Aa
My 2 month old won't sleep in his crib
My son doesn't want to sleep well, he will fall asleep on me but as soon as I put him in his crib he wakes up. Either that or he's only asleep for a short time, like a few minutes. Before this week he was a good sleeper, he would fall asleep I could put him down and then he'd be fine, now though it's impossible. Two nights this week I got so desparate I put him in his car seat at night, and he slept through the night both times. During the day I can tell he's tired but he won't fall asleep. I don't know what to do, I know we're getting to the point where he needs to start going to sleep on his own to build good sleep habits but it seem like were going backwards. I just don't know what to do. I don't know how to get him to nap better or how to learn to go to sleep on his own. He usually doesn't go down for the night until like midnight or so. Should he be going to sleep earlier? how do I get him to sleep earlier? If anyone has any ideas or things that worked well for them they would be greatly appreciated, I miss my good little sleeper.
thanks ladies.....im having the same difficulties...mainly with the binky but also when he sleepps on or with me he then doesn't like the crib so much.....so thank you Jilly for asking this :)
A link about how dangerous it is to let a baby sleep in a car seat:
http://babyproducts.about.com/b/2009/02/06/babys-death-leads-to-warning-about-sleeping-in-car-seats.htm
http://babyproducts.about.com/b/2009/02/06/babys-death-leads-to-warning-about-sleeping-in-car-seats.htm
I agree that something must've changed for him to do this suddenly...but it could be as simple as he's about to accomplish a milestone. Both of my kids are AWFUL sleepers in the days leading up to accomplishing a milestone, it's like their brains are in over-drive trying to learn whatever it is they're about to learn and once the milestone is hit they sleep like the dead for weeks, lol. It could be early teething too...or it could just be a growing phase for him.
the other ladies offered some good advice...my son will NOT sleep on his back....from about 9pm-7AM he sleeps on his side (and yes he wakes up to eat during that time, lol) and then at about 7AM I turn him onto his stomach until we take up at 9 for the day. I know it's a huge no-no but his pediatrician OK'd it....around 630 every morning he gets so fussy that the only way to get him to sleep until his sister wakes up is to put him on his stomach...you can ask your pediatrician about that. some peds will OK it, some won't.....every kid has a different risk level for SIDS so it has to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
You could always try to buy a bassinet that has a vibrating attachment to it, some babies with upset tummies can ONLY sleep with vibration.
at 2 months old he doesn't have to learn to fall asleep on his own yet..it's best to do, but he's still young enough that you won't be damaging his future sleeping habits if you do whatever it takes to get him to sleep (including snuggling him to sleep, putting him in his bouncy, that sort of thing) it's only when they're closer to 5-6 months that you really want them to practice independent soothing and getting themselves to sleep. 2 months is still really a newborn...so there's a lot of leeway there.
as for his bedtime..it all depends on your schedule. if you're up late at night, midnight is fine for now...again around 5-6 months you'll want to start changing that, which probably means waking him up a LITTLE earlier and/or changing nap time around....but for now, the first few months baby can be on your schedule (both of my kids were go-to-bed-later and wake-up-later-in-the-mornings infants....and it's carried through so now my toddler sleeps 9pm-930am which is PERFECT for my schedule) it only really affects them once they start school and you'll want to adjust before then. if, however, you're in bed earlier and he's just refusing to go to sleep...at 2 months it's kinda tough. a lot of times waking them up earlier just makes them cranky and doesn't really help with bedtime adjustment....but you can always try it. don't make it too drastic though. make sure that he's exposed to a lot of indirect sunlight through the windows during the day...the melatonin that the sunlight causes our bodies to release will help stimulate his night/day cycle and help his body regulate when he should be going to sleep...make sure the room is dark and cool at night, and make sure that when you wake him up in the morning the room is well-lit by sunlight and that you're full of energy and "awake"....as hard as that is, lol.
eventually his night/day cycle will catch up to him and he'll begin to sleep earlier on his own naturally....sunlight is really the key to that though.
the other ladies offered some good advice...my son will NOT sleep on his back....from about 9pm-7AM he sleeps on his side (and yes he wakes up to eat during that time, lol) and then at about 7AM I turn him onto his stomach until we take up at 9 for the day. I know it's a huge no-no but his pediatrician OK'd it....around 630 every morning he gets so fussy that the only way to get him to sleep until his sister wakes up is to put him on his stomach...you can ask your pediatrician about that. some peds will OK it, some won't.....every kid has a different risk level for SIDS so it has to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
You could always try to buy a bassinet that has a vibrating attachment to it, some babies with upset tummies can ONLY sleep with vibration.
at 2 months old he doesn't have to learn to fall asleep on his own yet..it's best to do, but he's still young enough that you won't be damaging his future sleeping habits if you do whatever it takes to get him to sleep (including snuggling him to sleep, putting him in his bouncy, that sort of thing) it's only when they're closer to 5-6 months that you really want them to practice independent soothing and getting themselves to sleep. 2 months is still really a newborn...so there's a lot of leeway there.
as for his bedtime..it all depends on your schedule. if you're up late at night, midnight is fine for now...again around 5-6 months you'll want to start changing that, which probably means waking him up a LITTLE earlier and/or changing nap time around....but for now, the first few months baby can be on your schedule (both of my kids were go-to-bed-later and wake-up-later-in-the-mornings infants....and it's carried through so now my toddler sleeps 9pm-930am which is PERFECT for my schedule) it only really affects them once they start school and you'll want to adjust before then. if, however, you're in bed earlier and he's just refusing to go to sleep...at 2 months it's kinda tough. a lot of times waking them up earlier just makes them cranky and doesn't really help with bedtime adjustment....but you can always try it. don't make it too drastic though. make sure that he's exposed to a lot of indirect sunlight through the windows during the day...the melatonin that the sunlight causes our bodies to release will help stimulate his night/day cycle and help his body regulate when he should be going to sleep...make sure the room is dark and cool at night, and make sure that when you wake him up in the morning the room is well-lit by sunlight and that you're full of energy and "awake"....as hard as that is, lol.
eventually his night/day cycle will catch up to him and he'll begin to sleep earlier on his own naturally....sunlight is really the key to that though.
If he used to sleep well then there may be something that has changed. he may have a little reflux so you could try using a sleep positioner so he is sleeping at an angle.or He may be teething . My son got his first tooth just before 4 months and from 2 months on was teething, which altered his sleeping habits.
Have you tried swaddling him to sleep? DS slept really well for a couple of months but then started waking up every hour or so. It turns out he was startling himself awake. The swaddler (I got the one by summer infant, it has velcro on it) worked miracles. He's actually still being swaddled at 4 1/2 months becuase even though his startle reflex is not as strong, he is CONSTANTLY moving in his crib and waking himself up. He'll sleep for at least 5-6 hours with the swaddler on, and only an hour or so without it. We've actually joked about having to teach his future wife how to swaddle him :-) I'm sure its not the answer for all babies, but they only cost $10 at Babies r Us, so its worth a shot!
I dont really know what you should do. But I do know, you do not want to let your baby sleep in a carseat, its very dangerous. If my baby desides he wants to be a pain in the butt and not sleep in his pack n play, I let him sleep in his bouncy, that thing gets him to bed everytime, i just turn the vibration on and bounce him till he falls asleep. There alot safer then a carseat. Just on the news not to long ago a mother dropped her baby off at darecare, and he was still sleeping so the woman in charge just left him in the carseat. when she went to check on him he wasnt breathing, he had died in his carseat. Do you have a bouncy or a swing. there amazing if you dont, you should get one or both.
You must join this user group in order to participate in this discussion.
You are reading content posted in the Parenting newborns and infants, up to 1 year Group
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Condoms are the most effective way to prevent HIV and STDs.
PrEP is used by people with high risk to prevent HIV infection.
