I think a bad habit is starting

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Maybe you ladies can offer some advice.  So Aiden was usually a pretty good sleeper. He'd fall asleep rocking and we'd put him down, no problem. Well, lately pretty much every time I put him down he wakes up and starts crying. I go in and pick him up and the second he's in my arms he falls back asleep.  I've tried letting him just lay there a few minutes to see if he will fall back asleep but he tosses and turns and moans and grunts and eventually it'll turn to a full blown cry fest if I don't pick him up. Thoughts?

halfpintaggie

Had this problem with my Goddaughter.  Try this, [ut a heating pad down where you are going to lay him down & let the spot get nice & warm.  Then when you are ready to put him down, move the heating pad & set him on the warm spot.

It worked for Carly & one of her siblings, but not the other 2.  So it's hit & miss.  But it's worth a shot.

ucalum93

The book "The No Cry Sleep Solution" helped me.  I was able to *get* him down, but to this day with teething and developmental pushes, staying down is another matter. Still, I'll take whatever I can get.   For this, he has to sleep in the bed with me (I use a sleep positioner of sorts so he has his own space and cannot get smothered or rolled on, and it's just he and I in the bed with him next to the wall.  dh sleeps all alone in our big king as I don't work and I want him to be rested).  It hasn't been a cure all, but I get much more rest this way as opposed to walking up and down the hallway 10 times a night!  It's much easier to get him back down when I'm right there and hear him stirring before he wakes completely. 

I really liked the book though as it gave some great guidance for someone who does not want to go the CIO route. 

Also, my DS had silent reflux and would do the same thing before I treated him and ultimately had him cured of it.  Laying down would cause the reflux to creep up and was painful.  Once he was upright, it felt much better, but for what seemed like forever, he was miserable especially when we put him down to sleep.  He seemed fine otherwise.   But unless he has other symptoms, I think he's just being a baby.  And babies like to be held depsite how little sleep we get. 

Lastly, no matter what patterns have emerged, I am always reminded that the only constant is change.  Just when you think you get something down, they'll change it on you.  I hope this helps.

rayskit10

well, i will say again what i said in PAGAS' sleep post: you can't start a bad habit with a baby. you can't start a good one either. all things in their , especially sleep, are subject to change at any time and no matter he did yesterday, it's never the same day twice. so, do whatever works for you and don't worry about (or even bother to use the word) habits.

that being said, i also had a lot of luck improving our sleep conditions with the No Cry Sleep Solution. the "plan" really kicks in at 3 mos, which is when babies start to develop a natural routine (anything they do before then is just luck and coincidence). i admit, my son still doesn't STTN and we co-sleep part time to help with it, but that is his natural state of being and no book (and certainly not CIO with this kid) will remedy it... but the NCSS really helped me understand why he does or doesn't sleep and what i could do to improve his sleep and it was awesome!

jen5-03

It's too early for him to have habits.

Have you tried to just put your hand on him and making a hush/shushing sound? Sometimes a warm hand is enough reassurance that you're there.

PAGAS

We always put F down awake a night and we have had great success with that.  When I try to put her down after falling asleep on me (this is for naps), she always opens her eye straight away as soon as she hits the crib.  We follow the same sleep routine every night: change her, then feed her, then we read a story, then the lights go down and I start her music/nature sounds, we swaddle her on her changing table and put her in her crib.  She never fusses during this, she knows it means it is sleepy time and usually yawns a few times.

We are lucky to have a good sleeper, but I think the routine of it all really helps.  No matter if it is 8pm or 9:30pm, she knows the routine, not the schedule. 

I feel weird giving sleep advice right now since we are currently having a 5am wake up call issue, but she is still sleeping from 9pm to 5 am, so I really shouldn't complain. 

MrsMGR

At that age, I think routine really helps Having a routine is sort of the same as a habit to me though...We did the same exact routine with Joe everynight. Dinner, playtime, bathtime, booktime, bedtime. We rocked him for about 10 mins and sang to him after booktime and before bedtime and then we'd put him down awake but drowsy.

 

Here was my thought on it (didn't read this anywhere so no scientific proof). OK, when the baby is rocked and rocked and then the fall asleep in their mommy's arms, they are startled when the wake up and mommy is gone and they're alone in their crib in the dark. Think about when you go to sleep at night you shut your eyes and it seems like instantly you wake up and it is morning. To a baby, it must seem like *POOF* mommy dissapeared and it is scary. If you put them in their crib awake but drowsy, the last thing they'll remember before going to sleep is being in their crib alone in the dark (no mommy) so they aren't startled when they wake up in the same position.