i am at my wit's end with this child. we have swaddled and rocked her to sleep since birth and although the swaddle has dramatically decreased, she will not sleep unless we stand there swaying back and forth. most times it takes two or three tries of laying her down before she will actually nap. we've been fighting lately. she's winning. i rock her as long as my back and arms can take it (about 30 minutes), and then i gently place her in the crib. she then cries for an hour until i give up and get her.
any ideas? this situation happens only during nap time if you are concerned. i will not give up her nap times, but my back can't take her 18 lbs. anymore. help...please???
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ReplyDeleteCould be a darkness factor, as this is not a problem when she goes to bed at night. Can you make the room darker?
ReplyDeleteHome Depot has black out blinds. They are accordion like, ugly, made of paper and black. They help a ton if it is the issue of light... Oh and they are pretty inexpensive. I think they are $5 for not sure what size, but I needed to get 2 to cover Sage's window. Also, could she be over tired for naps? Maybe try laying her down a little earlier?
ReplyDeleteOH MY GOODNESS. This is me! We've had the same problems with our little Dot - she's great at night, but horrible with naps. We've gotten it mostly under control now, and she takes at least one good nap a day. The trick for us? Consistency and wind-down. We have to make sure she's tired - but not TOO tired - so we time them about the same time each day and read a book in her nearly-dark room first to calm her down. Then I put on the mobile and rock her on my shoulder - once I know she's calm, she's put in her crib (mobile's usually still going)- she ALWAYS cries, but I leave her for 3 minutes and then put the mobile back on and rock her again until she's calm, and put her down. She cries again, usually, but I think she's finally figuring out how to put herself to sleep. Another 3 minutes, and repeat. Then 5 minutes, and repeat. And then 10 minutes, and repeat. After that, she can either cry it out, or I just give up on that nap and hope it'll be better in the afternoon. We started this routine about a month ago, and she WOULD NOT NAP a wink without being dead asleep on our shoulders first (or I'd give up and just hold her for an hour, but yes, they're getting heavy now!). Nowadays though, she occasionally puts herself to sleep without me having to go back in, and when she does need me, it's usually only once or twice - AND she's sleeping for an hour+ at each nap now (instead of the 20 minutes we were getting)! Good luck, and hang in there! x
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