Forum From Baby to Toddler

Little boy is digging himself awake

6 replies

DorienGuest ·
Six months ago, I got the lucky to become a mom for the first time. Our son slept really well at night from the start. Soon he didn't need night feeds anymore and slept through. Then, when he was just under four months old, this changed. He is super 'into things', curious etc., and at just under four months he could already roll from back to tummy. Meanwhile, he can also sit on his hands and knees and push himself backward/crawl backwards. He tries to crawl forward, but that doesn't work yet and that frustrates him often during the day.

Since he can roll, he also sleeps less well at night. He wakes himself up by (accidentally) landing on his tummy and automatically lifting his head, by putting his legs between the bars and pushing himself off like that, after which his head bumps somewhere. Putting him back down properly and giving him his dummy is enough for him to go back to sleep, but his (and our) night's rest is hugely disturbed by the tossing and turning. Sometimes he wakes up every hour ...

Do you maybe have tips?
Our son sleeps in a sleep sack. Pulling a sheet tightly over it doesn't help, because he can also wriggle out of that. (We tried that because we have a breathing alarm.)

Replies

  1. Veraaa #2

    First of all, congratulations! How nice that you're the parents of a healthy son!
    Sounds like a go-getter and active little guy. My tip....just let him be for a few days/weeks like this. It's a new trick he's learned. And he's also discovering it in his sleep. It'll get better soon...he'll become more dexterous...and then he won't have any trouble with it anymore.
    Optionally, you could put a bed next to his crib if he's sleeping in the nursery now. Then you can lie next to him and easily put him back down properly. That way you won't wake up as much and it'll be done faster.
    Personally, I wouldn't restrict his movement space. You could tuck the bottom of the sleeping bag under the mattress, or sew a flap onto the sleeping bag that you tuck under. But then you'd be limiting his freedom to sleep. And then I'd choose to just wait it out.
    All under the guise of... It's a phase!!!
    Good luck!!

  2. Dorien started this #3

    Hi Vera, thanks for your reply!
    I’ve come across those options online too, like a sheet you could attach to the mattress, but I’m indeed wondering if that might not be too restrictive for his ‘processing’ while discovering/moving around.
    We want to take it easy and see it as just a phase. I just hope it’ll pass soon, because it’s already been going on for two months.
    At first, we thought about putting our son in his room around 4 months old, but we didn’t do that because of all the fuss. So he’s still sleeping next to me, which means I can easily put him back in place if needed.
    We’ll just wait and see and hope it gets better soon!

  3. Veraaa #4

    Ohhh, those phases can sometimes last quite a while, yes!!! Our daughter had a phase where her crib was like a hamster wheel. She would walk (with a sleeping bag on) along the bars and spin around like that. But she would also sometimes get a leg stuck and then wake up. Really hopeless.... Cute and difficult at the same time, haha.
    It seems to me that it will definitely get better once he's a bit stronger. Then he'll have more control over his neck muscles and head, and it'll work out without those bumps. And I hope for your sake that it doesn't take too much longer!!

  4. Dorien started this #5

    Haha, hamster wheel, awesome!!
    The last two nights our little boy has been sleeping much more peacefully... Let's wait and see!

  5. Veraaa #6

    Haha, yes, a lovely memory!
    Nice, you’ve already got those 2 nights in. Enjoy the good nights and accept the less good ones .

  6. dojosi7 #7

    Hi
    I had a similar problem with my daughter. She would wake up at night every now and then. And you won't believe it, our mother-in-law helped us with advice and action! She said we should replace the bed! And it was a hit - apparently my daughter had a too-hard mattress... We just bought a bed with mattress from wnm-group.nl

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