rolling over both ways and can't get to sleep

[lizajane]

schuyler has just learned how to roll front to back. now that he can get onto his back from his tummy, he rolls over when i put him down for a nap (he is a tummy napper, and back night sleepter) then he looks up and grins and thinks it is playtime. he used to go down for a nap instantly and without any tears.

so today he cried and cried and i went back in and loved on him and put him back on his tummy over and over. finally, he got really tired and started whimpering. i put him on my chest and rocked him until he was totally out.

any suggestions on how to help him through this week of naps, after his learning a new trick? i can't rock him or nurse him to sleep. it isn't how we do it, therefore it doesn't work. he will wiggle and squirm and cry in the rocking chair.

thanks.

[flagger]

I believe in letting him figure it out and keeping to the routine. I go in and help her, but I also let her try to get back into the original position. I think soon they will either learn not to get into a position they cannot get out of, or not get into that position in the first place, but that is just me.

Earlier this week at 3AM, Ms. Flagger heard her crying and said "Go see if she is on her back and roll her over." I did and Cocoa fell back asleep. Ms. Flagger does NOT remember even saying this.

[Piglet]

We went through this with every "developmental stage", but boy did you bring back memories of the rolling over problems we had - DS to this day will only sleep on his tummy. I could have typed that exact same post when DS was younger (he is now 26 months). Right down to the fact that he won't rock or nurse to sleep - to this day he just wiggles and squirms when we hold him (and we also had a rocking chair). He needs to be left to his own devices (his thumb) to fall asleep.

We tried just about everything, but you know the expression about building a better mousetrap? Everytime we succeeded, he would figure out a way to roll over, pull up, stand up again. So, I'll give you my list of everything we did and you can pick and choose if any of these would work for you:
1) we put him in a sleep sack, which reduced his mobility considerably
2) we swaddled him and then tucked the end of the blanket under the mattress
3)we rolled him in a sausage in a big flannel blanket and the friction kept him there

That having been said, it is just a novelty to babies. They tire of this novelty and move on to another. I agree with Flagger totally -- it will take a little bit more effort on your part for the next little while, but just keep up your efforts and the novelty will pass.

As an example - it is naptime and Schuyler won't sleep. Go in and turn him over. Don't say a word, don't make eye contact, don't get him any more excited than you have to. When he flips over again, go in and repeat this. It will take many trips into his room, so get comfy in the hallway, but eventually he will be tired and won't be interested in rolling over and will just stay where you put him. The trick is not to get him too excited that mommy has come in to his room. If he is too excited, you will have a hyper, over-tired baby - even worse than a baby that rolls over all the time!

Good luck! It works out in the end. DS sleeps every night for over 12 hours and has 2 naps a day, and this is after he mastered running!

[jd11365]

I'm with you babe...having the same problem. I've put Kayla in the sleep positioner so she can't flip over...well, at least not easily. It does help, but when she's determined over it she goes! No fun at 3 am.

Jamie
Mommy to Kayla
5/1/03

[lizajane]

thanks so much for the input! he was so tired for his second nap, thanks for a trip to the fabric store, he went RIGHT down. but for tomorrow, we will give the ol' boring mommy flip routine a try.