Settling

I'm running out of ideas and methods. I'm finding it harder to settle my baby during the afternoon lately and he's starting to fight his tiredness even though he has all the signs. Until about a week ago I was pretty much just popping him in his cot and he'd go to sleep without a fuss or I'd just rock him until he was half asleep and then pop him down, this is working less and singing and soft music doesn't quite work. He'll sometimes grizzle/cry/scream for over an hour and not sleep. Any suggestions?

When my baby gets like this i oten pop him into a warm bath which often settles him. i also find that the "Bedtime bath" liquid you can get is soft and gentle. It has lavender and chamomile in it.
I wish all the success. I hope i have helped you in some way.

My son who is now 3 months changes all the time the way he settles. Routine is very important and I really do not change much. I keep him up for about 2 hours and really tire him out. Then I top him up (breast feeding) wrap him up then place him in his bassinet. The key is the darkness and the temp of the room. I play the lullaby I have been playing since he was born and give him his dummy.
Every time he screams, struggles etc but I persist. When he was younger it use to take me a long time , up to an hour to settle him and that drives you crazy. Not much you can do but wait for this period to pass. And it does. Joshua now takes about 10 minutes to settle by giving him the dummy and walking away. He must go to sleep on his own.
Good luck.

My daughter, nine months, used to put herself to sleep most times. However these days she is crawling and standing so its hard to keep her down. We have a story at afternoon nap time and at night so she knows that its sleep time soon. I don't like putting her to sleep in fear that she won't learn to do it herself but I have to rub her hair or stroke her arms and legs to relax her till she closes her eyes. If I don't she will stay up for hours. Most afternoons she will struggle so I give her ten minutes then try again. By the third time she is out like a light. This is the only thing that works for me at the moment. I know it will change again. Good luck.

Erica,

I have found that lately my baby won't settle during the day on her back, I tryed her on her stomach and I had a win. Asleep in no time.

It you don't feel right letting your baby sleep on its tummy, wait till there asleep and roll baby over.

Couple drops of Lavender oil in the bath also might help (cheaper then buying J&J) settle baby.

Good Luck

Hi well you can try this it works for me. Give your baby there normal meal in the afternoon and then once you have finished that give your baby a bath let your baby play a while in the bath then dry and dress and put straight to bed. It works all the time on my little man. Good luck.Shell

I have a 9 month old and sometimes I have to take her for a walk in the pram to get her sleepy. She has been walking for about a month now so she wants to do this instead of go to bed! I am just waiting for her to not want to go into the pram and want to walk instead so then I will have the next problem! Anyway good luck with what ever you try.

Hi, I am the mother of a 9 week old boy who will not sleep for any more than 20-40mins during they day. I end up breastfeeding him every 2 hours, because he won't go back to sleep, in which he will only feed for around 5 mins and then fight with me because he doesn't want any more. My only saviour is that he goes for two 5 hour stretches over night. Any ideas for getting him to sleep longer, or resettling tricks??? I had no problems with my first child, although I did bottlefeed her.

I know how you feel - although that isn't much help. My eight month old soon only slept for 30 minutes during the day and fed every three hours (breastfed) until he was 6 months old. He then starting sleeping for an hour during the day but still wakes every 4 hours at night.

My friends say that boys are just more wakeful than girls. Not much help either.

Perhaps more stimulation during his play time would help him to sleep longer. I found the jolly jumper (available from Target) really helpful. Baby needs to be able to hold his head up to use this.

Also, Gymbaroo is great for babies and they start classes from 6 weeks.

My other suggestion is to contact (or join) the Australian Breastfeeding Association. They offer excellent advice and can even have a counsellor come to your home to give advice.

Good luck and hang in there with the breastfeeding!

I KNOW exactly how you feel, my baby is now 5 months, but untill 3 weeks ago he used to just fall asleep when i poped him in his cot, but now, oh gosh what can i say....
He screams and cries and carries on and if i let him carry on it'll last for an hour or even longer sad
But for now untill i go to Riverton (it's a place run thru child health for children out of routine eg, sleep deprived, children hooked on dunnies, children wont eat etc) (if interested ask your child health nurse if there is anywhere you can go to help you with routines etc like a day stay but longer and you go to them) nyway back to the point, for now i'm persisting with putting him into his cot and patting him on either his tummy or bottom of the nappy with my head turned so i'm not looking at him and so he cannot see my face, untill he starts to drift, this seems to work, i hope you manage to find some useful information in what myself or others have said.
goodluck and let us know how it went. smile

There is a great place in Sydney called Tresillian, that help with sleep/settling problems. I am fortunate in not having had to use them but I have had 3 girlfriends who have and they all swear by them. If you aren't in the Sydney area you maybe able to contact them by phone through Nepean Hospital. Also speak to your community nurse she may be albe to offer a few suggestions.