The exercise ball

hbird0723

I know I haven't posted in a little while. DS had viral meningitis and before that we were visiting family. Anyway, is anyone else putting their LO asleep using the exercise ball? I am about bounced out. I loved the ball when it was the only thing that calmed her down but somehow it's turned into how she's put to sleep. If I don't have a ball I have to manually bounce her which hurts my knees. Also because she nurses to sleep as well she now gets mad if I'm not moving while she eats. I would love to just snuggle her on the glider and put her to sleep but she will kick and is restless and will end up being a screaming fight. Am I alone? I know we have formed a bad habit and I'm just wondering if she will grow out of this or if I have to break her of it and go through some screaming in the process? She's very stubborn. I tried a day of it and she would cry and literally scream and throw herself every time I got in the chair. I don't like her to do that when all I have to do is bounce but my back is killing me. I thought eventually she'd give in but by day 2 she was still just as mad if not more mad that I was sitting in the glider. I keep thinking well once her naps don't suck or we are back on a routine after being gone and her being sick I'll try again but fact is her naps will probably always suck! Any advice or just to know I'm not alone would be great

krlovell

Not a whole lot of help, but with DS we lived on the ball until he was 6 months. He hated any but the ball. I can completely understand being totally over it, but I'm also one of those people that will do whatever that works. Hang in there!!

hbird0723

Thanks! @krlovell‌ so at 6 months was he ok with transitioning to something else? That's why I said it's not worth it and just went back to bouncing but at the same time if it's something I'll have to break anyway then just wondering when. But if she might just grow out of needing it then I'll wait

spacepotatoes

We did it and LO still needs the bounce but the ball is killing my knees. I use the stairs instead.

krlovell

By 6 months he was beginning to crawl so the idea of being held all the time wasn't really something he wanted anymore. So then we just bounced when it was bed time or he was sick. And then by 9 months it had pretty much ended.

cupcakeclare

We went through the same thing! It was a lifesaver at first but after a couple months of constant bouncing it really wears on you. 

What worked for us to transition her from the bouncing was to really make a sleep time routine. Originally I would just bounce and nurse her to sleep, but then I decided to add other things to signal nap time so that I could try and take away the bouncing, I started by first turning on a sound machine, then turning the lights low, swaddling her, and then I would start nursing her while bouncing on the ball. Eventually, I would bounce less and less and then I got to a point where I could just nurse her and she would fall asleep. Today for the first time I just laid her in her crib with the sound machine on and she fell asleep all by herself! I was so excited I actually deflated my exercise ball. It was a long process (probably about a month) but it worked for us! 

I hope you find some answers! On the plus side, I bet your core is nice and strong. 

 

spacepotatoes

Do you have a swing? There's a post on the troublesome tots site about weaning the motion by using a swing and gradually reducing the speed. It didn't work for us but that was because of LO's personality more than the technique. 

https://www.troublesometots.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-sleeping-through-the-night-part-2/

hbird0723

Thanks everyone! I think a lot of it is her personality too. She hates change!! I'm going to try adding other things like suggested and see if that helps.

thefussybunch

@spacepotatoes does your LO still sleep in the swing? Or were you able to break this? If so, would you mind sharing how? I'm currently facing the swing dilemma with DD.

spacepotatoes

@thefussybunch‌ unfortunately, she refuses to nap anywhere except in our arms. Somewhere around 1.5 months, she started hating any other surface for naps. We've been trying to get her back into the swing, temporarily, but no luck. If it's the motion your LO really needs, the method in that link I posted might work. The "varsity" technique she describes comes from The Happiest Baby on the Block. It's worth a shot. I think the reason it didn't work for us is that LO is a tension increaser so once she starts fussing, it only escalates and stimulates her more. Sleep won't happen that way. But that's just her personality. You never know without trying. Good luck!

thefussybunch

Thanks @spacepotatoes! Definitely worth a shot!

delatl

Chiming in late but this is us exactly. I try to spare myself some bounce sessions by nursing her down. Also, the last few days I've discovered she will fall back asleep in bed with me without bouncing so I've done that. My only hope right now is that she isn't bounced to sleep at her grandparents where she spends 2 days/week and won't be at DC when she starts next month so hoping that weans her of the habit.