sleeping question
normally i would swaddle ds and rock him to sleep and within 15-20 minutes i was home free. not so much anymore...
i think he is ready to be deswaddled but im not sure. if he comes out of the swaddle sometime in the night hes fine, stays asleep, looks comfy. but when i swaddle him the last few nights he has started fighting it. im fine with deswaddling him i just dont know how to put him to sleep otherwise.
i tried to put him in his crib almost asleep and he was okay for about a minute and then he started crying and screaming, i tried to let him cry for a little bit because of his age and thinking maybe he is ready for this? but it broke my heart and it didnt even last 2 minutes. i picked him up and he was instantly happy and smiling and kissing my face. and i was feeling guilty.
then i tried putting him in his crib and laying down next to him, we sidecar the crib so i really was right next to him, and he was hugging my arm or patting my face and almost asleep for a long time. problem is that if he is not swaddled his attacks his face. his hands just start flying all over and he is scratching his face and head and he keeps waking himself up and rolling all over and wanting to nurse constantly (for no more than a few seconds at a time). so i just laid there with him till he finally fell asleep. i think i was in and out of sleep and he just kept at it for a while.
any suggestions? books i should be reading? things i should be trying?
i used to be able to put him to sleep and take care of things like my homework and cleaning house and having dinner, or actually seeing DH. if this is the way im going to have to put him to sleep every night i will never get anything done.
Re: sleeping question
DS had the same issue with attacking his face. When we stopped swaddling we started putting him down on his tummy (he could roll both ways anyway) and he fell asleep pretty well that way.
Or could you swaddle him and then somehow unswaddle him after he falls asleep? What about a sleep sack? I know some people use those for the transition, but it really doesn't help with the arm flailing thing.
I have the same problem and our son is 6mos old. ?He keeps escaping too from the swaddle blanket and always gets 1 or both arms out. ?I co-sleep with him, sometimes that works and sometimes not. ?Otherwise he sleeps in between us. ?I have to constantly touch him, or push his arms/legs down to keep him asleep. ?
I'm at my wits end with it too.... so will watch this thread to see if anyone gives helpful advice. ?My hubby swears something is wrong with him, so it's nice to know your son has the same problem. ?I think some are just like this and eventually they outgrow it. ?Hard to know when you can unswaddle though. ?It's risky b/c who wants to lose even more sleep?? ?:)
?Hang in there!?