Does anybody's little one fight to stay awake??

Julie - posted on 03/04/2013

I have a 6 week old last night she slept well for 6 hours I was so happy but for some reason she fights to sleep during the day she ate at 7am went back down by 9am slept till 12 or 12.30 ate went back to sleep for about an hour then up again ate at 4.30pm went back to sleep for an hour then up till 9pm now back to sleep, I hope she sleep tonight but wondering what to do I tried singing, bath,rocking she just seem to tire herself out on her own!! Lost

Amanda - posted on 11/14/2009

We use the sounds for silence CD for our daughter, works really well at night (from 2 months she was sleeping 10 to 12 hours at night), but she will still fight sleep during the day. At 4 months old we were told by a baby sleep center that her awake time is only upto 1.5 hours from waking from the last sleep, look for tired signs such as yawning, rubbing the eyes, tugging the ears, little grizzles, small frowns (like they are trying to concentrate) and Jerky movements. As soon as you see these move a quiet boring environment (no or little stimulation) and start your settling routine. If need be take any toys or things out of the cot / bassinett (except any settling toys you are using) and remove any over head mobiles. We also visited a baby Chiropractor for assistance and found out that out Daughters neck and lower back were out of alignment from being scrunched in the womb and it hurt her to lay down on her back. We also tried homiopathic remidies for babies to help calm her. I hope these suggestion help, and you find something that works for you.

www.soundsforsilence.com.au is where we bought the CD from, it has sounds on it that sound like they are in the womb, and we can take the cd any where we go if some else babysits for us.

Nichole - posted on 11/13/2009

Are you kidding?? :) My daughter has never been a sleeper and she's ten months old right now and should be waking up to eat(yes to eat again lol) within the next hour. My husbands family is all night owls which is great because most of them are cops and dr.s so it works for them. But every baby is different and with my daughter I have video of her sitting in my lap smiling one minute and out cold (only for a nod) then back awake. Everyone tells me it gets better, its gets better but I honestly believe the only person who was honest with me was my brother. He says, "Nichole it doesn't necessarily get better. The challenges are just different and for awhile it will always be something." I do agree with the other moms, swaddling at night, a nice bath, dimly lit home, and no overstimulation truly help. Sounds like you're on a really good path and you have a lot of support here. Good Luck and hang in there!! :)

Ashley - posted on 11/13/2009

My son is 5 months old, and he fights sleep almost every time he tries. The ONLY way we could get him to sleep when he was to give him a bottle. I do not recommend that, because now, he wants one everytime its nap time or time for bed. We have tried the womb bear, bath time, etc. and nothing worked....

Heather - posted on 11/13/2009

My son is 2 months old...every now and then he does that..so what i do is give him a warm bath to relax him and then put him in his bouncer an dplay calm music..the baby lullibies from baby enstien puts him to sleep around track 4..i would reccomend that,,

Donna - posted on 11/12/2009

Quoting Lisa:

LOL - I've worked day care with infants, and by my experience more babies fight to stay awake than those that will give in easily. One particularly alert infant I had to wrap in his warm blanket rock him while singing to him and stroking his hair at the same time. :) Every baby finds something different comforting. The first thing I would try is getting a womb sounds bear that you can place near the crib ( or attach to it - never put anything loose in the bed! ). Since it plays the sound that baby has heard for 9 months, it can help him feel relaxed. My older son always falls asleep within 10 minutes to big band music played softly - or to me singing to him while I rock him. Just try an idea for a few nights - and remember to relax. the more anxious you are about wether or not he'll sleep will make him uncomfortable too. If the first thing doesn't work, try something else. It's kinda crazy, but something will soothe him and once you find it, all of you will rest easy! Good Luck!

No offence to Lisa (I'm sure these things worked for you) but Jamie I would beware of the techniques she suggests. Babies can develop sleep associations that they must have before falling asleep. These can be VERY demanding on parents and also can last into toddler-hood.

If you are not prepared to rock, sing, use dummy, play music, pat, rub, feed to sleep ect at every single sleep for months or years then don't do it now. Also, you could be setting yourself up for further problems. Babies have very sensitive survival instincts: to them change = danger. Your baby might love to go to sleep in your arms whilst being sung to and sucking on a dummy for example. However, as soon as they enter lighter sleep they will notice that they are in a less secure environment and they are alone so they will wake up fully in order to protect themself from potential danger. Then you will have a wakefull baby as well as a baby who is difficult to get to sleep.

It is best to teach the baby to self settle - by that I mean go to sleep without assistance. Our family had to go to a sleep centre for just this reason. Their 'golden rules' are: 1) baby goes into bed with eyes open and 2) baby goes to sleep without assistance. This doesn't mean you can't do things t help get your baby in the mood for sleep. Bath time, quiet play in dimmed lights, massage, reading story books, and singing gentle songs are all good ways to help your baby wind down.

Donna - posted on 11/12/2009

Quoting Lisa:

LOL - I've worked day care with infants, and by my experience more babies fight to stay awake than those that will give in easily. One particularly alert infant I had to wrap in his warm blanket rock him while singing to him and stroking his hair at the same time. :) Every baby finds something different comforting. The first thing I would try is getting a womb sounds bear that you can place near the crib ( or attach to it - never put anything loose in the bed! ). Since it plays the sound that baby has heard for 9 months, it can help him feel relaxed. My older son always falls asleep within 10 minutes to big band music played softly - or to me singing to him while I rock him. Just try an idea for a few nights - and remember to relax. the more anxious you are about wether or not he'll sleep will make him uncomfortable too. If the first thing doesn't work, try something else. It's kinda crazy, but something will soothe him and once you find it, all of you will rest easy! Good Luck!

Brenda - posted on 11/12/2009

My daughter sounds exactly the same as your little one. She is now 5 months old and still fights sleep like its the enemy. Some things that have helped are vaccuuming while wearing her in a carrier, a hot steamy bathroom (almost sauna like), white noise (dishwasher, dryer, or box fan noise- you can download these from itunes.) and lots and lots of rocking and nursing. She used to hate the car seat but now thankfully falls asleep in it when we drive. I've also read that there is an ideal time for babies to fall asleep, if you wait till they are overtired they have a harder time. Personally, I haven't noticed this with our daughter. The more tired she is, the faster she goes to sleep. If she's been up for 5 hours.. she's can fall asleep within minutes when we start to soothe her. Good luck!

Lisa - posted on 11/12/2009

LOL - I've worked day care with infants, and by my experience more babies fight to stay awake than those that will give in easily. One particularly alert infant I had to wrap in his warm blanket rock him while singing to him and stroking his hair at the same time. :) Every baby finds something different comforting. The first thing I would try is getting a womb sounds bear that you can place near the crib ( or attach to it - never put anything loose in the bed! ). Since it plays the sound that baby has heard for 9 months, it can help him feel relaxed. My older son always falls asleep within 10 minutes to big band music played softly - or to me singing to him while I rock him. Just try an idea for a few nights - and remember to relax. the more anxious you are about wether or not he'll sleep will make him uncomfortable too. If the first thing doesn't work, try something else. It's kinda crazy, but something will soothe him and once you find it, all of you will rest easy! Good Luck!

Cassie - posted on 11/12/2009

My son is 4 weeks old and he does this during the day now, but he did do this at night. what worked for me was I would Bath him around 4 - 5pm with Johnsons Bedtime Bath (in a purple bottle) change and dressed him, wrapped him in a muslin wrap then feed him in his room with all the lights off. Hope this helps.

Jamie - posted on 11/12/2009

Oh boy! all of this doesn't make me feel much better :) i have a feeling we're in for some rocky times ahead. my mother in law told me that my husband was exactly the same way...fought sleep until he was 9 or so months old. our little guy doesn't like to be swaddled at all. he's super active - arms flying all over, legs kicking...he's happier to just be covered up. we will definitely try the baths though...and today i bought the 'what to expect the first year' book so we might be able to find some help in there as well.

Kathy - posted on 11/12/2009

Quoting Erin:

One word - SWADDLE!!! At 3 weeks old, he barely realises he's outside of your belly, and still has a very strong startle reflex. Swaddling provides them with a security and comfort, and imitates the feeling of being held, while also minimising the startle reflex that will often wake them up. My baby nurse told me we can't physically wrap them up as tight as they like it (as tight as they are in the belly) so the tighter the better!! Truly, it is the first piece of advice I give any new mum. My daughter used to visible relax as I swaddled her (sometimes I had to use it simply to settle her if she was crying) and often fell right to sleep on the change table before I was even finished.

Its true swaddling does help tons, well not as much with mine anymore, but she likes being swaddled so much as a baby gift we got a "Swaddle-Me" blanket, makes it easier to get them tighter, and because of how its made with velcro you can undo the bottom pocket, pop it around their legs to change the diaper without unwrapping the baby. We loved it so much that we went and bought 2 more. They are about $15 canadain, but so worth it!!

Erin - posted on 11/12/2009

One word - SWADDLE!!! At 3 weeks old, he barely realises he's outside of your belly, and still has a very strong startle reflex. Swaddling provides them with a security and comfort, and imitates the feeling of being held, while also minimising the startle reflex that will often wake them up. My baby nurse told me we can't physically wrap them up as tight as they like it (as tight as they are in the belly) so the tighter the better!! Truly, it is the first piece of advice I give any new mum. My daughter used to visible relax as I swaddled her (sometimes I had to use it simply to settle her if she was crying) and often fell right to sleep on the change table before I was even finished.

Terra - posted on 11/12/2009

Just so you know... baths at night doesn't work for every child though. I finally had to start giving my son one in the morning b/c he would fall asleep for an hour but be wide awake after that.

Emma - posted on 11/12/2009

My little guy has fought sleep for months. But I found a good bedtime routine for him; bath, massage with Lavender Baby Lotion (a little under the nose as well) and then I would nurse him. He goes to sleep easily now. But he also fights naps, lol, so I have an afternoon nap in place but because our company tends to visit in the a.m. I just let him powernap as he needs it. His daddy was the same way as well as his half sister, so I am guessing its the type of baby he is and partly genetic lol. The bright side though to my son powernapping, is he will nap where ever we are.



I got him used to noise and distractions early in life, when I first got home I had to sleep downstairs due to a c-section so he got to sleep through lots of movies etc. And he's even fallen asleep during a kids party at Crash Crawlies (indoor play center).

Kathy - posted on 11/12/2009

YES!! My 7 week old does and has probly since 3-4 weeks. She'll fight to stay awake and even cry to wake herself up when she does fall asleep. Apparently I did the same thing, and did it for a long time. I find rocking her and singing or humming helps sometimes, I think it distracts her more than anything else.

Audrey - posted on 11/12/2009

Poor you .. it is very hard to have a new baby and one with a little personality already... My youngest is 6 months and will try that but not for too long. Try giving him a bath just before bedtime, and have feed ready to go as soon as he is dressed, do this for a few nights and see how you get on hopefully he will be happy just to get a feed and will sleep, and u may be lucky to get a little bit longer before next feeding time. It will all work out... good luck xxx