Hi all,
Kivi, who is 18 months old, has always either nursed to sleep, or if
that didn't work, we walked or walked with her until she fell asleep.
She also goes to sleep in the car.
Now, it's not really a problem that she goes to sleep this way. Chris
and I don't mind. BUT, she just started daycare 2 days a week, and
they get the kids down by having them lie down on cots, and
patting/rubbing their backs until they go to sleep. On the first day,
I spent most of the day with her, and I got her down in the usual
manner, but that's going to be tough for the daycare. They'll do it,
if they have no other way, but they'd like to work toward the patting
method.
In order to make Kivi's life easier, I'm trying to teach her to go to
sleep with just cuddling or back rubbing. We've been trying the new
routine for two nights now.
So far, if she doesn't go to sleep from nursing alone at night, which
is most of the time now, I lay with her, rubbing her back, offering
her the breast whenever she wants it (sometimes she'll nurse for a
couple of more minutes) but mostly she turns her back to me to cuddle,
and then flops around. She'll kick her legs, turn over, fiddle with
the bed rail, etc. I'll lay with her, either softly singing, or
patting her back, until I get too tired of it, then I'll get up and
walk her to sleep.
Interestingly, she then goes RIGHT to sleep when we walk...walking her
down had been getting increasingly more difficult, and taking longer.
The last two nights, after cuddling for probably 15 minutes, it's
taken me maybe 2 minutes of walking and she's out. So, it seems the
flopping around does relax her quite a bit, and she is getting sleepy.
Also interestingly, lately when we walk her down, the moment she goes
to sleep, she gets very grumpy, not being able to get comfortable, and
trying to shift positions constantly. First, she doesn't like it if
her arm dangles, then when you try and hold it up for her, she
whimpers in her sleep because she doesn't like to be restrained! It's
like walking a sleeping bucking bronco! Rocking has similar results.
We used to walk her for 5 minutes after she fell asleep, which allowed
her to fall into a deep enough sleep that she'd stay asleep when we
put her down. But now, for the last month or thereabouts, she gets so
grumpy, that we've been taking to putting her down the moment she
starts to buck around, gently restraining her, and patting her back
until she falls into a deeper sleep. She's asleep when we put her
down, just very lightly so. She usually shifts around trying to get
comfortable (again while asleep) and then after a couple of minutes,
settles down into a deeper sleep.
So, the last two nights, I've combined cuddling for awhile, then
walking her down (where she fell asleep VERY quickly) and then putting
her in the side car when only lightly asleep, and letting her settle
there.
So, how do I get her to actually go to sleep while cuddling? To lie
still and relax enough to fall asleep? Just keep trying the new
routine for awhile? I've read the no-cry sleep solution, but I'm not
quite sure what Pantley would suggest in this case. We do much of
what she says... consistency, good naps (at home, she gets 2 1.5 hour
naps per day) bedtime routines, a "lovey" (which she's not terribly
attached to...but it does form a consistent part of her bedtime). She
also says to put the baby down while awake. Haven't tried that one...
is that what I should do next?
How did you teach your kids to go to sleep on their own (ie not being
rocked or walked)? What next steps should I do? Any suggestions?
(Crying it out is not an option)
Cathy Weeks
Mommy to Kivi Alexis 12/01 - http://www.bricktopia.com/kivi
to reply, remove the spam and my name is spelled with a C
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