Baby won't sleep during the day.

Barb - posted on 08/30/2009

Try a little backround music and relax for you and him/her. Either the TV, or Stereo should work,, . Barb, Mother of 4 Grandma of 4, 1/2

Stina - posted on 08/29/2009

Grace, check out askdrsears.com There is some great information on there about sleep. Don't worry- you are not going to spoil your baby by picking him up. Hold him all you can now- they grow so very fast.

Ivana - posted on 08/28/2009

Dear Grace,

You are definitely NOT spoiling your baby. Remember that their only way of communication is via crying. My son had colic for 51/2 months would never sleep in his crib, or for more than 20-30 minutes. Even if your baby does not have colic, there are some babies that need more attention and comfort than others. Even my Mom commented that when we were little we would sleep anywhere, anytime with any noise. My son is much more sensitive and knows what he wants: to be held. We used a sling which helped tons, and even my husband could use it to give me a much needed break when he got home. I am not sure if you co-sleep, but that helped us a lot during the night since the baby was close and we could meet his needs more easily. We also used darker curtians and a humidifer for white noise, lulliby music etc., For 5 months he would only sleep on our chest. Remember that this is only a smart period in your child's life and do what you need to do to survive. Hold your baby, enjoy motherhood. They grew up much too quickly. Good luck.

Ivana

Jennifer - posted on 08/28/2009

Quoting Grace :

Could it also be because I pick him up too much. Some people have suggested that I hold him too much and I am spoiling him. I have heard both points of view attend to him immediately or let him cry it out. If I have exhausted all avenues how long do I let him cry it out. I want him to trust me and bond with me but I do not want to spoil him either.

Oh Grace- I am a very big proponent of sleep training and letting babies learn how to self-soothe. BUT your little one is only 1 month old. He needs to be held all the time. Sleep training can't really begin until about five or sixith months. The brain isn't organized for it yet.

I would suggest just cuddling as much as possible and trying baby wearing. I know it's hard, but it will totally get better. I SWEAR!

It is impossible to spoil a newborn, and your babe is still considered a newborn.

ANdrea - posted on 08/28/2009

I also think it is important to differentiate between nap time and bed time. have slightly varied routines for both. For instance, when my son was little I would put him in my bed to nap, but WOULD NOT sleep with him. I would sit in my chair in the corner so that i was there but he was "alone". And then for bed time he was in his own room with a sound machine to make sure that there was background noise so that little noises did not startle him awake. crying hurts you more than it hurts the baby. I know that it feels so wrong to sit and try to ignore the cries of your baby, but if you don't let them learn to soothe themselves it leads to years or bad habits to break.

Cathralynn - posted on 08/28/2009

I always believed you can't spoil a baby under 6mo. They simply don't understand enough to manipulate and are crying to express a need. Feed on demand and change diapers frequently. Then hold em. I also wore my baby when napping got difficult. And when she was awake more we used the sing for naps. After 6mo I paid attention and put her on a shedule that might involve some crying if absolutley necessary. Go with your gut!

Dorothy - posted on 08/28/2009

crying dosent stop them bonding with you .when your holding him cuddle and make it special time. and when you put him to bed if he fuses let him a few days he/ll know its nap time. it works i had five and was fostermom to many trust me it works.

Dorothy - posted on 08/28/2009

it dosent hurt for them to cry. it may take a day or so but youll find that it works your baby will settle down and start sleeping the way they are suppose to and you will have sometime for yourself and they will be just fine

Christine - posted on 08/28/2009

How old is he??? I know that my little guy didn't really sleep well unless I was holding him---makes it hard to do anything!!1 I've also found that him crying in the middle of the night was more because he either missed me or was "crying in his sleep"...when I would go in, I would wake him totally, then we were back to the holding until him falling asleep. Doctors say you can't spoil them if they're under 6 months, so hold and snuggle all you can (it goes by WAY too fast!). Ultimately, you are his mom and you know if it's an urgency cry or not....I've learned to wait it out...1/2 the time he goes back to sleep. If he's ready to wake up, he'll either cry or yell "maw--meeeee!!!"!!



Hang in there...you'll figure it out. The first few months are so hard!!!!

Grace - posted on 08/27/2009

Could it also be because I pick him up too much. Some people have suggested that I hold him too much and I am spoiling him. I have heard both points of view attend to him immediately or let him cry it out. If I have exhausted all avenues how long do I let him cry it out. I want him to trust me and bond with me but I do not want to spoil him either.

Jennifer - posted on 08/19/2009

Are you breastfeeding? If you are, it could be possible that your baby is still hungry. The only way to get you to produce more milk is to put your baby to the breast- even if it's only been thirty minutes or so.

Another reason may be that your babe has colic or a little reflux problem. That is very very common in babies under 3 months, and usually doesn't show up until about three weeks to one month of age.. A sling would definitely help. I had to carry my son for the first three months of life, practically. A swing would also help as it keeps the baby from laying flat and keeps the stomach acid down where it belongs.

Baby wearing and swings also help because newborns have been used to swaying in the tummy and to suddenly be put flat down and still on their backs is very disconcerting.

Hang in there! It totally gets better. The first few months are the hardest.

http://MommyNaniBooboo.com

Kim - posted on 08/19/2009

I had to buy black out curtains for my daughter. Absolutely no light in the room made it easier for her to sleep. But don't get them used to absolute silence. A steady white noise like a fan or even a music cd of nature sounds helped as well. I would also roll up a couple of blankets and place one on her back while she laid on her side and one in front of her. It would give her the feeling of being held.

Samantha - posted on 08/19/2009

Sometimes it depends on a few things, when my kids were newborn I realized that breast milk sometimes doesn't fill them up. So make sure that if you are breastfeeding, that besides putting him to your breast, you should pump, in case he doesn't get full off the breast you can give him a bottle. Also my big suggestion and it worked for me both times around, if you don't have one already, get a baby swing... but make sure its the one that swings sideways... you can put baby in there and he can even be awake... but if he's fed, burped and changed, and you place him in there next thing you know he will be out cold... sleeping like a baby. but make sure that if its day time, that you have lights on or windows open, so that he can begin to learn the difference, at night when its bed time keep your home dimly lit.

Sarah - posted on 08/19/2009

My little onw went through a difficult nap time stage when he was a bit older and during the day I would sometimes end up putting him in a swing or vibrating chair, but still in hisown room. It worked and within tow weeks he was into a schedule of anpping. I also played classical music in his room for a while during his entire nap.

Taya - posted on 08/19/2009

I am a mother of two and I found with both of them that at 1 month to 4 months old they liked a bouncy seat to go to sleep. Then once they outgrew it, we put them in a swing and they would sleep longer. I think it is the constant motion but I know it helped them. I hope this helps. Good Luck!

Stina - posted on 08/19/2009

I wore my baby a lot during the first 2 months. (practically all day) She would inevitably fall asleep from the motion so I used it as a way to "teach" her to be sleepy at certain times of the day. I would let her sleep an hour or two at a time and then take her out of the wrap to give myself a break and to encourage her to wake up. Once she got too heavy to carry like this, she was used to taking a morning and two afternoon naps.



I would also encourage her to sleep by using her swing sometimes.



I was afraid of her only being able to sleep when I carried her, but have found she sleeps better than her brother and sister ever did. Every child is different but I carried and wore her much more than my first two and she seems so much more content. 4mo now and I'm able to feed/burp etc and lay her down content but sleepy and she'll go to sleep without a peep.



My suggestion is to wear your baby. Especially when you want him to fall asleep. And try an infant swing.

Katarina - posted on 08/19/2009

My son did the same thing. Have you tried placing him in another room while he sleeps? or if you do that try keeping him in the room with you. We did both and found that depending on the mood he was in one or the other would work. Also try keeping a distinct difference between day time sleeping and night time sleeping. But if he's tired enough he will go to sleep.