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Advice for FTM, please
My LO, now a month old, fights sleep like a champ. If it were an olympic event he would probably medal in it. I don't know what to do to get him to sleep. He will nap ok during the day, but at night, just wont go to sleep, esp in his crib. He HATES being swaddled. I am trying to get him into a nightly routine, give him a bath with bedtime bath, followed by lotion with the bedtime lotion, nurse him and he starts to drfit away, but as soon as he is in his crib, he is up, might make it for about 15mins. The other week he was sleeping in his crib for 4-4 1/2 hrs a night, now all the sudden, he won't. Not even during the day. I have been putting him in his RNP at night so I can get some sleep. But he can't sleep in that forever. I mean eventually he will outgrow it. Just don't know what to do. I have a radio on for him, a light. I am at my wits end. Please help me!!! Feel like a failure as a mom because I can't get him to sleep at night.
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Re: Advice for FTM, please
Sorry but DS took the gold in that - he just started STTN about a month ago!!! ;D Don't worry, he was an extreme case.
If the RNP works now - I say just go with it. By the time he outgrows it you'll find something else that works. They change so frequently at this age that being flexible is your best bet. Oh, and if he hates swaddling, why do you need to do it? I really don't know. DS came home from NICU around this time of year so it was too hot to swaddle. I think some babes just aren't into it.
HTH and you get some sleep - RNPs rock!
Ditto.... do what you have to to get the kiddo to sleep.
Mine hated the swaddling too.. so we pretty much stopped it. I did use a sleep sack tho, but it was also wintertime.
I was also the evil mother who used a blanket for my kid. Granted, it was a knitted/crocheted one, but he loved snuggling in it from the get-go.
One thing we also figured out around 3 months... our night noises/snoring were keeping him awake. As soon as we moved him to his own room, it was like a beam of heavenly light shining down on us!
I ditto what everyone's said so far: you're in survival mode, and it will pass -- I promise! My son, just turned one, would NOT sleep until about 4 or 5 a.m. in the morning for the first 3 months. And he would just screech through the night! I honestly thought I'd die of exhaustion.
But then he pretty much got over it ... at around 3.5 months and after we gave him a pacifier. I had vowed never to give him a pacifier, but it was really the only thing that helped him to sleep.
Another thing I wanted to try was an in-bed co-sleeper, but our bed wasn't big enough for one. I think something like that may have helped, because when he was born I tried that in the hospital bed, keeping him with me instead of in the little bassinet, which helped us both sleep. But I couldn't try that at home.
Don't feel like a failure! Some babies are just crappy sleepers and, as much as you might want to start a routine, you may have to just adjust to going with the flow.
I agree with the others about doing anything and everything that works. DS was an awful sleeper. We tried getting him to sleep in the cradle, DH bottle feeding him, baths first, cuddles first... the works. What finally ended up working for us those first few months was nursing to sleep and bed sharing.
If you need the RNP(and I have no idea what that it) use it!!!
Good luck!
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just wanted to concur with other folks here ... use the RNP. my boy is almost six months old and he still sleeps in that fisher price rocker chair thingy.
some kids are just not great sleepers ... my oldest didn't "sttn" until he was nearl 2 years old, now he is a champ. am very lucky that this new one seems to sleep well.
Same advice as everyone else - go with what works. At a month old some babies are nothing but a bundle of nerve endings. Two of my three children had newborn congestion and they slept in their cars seats for over 3 months. Basically sleeping upright. I had a crib and a family cradle, but what they slept in was the carseat because it worked.
Just one suggestion that I haven't seen from others, you might want to try a white noise machine. If you little one is really sensitive to sound it might help muffle things for him. I am not a big fan of the sound machines that might ocean sounds or bubbling brooksm - I like just plain white noise.
I can completely relate to what you are feeling when you say that you feel incompetent as a mother when your baby won't sleep. It is ridiculously demoralizing when we can't get our babies to sleep despite all of our efforts. Please know that you are in VERY GOOD COMPANY - there are tons of mothers who have felt exactly the same way. Hang on. This really tough stage passes. You will get through it. Best of luck.
My little guy would only sleep in the swing or bouncy seat for the first 2-3 months. He would wake up the second he was laid down flat. In hindsight, I think he had reflux issues and sleeping upright was just more comfortable for him. The crib wasn't as cozy as our arms or the swing/seat.
Do what you have to do to get sleep!