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Sleep

Hi ladies, am after some advice about sleeping....

My daughter is 18 weeks now and sleeps in a cot in our bedroom which is always at least 23 degrees according to the room thermometer (and generally a few degrees warmer). She wears a sleepsuit to bed and we usually put a cellular blanket over her. When she wakes in the morning she always feels nice and warm - except her hands which seem really cold. I have considered putting scratch mits on her when we put her to bed but she has just started teething and her hands are constantly in her mouth and she seems to be chomping on her whole fist to self-settle. Does she need extra layers on at night even though the rest of her body feels nice and warm?

The other bit of advice that I need is about sleeping during the day. She normally sleeps from about 10.30pm until about 8am and usually settles well. However, during the day it seems almost impossible to get her to sleep in her cot (she has had one decent length sleep in there in her 18 weeks of life!). She fights sleep during the day and will only give in to it if she is being pushed in her pushchair or if I am holding her.

We have tried everything I can think of and are now at a loss for what we can do to try and get her to sleep in a cot during the day. I will be going back to work in a few months (still a little while away) and I want to make sure that she isn't going to scream the nursery down at nap-time! Does anyone have any advice please?

Replies

  • I wouldn't worry too much about the temperature of her hands, babies don't have such good circulation so their extremities feel colder. I have noticed that Daisy's hands are colder since I've moved her into the cot. There wasn't much room in the moses basket so her hands were close to her body but now she has more room she sleeps spreadeagled across the cot so I guess they are further away from the rest of her!

    Can't help on the naps I'm afraid, I can't even get her to settle at night, let alone during the day image
  • A controversial one but if it were me I'd be trying a bit of sleep training. I'm really pleased as Rhodri is very good at sleeping during the day but I had the devil's own job trying to get my first baby to sleep during the day. When we reached the three month mark I did a form of controlled crying with her to help her settle in the cot. Not extreme but I put her down - with a series of sleep triggers just like bedtime - and went in at five minute intervals doing the 'pick up, put down' method until she settled. If you're going to try this then aim for the first sleep of the day as a starting point. I don't know why but I've always had far more success with that one than any other.

    Rhodri's pretty consistent at needing sleep by the time he's been awake for 2 hours so try and guage what your lo needs then use that as an inidicator and go up to settle for the naps before they get too grouchy. I also go by the yawns - first yawn is wind down time and by the time the second comes we're heading up to the cot.

    Hope this helps!
    MM xx
  • I have to agree with MM. I did the same with my LO, and it wasn't extreme. I just kept going back to him to re--assure him that everything was ok.

    He now sleeps in his cot for naps during the day if we're in. I watch out for tired signs too, when he yawns I know he's getting ready and when he starts rubbing his eyes I put him down.

    I agree with Liz about the hands, I was told that cold feet and hands don't mean they're cold as long as their chest is warm. My LO constantly has cold hands as they are always so wet from being in his mouth.

    Good luck with the naps.

    xx
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