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Drowsy but awake?

redsox2934redsox2934
in Babies: 0 - 3 Months

Is it supposed to work to put my 6-1/2 week old down drowsy but awake?  Lately it's been really tough.  Should I not bother and wait a couple of weeks?  I put him down and he's quiet for about a minute (long enough for me to leave the room and start something else) and then he starts fussing.  Even the swing doesn't work as well anymore.  I have read some of the sleep books and I really try to watch the drowsy signs so that I catch that magic moment, but it really never works.  SOMETIMES when I put him down for bedtime, I only have to go in a couple of times and he falls asleep, but during the day, he can go the whole morning without a nap because I can't get him to fall asleep unless I take him out for errands.

When have you had success with drowsy but awake?  At this age, should I just do whatever works?  Hard because I have a toddler so if he falls asleep on me or in a carrier/wrap, I'm kind of stuck.  But I'm so scared of creating bad sleep habits because I had a hard time with my first.  Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences.

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Re: Drowsy but awake?

  • mben1119mben1119 member
    Babies don't learn to self soothe until after 4 months typically. Drowsy but awake doesn't work until then.
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  • Jacqui105Jacqui105 member
    This is so hard to do. It is my ultimate goal, but not always accomplished. If it doesn't work for us after 15 min or so, I do whatever it takes to get her to sleep. It is not worth missing a nap and having an overly tired baby. DD2 has been super fussy since week 6 and today finally was happier and I was able to put her down awake. Give it time, you can keep trying but don't be upset if it doesn't always work. I always use the same music (fisher price rainforest soother) when putting her down, we read the same one book,and I always use the word "sleepy time" and these are other ways to give concrete signals that it is time to sleep, so that when they are older you can use the sleepy time routine and they may be better ale to go down drowsy but awake because the routine is a signal for them that its time to sleep, so these things I think will make it easier to accomplish drowsy but awak later even if it isn't working now.
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  • CarolynTheRedCarolynTheRed member

    I've been gently working towards it - my daughter's not quite 3 months old, and it really does start to work. I mostly want to get out nursing her down. That would certainly help her dad put her down if I go out. :)

    So, if she's due to sleep, and is drowsy, I give her a soother, usually give her a tiny stuffed animal or blanket, which I slip her arms around,and put her down in her playpen or crib. I may sing her a little song, and I usually step back, but stroke her head or back. About 2/3 times, she'll drop off on her own, maybe after a little fussing (not crying, not screaming). I also sometimes do this if she's cranky and it's clearly because she's tired. I snuggle her a little, hold the soother to her mouth for a moment, and put her down after she calms down.

    It seems to be a learning process, and I'm sure to pick her right back up if she is clearly unhappy. But she's slowly learning to fall asleep alone. The big thing for me was not jumping as soon as she made noises - reasonably often, a 30 second whimper seems to just be her sort of waking up, or startling, but going right back down after she rolls or moves her hands. 

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