what do you do?

meg_2006

WDYD with a baby that doesn't want to have a cuddle before bedtime?  I wrote a post last week about how we don't have much of a cuddler, and he never rocks to sleep.  But I wish I could do something to bond with him just at bedtime.  I feel guilty that all we do is give him a bottle and put him to bed.  Obviously he's not going to have a bottle the rest of his life.  

He doesn't want to sit and rock or let me sing to him.  He doesn't want to have a book read...all the kid wants to do is stand and bounce.  Always.  

Ideas? 

aboynamedbarry

sing him a song while he bounces? i know that's not like a wind down activity, but still do typical bedtime stuff and as he gets older i'll be he will calm down at least a little and sometimes want to sit... if you give up altogether though he'll be totally used to that and you may not get that down time. I feel ya though, my baby isn't super cuddly. she will sometimes wake up at night and she is good at putting herself back to sleep, but sometimes i just want to scoop her up and cuddle her because that's about the only time she will... last night i did

Brit's Luna154

DD is the same way. If she is awake, she wants me to hold her hands so she can stand. There is no cuddling. We do a bath before bed, which is not nearly the same as cuddling, but that is our evening bonding activity.

bigbear

Aweee he's a busy one
Ya, maybe try to just interact with him while he's bouncing. Just stand in front of him and have that eye contact and I don't know.. bounce with him haha

My DD is always bouncing around, too. She still cuddles but when I want more I turn her around and let her bounce in my lap and every think she comes down I give her kiss on the cheek. At least something

anhg80

We also have an anti-cuddler.  At first our bedtime routine was simply:

-New diaper/Jammies

-Medicine

-Boob/bottle

-Bed

Now that this routine is established, I try to read a book before feeding.  I get her on my lap, where she tries to get to the boob or bottle, and I read the same book (so I have it memorized) super fast every night.  She's started waiting more patiently for me to get through the book, although some nights she's not having it and I jump straight to the last page.  I hope to eventually read the book after feeding and before brushing our teeth (she has 2 teeth, so we also now brush after eating), but right now she's usually close to passed out when I try to brush her teeth.

MrsAMB07

DD is not a cuddler. It bugs me and DH, and even DS gets frustrated because we all want to snuggle her but she's not having it. She likes to be held and get attention at times, but her heads up, looking around, or now she climbs up us. It's how she's always been - way too preoccupied with everything else in the world to slow down and cuddle. Even when she was little, I'd try to rock her to sleep, but she'd fuss and wiggle out of my arms until I just put her in her crib where she wanted to be. Miss Independent.

Now lately she's been sitting nice in the rocking chair at night if I sing to her and hold her close...but it's got a 2 minute time limit max before she's trying to climb me again. I've learned just to enjoy those fleeting moments where she actually lets herself be cuddles quietly. If she was lacking for anything or feeling like she was missing something, she'd let me know.

Sometimes she wakes up and will sleep longer if I bring her in bed with me. I was super strict about not wanting to set this kind of habit with DS, but with her it's one of the only times she's willing to be held close and cuddled, so I enjoy it!