How do you tire out your baby?

[jessmke]

Isla is not a great sleeper at night, but always sleeps better on days that I take her swimming. It is 40 min each way to the pool so it isn't realistic for me to take her every day, so I am trying to figure out how I can exercise her on days we don't go to the pool. She does a great deal of tummy time and it doesn't seem to wear her out at all. She is very close to crawling so I am hoping that once she is mobile she will be able to tire herself out. How do you all exercise your babies?

 

[SarahBear]

Learning to crawl and walk won't make sleep easier! babies in the process of learning these skills have trouble sleeping. I've never "exercised" my babies. They do a pretty good job of it themselves!

 

[kellyc1987]

Sorry to be a bit negative but as the previous poster said I didn't find that crawling/walking made any improvement to my LO's sleep.

I find that getting him out in the fresh air helps him sleep better, also maybe a class like baby sensory and when she is crawling soft play

 

[happynewmom1]

Same as the previous posters unfortunately. Crawling/walking just didn't do it for them when it came to sleep. Always something outdoors though. The fresh air makes mine sleepy. Do you have a nice yard? Maybe put a blanket in the yard with some toys and hang out awhile. If you have a park nearby.. Could maybe push her on the swings for a bit. Could get one of those cheap, little pools, if again, your yard is big enough and you have a hose. Just sit her in a small amount of water with some toys and that could help. Even now as the kids are bigger, if we spend anytime outside they sleep so better at night!

 

[laura109]

Hi i find my daughter sleeps better and is in a better mood when we go out for walks everyday. We rarely have a full day at home even if we have 20 minutes at the park or a walk. I have a good sleeper though. Other than that i guess it depends on the baby. I try calm things down for bedtime. Jammas on milk and teeth cleaned. Tele on quieter and nothing rowdy.

Sometimes she cries in her cot for abit, well more whingey now she is 15 months and i try keep her upstairs and lay her back down and shhh her and whisper time for night nights. I try to not change any of this but it wont work for everyone. X

 

[laura109]

Hi i find my daughter sleeps better and is in a better mood when we go out for walks everyday. We rarely have a full day at home even if we have 20 minutes at the park or a walk. I have a good sleeper though. Other than that i guess it depends on the baby. I try calm things down for bedtime. Jammas on milk and teeth cleaned. Tele on quieter and nothing rowdy.

Sometimes she cries in her cot for abit, well more whingey now she is 15 months and i try keep her upstairs and lay her back down and shhh her and whisper time for night nights. I try to not change any of this but it wont work for everyone. X

As your daughter is still little a door bouncer? Eventually a trike that you can push? Just getting fresh air each day too x

 

[jessmke]

Thanks for the replies!

Her sleep has definitely been more disturbed since she has been trying to crawl. I am just hoping that once the skill is learned and is old news she will be able to wear herself out by zooming around on her own!

We spend pretty much all day every day outside as long as the weather permits, either on the blanket playing with toys, in the stroller out on a run, or taking the dog on a hike with LO in the hiking backpack or Ergo. None of these things seem to make her any more tired! When we are inside she uses her jolly jumper a lot but it is starting to become old news to her and she doesn't go nuts in it like she used to. We have an inflatable baby pool that we use when it is really hot out, but it has only been hot enough for her to be comfortable in it a handful of times so far this year. When we do use the inflatable pool she sleeps better. She seems to need something that really physically exhausts her in order for her to sleep better.

I've been trying to find a baby class for her to attend to get some new experiences but our community centre is under repairs so all programs have been closed for a year, and the only other class is an hour away and occurs right during her morning nap time. Maybe I'll see if I can find some babies to have over for a play date!

 

[jessmke]

I wonder if it is something that is just specific to swimming. Now that I think about it I can remember always falling asleep in the car on the way home after swimming lessons when I was a kid. Maybe there's something about swimming that just tires the body out in a way other activities can't. We are heading into the city today to run some errands so we will stop by a pool for a swim. Might just have to try and factor swimming into our schedule as much as possible until LO decides to sleep better on her own!

 

[catty]

My son always slept better after swimming too, must be something about it!
i personally find now i have a proper toddler i can tire him out with physical excersise but not at 6 months. I found a music class, swimming and toddler groups helped him sleep better - however only naps the nighttime took along time and was only really fixed with a good routine and me impatiently waiting and waiting

 

[Left wonderin]

Just a thought maybe she is overstimulated and finds it hard to switch off ?? Maybe try doing nothing .. Swimming is very calming so maybe a low stimulus activity such as a bath with soft music playing Brahms always does it for my LO lol

 

[Sealion24]

I always find a good jumping session in the jumperoo seems to make him nap longer, he is crawling and pulling himself up but it hasn't helped with his sleep!

 

[jessmke]

Just a thought maybe she is overstimulated and finds it hard to switch off ?? Maybe try doing nothing .. Swimming is very calming so maybe a low stimulus activity such as a bath with soft music playing Brahms always does it for my LO lol

Going to sleep is never a problem, we have had a good routine since she was 6 weeks old and she goes to sleep with no fuss for all naps and at night, it's just staying asleep at night that is a problem! On a normal night she wakes probably 5-6 times, but after swimming he only wakes about 3 times which is just glorious!

 

[Left wonderin]

Oh .... Is she too hot .. Too cold ? Has she weaned yet ? I k ow with my son he never slept through until he started on solids .

 

[jessmke]

Oh .... Is she too hot .. Too cold ? Has she weaned yet ? I k ow with my son he never slept through until he started on solids .

We are doing BLW and have been offering her solids but she doesn't really eat any of it yet. For a few days she was really into tomatoes but that's all she has really eaten so far.

 

[Left wonderin]

If your not totally married to the idea of BLW I Personally would try introduce a spoon fed meal around tea time ( 6pm ) something like stewed apple or sweet potato and carrot . LO may be hungry and feeling unsatisfied so waking regularly . Its worth a try for a few days to see if it makes a difference , I can only speak from my own experience . My boy now aged 2 was EBF baby woke constantly . Like he just cat napped throughout the night . Drove me insane and nearly into a meltdown I was soooo tired . Then at 19 weeks I started weaning ( I was too scared to try BLW ) lol.... It was like magic ... He started to sleep !! And now is a fantastic sleeper !! He LOVES his food too and eats EVERYHTING !

Whatever you decide to do good luck with it and hope things improve and you get some sleep soon