Sleep associations/cues

NeonNoon

Do you have an opinion on the subject? What works for your family?

ewenner

I don't have a specific "opinion" on the subject quite yet, but I have received recommendations from both my pediatrician and a local non-profit organization that does home visits to try to get into a routine before putting baby down for a nap. Even though our LO is only ten days old,they said it never hurts to start into a routine early, so that the baby will eventually develop a sleep association with the routine. We are trying it, and we shall see how it goes!

niknak1208

I think with newborns it's tough. And I'm finding it especially tough with three kids.. One of which is 2 weeks old.

I do think routines help tho. Kids like structure and knowing what comes next and sleep is part of that. Our routine is usually bath, stories and/or songs and then bed. We've done that since DS was born. He's 6. We did really well until about 4 mo ago. DD just suddenly resisted her crib. She'll be 3 in October. But she literally would not stay in there. I tried the whole cry it out business but she would never stop crying. Then I got into the very bad habit of letting her sleep with me. I am usually pretty against that but being pregnant I just didn't have the energy to fight with her. But then we moved our master to the finished basement to accommodate the new baby. When we did that, it also turned into DS not wanting to sleep in his bed either!! Usually he would only be allowed in our room on weekends but then he started sneaking in and I never noticed until he was sound asleep and I can't lift him to take him back to bed

Soo as you can see, we are now in quite the pickle and its a giant pain. My advice, try not to stray from whatever your routine is because it is challenging to get them back on it.

mindaa

Good question - We definitely need to figure out a routine. So far we've just been swaddling, and making sure the room is dark and quiet. Sometimes we use white noise. Seems to work - at 3 weeks LO has consistently slept 3-4 hours during the night. (After feeding every 2 hrs all afternoon)

niknak1208

@mindaa that's a great point too!! White noise works wonders when little ones have a hard time. I actually was working on a Father's Day project Friday and we were all in the garage and the baby wouldn't sleep so I googled womb sounds and found a fantastic you tube video that's half an hour. He was sound asleep in 30 seconds! I actually used this with DD a lot even when she was a toddler. Not so much to help her fall asleep but to drown out noise. Our dog would pant in the hall and smack her door with his tail or DS would sneak out of bed ten thousand times and wake her up. The white noise helped drown all that out so she didn't wake up to that outside noise.

supersarah77

We definitely have a routine we don't stray from and it works great for us. Bath, pajamas, read 3 books, turn off the light, DD gets to push the button on the white noise machine, she gets in bed, I put blankets on her and sit on the edge, sing the same two songs while rubbing her back, kiss her on the cheek and we both say "night night" and I walk out. After that DS is swaddled, lights out, nurse, down in the bassinet.

Oh, and I introduced a transitional object with DD when she was around 6 months I think: a little bunny that has a tiny blanket for a body. It helps her self-soothe. She is very attached to it now but it stays in the bed and is only for sleeping. I'll do the same for DS. Neither kid took a pacifier.

Geeps2

We from day 1 with both kids have stuck to a pretty tight schedule.  Obviously there is wiggle room but essentially we eat dinner at the same time each night, we have bath time nightly and then right into rooms to get dressed, books and bed.  I have an ipod in my Daughters room that plays sleepy songs all night long (LOVE LOVE LOVE Robin Speilberg piano music) and in my sons room he has the white noise machine because that worked better for him.  

Schedule is key around here.  Like pps said they like to know what to expect and most days it is pretty consistent around here.  We do have the occasional late night but in all we work around the kids sleep/nap schedule and if it works great, if not we either make it work or we just don't go.  Trying to deal wtih a cranky and tired 3 and 1 year old is not worth the hassle sometimes.

mandyreads

We never did a routine with the first 3. Just a go with the flow kinda thing. With DD4 she kinda started showing signs she wanted to go to bed around 7/8. We did a bath then swaddle or halo sack and I would lay her down. All of this was really early. About 4 months she started needing a bottle to fall asleep. But she sleeps from around 7 until about 3am...4oz of bottle and back to sleep until 6/7. She is almost 6mths.

I will say we did everything as usual from the moment we brought her home. With 2 teen girls and an 8yr old it is hard to be quite. Even iur doctor stressed to keep it the same. When she goes to bed at night it is in our room with a lamp on and the tv going.

NeonNoon

We've been going with the flow so far for convenience. Our pediatrician also suggested doing that for naps so we wouldn't have to plan around them. DS hasn't been terrible about napping on the go but lately he's been having a lot of trouble winding down. If it isn't just a phase, then I'll be adding more associations as time goes on.

mandyreads

Yeah, we nap whenever. And when I say we...I mean me and Payton. She sleeps longer if she is laying by me or if I am holding her.

mindaa

mandyreads said:

Yeah, we nap whenever. And when I say we...I mean me and Payton. She sleeps longer if she is laying by me or if I am holding her.

That's why I love the k'tan! DS naps great in there while I still get things done. Unless taking a nap is what I need to get done

mandyreads

Oh I definitely need the naps lately. Payton missed the 4mth sleep regression but seems to be picking up in the 6mth one. So she is up more at night and I sm worn out during the day.