Putting baby down drowsy vs rocking or feeding

Sully3302 · October 2015

Does anyone actually put their newborn down for a nap/sleep drowsy but awake... And it actually works? We rock our LO to sleep (sometimes bouncy seat for naps) and I obviously nurse her to sleep during night feedings.

brit1983 · October 2015

Not yet. Sometimes it happens accidentally if I put him down to go do something and he falls asleep on his own!

cuphalffull · October 2015

brit1983 said:
Not yet. Sometimes it happens accidentally if I put him down to go do something and he falls asleep on his own!

Same here, and my LO is almost 4 weeks.

Mandy6585 · October 2015

Not yet... Glad you posted this as I was starting to feel like a failure for not being able to do it but so far it just has not happened. We've tried but she gets super upset so it's been back to rocking or walking. And like you said at night nursing to sleep. Figure there's plenty of time to get to that point and just trying to enjoy these moments while we can.

mel0601 · October 2015

During the day my girl needs to be held. No questions asked, not up for discussion. Lol she just won't have it, sleeping on her own. But at night amazingly, she will go in her bassinette quite awake and happily fall asleep and sleep for 4-5 hours at a time until sun up!

sgleave · October 2015

I do it, but only because I could nurse/hold baby for an hour and get him in the soundest sleep possible and the second I put him down he'll wake up upset. So I save myself the frustration and time now and hold him until I can tell he's getting ready to sleep, put him down, and hang out with him to keep him calm until he falls asleep (shushing, resting my hands on his chest/stomach, patting, whatever so he knows I'm there- consistently swaddling also helps). He usually wakes up soon after I walk away but he seems to fall back asleep pretty quickly. This is all accidental and started to save my sanity, but it seems to be working for the past week or so (6 weeks old).

ElleMF728 · October 2015

This isn't very realistic for most babies until at least 3 months and out of the fourth trimester. My pedi will usually suggest starting to try at our 4 month visit.

DS1 couldn't do it until much, much later. DS2 has already a few times by accident like PPs said but its usually because I've set him down to get something for his brother and came back to find him sleeping.

hakettler · October 2015

My LO will only do this at night sometimes. I usually walk/rock her after I feed her at night if she hasn't slept for ten minutes and then lay her in her swing. She'll fall asleep on her own at that point. She doesn't do this during the day though for naps. She's 5 weeks.

duckygirl11 · October 2015

I'm lucky and my 5 week old is fine (for the most part) being put down when not totally asleep. When we do put him down at night he is swaddled and after laying him in his bassinet we keep our hands on his sides tightly for a minute or so, then take one hand away and then the other. A nurse in the hospital showed us this trick and explained that it's the difference in pressure from being held to lying flat that often upsets them. Keeping hands on them helps "transition"' the pressure a little. Works for us.

shelbydd · October 2015

Only for bedtime at night. We've got a great bedtime routine that I think makes it easier to do that. 8pm we have bathtime, he gets a bottle after bath, and I put him down for bed after he eats. He's usually awake when I put him down but falls asleep within 10 minutes without crying or anything. LO is 7 weeks old and we've been doing that for about 3 weeks. Now daytime naps, that's a totally different thing. I feel like he flights those so however I can get him to nap, I take it.

bumptink · October 2015

LO has been falling asleep on his own pretty much since we brought him home! We started awarding him a laying him down in the beginning, and he has done great with it!

smiversen · October 2015

I can't wait until I can put him in his crib and he falls asleep on his own! He will fall asleep in the swing at my parents house but that's the only place he will go from wide awake to asleep. At my house, I can put him in the swing and when he gets tired he will start to cry - not a hard cry, just consistent. I let him do that for a bit then pick him up and he's instantly asleep. It's like he falls asleep in the swing but forgets to stop crying. I just think it's so weird!

pregat40 · October 2015

mel0601 said:
During the day my girl needs to be held. No questions asked, not up for discussion. Lol she just won't have it, sleeping on her own. But at night amazingly, she will go in her bassinette quite awake and happily fall asleep and sleep for 4-5 hours at a time until sun up!

Mine guy is the same way. Except sometimes he will fall asleep in the swing. And sometimes at night he fights falling asleep on his own. But usually after he eats, swaddle him, and give him pacifier and he will fall to sleep without me. Last night.i wrapped my nursing tank around the mattress like a sheet under his head and he slept well in the bassinet which hasn't been done in a few days....

rachellegiacco · October 2015

Not yet. My LO is very sensitive compared to my first born. She needs to always be swaddled and held or she cries uncontrollably. Unfortunately she won't take her thumb or a binki so idk what to do besides give in and rock her until she falls asleep. I really hope it changes when she gets older.

MiromiM · October 2015

Mine does occasionally. DD is 6 weeks. She's usually a sleepy baby. Also, I'm really bad about putting her down without accidentally jostling her. I've found that the first nap of the day is a good time to try. It's when I start transitions (rock n play to crib, angled crib to flat crib, putting her down awake but sleepy, etc.).

Sully3302 · October 2015

The first nap of the day is always my LO longest and she is the easiest to put down... I want to start having her nap in her crib once a day (she sleeps in a RNP) but I'm afraid to mess with this nap!

ktbkitten · October 2015

My LO is pretty good at going to sleep on his own at night. He doesn't like to be swaddled but sleeps so much better when he is swaddled. If I can get him into his swaddler without him fussing than I know that I can lay him down and he will fall asleep pretty quickly. I do sometimes hold my hands on him. There is seriously an art to putting babies to bed, and each baby is different. However, his naps during the day are not so good. He is fussy and makes a lot of noises while he is sleeping. I think that he is awake half the time. I've wondered if he would nap better swaddled, but since I want him to learn the difference between night and day I don't do much to make him nap longer.

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