http://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums/ For those who choose to comfort their baby to sleep, co-sleep or use any other methods of no-cry, gentle sleeping. Share experiences and seek advice from other mums doing the same if you are looking for gentle answers on sleeping issues. This is NOT a forum for Controlled Crying or other cry it out sleep methods. Please post these discussions in General Baby Discussion or they will be removed. en Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:09:00 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums/images/bellybelly2/misc/rss.jpg http://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums/ http://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums/comforted-sleeping-no-cry-sleep-solutions/116945-help-i-dont-want-do-controlled-crying.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:08:36 GMT Hi.

my gorgeous boy is 4.5 months old. It took me ages to work out his sleep cues and then his general sleep routine. He's never been one to sleep quite as much as he apparently 'should' - tends to have only 45 mins at a time during the day, but that's ok. He used to be quite good at going to sleep - could put him down and he might grizzle a bit, then just turn his head to the side and go to sleep. Then it started getting a bit harder and I started to rock him until he was either asleep or right on the edge and then put him down, and that was working fine.

A few weeks ago he gave some beautiful big night-time sleeps - ten hours!!! - but now he's back to waking every 3-4 hours for a feed. He self- settles quite well during the night, although if he wakes up after 4am often won't go back to sleep...

Anyhow, the big problem now is getting him to sleep during the day, and down for the evening. As soon as I put him in his cot he starts yelling. I pick him up and rock him until he quiets, but as soon as he feels my weight shift to put him down he's yelling and screaming again. He's also started waking about 5 minutes into a sleep looking absolutely terrified and screaming.

I rang the MCHN help line yesterday and was advised to 'let him cry'. I can't do that. I'm ok with letting him grizzle to himself, but not when he's distressed and upset. So what can I do? I know that he *can* put himself to sleep and do it calmly, cos he's done it before. I can't keep going this way tho - sometimes just to ensure he actually gets some sleep during the day I end up with him on my lap. And he's getting bigger quickly - I'm not going to be able to keep up the rocking for much longer :rolleyes:

Sorry, this is a bit garbled - I'm tired and it's all a bit stressful.

I hope somebody has some suggestions!

Cheers,
Catherine

oh, and I'm 99% sure he's not sick - when he's awake, he's happy - gurgling and laughing. Not rubbing his ears, drooling a lot but can't see any other signs of teeth.

90% formula fed with BF 'top up' / comfort (long story, suffice to say not what I would have chosen, but that's the hand we were dealt) ]]> Comforted Sleeping - No-Cry Sleep Solutions lovelycate http://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums/comforted-sleeping-no-cry-sleep-solutions/116945-help-i-dont-want-do-controlled-crying.html http://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums/comforted-sleeping-no-cry-sleep-solutions/116814-co-sleeping-8-months.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 08:08:34 GMT DS is 8 months old. I've got two older children (7 and 5) who were, c/s, bottle fed, controlled cried strict routine babies...... And I regret it everyday!!!!
Anyway DS3 (the 8 month old) is a VBA2C, breastfed baby. He has ABSOLUTLY NO routine and feeds whenever he feels like it :) He is such a happy, contented baby. Anyway he sleeps in his cot in his room. He slept in a bassinet as a newborn by my side then moved into his room at 3 months. Only he still wakes for night feeds. Sometimes he'll wake once for a feed then the next day he'll wake 3-4 times. When he wakes in the morning DH gets him out of bed and I feed him in bed where he falls alseep and we'll sleep together for about 1-2hrs before getting up.

ANyway over the past few weeks I've been thinking about co-sleeping with him. I really sic of getting up during the night to feed him. If we were in bed together he'd just crawl over and help himself and I think I'd get more sleep. Anyway my question is...... would it be silly of be to begin co-sleeping at such a late stage? He settles well in his cot. He is happy in his cot. But I hate getting up and walking to the other end of the house. How hard is it to get your child into their own bed after they have co-slept with their parents???

Any thoughts would be appreciated :D ]]> Comforted Sleeping - No-Cry Sleep Solutions julie_ann_jules http://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums/comforted-sleeping-no-cry-sleep-solutions/116814-co-sleeping-8-months.html http://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums/comforted-sleeping-no-cry-sleep-solutions/116798-help-should-i-co-sleep-not.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 06:41:49 GMT Hi all. My beautiful baby daughter is almost seven weeks old. During her first few weeks she was happy to sleep for up to 3 hours in a stretch in her bassinett after being cuddled to sleep. However, in the last two weeks she wakes up as soon as I put her down and will not have a bar of it. The only place she wants to sleep in on my chest - with her belly against my chest. Wrapping/swaddling doesn't seem to work for her - just results in a lot of grunting as she tries to get out of the wrap (usually successful). I have a gro-bag but even that is not working.

My gut instinct is to just let her sleep with us - but am worried about safety of doing this, so would love some suggestions/advice. If anyone does co-sleep can you let me know what you do to make it as safe as possible.

Not getting much support from my own family - my mother told me I need to start being a 'mother' - and let her cry for a while - wtf? ]]> Comforted Sleeping - No-Cry Sleep Solutions babymiracles http://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums/comforted-sleeping-no-cry-sleep-solutions/116798-help-should-i-co-sleep-not.html http://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums/comforted-sleeping-no-cry-sleep-solutions/116257-7-month-old-suddenly-difficult-settle.html Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:44:59 GMT A little over a week ago, DS decided he didn't want to go to sleep at his usual time. We have had the same bedtime routine since he was 3 months old. He would go to bed around 7pm and wake 4 hourly for a feed. Lately, it has been taking 3-4 hours to settle him and get him to sleep each night. DH works nights, so its all up to me. He had 2 teeth come through 2 weeks ago and I dont see any others, so I dont think it's teething. He is very clingy at the moment too, and during the day time he isnt happy unless he is on me or I sit with him on the floor.

No amount of patting, singing, talking, rocking is working and I am exhausted. DH left for work at 7pm tonight and I was almost in tears because I knew what I was going to be in for for the next 3-4 hours, and so far he hasn't disappointed. I can't put him down as he just screams straight away and he wont have a bar of me trying to settle him unless I pick him up.
I feel more tired after this last week than I did in his first couple of months.

Is this normal? It just seems like such a long time to try and get him to sleep, and I am at a loss as to what else I can do. ]]> Comforted Sleeping - No-Cry Sleep Solutions Megan http://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums/comforted-sleeping-no-cry-sleep-solutions/116257-7-month-old-suddenly-difficult-settle.html http://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums/comforted-sleeping-no-cry-sleep-solutions/116253-22-month-old-wont-stay-bed.html Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:08:39 GMT OK, I admit it, I am at my wits end! DH has gone back OS to work for 9 weeks and I am on my own trying get DS ready and settled in his own bed before the next one arrives :doh:

We were co-sleeping until about 3 months ago where we moved him into his own room. I would lie with him until he went to sleep, then getting bigger it simply was not working and I would sit next to his bed in a chair and wait for him to go to sleep. Now I am trying to get him to go to sleep without me in the room. We do the same bedtime routine, I hop into bed with him, read a book and we have a brief chat about the day, lots of kisses and cuddles, then I give him a kiss and tell him I will be back soon. Well soon never happens because I spend the next hour or so outside his room because he gets out of bed every 15 seconds, I put him back with kisses and cuddles. If he stays in bed for longer (and I am talking about 20 seconds) then I pop in, more kisses and cuddles, let him know I will be back soon and leave.

This does not seem to be working at all. After a week I would expect him to stay in bed for longer than 15 seconds before coming out!

Any ideas or suggestions would be a life saver at this point because I am tired, emotional and don't want to start yelling at him and making bedtime a negative experience for us both. It never has been up until now:pray:

Thanks,
Tracey ]]> Comforted Sleeping - No-Cry Sleep Solutions traceyvon http://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums/comforted-sleeping-no-cry-sleep-solutions/116253-22-month-old-wont-stay-bed.html http://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums/comforted-sleeping-no-cry-sleep-solutions/116175-7-mth-ol-wont-sleep-her-cot.html Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:54:07 GMT will only sleep in our big bed.

DD normally goes to sleep in her cot, and then when we go to bed, when she wakes up, DD comes in with us. I should mention that DD's cot is in our room.

Tonight, she went to bed at 6.45pm. woke up at 7.30pm (which is not unusual, does this often but goes back to sleep in cot) and we keep trying but we can't move her to her cot without tears. She falls asleep instantly in our bed.

We don't know what to do? I realise that 7 months is seperation anxiety and she probably thinks that our bed is her bed anyway, but I don't feel safe leaving her alone in our bed.

Suggestions anyone? We're not sure how to handle it, whether to let it go for the moment, or take our bed out of the equation and get her sleeping in her cot?? ]]> Comforted Sleeping - No-Cry Sleep Solutions Winter http://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums/comforted-sleeping-no-cry-sleep-solutions/116175-7-mth-ol-wont-sleep-her-cot.html http://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums/comforted-sleeping-no-cry-sleep-solutions/116098-my-dear-husband-preventing-us-co-sleeping-because.html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:11:17 GMT HE SNORES LIKE A TROOPER!!!!!

I started off co sleeping with DD because she was very unsettled from birth and it was a way off getting some sleep. But then I really loved having her close and found that it meant so much more than that. It has been really great. HOWEVER, because DH snores like a steam train he was waking DD up and now I put her in her crib in her room for half the night until she wakes for a feed and then I go and sleep on a foam mattress with her in her room.
I just read that co sleeping is better for babies when it's done for the whole night instead of after when they wake up.
How can I stop DH snoring so we can all sleep in the same bed again ?
Any ideas ladies ?....or any gentlemen out there with ideas, please share. ]]> Comforted Sleeping - No-Cry Sleep Solutions prettybutterfly http://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums/comforted-sleeping-no-cry-sleep-solutions/116098-my-dear-husband-preventing-us-co-sleeping-because.html http://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums/comforted-sleeping-no-cry-sleep-solutions/116087-night-sobbing-lighting.html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:30:49 GMT For the past week DS has been getting progressively harder and harder to put down for his night time sleep. It started that he would talk for an hour (no issues with that) and then this talking would get more and more upset as the week has gone on :shakehead:. He has also been waking during the night with trying to get him back down harder and harder. Previously he has been a dream. Last night he was inconsolable. Just lying there sobbing into his matress. I tried all i could think of and then left the hallway light on and his door open and voila asleep... He has never ever slept with his door open or the light on. And just this evening after trying everything i dug out a night light plugged it in and within five minutes silence... Has anyone else had this occur? Why? Is it normal to suddenly go from no light to needing one? im a little perplexed... :dunno: For the past week DS has been getting progressively harder and harder to put down for his night time sleep. It started that he would talk for an hour (no issues with that) and then this talking would get more and more upset as the week has gone on :shakehead:. He has also been waking during the night with trying to get him back down harder and harder.

Previously he has been a dream.

Last night he was inconsolable. Just lying there sobbing into his matress. I tried all i could think of and then left the hallway light on and his door open and voila asleep...

He has never ever slept with his door open or the light on.

And just this evening after trying everything i dug out a night light plugged it in and within five minutes silence...

Has anyone else had this occur? Why? Is it normal to suddenly go from no light to needing one? im a little perplexed... :dunno: ]]> Comforted Sleeping - No-Cry Sleep Solutions mum1984 http://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums/comforted-sleeping-no-cry-sleep-solutions/116087-night-sobbing-lighting.html http://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums/comforted-sleeping-no-cry-sleep-solutions/115427-sleep-time-our-house-goes-like.html Sat, 31 Oct 2009 09:39:40 GMT Ok this might be a bit jumbled and long, but please bare (sp??) with me, we need :help:!!!

Ok so....where to start? Well, I have put htis here because I would rather use gentle methods than any kind of crying or ignoring techniques, but at the moment, DH and I are starting to get a bit desperate.

Alright, well lets just say that I haven't had a full nights sleep in over 2 1/2yrs....and I haven't had any less than 2 wakings in more than 14mths. I am tired, DH is tired. We are both over the sleeping issues in our house and are going to try to do something about it, but don't really have any kind of plan.

Some of the issues we want to address are.....
We live in a 2br unit, which most likely won't be changing anytime soon. DS sleeps in our room full time. He sleeps in his cot in our room part time, then come into my bed. DD goes to sleep in her big girl bed, then comes into our room part way through the night. DH sleeps on a double mattress on the floor in our room most of the time. He sleeps in our bed if DS isn't in it, or if DD isn't in on the mattress with him. DS will wake 1-2 times a night for a bf, then dummy. DD will wake 1-2 times a night for a drink, her blankie or dummy. At least. DH deals with DD, I deal with DS.

When DH is on a night shift it is inevitable that I end up being up at least 4-5 times cause both the kids want to have me sleep with them but when I move from one to the other they both wake up and cry. They don't seem to really wake each other except in the morning. I hate nightshifts with a passion because I end up being sooooo much more tired than I usually am. The other night I was awake 7 times within 6hrs. Can anyone say ZOMBIE....

So this arrangement isn't working for us any more. DH and I get very little time to be together. Intimacy is rare in our house. I know it isn't just for the bedroom, but at the moment, that's about the only place we can seem to manage and it is likely to happen without too much effort. At least in bed we can just snuggle and touch each other. We are both sooo tired too.

DH's job isn't easy. He needs sleep. He works 12hr+ shifts he works full time. I work part time, usually about 40ish hours a fortnight. I am not coping emotionally with the lack of sleep. He lets me sleep in often, but then he misses out. And I feel guilty. The kids are fine and seem to have enough sleep. THey are happy and energetic when they wake. Unlike me who is often snappy and grumpy. I also fall asleep on the couch in the mornings and I just so don't feel like I'm being the mum I want to be at all. I also don't feel like DH's and my relationship is getting anywhere. Not that it is deteriorating or anything, but there's just no time for us. I sooo miss just 'us'.

So, after all of that, the plan is at chrissy time when both DH and I have 2 weeks off together we are going to try to get the kids into their own beds full time. In the same bedroom. And to take the dummies away because we think that might be contributing to the wakings sometimes. And to night wean DS. At this time, we will be able to support each other in doing it. We had thought to just do it all cold turkey. They go into their beds with no dummies or booby at night and that's just that. But as it gets nearer, I am starting to stress about it. I know DD will have a really tough time with it. Especially the no dummy. And DS will definately protest big time about no boo through the night.

So does anyone have any wonderful suggestions?? I am starting to really get stressed about it, cause I really do want my bed back, my hubby back and some more sleep, but I'm not sure what extent I will be able to go to?!!?? Please help me!

Sorry this is so long and thanks to anyone who has actually read and understood any of it! ]]> Comforted Sleeping - No-Cry Sleep Solutions lilias http://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums/comforted-sleeping-no-cry-sleep-solutions/115427-sleep-time-our-house-goes-like.html http://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums/comforted-sleeping-no-cry-sleep-solutions/115354-9-month-old-wanting-go-sleep-later.html Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:58:45 GMT Hi,

My little girl is nearly 9mths (next week) and has been wanting to go to sleep later and later every week it seems! She used to go to sleep around 630pm every night after her bedtime routine of dinner, bath, cuddles, boob, bed. Lately when following our usual routine she will REFUSE to go to bed at that time and screams if we put her down in her cot!! Most of the time she self settles off to sleep after boob but also alot of the time she will fall asleep on the boob and we put her in the cot and she's off for a few hours....

Lately, her bed time has been 8pm/830pm..... it means we don't get much time together as a couple at night time and I'm also sooooo tired from such a big day as DD isn't a very good day sleeper and never has been :( She only sleeps 30mins in the morning and only about 45mins-1hr in the middle of the day. She stopped her afternoon sleep a few weeks ago. I'm really tired... like today, she only slept a total of 45mins.... I'm exhausted and my eyeballs sting :(

Is this common for 8/9mth old babies to want to go to bed later in the evening? She's also waking up earlier at 5am :o and not wanting to go back to bed so we bring her in with us into bed with us after feeding her. Sometimes she'll fall back asleep, sometimes not. I know summer is here and the sun is up earlier maybe that has something to do with it :dunno: At one stage she used to sleep 630pm to 7am and only wake once....that was so good! lol but in saying that, i knew it may not last....

I know it's normal for babies at her age to be waking in the night for a feed still (and she's BF) and waking in the night to feed her doesn't bother me but what should I do about her going to bed later and waking up earlier????
Should I keep to the routine and keep trying to get her to bed at 630pm???

Last night, she refused to go to bed when I put her down as she was really sleepy after having her boob and as soon as she went in the cot she screamed out and would not have a bar of it! We ate dinner and she played on the floor in front of us. I don't really want to make a habit of this though.....

:help: ]]> Comforted Sleeping - No-Cry Sleep Solutions Shanti http://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums/comforted-sleeping-no-cry-sleep-solutions/115354-9-month-old-wanting-go-sleep-later.html http://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums/comforted-sleeping-no-cry-sleep-solutions/115101-feed-sleep-babies-day-care.html Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:38:34 GMT Hi there (first post)! Wasn't sure where to post this, but I guess sleep is my main concern. DS will be going to FDC when he is 10 months for three days a week. I would love to stay home but can't :cry:. My question is: will the carer be able to get him to sleep?? He just cannot fall asleep without boob! Even if he falls asleep in the carrier, once on the bed he will root around for the boob! And secondly, I struggle myself to get him to sleep in a strange room/bed - he's very sensitive to change! I would love to hear of some success stories!! Will he get cuddles? Or will he be considered a high maintenance baby?

I have tried preparing him for the change. He's moved to napping in a cot (woohoo) beside the bed with the side down so he won't be totally confused by the cot thing! And have flirted with the gentle removal technique but its feels very mean - poor thing just wants to go to sleep and I keep pulling the boob out until he cries! ]]> Comforted Sleeping - No-Cry Sleep Solutions Panda74 http://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums/comforted-sleeping-no-cry-sleep-solutions/115101-feed-sleep-babies-day-care.html http://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums/comforted-sleeping-no-cry-sleep-solutions/114857-her-sleep-going-go-back-being-good.html Sun, 25 Oct 2009 10:00:11 GMT DD is 6 months. She seems to have lost the ability to sleep for a long stretch of time.

She used to be able to sleep for about 6 or 7 hours in a row, generally from about 7pm to about 2am. She'd wake for a feed and then go back to sleep until about 6am. It was great, and she did that for about 6 weeks or so, when she was about 3-4 months old.

Then she hit the 4 months and 5 months "wonder weeks", and most of the time since then, and still, she's been waking anything from every hour or so all night, to, at best, having 2-3 feeds in the night (at about midnight, 2am, 5am, or similar). I don't think she ever sleeps for longer than about 3-4 hours in a row now, and many nights she doesn't even do that.

I have taken to feeding her in bed, and sometimes we both fall back to sleep together in the bed, before I remember to put her back in her cot. She's definitely more relaxed sleeping with me, but there isn't really space for all 3 of us in our bed, and I'm not so happy about the co-sleeping thing because I'm not sure if it's safe for her: I'm overweight and DH sleeps very very deeply. Her cot is right beside me, right next to the bed, so she's always within arms-reach of me, and a lot of the night I am holding her hand. so she knows I'm there. What I mean to say is that she's basically co-sleeping us me, whether she's in the cot or in the bed.

Now, I realise that she isn't as bad as some babies. But I feel that we have lost the plot a bit with her sleeping. I don't know if it's just the stage she's at, or whether I am making it worse by readily feeding her through the night rather than trying other settling techniques. I have no intention or letting her go hungry, but not sure whether she always really needs a feed, or whether I'm just feeding her because it's the fastest way for me to be able to get back to sleep. I'm getting very tired with all these night-time feeds, so if I could teach her how to get that one longer stretch again it would make a difference to both of us because I wouldn't be so very tired.

We are in the process of starting solids, using BLW. Nothing much going down yet, though she's sucking her veggies with enthusiasm. Maybe when she's actually eating some more solids that will help. I have wondered whether giving her a bit of rice cereal at night, just a spoonful, would help her to sleep better. Is it worth a try?

I have the NCSS, and have read it. I plan to try some of those approaches in a few weeks, when we return from our overseas travel. Too much going on to try that stuff now, as I can't get into a real routine with her when we are moving from place to place all the time.

Any suggestions for a tired mum? ]]> Comforted Sleeping - No-Cry Sleep Solutions tenar http://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums/comforted-sleeping-no-cry-sleep-solutions/114857-her-sleep-going-go-back-being-good.html