So experienced mommies out there, what is your take on this:Should kids be gotten used to napping and sleeping in any surroundings or do you guys think its better for them to rest in a quiet and peaceful environment. My baby is getting used to sleeping in a quiet and dark room and any amount of noise is starting to wake her up. Am i setting myself up for disaster? She also wont nap for more than 30 mins at a time for some reason, which is a recent thing and a strong diversion from her 1-2 hour naps. Help!
Re: infant and sleep issues
its only been a lil bit Ira 
it can take upto 2 months for a baby to full adjust and mama to adjust to bubz.. so hang in there
I think, from experience that you should try to get her used to sleeping in any kind of environment, otherwise it can get a lil hard on both of you … lets say if you’ve gone somewhere and she really needs a nap, it can be hard to find a nice quiet room somewhere.. REALLY hard..
at 3 months, i got mine used to sleeping/nodding off by herself. I knew when she was tired, so id put her in her bassient or on our bed and let her nod off. But it did take time… 3 months and also other issues. I got mastitis and then developed an abcess (cant spell), only after that did she become a really calm and happy bubz.. lol.
Hang in there… first 2-3 months are a bit of a struggle. What got me through was the thought… “u r ur baby’s world.. they know nothing but you”.. so when Heba was crying and upset (and me as well), I would just cuddle her and make her believe that i will always be there for her.. somehow it always worked
Re: infant and sleep issues
my son never knew the difference between day and night...he would sleep in the day and stay awake at night for this reason i kept him in the living room during the day and in the bedroom only at night...this way he was able to differentiate between day and night routine.
My friend cannot go shopping or even attend any family functions as her son is used to pin drop so its best to have your baby sleep in a busy environment as it makes your life easier, it will be easier for you if you take her out and about and you will have the peace of mind that she can sleep even when surrounded by people.
as for her shorter naps..she's looking for you, just comfort her by holding her hand or stroking her face and talking to her hopefully she will nod off, if not then just cuddle her until she is peaceful and put her down again.
Re: infant and sleep issues
Thank you for your responses ladies. Now i want to clarify one thing: is trying to fall asleep in a quiet room different than staying asleep in a quiet place? She can nap when we go out but ifs loud while she is trying to all asleep, she gets bothered by it.
Re: infant and sleep issues
i would say try to let her sleep in a noisy room, my 1st child i used to put her in a quite room to let her sleep, so she got used to this, so now if we go anywhere she wont sleep any where. however my 2nd child just sleeps any where hell have a nap in the moses basket in the living room with the tv on, if we go anywhere hell be fine sleeping there too, i know its hard but try and let her sleep in the living room may be during the day and let her sleep up stairs in the night,
Re: infant and sleep issues
In the initial days, I used to get her to sleep anywhere. She'd be fast asleep no matter how noisy or lit it was around. But... I wanted to set her up in a routine, so I started pretty much within the first week or so. I know it doesn't matter when they're that young, but I wanted her (and myself) to get used to it so I started early.
For the first 3 months or so, I used to put her down for a nap after an hour and a half of her waking up. I followed the "E.A.S.Y." routine. Eat, Activity, Sleep, and your time. That routine repeats every 3 hours. (For example: feed at 7am, diaper change, let her play even if it's for 5 min, and by 8:30am, put her down for a nap, feed again at 10am... etc. till about 4pm, and then I used to cluster feed every 2 hours.) I also had a bedtime routine set from the very beginning. Bath/massage, change, feed, and swaddle. To this day, unless we're out, I do this and put her to sleep between 7 and 7:30pm. Then I'd feed her in her sleep around 10 or 11pm, and most nights she'd sleep through till the morning. It completely depends on how much she's had during the day. She'll wake up some nights to feed, but Alhamdulillah, always goes back to slelep, so I didn't have any problems with frequent wakings.
It was pretty difficult in the beginning. Asim and mom used to laugh and tell me to write down the schedule and give it the Izzah so she knows what she has to do. :D
Anyway, following this routine made my life soooo much easier! Other than the first few weeks, which you need to adjust anyway, I didn't find it hard at all. If she cried, I knew what she wanted because I knew what the routine was. I also got her used to falling asleep on her own. As long as she's not overtired, she should be able to fall asleep on her own. For naps, I used to swaddle her, and then put on a certain music (which helped her associate it with naps), and then while she was still awake, I'd leave the room and let her fall asleep on her own. The days she was too tired, I did put her to sleep by rocking, or walking, but the minute I'd put her down, her eyes would open, but I'd just keep my hand on her, so she knew i was there, and then let her sleep.
If she starts taking regular naps during the day (even if they're short), I don't think she'll have trouble staying asleep at night. Most important thing about daytime naps is to not let her think it's night time (by darkening the room). There were days she wouldn't sleep cuz it was so bright out, in which case I'd draw the curtains, but then I'd keep a lamp on so it wasn't completely dark.
Now that she's 5+ months, she's going through the attachment phase. She'll cry when I leave the room, so it's a little harder. Then again, it depends on how soon or late I put her down for a nap. It can't be too early, and it can't be too late. If she's overtired, I almost always have to help her fall asleep. She's pretty good with bedtime cuz between 6:30 and 7pm, she just starts rubbing her eyes and starts slowing down.
Re: infant and sleep issues
Thank you sheeny.
Seabee, i am also trying to follow E.A.S.Y with Kanzah. THe problem is that she isnt that easy to follow it with. Her naps have become totally erratic and at about noon i dont know what to do anymore since she will keep waking up after 30-45 mins. It works some days and some days it doesnt. Did you find that with Izzah as well? Kanzah also doesnt go to bed until later, sometimes 10 or 11 and wakes up at around 8ish. There is no way she can do the 12 hour nights yet. I am hoping it will get better.
Re: infant and sleep issues
No, you're doing good. It takes time to set a routine, and yes, some days will be hard. There were days when Izzah didn't really nap well during the day, but even half an hour 45 minutes should be ok. Sometimes there is a reason why she might wake up too early from a nap. You can check if she's too hot or too cold. Sometimes babies like being swaddled...and other times, they want to be free. In that case, maybe she wakes up while trying to undo herself from the swaddle.
I remember there were a couple of days when Izzah hardly took more than a 20 min of nap all day. She slept ok at night, but I knew it wasn't enough. Then a few days later, she ended up falling asleep at 3pm, and just wouldn't wake up..even to feed. I fed her while she was asleep, and she pretty much slept through the whole night and woke up next day around 8. I was so freaked out thinking something was wrong with her cuz she just wouldn't wake up. I guess she was 1. making up for the lost sleep, and 2. going through a growth spurt. After that her naps became pretty regular. These days again, she's not really on the routine a 100%. For one, she's old enough to stay awake longer, and she just loves being awake so she can play. Then she gets overtired and it's hard to put her to sleep. So, yeah there will be days when you just won't be able to follow the routine, but hang in there.
As for sleeping later at night, I guess there's no set rule about when a baby should sleep. Some babies just sleep later than others. Do you have a bedtime routine? That works really well to get the baby to know it's time to sleep. Maybe you can start, if you haven't already, and then move it earlier and earlier slowly.
Re: infant and sleep issues
Seabee you are so helpful! Thank you for sharing your experiences. Our bedtime/naptime routine so far consists of swaddling and putting her in bed with her pacifier and patting her to sleep. Some days she falls asleep in her bouncer too. Did you bathe Izzah at this age, every night? We are doing 2-3 baths a week but i am hoping to start doing it every night when go home (from my parents').
What else can we do to indicate bed time to her?
Re: infant and sleep issues
give her a good routine Ira... like do the same thing everynight before going to bed
we would bathe her each night, change her clothes, feed her and then put her to sleep... i kept that routine for a few months until she got the hang of it
Re: infant and sleep issues
Is this for ladies only? Here's my 2 bits, we set Lila up so that when she naps during the day, it doesn't matter if it's noisy or not, obviously we avoid large bangs and clangs, but we talk in normal voices, we have the tv on, we have guests over, etc. So now she can sleep in the middle of a crowded restaurant on a Friday afternoon.
But her night sleep, we put her in her crib, lights out, only a night light, her fan, and we keep it quiet.
Mashallah, she is a great sleeper now.
Like someone else said, the sleep cycle takes a couple of months to become more routine based and regular. Give it some time, hang in there.
Re: infant and sleep issues
Ira, most days we do bathe her before bedtime. If you don't want to give her a bath every night, you could just give her a massage to calm her down and then change her into her sleeper. It's the consistency that indicates to them that it's bedtime. Also, if there's a night light where you change her, turn that on. Dim lights would also indicate it's time to sleep. With Izzah, I realized a nightlight kept her up longer, so I started making the room completely dark when I put her to bed. She usually falls asleep within minutes, and even if she stirs from sleep, since she can't see anything around, she goes right back to sleep.