Hey DU parents: getting baby into crib

[midnight armadillo]

Ok, our wonderful little boy at 5 months needs to sleep in his crib...he wakes up the instant he's put down about 50% of the time, otherwise he'll stay down for about 30-45 min. tops. We can't keep staying up with him, it's grinding us down! He'll sleep at night for 6-8 hours at a time if he's held.

Any tips? The 'cry it out' method won't work with this kid, he's too high-strung and 'high needs' as Dr. Sears puts it. He'd just scream for hours. Help! :loveya:

[LincolnMcGrath]

1. bounce him!

hand on back; pat/bounce till he nods off.

[LosinIt]

2. Try putting him down in the crib and rubbing his back

until he falls asleep. Do this for a couple of nights so that he gets used to falling asleep in the crib. Then each night reduce the time that you stay with him. I'm sure that it won't work as well as it sounds on paper, er screen, but that is how I got my high-strung ADHD baby boy to crib it.

[AlienGirl]

3. I had a high-need baby too

Have you considered co-sleeping? That was the only thing that would keep my son from waking up and fussing. He needed skin contact and the sound of someone breathing to stay asleep.

It wasn't hard to get him out of our bed, either; when he was a toddler we made a big deal out of getting his OWN bed (at the possessive stage where one's *own* stuff becomes important) and he quickly made the transition.

Tucker

[Shanty Oilish]

11. That works

I did that with my kids. Not all parents find it practical or feasible, but it sure works.

[AlienGirl]

13. It was thoroughly practical for me

Made night feedings soooo much easier--just roll over and feed him, no need to wake up all the way.

And a baby in a fuzzy sleeper beats a teddy bear anyday for snuggle value! :thumbsup:

Tucker

[Maddy McCall]

12. I second this advice...

In Midnight Armadillo's baby's case, I think "high strung" and "high needs" might just be that the baby needs to nurse more frequently through the night.

And ditto what you said about transitioning to his own bed. My son did so just as easily.

:thumbsup:

[DemExpat]

14. I third this advice...my daughter was high-strung and

would not sleep for over 20 minutes in a separate bed.
We brought her into ours and had wonderful nights after that.

Even nursing and changing diapers did not disturb my sleep so much, but having to get out bed, worrying about how long I had to sleep before having to get up, and just not being happy with the situation certainly broke me and my husband!

It worked great for us.
My second child slept with us in the beginning, but was a much more mellow kid, so for him it was a different story...

Good luck with the precious baby!

DemEx

[regnaD kciN]

24. Lucky you...

It wasn't hard to get him out of our bed, either; when he was a toddler we made a big deal out of getting his OWN bed (at the possessive stage where one's *own* stuff becomes important) and he quickly made the transition.

Our daughter finally accepted using her own bed for sleeping, as opposed for reading or playing (which had always been fine with her), when she was about four, but she still would wake up in the middle of the night and come over to join us more often than not.

A couple of friends of mine had four children spread out over a ten-year period. They say that, for about fifteen years, they would generally wind up with at least one kid in bed with them. (Kind of makes you wonder how they managed to have four of them, doesn't it? :evilgrin: )

[LincolnMcGrath]

4. lay him face down

pretend you are dribbling a basketball; pat back or bottom; don't be afraid to bounce him a little!

[Maddy McCall]

5. Question, before I respond...

Is your baby breastfed?

[midnight armadillo]

7. Yes

He's started doing a solid food feeding once per day (man, does oatmeal plug up his digestion - 4 days last week w/ no poops! It took a half jar of prunes to unstick everything. Fortunately, my wife handled that diaper :evilgrin:)

One complication is that he's got acid reflux, treated with an antacid, and can't lay down within a half hour of sleeping.

[SoCalDem]

8. Have you ever heard of maltsupex??

If he's constipated, that stuff works wonders.. I don't rememebr the proportions.. (the pediatrician told us how much to mix with water or milk)..

The 30-45 minutes would be about when his gut would wake him up and remind him that he needs some relief :(..

Solid foods can be a problem at first. Bananas are binding..so is cereal.. We used cereal (prepared) mixed with some water and peaches or prunes.. That kept things "moving"


edit.. found it...WOWEEEEEE it's very expensive now..maybe they make a smaller bottle :(



Maltsupex - Malt Soup Extract Bulk-Forming Laxative (8 fl. oz.)
Quantity in Basket:none
Code: 468025
Price: $65.49
Shipping Weight: 0.85 pounds
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Derived from Natural Barley Malt, for Relief of Constipation. (8 fl. oz.)
Effective and Non-Habit Forming.
Directions:General: Drink a full glass (8 ounces) of liquid with each dose. The recommended daily dosage of Maltsupex may vary. Use the smallest dose that is effective and lower dosage as improvement occurs. Usual Dosage: 12 years to Adult: (corrective*) 2 tablespoonfuls twice a day; (maintenance) 1 to 2 tablespoonfuls at bedtime. (Take a full glass--8 oz.--of liquid with each dose.) Children 6 to 12 years of age: (corrective*) 1 tablespoonful twice a day. (Take a full glass--8 oz.--of liquid with each dose.) Children 2 to 6 years of age: (corrective*) 1/2 tablespoonful twice a day. (Take a full glass--8 oz.--of liquid with each dose.) Infants under 2 years of age: Consult a doctor. *Full corrective dosage should be used for 3 or 4 days or until relief is noted. Then continue on maintenance dosage as needed. Preparation Tip: Mixing is easier if Maltsupex Liquid is added to an ounce or two of warm water and stirred. Then add milk, water, or fruit juice and stir until dissolved. May be flavored with vanilla or cocoa to make "malteds." Excellent with warm milk at bedtime. Use a clean, dry spoon to remove the liquid. Replace cover tightly after use. Store at controlled room temperature 20-25 degrees C (68-77 degrees F).
Indications:For relief of occasional constipation. This product generally produces bowel movement in 12 to 72 hours.

[Maddy McCall]

10. First of all, KUDOS to you for doing the best thing in the world parents

could ever do for a baby.

Ok, here's the low down. Breast milk digests quickly. Therefore, he simply will NOT be able to go six to eight hours without feeding.

You cannot expect your baby to go more than two or three hours without breast feeding. The idea of a conjugal bed sans breastfeading baby is a western phenomenon--as is the prevalence of bottle feeding. Let him sleep with you two.

I can promise you that if you will allow the baby into your bed, and let him cuddle next to your wife, all three of you will have better nights and days. My breastfed son slept in my bed with me until he was two--he nursed on demand through the night--I wish I could tell you how deciding to go against Western mores and let him sleep in the bed with me and nurse through the night changed our lives.

Please just try it for a week. Allow him in the bed with you two. Allow him to nurse on demand. The time will arrive quickly when he will be in his own bed. You will look back fondly on the decision to allow him to share your bed.

There is nothing wrong with it, and you really shouldn't force a milestone on the baby that he obviously is not ready for.

Please don't take my advice as being judgemental...I am very happy for you, think that you are two excellent parents for making the decision to breastfeed, and only wish the three of you the best in the world! :hug:

[DemExpat]

15. My kids went almost a year only tasting foods they wanted to taste.

And they are now very healthy young adults!

So perhaps leave the solid foods for a while longer and avoid all of the constipation. Does he have acid reflux on breast milk too?

I breastfed and slept with my 2 children for several years as did Julie, and found it a wonderful, unforgettable experience. Not that it is for everybody, especially if both parents have to work outside the home, but for us it was a mellow and pretty much stress-free baby and toddler period!

DemEx

[Maddy McCall]

18. Yes, same here.

Mine only ate solid foods as he wanted to. If he refused solid foods, I didn't push it. Actually, he hated cereals--however, I mixed the cereals with canned fruits and vegetables and he would tolerate it better. Still, he didn't become very fond of solid foods until he was nine months old. By the time he was a year old, he ate cooked carrot slices, peas, fruit slices, and such--any thing soft enough for him to chew.

We had absolutely no tummy problems through it all.

If little Armadillo is having reflux, he may need to wait awhile before switching over to solid foods. All babies are different, and the guidelines that pediatricians give you should not be seen as concrete for all children, because all are different.

Wow, I wish I would have had DU when I was a young mom who needed advice! :-)

[SoCalDem]

6. If he sleeps in his "carrier seat"

leave him IN the seat, but put him in the crib... wait til he's really zonked, and gently remove him from the seat..


another thing we did was to get a musical crib toy that our son like to play with.. It had a mirror and a pull thing (not long enough to strangle him :)..).. He would play with that damned thing forever, but would fall asleep by himself..

It's hard..but he does need to learn to fall asleep on his own.. If you use the "cry" routine (one of ours did that one), just check on him, turn the light on and say "night night".. and then leave the room.. He will get the message that he's not going to get held all night :)


or your could give in altogether and just let him sleep with you.. No one will roll on him and smother him.. Lots of people let their kids sleep with them ..

There's no one answer :(.. He's your very own "experiment"..:)

[Shanty Oilish]

9. Sell your house and buy an RV

Drive it all night. He'll sleep. :thumbsup:

ed: ok, seriously...give him more mental and physical stimulation just before bedtime. Try one, then the other, then both if you still need. Maybe a good long bath counts for both.

[midnight armadillo]

16. We've discussed a family bed

We thought we'd try the crib first...so far, not much luck, as I've noted. I'll talk about this again with my wife this week.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. :grouphug: Here's a recent picture of the little guy, how cute!!

http://209.6.184.204:8181/chair2.gif

[Maddy McCall]

17. Awww...that precious little fella can't be giving you much trouble...

can he?

What a darling he is! :loveya:

Please let us know how this works out. We are pulling for you three. :hug:

[Dogmudgeon]

21. Wotta Baby!

My brother and his wife have a 9-month-old. He had roughly the same problem. It turned out he had the baby version of acid reflux. It went away with some Pepcid (famotidine) and after a month that wasn't even needed.

Good luck!

--bkl

[Shanty Oilish]

19. Family beds

It's great but there are some perils. If either parent does any thrashing, best to put the baby on the far side from that parent. I always kept the baby away from Thrasher, putting me in the middle. That makes the edge of the bed a peril, so I put a padded bench alongside the bed, and it had a low back to it so she couldn't have gone farther than the bench.
This went on for three years and I got out of the habit of moving while sleeping. I also took some whacks from Thrasher and some nips from the nursing baby. But if I had it to do over again, I'd do nothing different.
Great pic---he's adorable! :loveya:

[Maddy McCall]

22. You can pick up a soft bedrail at Walmart for about 15 bucks.

That's what I used.

[Dogmudgeon]

20. Out, damn post!

Thought it was a funny thread. It's too close to bedtime and my brain is misfiring.

--bkl

[Samurai_Writer]

23. My ADD baby had the same problem...

When he was an infant, I would take him for a drive in the car right before bedtime. He would fall asleep in the car, I would take him in and put him in his crib. He was a VERY sound sleeper once he was asleep, it was just getting him to go to sleep that was the problem!

BTW, my 'baby' is now 22.

[Padraig18]

25. My youngest brother was that way...

I don't proclaim it as a cure-all, but rocking him on my lap worked well; once he was asleep, we just carefully transferred him to his crib or pram.

[Nevernose]

26. At five months, "cry it out" won't work

I think the age they gave in my child psychology class was nine months, give or take. I learned the hard way that there comes a point when you need to just be a real hard-ass and let the kid scream. He can't scream for "hours." It's a physical impossibility; he hyperventilate himself into unconsciousness within the first couple of hours. ;-) Seriously, though, giving in to your kid just because he's more stubborn than you are can lead to some serious problems later on.

That having been said: When we started putting our kid in her crib, at 9-12 months or so, we had the same problem. ALL parents do. We got her used to it first by leaving her crib next to the bed, and slowly but surely moving it to her room.

And to be honest with you, after the divorce I let her sleep in bed with me. She was three. Now she's eight. Even when she starts the night in her own bed, she still wakes up with me. It would be okay, perhaps, if I were female. However, as a father, there are certain, um, "biological" occurances when I sleep that she's old enough to notice. So the point is: correct the problem now.