My son who is 2 month old stays awake for 10 hrs in day time, some how he doesn't like to sleep at all. We tried everything but he just won't sleep. Although if we take him in our hands he will sleep for a while but as soon we try to put him in his crib or swing he will wake up. We changed his diaper, fed him, bundle him so that he can sleep but he wakes up as soon we put him down. I don't know if has the habbit of taking in hands, but at night he sleeps through without any problem. Please advise if anybody has the same problem Sleep Nazi replied. You've an over stimulated child who has never been taught how to fall asleep. Teach them you ask... ABSOLUTELY!

Your child should be in a strict routine but if you managed to get this far without it then you need to seriously reconsider what you are doing. Do you know the signs of tiredness in a baby? These are things you MUST know. Facial gimaces, grumpiness, the clutching and waving of their hands also are signs of being tired. Watch your baby and I am certain they are displaying these signs. Many mothers don't recignise these signs but they are very helpful to know as putting baby to bed before they are over tired is the key. I know that I went through the same as you until a midwife told me of this and since then all my children have been angels at bed time. I also think that it has made me a better mother because I am never tired, never grumpy or upset coz my kids have not slept

DONT distract your baby with other things, you are continuing to over stimulate them. Like us babies can get what we refer to as out second win... You know when you're really tired, desperate for sleep and then suddenly you have all this energy rush on you making sleep impossible? Same thing for little ones. After feeding and bathing your baby (given their age) they shouldn't be awake much longer than another 30 mins or so.

I would seriously recommend controlled crying as a means to teach your baby to self settle. Self settling is most important as it helps in many ways. If baby wakes in the night (at times other than feed times) they then know how to nod back off without mother coming in to settle them. Should you need a baby sitter they baby will not have their sleep disturbed because they dont have their mother there to do the things she would do to settle.

Place baby in their crib/cot, ensure the room is cool, quiet and not too bright. Pat baby's bottom while saying shhh-shhh-shhh-shhh patting on every 4th shhh. This mimics the noises of the womb and the patting settles. Only do this till baby is quiet and then leave.

Baby may cry again after you leave but do not go onfor a few mins (say 2-5 mins), you need to be strict. After the set time go in and do the same, DONT talk to baby, DONT trun on lights and DONT make eye contact. Go through the shhh patting routine again until baby is quiet and then leave. NEVER PAT UNTIL BABY IS ALSEEP as this defeats the purpose of self settling. It may take a few days but if you are diligent things will change. There will be a little more upset initially but a week or two is much better than this continuing forever.

It may seem just a little cruel at first but it is truly in you baby's best interests that you do this. All my friends call me the Sleep Nazi as I am strict like this will my children when they are born and when ever they have new babies I usually spend a week with them at their home doing the same with their kids and you know what? We all have babies we can just place in the crib who nod off with out any drama with in days. If you learn the tired signs and put baby to sleep when they first show you wont have any drama and now that you know, any children to come will never need the shhh pat thing because you'll have put them to sleep the moment they've shown they r tired. taruna replied. guess he has got used to d godi,
it happens wid almost all parents, my daughter is now 10mts old n she used to do d same.
well i stopped tryin hard to make her sleep, rather i used to distract her wid some toys , bright hanging toys ,musical ones r good to distract d baby but u first start wid makin him get used to lyin down alone when awake .
initally sit wid him, den leav for say 5 min , come back... den keep extendin d time... babies need to be able to get used to dont worry
take care, taruna Padma replied. Hi Anamika,

The same problem i had with my son...... (now he is 8 month old)He will not sleep at all during day.. If we want to make him sleep during day we have to carry him on the pillow. If we leave him on the bed he wakes up within 30mts.

Please be happy atleast your baby sleeps at night without troubling you.

Regards,
Padma