Settling little babies...

[snowboarder]

..when you have a noisy 2 yr old downstairs? How please!! Baby sb the second has turned 3 months, and I'd really like to not be rocking him to sleep at nearly a year old like I did his big brother. But I don't know where to start...and it needs to be FAST as I can't/daren't leave little sb downstairs on his own for long.

The baby just howls when I put him in his bed awake...so we generally rock and go out in the buggy...but that's another thing I'd rather not be reliant on. I'm kind of chilled about it in the short term, but am thinking by 6m ish would be nice to have a bit more routine and some cot naps (pref at the same time as his brother!). The methods we used to break the habit with big brother are just not appropriate with a much younger baby, so I need miracle answers. Hours of shush patting just not going to work...

[Saffron]

Sling? Baby nest/hammock? Baby rocker?

[Fuschia]

African lullaby cd

Darkened room with lights mobile

Soft blanket to snuggle

Catch him when he rubs his eyes

[Peppa]

I had this problem too, mine are now 2.5yrs and 9months. Its no longer a problem for us but can't remember when exactly I fixed it. I basically had to get baby no 2 to go to sleep by herself at bed time when my 2 year old had already gone to bed, so I had time to settle her. It was actually much easier than I had expected, (or maybe just much easier compared to my first child).

I think she was around 7 months when she finally managed daytime naps in the cot without any tears, something changed and she seemed ready/happier to do so. Or maybe I was more determined?

I still haven't managed to get them to nap at the same time though...

[Peppa]

I also used blackout blinds and put a 'heartbeat' sounds musical thing from her chair under her cot.

[Inkmaiden]

Someone gave us a Slumber Bear- http://www.amazon.co.uk/Prince-Lionheart-Slumber-Bear-Plus/dp/B000L3ISWI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1306937968&sr=8-1. We never actually used the bear but the noise machine was brilliant- the music was very soothing and the ocean setting induced instant sleep.

[Mellors]

Swaddling tightly?

[catgirl]

As Peppa says, think the best tactic is to settle the bBy after toddler in bed so you're not dealing with the stress of the other child as well. Once the baby is settling fairly reliably and you know what works, you can then swap round and put the baby down first. With my second, once he was settling ok at 7ish, I used to get them bathed and into pjs together. Then have #1 downstairs watching a bit of tv (her only tv of the day so she was glued to it!) while I settled the baby and then nice calm story and bedtime with the eldest.

[snowboarder]

Have always been a bit cynical about music but will def give it a try. It's naps more than bedtime really, bedtime I bath and dress and story together, chuck toddler in cot and then we have a lovely snuggly feed. He falls asleep, wakes up when I put him down, but seems to go back to sleep again.

I'm crap at swaddling, tried a couple of times in first weeks but he escaped...

[Saffron]

We got a baby hammock when Little Saff was around 3 or 4 months -- would have gotten one sooner if I had known about them. We had an Amby Nest hammock. The nice thing about the hammock is that it is on a big spring. You can gently bring it up to a vigorous bouncing rhythm, then leave the room for a few minutes. The hammock will keep bouncing for quite some time. If baby doesn't settle at first, go back and gently bounce again. You can do this at intervals that suit you and your baby, ie more often on a fussy day, or just one bounce if baby is already sleepy.

xx

[alieh]

It's a hammock and dummy for us, I'm afraid. And lots of sling/buggy too. I tend to do the first nap at home and most of the rest out. We're riddled with props that we'll have to wean eventually but at least he goes down quickly!

[snowboarder]

I've started doing the first nap at home too but I cuddle him. Ok when he weighs 14lb...and it lasts all of half an hour! Randomly the other day he slept for about 3 hrs around midday and slept through a feed, transfer to car seat, and nursery run (in car/out car/walk to nursery/back/in house). Bizarre.

[Vickster]

Fuschia - which African lullaby CD do you use? I have been wanting to get one but there are a few to choose from (sorry sb for going slightly off topic)

[Fuschia]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=amb_link_160035527_1?ie=UTF8&rh=n%3A78186031%2Cp_36%3A500-799%2Cp_n_format_browse-bin%3A78186031&page=1&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=special-offers-4&pf_rd_r=0QNVKNRYEKXP8AQ5BDF7&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=242771047&pf_rd_i=B000069JMI

There is a reissue of the same cd but more expensive

[Vickster]

Thanks v much

[Fuschia]

Or http://www.amazon.co.uk/African-Lullaby-Various-Artists/dp/B000069JMI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1307051426&sr=8-1

even!!

[hellosailor]

Will order that cd too I think fuschia!

Snowboarder, we have only had success with swaddling for naps recently, 3 months plus, I couldn't get the hang of it in the early weeks, found it hard to make it snug and inescapable enough with a blanket etc and rather wished people would stop going on about how useful it was because it didn't seem to work for us. She also resisted it with some top volume crying the few times I tried! But now using one of those stretchy ones called 'miracle blankets' from mothercare or online, which are not just a flat blanket, but have a pouch for the legs, clever bits to keep the arms snug etc, and they don't come undone. It's helping a lot with naps as helps her through the jolting, though too nervous to swaddle at night because our room is so baking hot I worry it would feel like too many layers, even with just a vest on.

[sillywoman]

OK, casting my mind back a long way - I think I took a Pavlov's Dog approach. At bedtime (proper) whenever I put a baby into his bed I'd say the same words - something like "night-night, sleep tight, see you in the morning (I'm ever optimistic), & always put on his musical mobile (Mozart for brain development - yeah right!), even if he was already asleep. Then when it came to daytime naps I figured the routine would signal to their brains that this was the time for sleep. I think the approach was quite successful. Certainly I seem to recall they all slept fairly well in the day, and went to bed (initially) very well at night.

[Fuschia]

With mine I have practised delatching them saying 'night night, snuggle down' and eventually it was their cue to roll over and go to sleep

[Yak]

We are similarly pavlovian and hum the same simple tune whenever the yakling is put down, whether that's day or night. That - combined with swaddling and white noise - works at night time and for a long afternoon nap in the moses basket. I was sceptical about humming, but it stopped an overtired crying fit on the M3 last weekend and sent him off for a two hour kip

Swaddling wise, we also use the miracle blanket which is great for containing flailing limbs. Snowboarder I would lend you ours but it is one of the top items I would rescue from our house if we had a fire! Think they crop up pretty frequently on here or on ebay.

[BellendenBear]

I have been trying to tackle this too. It's impossible to spend time settling a baby with a toddler in the house who constantly runs into the room shouting 'she's asleep now!'. So poor baby has to learn early to go it alone.

At the risk of speaking too soon, we have had some success with the swaddle + white noise strategy. I have put her down awake for a daytime nap for the last 3 days and put her down awake this evening. She is swaddled in a really big muslin with background white noise (well oscillating pink noise actually) courtesy of simplynoise.com. We even achieved the ultimate unthinkable goal of toddler and baby both asleep at the same time this afternoon, hooray!

[Ko]

mothercare miracle blanket was brilliant! baby ko escaped from all other swaddling! took him a few goes to get used to it, but he gradually grew to love it.

[snowboarder]

With swaddling - does there not come a point when you stop and have to wean them off it? I just can't see myself introducing it now...he likes his grow bag....