Help with 6 month old and sleep....?

Question

My daughter is turning 6 months old and up until the last day or two we have always swaddled her. She has started to roll over during the night while swaddled (of course we roll her on her back right away) so it is an obvious sign to get rid of the swaddle blanket. We are starting by only letting one arm out at a time during most naps and bedtime. It used to take her merely minutes to fall asleep while swaddled and now it is taking her up to 40 minutes. She takes the pacifier in and out of her mouth and kind of plays around. When she starts crying I know she is ready to sleep and I make sure she has the pacifier. How can I teach her to sooth herself and get her to fall asleep faster like she used to when swaddled? I know we just started this process so it may get better with time. Has anyone else gone through this? We are open to trying anything. We just want her to be a good sleeper without this darn blanket….and a happy baby!

Also, she really hates being on her belly. I have tried putting her on her belly to sleep and she just won't have it!

Answer 1

I would replace the swaddling with a routine of book, bath, bottle...whatever calms her down. Her signal to go to sleep seems to have been the swaddled blanket, not being put in her crib.
Her new signal will be your routine.

As for the playing and rolling in bed- that is important as well. Babies need time on their own to explore and practice new gross motor skills. She may keep doing that for a few months.
I would avoid going in to her room when she is crying unless you think she may have a messy diaper. Use the routine and make sure she is dry, full, and comfortable when you put her in the crib.

My experience has been that it takes 3 days to change a baby's sleeping habit, so you should be fine soon.
Good luck, and good question.

Answer 2

Self soothing is a skill just like smiling, walking, at talking. There are things you can do to encourage it, but you can't make them learn it.

My baby is 10 months old. We co-sleep. However there was awhile where he would only fall asleep in his crib, he did not want or need me. (He would still end up back in my bed for feedings in the middle of the night). Then there was teething and he ended up needing me all the time.

Now he is showing signs of wanting to sleep alone again. He rolls over and falls asleep away from me. But he is having trouble sleeping in general right now because of Christmas or something. So sometimes he tosses and turns and it can take forever to get him to sleep. Plus I am having to swaddle him or pin him down with my legs and arm some times because he will not lay down long enough to sleep, he sits, he stands, he bounces.

However the last two days he has been pretty good again. So you aren't alone, and you certainly aren't alone if you decide not to let him scream. Which doesn't work for all babies.

You could try a heavy (weight) blanket. My mom has an old baby blanket and they used to be very heavy and yet not too warm. I have no clue what was in this blanket. It was a silky material on the outside. However my babe will rarely tolerate a blanket so I haven't really looked into it.

Try back rubbing his back or patting his bum and he'll figure out how to fall asleep on his own sooner or later. Even if you have to rock him to sleep for a bit. He'll get to self soothing on his own eventually.

Some studies on normal infant sleep that make me feel better anyway:

http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/sleepstudies.html

Answer 3

Well I have a 6 month old as well and I still swaddle him because he hasn't rolled over in his sleep yet. As far as getting them to learn to fall asleep on their own good luck. Every baby is going to be different. Try asking your parents what they did with you at that age and try that. Maybe even ask grandparents. I know at some point I will have to give up the swaddle blanket as well but they sleep so darn good with it I don't want to give it up yet.
Good Luck!

Answer 4

Swaddling is for newborns. 6 months is too old for swaddling. at that age, she NEEDS to roll over. It's normal and healthy. You should not be putting her on her back if she rolls over...let her be so she can find the position she wants.

Answer 5

First of all if she is able to roll over from front to back and vice versa her chances of SIDS have decreased drastically. This said she may be more comfortable sleeping on her side or stomach so she fells less "out in the open". Also know that the older she gets the more she will probably be fight sleep. Be consistant by lying her down when she is drowsy but not asleep and if she is crying check on her every few minutes. Try not to pick her up unless she is very upset or she has been crying for more than thirty minutes. I have found that when my 7 mo is sleepy and fighting it, if I let him cry for 5ish minutes and then reposition him and give him back his pacifier he usually calms down and goes right on to sleep. Best of luck to you and your child.

Answer 6

The reason you keep a baby on it's back in the first months of it's life is because they aren't strong enough and their arms aren't long enough, to lift themselves up and or turn over to breath. My wife and I waited for our baby to be able to turn herself over from on her tummy to her back without too much effort before we didn't worry about it anymore. As far as getting her to sleep, we try to get her active a couple of hours before bedtime so she's good and tired. Half an hour before, we put on soft classical music, works like a charm.

Answer 7

Sounds like you are on the right track. Its very important to try and get them to soothe themselves. I say its time to get rid of the blanket and maybe try putting her down before she starts crying in her crib so she can get used to it. leave her cry for a lil bit and then go and comfort her when you can't take it anymore. try this every night and the time alone should get longer and longer for both of you....eventually she will be able to get herself to sleep....maybe even find her thumb...read up on some sleep habit books for infants for some more guidelines...always trust your instincts first and if she cries and you can't take it....hold her...you can never love tooo much

Answer 8

swaddle her if she likes it and when she rolls out of it leave her alone she will be fine, theres no need to put her back on her back if she turns over to her tummy, at 6 months old its fine fpr her to sleep on her tummy.

Answer 9

Soft music helps, let her play a bit alone in the crib, when she's tired, she will sleep

Answer 10

try turning on the mobile or rocking her to sleep unswaddled and then putting her to bed that way. also try one of the crib toys that latches onto the crib with a mirror. babies like looking at themselves.