15 week old who will only sleep during the day with constant motion

[BelQ]

My 15 week old has always needed to be rocked or bounced to sleep and continues to need this to sleep during the day. Nights are good-she wakes for feeds and goes back to sleep again fine, but during the day she only sleeps if in a moving pram or in a rocker- a battery powered miracle!. I'd like her to be able to nap in her cot, but she just cries and cries and ends up exhausted. Any advice on how to make the transition to daytime sleeping without motion?

its so difficult isn't it. i had the same problem and judging by this regular post - so do ALOT of people!

i have said previously that i had to do a bit of 'training' based around shushing and 'sleepy time' ( from the alison scott wright book on sleep, but think there are alot with a similar technique) my LO responded really well. the thing i realised was, she settled really well back to sleep herself when she woke in the night, and so figured she MUST be able to settle herself without motion.once i realised she was doing it herself at night, figured needed to get tougher in the day!

key bits were:

• getting baby when not over tired so before 2 hour window,so they are calm ( and well fed ,so you know they are only crying due to tiredness and craving the usual rocking)
• doing the same thing everytime. shushing,patting, and preparing the baby for what is going to happen ' time for bed now' as you carry them in, close curtains, change nappy, half swaddle,sleeping bag or whatever you use, cuddle, kiss, more shushing and stroking, then out
• judging when to go back in with the crying and saying and doing the SAME thing everytime, until they settle.

my LO took to it really well, but if she had cried and cried i would have caved in!! luckily she whimpered a bit but gave in gracefully! maybe the pick up put down baby whisperer ( i think) method might work better if your baby is crying alot.

i tried earlier than 15 weeks and she cried, so left it for a couple of weeks, read about it properly, as in got better tips than just me 'having a go"! and tried again and it worked.

its really really tough. and so exhausting. i feel for you. but my experience may help you see there is light at the end of the tunnel!

Thanks for taking the time to give such detailed advice! I left DD to settle herself in the early hours this morning after changing her and she did drop off so there is hope I think!

Do you go for naps in the same place as bedtime? I think the reason DD drops off so easily at bedtime is because it's the only time of day she's in that room (our bedrom)so must think ah! I know what's happening now!

I'm thinking naps in her cot in the nursery instead??

I also think part of the problem is that I've found a reliable way to make her sleep (lovely rocker!) but there will come a day when she's to big for it and I will be very aware of the large rod in my back....

I think some courage is needed here in the same way as I persevered to make her understand bedtime....

we moved her into her own room when she was about 11 weeks, so i do the day sleeps in the same place she sleeps at night - so there is that association. i differentiate it by not putting on her sleeping bag and just half swaddling her ( bottom half). you are so right on them knowing what is happening - that is the key apparently, them knowing the routine and relaxing into the routine they know(!). it works at night, so no reason it can't in the day.

be really good to do day sleeps in her nursery i think, as that way you are getting her used to that room and the sleep association in there ( oooo - and a bonus that it will then be a doddle when you want her to sleep in there at night, a whole other nightmare for some!)

i found i HAD to get her out of rocking, as she was too heavy!!

go for it. i bet it will be a shock how quick she adapts.fingers crossed, cause know how crap it is - the rocking thing!

Just wanted to give some brief feedback on my efforts to get DD to sleep without rocking(and results), and another thanks tinks27. Hopefully encouraging for those out there struggling with this one.

We had to go for it this weekend as we were staying with my parents in law and couldn't take the rocker.

I just took a deep breath, told her she was going to have a nap and put her down in the travel cot. I knew she was tired-yawns, eye rubbing-and I decided that she wasn't leaving the room until she'd slept.

It took about 20 minutes and she did cry a bit(fading to grizzle then grumble) and I picked her up a couple of times repeating the same thing 'nap time, close your eyes and go to sleep' and it bloody worked!

Eyes closed, went to sleep, stayed asleep for an hour.

Not just a fluke either-done it for every nap since saturday.

Yup, just needed to grow a pair and be firm and trust myself that I was the mummy and I knew she was tired and needed to sleep.

Phew. Rocker can stop taking up half my living room.

Can't believe I didn't do it sooner.