Tell me about putting LO down drowsy

[Deleted User] · July 2012

I really don't get how this works. Almost any time I put DS down, if he's not sound asleep and if I don't lay him down slowly and carefully, he wakes up, usually wide awake. I don't think I've ever put him down "drowsy but awake," honestly I'm not even sure what that means. He gets tired, but not drowsy, unless I'm nursing him I guess. He's a pretty sleepy eater and he usually falls aslee nursing. Sometimes I can rock him to sleep but he usually ends up wanting to nurse. So by the time he's done eating he's also asleep. If I just lay him down tired he stays awake playing and/or fussing. I can't imagine him falling asleep on his own. How do you do it?

allisons1014 · July 2012

We always put DD down between 8 and 8:30 p.m. She is always tired when we have her last feeding and if if she falls asleep great. If not, she is still giving me the sleepy signs: rubbing her eyes, yawning, snuggling up against me. I always put her in her crib then even if she hasn't fallen asleep. Many times she seems to wake back up. I just wait it out to see if she will go to sleep on her own and most of the time she does.

I typically just listen to the monitor for a while. Most of the time she will talk for 10 min or so and the fall asleep. If she starts to cry, I will go in and soothe her for a moment and then lay her back down again.

By the second time, she always goes to sleep.

shaket83 · July 2012

To me it means putting them down with their eyes are getting heavy and when we first started it means when they were ALMOST asleep. 9 times out of 10 ours went from drowsy to very awake when we started too. If they fussed a tiny bit, we left them, if they cried we picked them right up and started the whole process over again. It was soooooo frustrating when we started (they were around a month old), but now its nice to be able to put them down without having to rock them for 20 minutes. Now its the exception rather than the rule that they don't put themselves to sleep. I don't know what I would do with myself is that wasn't the case considering they are taking between 6 and 7 naps a day.

Mom32712 · July 2012

I nurse her right before putting her down to sleep. Some nights she falls asleep during nursing and other nights she starts to fall asleep but as soon as I put her down, she'll open her eyes and look wide awake. Sometimes she'll fuss when this happens. I used to pick her back up and nurse her a little more or soothe her until she fell until a deeper sleep but now I just leave her. I didn't think it would work but after a few minutes of fussing, we don't hear another sound. She falls asleep on her own. Sometimes she lay there talking to herself too but I never go back in unless she really starts crying.

meg_2006 · July 2012

When they show signs of being tired, it's time to try putting them down. When I first started I would rock DS a little, or bounce and sing to him until he settled in. Then I'd put him in his crib. Now I just put him in when he starts rubbing his eyes, yawning, and burying his head in my shoulder- no rocking.

When we first started it took him awhile, and he would be wide awake when I layed him down. He caught on pretty fast, though. Hope it's the same for you! If after a week it still doesn't work, wait a few more weeks. Your LO just might not be ready!

Amberrrr · July 2012

Doesn't work for us

Bella61811 · July 2012

Amberrrr:
Doesn't work for us

ugh same here!

boilerup227 · July 2012

For me, it just happened. I was like you, writing these posts about how people must be lying if they say they can put their LO down drowsy but awake and not have them throw a fit. LO would suddenly become WIDE awake, talk/play for about 5 minutes and then become hysterical. But, I kept trying once a week just to see if he was ready yet. About 3 weeks ago... it just worked. He rubbed his eyes for a few minutes and then was out. We've been on a roll for 3 weeks now and only 1 or 2 times has he needed me to go back in and resettle him. So, my advice is to keep trying. Now... if I ever get him to sleep in his crib (in a cosleeper now)... THAT will be a miracle!!

Good luck!

naturegal79 · July 2012

When they start getting tired, don't you feed them before putting them down? I do and every single time LO will fall asleep but still eat. When the bottle is gone, or almost gone I put him down for the night and he stays asleep.... isn't this how people usually do it?

MollySm · July 2012

We don't feed Lucia before putting her to sleep. For naps we feed her usually right when she wakes. At night we feed her usually about 30 - 60 min before bed. Then at bedtime we change her, put on pjs, read her 2 books, and then put her in her crib and leave. She talks and plays and then goes to sleep. We do have to go in a couple of times to put her paci back in.

[Deleted User] · July 2012

Thanks for the responses. Nighttime is easier because he falls into a pretty deep sleep while nursing. Naps are harder because he just seems to doze off while eating and wakes up if I don't lay him down carefully enough. I think maybe he's not quite ready to fall asleep without help yet. He's just starting to figure out how to suck his thumb, so I think he's still mastering self-soothing.

klmbbb · July 2012

Bella61811:
Amberrrr:
Doesn't work for us

ugh same here!

Same here.

slukd79 · July 2012

shaket83:
To me it means putting them down with their eyes are getting heavy and when we first started it means when they were ALMOST asleep. 9 times out of 10 ours went from drowsy to very awake when we started too. If they fussed a tiny bit, we left them, if they cried we picked them right up and started the whole process over again. It was soooooo frustrating when we started (they were around a month old), but now its nice to be able to put them down without having to rock them for 20 minutes. Now its the exception rather than the rule that they don't put themselves to sleep. I don't know what I would do with myself is that wasn't the case considering they are taking between 6 and 7 naps a day.

This is spot on for us too.

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