Falling asleep affected by visual stimulation

[leycourt]

Anyone else have an LO who is affected by visual stimulation?

I have noticed if I cover LO's hands with my eyes she calms more quickly and is more likely to sleep.

I am worried this will become a prop - what does anyone else do?

[sbchic1999]

I face LO away from me, to wall & avoid eye contact and stay very still until he is asleep.  He is 11 months, FYI.

[*Nicola*]

Hiya

It would also help to have the room really dark and to have any mobiles/posters etc out of his line of sight.  Putting a blanket securely over the cot bars might also help as the vertical lines of the bars can be stimulating for babies

There is a sticky in the FAQ on darkening the room. 

[worriermum]

Sorry to jump on your post but my Lo seems to be affected by visual stimulation too but
my concern about making the room so dark, is that what happens if you have to put them to sleep somewhere where you are unable to darken the room. Im worried lo will only be able to fall asleep if room completely dark and when we go to my parents etc he will need the room darkened which can be hardwork. Or is room darkening a temporary thing?

[Mama2boys]

My LO cuddle sup to his burp cloth and curls it to coushin his head so i use a corner of the burp cloth to cover his eyes and that helps...

[becky1969]

This was/is my son to a "T".  Now that he's 2.5 yo, it's easier to see that visual cues are very important to him.  I now realize too that this is why he would never sleep in the car or stroller: too much to look at!

We've been very strict about limiting light in his room -- that made a huge difference in his quality of sleep, particularly in eliminating EWs.  Also, not too many toys in his room either -- the mobile wound him up, didn't wind him down.  We left the mobile up for a while, though, because he did like it and we kept the room dark enough that once we put him in his crib it was pretty hard to see! 

These type of children are really fun as they get older.  I find my son is a treat to take places because he's so busy watching things he forgets to act up! At home, he's a crazy monkey but at restaurants he's sweet as pie because he can't get enough of watching all the people!

Sounds like your instincts are A+++! 

[LaNita]

I know the story too well of the LO that can't get to sleep b/c there's just so much to see! DH and I learned very early that DD needed the room to be as close to pitch black as possible to get to sleep. She's 11 mo. As a matter of fact, we just had to put an extra curtain on top of the one that's already over her window to darken the room b/c it's still daylight when she goes down for the night. Before we did that, DH would cover her eyes with his hand, a cloth diaper, etc. until she was almost asleep. IDK if it's a temp thing b/c DD seems to need the room to be darker as she gets older (probably because she notices more things). I too have a problem with darkening the room at my mom's house. It used to be dark enough, but last weekend I learned that it wasn't. good luck