Drowsy but awake question

cariton · February 2016

Hello I have a 10 week old baby and would like to teach him to go to sleep drowsy but awake. However, he has never been a good napper and I'm concerned about him fighting his sleep and completely missing his nap and making him overtired.. How can I teach him without risking him missing a nap? I've tried a couple time but after maybe 15 minutes of him getting wide awake the second I put him down so I've just put him to sleep so it does not affect his night time.. Also just a note he is still waking up every 2 1/2 hours at night so I think this could help.Thank you so much for your help!

misamima · February 2016

LO goes down drowsy but awake like a champ. Every nap time. But she wakes up 30 mins into her nap screaming bloody murder, right on the frkkn dot. It's so incredibly frustrating because the point of drowsy but awake is for her to learn how to self soothe. But I can never get her back down after she wakes. So frustrating. I guess that's not very helpful.

katy4128 · February 2016

I was trying to do the whole put him down drowsy but awake thing but it would take so long after his bottle for him to get drowsy because he also likes to fight sleep. So after he finishes his bottle I just sing him two songs, give him a kiss and say I love you then put him in his crib. He will play for a few minutes and ends up calming down and falling asleep within about 20 mins. Idk if he just needs some alone time before he falls asleep or if he just likes his crib. It works for us maybe with a shot to just leave him be in his crib for a bit and see if he falls asleep.

Note: If Leo starts crying while in crib playing before he gets sleepy, I pick him up and rock a little bit more.

teachmegs817 · February 2016

DS has always been a good, "drowsy but awake" sleeper. It's pretty much the only way we can get him to sleep. Rarely can we just plop him down in the Rock and Play or crib awake and he'll fall asleep. To limit the amount of time he may take to fall asleep, because sometimes he is drowsy, but when we put him down he doesn't settle into sleep for a good 15-20 minutes, we rock him standing up by his RnP or crib for 3-4 minutes after his nightly feedings and before putting him down for a nap. Once we see his eyes staying closed longer, we put him down, put his pacifier in and say good night to him.

DS is 10w old and is still not sleeping longer than 3 hour stretches at night. That's pretty much the longest he will go. I think we got a 3 1/2 hour stretch a handful of times. I am holding onto the hope that magically one night I'll wake up and say; "I haven't had to get up to make LO a bottle yet? Did he just sleep 5-6 hours in a row!?"

*I hope that night comes within the next couple of weeks*

Fdpolla92 · February 2016

DD was great at first. When she would get sleepy we could put her in her crib and she would go to sleep. It took a while to find out when the right time was though. Over the last 2 weeks she has been crying when we put her down. What we have been doing is just putting a hand on her chest and kind of rocking her back and forth for a minute until she calms down then walking out. Sometimes we have to go back in a few times but that seems to be working for now so she isn't fully waking back up from moving her. She is 11 weeks and takes 2-3 hour naps and sleeps from about 8pm to 6am waking up once to eat

pupsicle23 · February 2016

Consistency is key, I think. DD will go to bed drowsy but awake and sleep 8-10 hours at this point, but we are still working on naps. I make sure she's fed, rock her, and put her down. For bedtime, I kind of inched along and put her down a little less asleep every time. Now, she sometimes will fight sleep on me and put herself to sleep in her crib. Only at night, though. She still prefers to nap on me, but will go down drowsy but awake for her long morning nap.

If she fusses, I pick her up, calm her, and try again. If you're breastfeeding, I have read that sometimes it's better to have your SO soothe after the first time putting the baby down

cariton · February 2016

That's for everyone's input it makes me hopeful that he can do it. I definitely want to minimize crying so I'd probably pick him up if he is getting upset (after trying patting) and put him down again. What would you suggest when it comes to his naps ... How hard or long should I try to wait him out without falling asleep? Should I risk sacrificing a nap? He is a very persistent little guy and I could see him fighting it for the entire nap... I've obviously had a hand in this by alway putting him to sleep regardless of how long it takes.. Thanks for everyone's input and help I feel at a loss with his sleeping right now

pupsicle23 · February 2016

At this age, I try a couple of times with naps but if it fails I'll do whatever it takes to get her to sleep. DD has a rough time if she doesn't nap as needed.

cariton · February 2016

What is your success rate? And what is your criteria for you putting her to sleep? Are you seeing any progress?

violetigerlily · February 2016

The whole "sleep begets sleep" thing really helped us, although we haven't really pushed trying to get LO down drowsy but awake yet. He has reflux and was overtired and having trouble not only sleeping but also nursing. After a few days of actively (rocking, nursing in a dark quiet room with no TV just soft music before naps) trying to help him sleep more, he started sleeping better even without the extra effort from us. I think he just needed to recover from being overtired before anything else would work.

I'm not sure from your post if you think LO might be a bit sleep deprived right now but if you think he is, maybe starting the drowsy but awake training after a few days of actively (even if it means rocking/babywearing etc) getting him to sleep more might get him in a better position to start.

12815AEEA · February 2016

violetigerlily said:

The whole "sleep begets sleep" thing really helped us, although we haven't really pushed trying to get LO down drowsy but awake yet. He has reflux and was overtired and having trouble not only sleeping but also nursing. After a few days of actively (rocking, nursing in a dark quiet room with no TV just soft music before naps) trying to help him sleep more, he started sleeping better even without the extra effort from us. I think he just needed to recover from being overtired before anything else would work.

I'm not sure from your post if you think LO might be a bit sleep deprived right now but if you think he is, maybe starting the drowsy but awake training after a few days of actively (even if it means rocking/babywearing etc) getting him to sleep more might get him in a better position to start.

This is what I had to do. Now my LO is getting better at putting herself to sleep for naps. I do have to be on it though to catch her at the right time. Also, I rock her for a few minutes to make sure she's drowsy.

cariton · February 2016

Thanks for that information from sleep beget sleep.. And no he should not be overtired... The 2 things I focus on the most are.. A full feed and a good nap! that is exactly my fear when it comes to teaching him to fall asleep.. I do not want an overtired baby that's why I do not know how to do this without causing over tiredness... Any techniques anyone has used to teach and not cause overtiredness.. He's pretty strong will and will fight it! And I minimize crying as much as I can

pupsicle23 · February 2016

@cariton When she shows sleepy signs, I'll rock her and encourage her to take her paci. I'll sing or shhhh depending on what she wants. She'll droop and then close her eyes, and that's when I'll go for it. She will take a nap or two in her crib, which is progress from her screaming as soon as I put her in there, but length varies and it gets much harder as the day goes on. She will almost always nap in her swing.

RachelAnspach · February 2016

Same exact thing going on with mine!!! 30 mins like clockwork!!! Aaaaah!

Want a personalized experience?

Drowsy but awake question

Re: Drowsy but awake question

Choose Another Board

Search Boards