rubs face, rolls over

[balani]

We’ve been swaddling DS since about 4wks. Around 3.5mo we swaddled him with both arms out, and it worked for a while. He had been a great sleeper except for about a month of 45 min naps. We overcame that problem, but then we started having issues getting him to sleep. He would be relaxed in his crib with his eyes closed while I patted and shushed. He would be practically asleep and then he would start rubbing his face and then start crying. I would calm him again to the same point and then it would start all over again. Finally I did a full swaddle and was able to get him to sleep. By then he had started rolling over – in fact the first time he did it (4mo) was in his crib while I was trying to get him to sleep. When we started fully swaddling again (4.5mo), he could only roll over if his arms were out, so we were able to keep him on his back. Now (6mo) he can roll over even if his arms are wrapped tightly against his sides, but he won’t go to sleep on his tummy, arms in or out. I have been trying to swaddle him with one arm out for a few weeks, but he flails it around, rubs his face, rolls over or tries to grab the side of the crib. Additionally, he is not responding as well to shh/pat anymore. I tried pu/pd, but his crying only intensified with each time I picked him up and put him down to the point where I couldn’t calm him when I picked him up.

As you can see, I have several problems and any help would be appreciated.

[branwen]

Hi balani

First off- the rubbing the eyes is a sign of overtiredness.  It means that you have missed his "sleep window."  Try to put to sleep 15 to 20 min earlier and see if you have better luck.  You can also try a longer wind down. 

I would encourage the tummy sleeping.  Once he rolls and cries you can try pat/shh on the back until asleep.

He's also probably practicing those rolling skills.  With my dd I would show her how to get back on her back from tummy.  It took awhile but once he can put himself where he wants to be he will start sleeping again.

Hope I helped.

[balani]

Thanks Branwen

I have been putting him to sleep when he is overtired :oops: - mostly because he often seems tired after only 45 min to an hour. I'm really confused by this. We have never successfully made the transition from 3 to 4hr EASY, because I can't seem to keep him up long enough. Most babies his age that I know are taking only two naps a day, but mine takes at least three. He sleeps well at night once I get him down, only waking once to nurse. Such short periods of wakefulness make everything difficult including fitting in solids.

[branwen]

Hi again,

Oh, I know the pains of a sleeper.  My dd is still working on the 4 hr transition, let me tell you.  She loves her sleep.  She takes 2, 2 hr naps and 12 hrs at night...and that really isn't enough.  She went to bed at 6pm tonight! :oops:

What worked for my dd until about 9 months was the following- sort of a 3.5 hr schedule- see what you think!  She did 3, 1.5 hr naps.  The first nap was only 1 hr from waking.  This was a tip from the Jan/Feb thread I'm part of.  It really worked for a long time.

6:30 wake up/bf
7:15 breakfast
7:30 1st nap
9:00 tummy time
9:30 bf
11:00 lunch
11:30 2nd nap
1:00 bf
3:30 3rd nap
5:30 dinner
5:45 story
6:00 bath
6:30 bf and bed

I still have a sleepy baby.  :wink:  It can be challenging.  I tried for along time to get her on 4 hrs and eventually I gave up.  It was too hard dealing with her overtired.  I just accepted finally that she needed more sleep than other babies.  To this day she still has a hard time going over 3 hrs.  Don't let anyone tell you to keep him up longer and that he will get used to it.  I'm afraid with my dd this backfired and we both became miserable.  When I went back to listening to her needs I came up with the above routine- kind of an inbetween routine.  We stayed on that until 9 months when she seemed to be able to go the two hrs (still 1.5 in the am).

[balani]

It is good to know that he's not the only one that needs to sleep often. Unfortunatly he doesn't seem to love to sleep. He fights no matter when I try to put him down. We're still working on finding something that helps him. Either I have to rock him until he is worn out, or leave him until he cries and then calm him. It's awful, but once he starts crying, then I can calm him and usually he will go to sleep. Someday it will be better - or at least a different problem!

[branwen]

Any new luck?  Are you trying PU/PD at all still?  Your rocking method sound similiar to what my dh did with our dd at that time.  6 months is really transitional...at least it was for us...

[balani]

It's been a while, and I didn't know you had posted again. Your advice to encourage the tummy sleeping really helped. It was hard at first, but after some encouragement by rubbing his back and whispering to him, he learned to sleep on his tummy. Now he rarely sleeps any other way. I always put him down on his back because it is easier - and if I try to put him down on his tummy, he usually ends up on all fours! But he rolls over before going to sleep or shortly thereafter. Somewhere in January it seems that he just clicked into a 2-2hr nap day at 9am and 1pm.

So we went from sh/pat and back sleeping to rubbing or just a hand on his back and whispering about relaxing and closing his eyes and sleeping on his tummy. What I've learned is that as he grows, he leaves behind his old sleep routine and needs me to gradually modify it into a new one.

Thanks!