and looked at me as if to say 'what did I do' and then did it again. She is never hurt for more than a few seconds and it does seem to be lessening now.

Although I am obviously knitting a roof for her cot!

Upsidedowncake · 05/08/2007 21:57

on the baby crawling stage, ds1 used to do this between the ages of 9 months and 13 months. After a month of him waking at 2am and crawling around his cot for two hours, I succumbed to one of the 73 crazy suggestions that I was given - to tuck him in. he was asleep in minutes.

The hv thought it was fine. Far from resenting the caged feeling, he really appreciated it. Every month or so, I would try untucking him, and he woke again, until he was 13 months.

Do you think your boy would go with blankets tucked in tightly?

Upsidedowncake · 05/08/2007 22:00

Sorry, rereading it, I just realised she was a girl.
Upside.

Original poster

macneil · 05/08/2007 22:50

You know, she was always a big fan of swaddling. We swaddled for a good 4 months. But when I tried to bring in the grobags (which I haven't bought yet, it's crazily hot this week) she wouldn't have any of it, and she seems to hate things sitting on her feet, and she got out of a firmish tucked-in position every time by just raising her legs higher and higher. But now you say it, maybe a firmer firmish tuck is a good idea, it's like the equivalent of me quite lightly holding down the blanket, which is what I do at nap time or she'll leave nap time till it's too late.

OP posts:

Twinklemegan · 05/08/2007 23:20

Ditto to Dollydumps - Grobags don't stop 'em moving around IME. Crawling and standing is par for the course here unfortunately.

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