 Posted 12/27/2006 8:18:20 PM
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| Hi. I'm a new member and well I had no place to go. Reading all the posts has helped me a bit just knowing that there are people out there going through the same thing. I have an 8 month old baby girl who will not sleep through the night and let me tell you, it is killing me. I am a person who needs her sleep. I wish I could say I can go 5-6 hours of sleep but that is not the case. I need my full 8 hours or more. Sad I know. THis is my first child and I knew what was expected, but I didn't think it would be this bad. I thought my body would eventually adjust. And to be honest it doesn't even really seem THAT bad but to me, well like I said, its killing me. My baby has never been a good sleeper. But sometimes, she'll go a week or two sleeping through the night, and then right when we're used to it, bang, she hits us with a whole month of waking up in the night. usually she'll only get up the once, but last night she was up twice and I completely fell apart. I've tried the CIO and its worked maybe a couple times, so I don't get it when people say usually by the third day its worked because ya its worked but then next week it happens all over again. I have her on routine and no! it doesn't matter. I don't know what to do. I love her to death and I pray every night that my body will change and I"ll get used to this. It has really taken a toll on me. I am a monster when I don't get enough sleep. I think its hurting my relationship with my husband just because I'm so cranky and angry towards him. When she gets up in the night I'm so angry then I take her out and feed her and rock her and just cry because I feel so bad for taking it out on my husband and cry out of frustration because God I love my beautiful angel so much and why doesn't she want to sleep. WHY? I am also trying to wean her off breastfeeding and when she wakes up in the middle of the night, I don't know what to do. should I feed her?? I've been told to try anything but, but I can't. it seems as if its all she wants. She's now only breastfeeding when its time for naps and bed. so I'm just..... I'm so lost. Everyones advise has been to do what you feel is best, and well I just don't know what that is anymore. I'm seriously so lost. I so confused about the weaning being part of the sleeping. I don't know. I'm tired of being tired....
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Posted 12/17/2007 6:20:40 PM
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I hope that my experiences can help! My husband and I found that, for us, it was best to start a bedtime routine early on. When my son was about 10 weeks old we started the routine of bottle, bath, relax and snuggle with mom and dad, then lullaby or book, and rocking in his dimly lit room until he was drowsy and almost asleep, then he was put to bed and we would make "shhhh" sounds to him softly for a couple of minutes until he nodded off. Now he doesn't need all of the routine stuff, as soon as he's had his bath he knows it's time to relax, now he's almost 7 months old, and goes to bed like a dream most of the time, though not always. Now we give him dinner (usually veggies and 7 oz of formula), then his bath, and a snuggle. Sometimes we'll read to him, but usually just a lullaby. Then when I put him in his crib, I say to him "sweet dreams munchkin, I love you and will see you in the morning". We did have a nightlight in his room until recently, but found his room too bright, now it's in the hall so he isn't in total darkness, and sleeps well enough. I hope this information helps you in your quest!
proud mommy to Jensen Christopher Mason Dick born May 27, 2007
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Posted 12/17/2007 6:30:46 PM
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I actually have one question for you, after posting my (hopefully helpful) advice, my son woke from his nap, and it made me wonder about how your baby naps... my son used to have 3 half-hour naps a day, which drove me bonkers, I then darkened his room a bit, and he has now has 2 hour and a half to two hour naps a day, and has started sleeping better at night too. If your baby isn't getting good sleep during the day, may not get good sleep at night, and the fight for bedtime may be a result..... just a thought.
proud mommy to Jensen Christopher Mason Dick born May 27, 2007
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Posted 2/2/2008 5:18:42 PM
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| i can't believe how quick everyone is to let them "CIO". i have two children(4 1/2yr and 3months) both started sleeping thru the night at 8-9weeks. they relapsed a few times and were up for a feed around midnight or so but mostly slept from about 11pm to 5-6am.they have never been on any specific "schedule" both breast fed on demand. babies need cuddles and hugs and need to be held often.just because they don't sleep on YOUR schedule does not mean that you have to force it on them. make a routine for bedtime. we have bath(tubby time) snack, cuddles and a story then off to bed we go. if you make it a routine thye tend to get the hang of it quicker. plus it helps them to unwind and relax. i've never let my children CIO and never will. but if it works for you great, i just don't see the point in making them suffer. bed times take time and repeating the same routine over again until they catch on. some swear by warm milk, others a story. maybe a little heating pad buddy( they have em at walmart) my sisters kids have a blankie and a luvie (stuffed toy) they just need reasurance that when they close their eyes you won't disapeer forever. remember, as their mommy, you are their world. i found that if my daughter didn't nap during the day, bedtime was a battle. but if she had a good sleep bedtime came easy. maybe try that. or when i moved her bedtime up to 7pm in stead of 8 she went down even easier. try rearanging the time. just be consistant. it may take up to a month for them to catch on good luck
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Posted 4/27/2008 2:09:37 PM
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| Hi! My daughter is 6 weeks old and not sleeping. Day or night. She'll sleep in my arms, or in anyone's arms, but as soon as we put her in her crib, she'll wake up, start stretching, and eventually start screaming. The weird thing is that she doesn't seem to hate her crib: if I put her in there while she's wide awake and in a good mood, I can leave the room and she'll be just happy to relax in there and stare at her mobile for 15 minutes (after which she seems to get bored and wants to be picked up). I really want her to learn to sleep in her crib... so I spend hours everyday trying to get her to sleep in there: I rock her until she's drowsy or sleeping, and then I put her in her crib. Then when she wakes up, I wait for her to start fussing and I'll go in to reassure her. I only pick her up if she's screaming. After an hour or two of this, she'll eventually fall asleep, but only to wake up 20-30 minutes later. My question is: is it to early to do anything about it? At what time can I expect her to get on some kind of routine? I am not hoping she'll sleep 8 hours in a row, but it would be nice if she could at least consistently sleep 3-4 hours stretch... even if it is only during the day. She's breastfed and some people have told me that maybe the reason she doesn't sleep is that she is not eating enough. Could that be true? I am loosing my mind here...
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Posted 4/28/2008 3:12:20 PM
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| My little girl is 10 weeks old and she has a really hard time going down for a nap during the day. It's hell. I've just got her down now using the tv in the room as white noise, and it seems to be working. She's breastfed and she still wakes up lots at night to feed, at first she sleeps about 3 hours, then wakes up, feeds, then goes back to sleep for 2 hour stretches after that. is that normal?
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Posted 5/7/2008 4:37:51 PM
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| Hi there. I know this is a really tough topic that almost everyone faces at one time or another and I feel like I've already commented on this so, if I have, please excuse me. My suggestion is to get the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. No, I'm not affiated with the book or the publisher - just a big fan as I used his techniques for both of my kids. Basically, he suggests (through research and experience) that infants should not be awake for more than 2 hours at a time. When I first read that and experienced it with my son, I thought that seemed crazy. But, you know what? It works and it's the best thing for both mother and child. By the time your baby is older (I think 3 or 4 months) he/she should be having three naps a day in a very specific order. By the time he is 8 or 9 months, your baby should be having two scheduled naps per day and by the time he is about 13 months, he'll be down to one afternoon nap per day. Babies need their daytime and nighttime sleep in order to be healthy and it makes their mom and dad a whole lot happier, too. My kids rarely cry or fuss before they go to sleep although I have to say it did take some weeks for both of them to get into the routine as infants. Let us know how you do! Here's the link for the book, BTW: http://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Sleep-Habits-Happy-Child/dp/0449004023
Lisa Tabachnick Hotta
Online Editor
lisah@parentscanada.com
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Posted 5/22/2008 7:44:53 AM
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| My daughter started sleeping through the night at about 3 months, then suddennly stopped at about 6month- talk about torture. Every one has tonnes of advice on sleeping and there are so many books ( i went to the library and borrowed a bunch). i skimmed through many and tried different techniques that seemed to make sense to me. the biggest lesson i learned was about setting up a routine- babies love routines. It meant that my schedule was no longer mine, couldn't go out during the day whenever i wanted to, as we had to be home at specific times to make sure my daughter had her nap in her own bed, i was very regimented. but it worked. now my daughter sleeps from 6:30pm -7am, still naps twice a day and never complains when i put her to bed awake. the key for us was routine, stick to it and you have to get your baby to bed before they show signs of being tired. the best book i found was secrets of baby whisperer. now i just hope our next baby, coming in july loves sleep as much as his/her sister. good luck!
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Posted 5/22/2008 3:24:54 PM
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| My son is 28 months and he's just starting to sleep through the night once in a while. I tried everything... My son has asthma so CIO was not an option. On top of that I didn't understand making your child cry. When my son cried at bed time all he ever wanted was me to hug him. I eventually started just laying with him and singing until he fell asleep. It takes 1/2 hour to an hour but now he goes to bed without crying which stresses me out much less.Even now he can't fall asleep unless he can "twirl Mommy's hair" so I let him...no harm. He falls asleep in under an hour and that's our time together. Instead of doing an every night all evening routine we have our hour in bed talking and singing routine. I figure he won't go to college sleeping in my bed so I'm going to stop worrying about it. He also spent alot of nights in my bed. I'm a single Mom and I work so I have to get my sleep...and if that means having him in my bed it's what I have to do. Sometimes kids are just not good sleepers and you have to grin and bear it for a few years until it's out of their system.
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Posted 6/17/2008 9:28:24 AM
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our little girl has started waking up at 3 or 4 am every night and we have to bring her downstairs to hang out for a while. also, she doesn't want to go to sleep at bedtime or naps any more. she used to be a perfect sleeper but seems to be going thru separation anxiety now.  did your two-year-olds do the same thing?
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