any tips to helping LO relax?

i read to my LOs before their naptime to settle them down from playing. my one Lo settles down right away...my other one however tosses and turns in his crib for atleast an additional 15 mins. he's tired and i would like any tips to try and calming him down so he may 'relax' better.

 

Some babies need that alone time to unwind before going to sleep. One of mine would cry no matter what when I put him down. Sort of his way to burn off steam before he was really mobile. Once he was crawling well and pulling up, he'd stand up and down, move around the crib, throw things out, etc for a while before going to sleep. Now at 5 he rolls his blanket up, unwinds it, rolls it up again, bounces his puppy around, flips from belly to back, all kinds of things for a while before falling asleep. Sounds to me like your two just have very different sleep temperments right now.

 

Baby massage might work... you can find books in your library or details online. We did massage with both of our girls and the benefits were fantastic - more relaxed sleep, better muscle tone, bonding with parents, etc.

 

I agree that some kids just need that wind down time. As long as he's waking up refreshed from his nap, then it's not a big deal.

 

he actually wakes up mid-nap, screaming. i always scooped him up, rocked him and got him back to sleep before he woke his brother. then i got away from having to rock them but he STILL wakes up and needs help falling back asleep.

 

How about some quiet soothing music? Or maybe a few extra minutes of cuddle time with Mommy after the other one is put down?

 

tina, i even try and hold him until he's calm. he doesnt stop moving! the music is constantly going in their room, along with the fan and the humidifer, lol.

 

Maybe he's just going to be one of those kids who take awhile to calm themselves enough to sleep. Unfortunately, some kids are like that. I have one like that who's 14 now & still takes awhile to get to sleep. Luckily, she's old enough now to read or listen to music or whatever until she gets to sleep. But :hug: I know it's really frustrating when they are little. It sounds like you are doing everything I can think of to try, it might just take some time. The good thing is that eventually they will outgrow naps, so if you can get the nighttime sleeping under control, eventually there will be no problem.

 

nighttime sleeping has been great. very few times when he needs his head rubbed, etc. maybe 1x a week now?
i guess im very concered about when i go back to work and hes in daycare. i want to make sure he can sleep on his own and stay asleep.