Problems with sleeping?

Since the day we brought the girls home, Olivia has always been harder when it came to sleeping. At night time we have to sleep with her on our chest next to our heart, Im guessing she likes the sound. The problem is that we arent getting much sleep with her on top of us everynight but when we do move her she wakes up immediately and wants to be held again. She will sleep 3-4 hours if we are holding her, but on her own she sleeps maybe 20 minutes and starts crying. Any ways to break this..or maybe reasonings she does this? Any advise would be great.

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How old is she? If she's old enough to CIO, you could try that. How does she nap?

 

Have you tried swaddling her - real tight with arms in? This may make her feel more secure, and not wake up all the time from her startle reflex. When babies sleep on their tummies they don't startle as much because there arms are under them. I assume this is how she sleeps on you? Good luck!

 

I agree with swaddling. Although you are not mentioning fussiness here, I would still recommend watching Happiest Baby on the Block DVD. I believe this will help with soothing techniques, which include swaddling. I believe this will help in getting her to sleep .

 

If she likes the sound of your heart, there are sound machines & crib soothers (we have a stuffed bear) that mimic it that may help. I'd also recommend swaddling, along with white noise of some sort. My boys were 30-45 min nappers unless they were held or on their tummies...so I feel your pain!

 

QUOTE(JennTx @ Jul 27 2008, 10:55 AM) [snapback]898697[/snapback]
How old is she? If she's old enough to CIO, you could try that. How does she nap?


May sound stupid but what is CIO? Nap time she normally lays in her boppy or again on me or her dad.

 

CIO-Crying It Out. Sleep training technique.

 

Ditto getting the book happiest baby on the block. Shushing sounds, swinging motions, sucking, swaddling are all very good at helping to calm af fussy baby. Try swaddling her and putting her in a bouncy chair or swing, with white noise or a vacuum in the background. All of these things helped our babies sleep without being "on us". They might not sleep quite as long, but at least you won't be tied to her sleep.

If they started to cry when in the bouncy chair after they had only been asleep for a short period of time, I would often just put my hand on their stomach/chest and apply a small amount of pressure, just so they knew I was there. I would hold it there for a few minutes while they cried a bit, and sometimes that would do the trick. Or try rocking her in the her chair or car seat if she wakes up in 20-30min.

Good Luck. You are in the hard part right now. It does get easier.