I'm Playing Sleep Detective

[Saartje]

Feel free to join in the fun. ;)

When DS sleeps in his crib, he'll sleep about 1/2 hour for a nap, or a maximum of three hours at night.

When DS sleeps in our bed, OTOH, he'll sleep 1-3 hours for a nap, and 6 hours at night. (That's if he's alone. If I'm there with him, he may sleep longer.)

Aside from the association of Mommy and Daddy sleeping there, what could be making the difference, and what can I safely do to make his crib more like our bed? So far, I've come up with:

Our bed is softer. (I've just added a foam egg crate to the crib, which seems to help slightly.)

Our bed has warmer and heavier blankets, that don't move when he does. (How much bedding can I safely use now? Can he have a quilt? A pillow to cuddle?)

Our bed is big enough for him to roll over without running into anything. (Not sure what to do about this one, unless we pad his crib bars so he doesn't wake himself running into them.)

Any other thoughts, anyone?

[ellies mom]

Are there different sounds? Maybe an air vent that blows on him? That is such a tough question. We just moved into a new house and all of a sudden I had the hardest time putting DD into her crib without waking her up. Everytime I laid her down she'd wake up. It took me a while but it turned out that because of the layout of the room her sheet was always cold. So I got a flannel crib pad and started using flannel sheets and that really helped.

Good luck and let us know what you find out.

[aliceinwonderland]

Erik does something similar. I think it's the proximity to mom and dad.
:)

[papal]

Very tough question. I have to say that I think Mommy and Daddy proximity (warmth and smell) are hard to replace. We tried the lovey thing but that did not work.
We used to put two pillows, one on each side of her to wall her in. That worked. But I am not sure I should be recommending such things!!!!