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Post edited 9:55 pm – February 6, 2010 by fnygrl
Post edited 11:02 pm – February 6, 2010 by fnygrl

Our daughter is wonderful and sweet and loves to be cuddled. The only problem is that she wants to be cuddled constantly – even when sleeping. She goes to sleep in bed with us at night, as well as napping during the day. I can hold her for 15, 20, 30 minutes after she's fallen asleep nursing, but as soon as I put her down and walk out of the room, she's awake and not going back to sleep on her own. I often wear her in a sling, where she sleeps wonderfully, but sometimes my back wants a break, or I'd like to shower, or have both arms fully functional to play with our six-year-old son. Do you have any suggestions? Things I should be doing differently?  I realize there are at least a few and we very quickly need to break ourselves of these habits as, in the long run, it won't be good for any of us.  I know we need to make a change - but I am at a loss of where to begin. 

I should mention we nurse, swaddle, use a pacifier, and white noise.

As you can imagine, it's quite exhausting at times.

Thank you for listening~

Lauren

Thank you so much for your quick reply and helpful suggestions.  Quite honestly, I have no memory of how our now six-year-old son slept when he was his sisters age.  But I do know we were able to put him down and have him sleep on his own.  (falling asleep on his own was a different story!)  :)  We ultimately had to use a "cry it out" method with him, though I don't recall at what age.  But afterwards, he was a super sleeper.  I don't want to have to wait too long to get our daughter to that point.  I will continue to read and research and find what will work for us at this point in time.

Again, thank you for your advice.  It means a lot to know we're not alone  :)

Lauren

Post edited 9:35 pm – March 11, 2010 by fnygrl

Hello Kimberly~

Thank you so much for your response. 

It's funny, our now four-month-old (she was three-months when I originally posted) will fall asleep on her own at night, but daytime is SUCH a different animal!  It's incredible!  But around five o'clock at night, that's when the switch is flipped and she goes into nighttime sleep-mode and there's hardly an issue getting her down to sleep.

Daytime is still a struggle.  But I will continue trying each day and find what works for us.  Some days/weeks are great where (even though we're holding her in our arms) my husband and I can have her asleep for three hours.  But some days, we're lucky if she gets forty minutes.  We blame growth spurts and other baby things when that happens.    We're currently going through that stage right now.  I continue to wrap her up in the Sleepy Wrap and, now that the weather's a bit warmer, take her for walks.  She loves the wrap, but is very stimulated when outdoors as she loves to look at everything around her.  She did fall asleep yesterday for fifteen minutes in the wrap, but woke up and I was unable to get her back to sleep.  We'll get it together!    (at least that's what I tell myself!)

She LOVES to be swaddled and sleeps very well without her arms flying about.    And yes, we are co-sleeping.  Knock-on-wood that seems to be working for us.  We bought her a bassinet which she “slept” in maybe three times.  By the time she was three-months-old, she was already over the weight limit, so we ended up selling it on ebay.

I'm so envious of parents who have babies who will fall asleep anywhere.  Doesn't matter where they are – but if they're tired, they'll just fall asleep on their own.  One day our day will come!

Thanks again for being there for me and the other mom's (and dad's) going through this.  I really do appreciate it!

Lauren

Fareeda~

Thank you so much for your response and your tip about the Cozy Bag!  What a neat idea!  I just did a quick search online after reading your post and found "HotSpots Corn Bag" and it seems to be along the same lines as the Cozy Bag.  I'll look a little further to see if I can find the same/similar item you used and give it a try.  Can't hurt, right?  :)

Again, thanks for your reply.  It really does help to know, especially during those days that feel like they're never going to end, that we're not alone.  I keep reminding myself it does and will get better.  It's just a matter of time, persistance, and knowing the right and consistent techniques to use  :)

Thanks again~

Lauren

Hi Lauren,

My pleasure! Good luck with it and I really hope it helps.  Indeed, it's such a comfort to know that we are not alone :)  Take care, Fareeda

Thank you, Kimberly!

If we don't keep on trying, we're sunk!  :)  We'll just keep applying different methods and see what works and what doesn't.  Not every baby is the same and I'm reminded of that every day.  ;)

Thank you, too, for the reminder of the Napping Guide.  I'll take another look and see what else we can try!

Thanks again!