divinedecay
08-06-2008, 05:08 AM
First of all I'm totally new here, so hi everyone!
Secondly.
My son was a preemie, born 6 weeks early and spent one month in the NICU. He could be the poster child for the high needs baby, he's very intense and always has been (one NICU nurse described him as rabid!). He has some minor sensory issues related to his prematurity which contribute to his high needs.
Sleeping in his crib wasn't too much of an issue when he was smaller, I would swaddle him tightly, nurse him to sleep and then put him in his crib. We were blessed to have him sleep through the night from about 3 months, he would sleep from 8pm to 7am without a peep! I miss those nights!
He's now 10 months and hates to be swaddled anymore. I can still nurse him to sleep in my bed, but it's difficult to move him from my bed to the crib (we haven't yet been successful in doing that) when he's not swaddled because he wakes himself up. So he's been sleeping with us for the past few months. However when he sleeps with us he usually wakes up one or two times in the night, which is a step backward from what he was doing when sleeping in his own crib.
Because of his high needs, cry it out is not a solution for him. It just doesn't work, we really did try. Upon leaving him in his crib to CIO not only did he scream the worlds loudest scream for a long time (did I mention he's intense?!), but he started to throw himself around the crib in his anger. He has bruises from doing this. I'm not prepared to have him hurt himself so that I can get a good nights sleep. Also, I tried going in there and trying to comfort him while he was in the crib. I patted him and sang to him but he thrashed at me and bit me, it seemed to make him more angry.
My husband and I don't mind sharing a bed with him if that's going to be the only solution, but because of his night waking when co-sleeping, I'd rather him sleep in the crib. That way everyone is more rested. Plus then I'd actually get to snuggle with my husband for once, lol.
He is the same for naps too (will only sleep in our bed). And he is also a cat-napper.... generally he only naps for 30 minutes at a time. He's always yawning during the day, I know he's tired but he resists napping for long and still seems to wake up grumpy.
Sorry this is so long... so does anyone have any advice for helping high needs babies to sleep in a crib? I guess I also need to wean him off of nursing to sleep too!
thanks
x
Secondly.
My son was a preemie, born 6 weeks early and spent one month in the NICU. He could be the poster child for the high needs baby, he's very intense and always has been (one NICU nurse described him as rabid!). He has some minor sensory issues related to his prematurity which contribute to his high needs.
Sleeping in his crib wasn't too much of an issue when he was smaller, I would swaddle him tightly, nurse him to sleep and then put him in his crib. We were blessed to have him sleep through the night from about 3 months, he would sleep from 8pm to 7am without a peep! I miss those nights!
He's now 10 months and hates to be swaddled anymore. I can still nurse him to sleep in my bed, but it's difficult to move him from my bed to the crib (we haven't yet been successful in doing that) when he's not swaddled because he wakes himself up. So he's been sleeping with us for the past few months. However when he sleeps with us he usually wakes up one or two times in the night, which is a step backward from what he was doing when sleeping in his own crib.
Because of his high needs, cry it out is not a solution for him. It just doesn't work, we really did try. Upon leaving him in his crib to CIO not only did he scream the worlds loudest scream for a long time (did I mention he's intense?!), but he started to throw himself around the crib in his anger. He has bruises from doing this. I'm not prepared to have him hurt himself so that I can get a good nights sleep. Also, I tried going in there and trying to comfort him while he was in the crib. I patted him and sang to him but he thrashed at me and bit me, it seemed to make him more angry.
My husband and I don't mind sharing a bed with him if that's going to be the only solution, but because of his night waking when co-sleeping, I'd rather him sleep in the crib. That way everyone is more rested. Plus then I'd actually get to snuggle with my husband for once, lol.
He is the same for naps too (will only sleep in our bed). And he is also a cat-napper.... generally he only naps for 30 minutes at a time. He's always yawning during the day, I know he's tired but he resists napping for long and still seems to wake up grumpy.
Sorry this is so long... so does anyone have any advice for helping high needs babies to sleep in a crib? I guess I also need to wean him off of nursing to sleep too!
thanks
x