Comments | cifarelli: Naps are difficult

cifarelli

Naps are difficult

Apr 20, 2007 13:54

So why is it so hard for me to get my kid to take a nap anywhere that isn't my arms? *sigh* If I get him to sleep, it seems like about 2/3 of the time he wakes up as soon as or very shortly (within 5 minutes) after I set him down somewhere. Just now, I put him in his swing, which is where he naps best, and he woke immediately. He looked around ( Read more... )

corwin, naps, sleep

Comments 14

cainadai April 20 2007, 19:18:09 UTC

Hey gal... Lori here! Kristen pointed me at your LJ today after I started using mine again. Congrats on the little one, annoying though he may be sometimes. :)

cifarelli April 20 2007, 20:48:44 UTC

Hi Lori! :)

wingsrising April 20 2007, 19:31:29 UTC

Remembering that I know nothing about babies...

Would one of those little slingy-bundle things work? You know, the kind where you sort of wear your baby? They always look like the sort of thing I would like to be in if I were a baby. :-)

cifarelli April 20 2007, 20:48:21 UTC

I keep thinking about trying to get one of those, but I keep holding back because there are a bazillion different kinds and I don't want to spend a lot of money on something that may end up not working for me (especially since we are now on one income) -- or spend a ton of money buying several and only ending up using one.

I'm a chicken. Bock bock! ;)

onefishclappin April 20 2007, 20:53:43 UTC

I'll let you hold Alex in our newest carrier and see what you think. The kid needs some head control, so Corwin is a little young still (we started Alex in it at 3 months). I like it... Or you could try the baby bjorn to see what you think. (Note, my favorite carrier, the Ergo, David hates. His favorite, the bjorn, I hate. Has to do with body size and style.) The advantage of the Ergo is that it cups the kid more like a sling, but is so much easier to put on & take off & distributes the weight evenly and on your hips. If you want to try and normal sling, you should ask Liz to bring hers to the party and we can play with it. (And feel free to use Alex as a test dummy since it might be easier with a baby with more head control & who is used to being carried in a carrier a lot.)

cifarelli April 20 2007, 21:00:38 UTC

Actually, Corwin has pretty decent head control already, so he may do fine. We'll see :)

Where he's lacking is in the upper body control. He'll often flop sideways 'cause he can't control/support his chest, but he only really flops at the neck when he's tired.

Thread 5

cainadai April 20 2007, 19:42:15 UTC

I also know nothing about babies but it seems like all my friends have started popping them out lately. I could swear someone told me once that sometimes you have to let them cry themselves to sleep or they'll become (more) dependant on you. You should probably look that up before you field test it. I could be thinking of something else entirely. :)

cifarelli April 20 2007, 20:45:55 UTC

There are a couple of schools of thought on this -- some folks are opposed to EVER letting their kid "cry it out" whereas others swear by it. I'm probably somewhere in the middle.

He's currently 7 weeks old, which isn't really old enough to understand much of anything (other than "mommy's got me" or "I'm all alone...wah!"). Currently, I prefer not to let him cry, because usually if he's crying he needs something he can't provide for himself, even if that's just comforting. When he's old enough to understand, "hey, Mommy wants me to go to sleep now," THEN I'll consider letting him fuss and cry for a bit. But right now...I'm gonna comfort him as much as he wants.

onefishclappin April 20 2007, 20:59:14 UTC

We are in the middle (likely more on the "cry it out" side) on this too. One thing to keep in mind is there are times that it really feels like what he needs is a release of energy caused by crying. I've actually found this with both of the kids - just yesterday, Matthew was a Pill all evening, pushing and trying to get into trouble. Finally, he misbehaved enough that I picked him up and took him to the car (we were at David's race) and talked to him. As soon as I "got mad" at him, he bawled, then quickly quieted down, and afterwards, was a gentleman. It was like he needed help expressing himself and once he did, he was much happier. Strange child. But to the point, Alex gets so tired that the constant "mama" stimulation is too much and he sleeps longer and more soundly if I leave him alone for 5 minutes while he's trying to fall asleep. If he's still fussing after those 5 minutes, I figure he needs the comforting or there's something wrong (diaper, food, gas, etc) and I go to him and attend to his needs. For him, the sign is ( ... )

cifarelli April 20 2007, 21:05:09 UTC

Usually when Corwin does this, it turns out he needed to poop. He'll poop some time later (sometimes as much as an hour later) and then he'll be calm. I discovered this the one time I got so frustrated with him that I did put him down in his crib and let him cry. After 10 minutes of furious screaming, he pooped and was instantly quiet and happy.

The other option is that he's tired. If he's tired, he'll usually fall asleep if I either let him comfort nurse or carry him around the house for a bit. And this afternoon he actually did fall asleep in the swing, and has been asleep for about 2.5 hours now. I'm hoping this doesn't bode badly for him sleeping on the way to Austin tonight.

But if I set him down somewhere when he's tired and fussing, he just fusses, and eventually works himself up to a full-on crying fit. He doesn't tend to fall asleep from a fussy state.

Thread 5

onefishclappin April 20 2007, 20:30:29 UTC

Can't wait to see you & meet the little bugger!

noricum April 22 2007, 15:51:28 UTC

A blog friend of mine makes slings customized to your size, and gets lots of good feedback about them: http://www.planetzebes.com/