It always worked really well on my sister's kids, but I have picked up friend's babies and had them fall instantly to sleep! I even was asked to hold a toddler at the doctor's office I worked in while his sister got shots and he fell asleep on my lap!
Anyway, there is very little skill to it; it's mostly luck. But, I have learned that every baby has a trick. Some (most) like to be swaddled. Some like to be cuddled and then laid down while some prefer to skip the cuddling. Some like to have their faces rubbed. Some like to be hummed to. Owyn loved to be held and cuddled; she still does. She has a hard time falling asleep without a little bit of cuddle time first.
Lily...well...she seems to be the exception to my magic. She just doesn't like to sleep, especially during the day. I've tried all the tricks I know and I've tried some new ones. I have found a few things she likes (she likes to be kissed softly on the cheek and then held cheek to cheek for a minute while I shush her) and lots of things she doesn't like (naptime). Nothing makes her more angry than being laid on her blanket to be swaddled. Actually, I take that back. She gets angry about being swaddled, but when I pick her up to rock her and cuddle her a little bit before laying her down, she gets absolutely livid. So, I lay her in her crib and then she does the heartbreaking "please don't leave me here" cry.
Luckily, she will usually cry for a few minutes and then quiet down before she slips off to sleep. And, even better, her issues now are mostly with daytime napping. She is learning to handle the nighttime quite well. This week, though, has been an exceptionally rough week. I am hoping she is teething so I have something to blame it on. She doesn't like to be put down, she doesn't like to be picked up (unless it is in a way that she isn't being encouraged to fall asleep), she doesn't nap for more than 45 minutes at a time, and she is cranky. Actually, that last one might just be me.
So, why am I putting all this in my happy post for the day? I'm not sure. I think I am trying to get myself through a rough patch in a positive way. Yeah, that's it. The whole reason I'm doing this project is to find happiness in my everyday life even on the rough days.
I'm happy that I have such a sweet baby to do sleep battle with. I'm happy she is so curious about the world that she can't stand to go to sleep and miss it. I'm happy that she likes the soft kisses. I'm grateful to be her mother and to figure this out with her.
And...
I love that this is the face she makes right before she falls asleep, right as she is giving up on crying.
3 comments:
Julianna is the same with daytime sleep, but she sleeps for about 11 hours through the night so i she doesn't sleep too much during the day Im not too bothered. The one thing that does work a treat every time though to put her to sleep is a bottle in front of the tv.
feel your pain as Russ was that way. All I could do for sanity was lay him in his crib and let him cry himself to sleep. The more you held him the madder he got.
Oh what a sweet little face.
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