I know this is a pretty common problem & for me, its probably more of a rant than anything. My 9 month old dd had been a great sleeper since she was 5 weeks old. Lately, she's been waking during the night for 1-2 hours at a time. We don't rush right in as soon as we hear her, we wait a couple minutes & can usually tell by her cry whether or not she's going back to sleep on her own. Usually as soon as we sit in the chair with her she'll go right back to sleep. As soon as we put her back in her crib she's awake again. This happens over & over & over again. If we try to let her cry it out, she gets herself so worked up that its hard to get her settled back down again. We've tried pretty much everything to get her to stay asleep without us holding her in the middle of the night. I know she's teething. She hates Orajel (and I don't blame her, that stuff is nasty!). We've tried giving her Motrin & Mylicon before bed. She gets rice cereal in her bottle at bedtime (don't hound me, it was dr. orders for reflux, which has since resolved itself). And we've given her Hyland's Teeting Tablets. We usually end up giving her a bottle & changing her diaper, but its still the same, she wakes up as soon as we put her in her crib. Nothing seems to work, but to hold her which doesn't allow us to get any sleep. Her daytime naps are iffy. Usually she takes 2 naps during the day, anywhere from 30 min. to 2 hours each. And a short nap after dinner (she gets really cranky if she doesn't). We usually start getting her ready for bed around 9:00. She gets a nice warm bath, lotion & a bottle. We keep her room cooler, dim & play soft lullabyes. We're just completely lost as to what else to try. We would love to get a good nights sleep once again.
Thank you for all the advice! We have moved her bedtime back to 9:00 so far. It was working great, she'd sleep from about 9:00 until 7:30, then the time changed. That got her schedule out of whack again, but its getting better. Some nights she'll wake once & we have to give her a bottle, but usually within 30 mins. she's back to sleep.
Since you know she's teething, she may be waking up with pain and having difficulty getting back to sleep. If you bring her to bed with you when she wakes up, she may settle down faster being comforted by you.
This too shall pass...
It could be teething causing some problems and disrupting sleep. However, usually the Motrin will do the trick in relieving the pain. It's also possible she is overtired, or her sleeping habits are changing. My advice is an earlier bedtime. Instead of the nap after dinner, start your bedtime routine and put her down to bed for the night. This should be a lot easier now that it gets dark earlier. When my son was was this age, we started the bedtime routine at around 6:45 and he would usually be in bed by 7:30 at the latest. He would sleep straight through until 7:30 or 8:00 the next morning. A lot of people think that if you put them down early, they will wake up really early, but the opposite is actually true. Once the nighttime sleeps works itself out, so will the daytime sleep. Hope things improve!
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Cut out that nap after dinner. Wouldn't you rather she be cranky while you are up with her than to be up during the night. With the 2 naps and especially the one after dinner she is just not sleepy and you are. Try this it might help! Good luck!
A few ideas:
I think that what you're dealing with is a habit, a pattern that has developed for all three of you. I agree with eliminating the evening nap and preparing her for bed earlier.
-In the middle of the night, she's old enough for you to let her cry for 5 minutes. Then go and put your hand on her to let her know that you're there. Keep repeating this, but don't pick her up.
-You may wind up sitting in her room in her sight to avoid picking her up.
-I would avoid changing her diaper or feeding her at this time if at all possible in order to reduce her stimulation.
-Try putting her favorite familiar toys in the crib for her to play with.
-Try a white noise machine.
-By the way, last week I had a pediatrician's office tell me they no longer recommend Orajel.
I found this on Snopes: http://www.snopes.com/medical/drugs/orajel.asp
And, this says not to use it on a baby under 1 year/old: http://www.drugs.com/mtm/orajel.html
Good luck with getting sleep!
Hi A.,
Many of the other moms have mentioned cuttting out that evening nap and I agree. I have been following a pretty strict schedule with my son since he was about 7 months old and he thrives on it. At 6, we eat dinner. And yes, sometimes he is very tired at dinner if he has had a long day. Right after dinner, I give him a bath. I usually let him play in there for about 15 minutes before I wash him. Right after bath, I brush his teeth and then take him into his room and put him in his pjs. Then we read a couple of books, I put him in his crib, kiss him and tell him goodnight, walk out and shut the door. He stays asleep until at least 7:30am. If he is teething and wakes up from it, I go into his room and give him some tylenol and rub his back until he goes back to sleep. Sometimes I do have to rock him if he is really hurting but if your child is relying on that every night, you might want to go ahead and cut it out.
Babies really do need an earlier bedtime, especially if they are being woken up early in the morning. So try keeping your little girl awake after dinner. Even when my son is really tired at dinner, the bath will perk him up long enough to get through book reading time and then he gets a good night's sleep. HOpe that helps.
Betsy
A.,
I can tell you both from personal experience and from my reading and research that you are putting her to bed too late. Try an earlier bedtime. Most babies her age are put to bed between 6pm-8pm. My daughter is 12 1/2 months and we put her to bed at 6:30pm. I know this seems really early (it does to us, too!) and my family thinks we are nuts, but it REALLY WORKS!! She sleeps for 12-12 1/2 hours at night and naps once in the afternoon for 1-2 hours. It may not seem to make much sense, but an earlier bedtime solves a lot of sleep problems, including nightwaking and unpredictable nap routines. The reason this helps is all explained far better than I ever could in the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weissbluth, MD. I got my copy on amazon.com. It will really help you, and it has info on children from birth right on up through the teen years. Good luck!
Hi, I know this is frustrating, but my suggestion is to get her to bed between 7:00 and 8:00, no later than 8:00, I know it sounds wierd but from my experience, the earlier the baby goes down the longer and better they sleep, cut out that after dinner nap, go for a walk, store, something to keep her awake and not on your nerves, then start bathing her around 6:45ish, have her down soon after that, if you are consistent, I beleive this will work. If you are nursing, you could try feeding her when you go to bed, that is what I do with my 7 month old. I put him down at 7:00, nurse him, then when I go to bed at 10:15ish, I go in there nurse him again, he goes back to sleep with no problems, then he sleeps until 7:00 or 7:30. This has worked for me, but not sure what I would do if it didn't.
Hi A.,
I know that it sounds crazy, but have you thought of co-sleeping? In our culture it is frowned upon by the majority of moms but I fear that moms are just uneducated about the benefits of co-sleeping. Perhaps this research would help you understand how normal and helpful co-sleeping or side-car sleeping could be to your baby. See article below.
R., a former sleep-deprived mom who found sleep any way she could!
www.noblemother.com
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Every scientific study of infant sleep confirms that babies benefits from co-sleeping. Not one shred of evidence exists to support the widely held notion that co-sleep is detrimental to the psychological or physical health of infants.
If science consistently provides evidence that the American social norm of isolating babies for sleep can have deleterious effects, why do we continue the 150-year crib culture in the United States? Why do parents flock to Toys R' Us to purchase dolls that have heart beats, sing lullabies and snore when they can do the same for free?
McKenna suggests that there are several factors that maintain this cultural norm. Foremost is the American value of self-sufficiency. Independence is an important characteristic for a successful person in our society. We take great pride in watching our babies pick themselves up by their own bootie straps. But the assumption that co-sleeping inhibits independence is pure cultural mythology. In fact, the opposite it true.
Children who share sleep with their parents are actually more independent than their peers. They perform better in school, have higher self esteem, and fewer health problems. After all, who is more likely to be well-adjusted, the child who learns that his needs will be met, or the one who is left alone for long periods of time? McKenna suggests that it is confusing for a baby to receive cuddles during the day while also being taught that the same behavior is inappropriate at night.
Read the whole article:
http://www.breastfeeding.com/reading_room/co_slepping.html
I agree with the other moms. But, if you really need some sleep-bring her to bed with you. She's only little for a little while. I think that it's easier to deal with getting them out of your bed later-this has been my experience. I have 3 kids (2d-11 & 8, 1s-6) and wouldn't trade those nights for anything. My husband might differ, but probably not. Just know, that if you start there is no going back!
Be Blessed! :)
Hi A. M,
Just a thought because my mom said I did the same thing to her 50 years ago. Have you had her checked for asthma or allergies? My Mom was a nurse and still could not figure out what was going on. I had a lot of allergies and asthma as a child. Looking back they decided the reason I would wake up and then go to sleep in my Mother's arms only to wake up when she laid me back down was that I was having trouble breathing. When you hold your daughter to rock her, her head and chest are usually more in an elevated position which would help her breathing. You might try raising the head of her bed as well as your pediatrician looking at her for allergies and asthma. Just a thought from my own experience. By the way, I did grow out of the allergies and asthma as a young adult. B. E.
I am having the same problem with my 8 month old. He will only go back to sleep if we put him in our bed. Holding him does not work. We usually put him back in our bed when he goes back to sleep and sometimes he will remain there but most of the time he does not. If you get any advice that might help please let me know. He was born in February 2008.
My suggestion is to go into her room when she is crying and pat her on the back and talk soothingly to her, but don't pick her up. Do this for about a minute, then leave and time the crying for a minute and go back in for a minute. Then gradually lengthen the time that you let her cry before you go back in to console her, without picking her up. You will lenghthen it to 5 minutes and then eventually 10 and 15 minutes. I think 15 minutes is the longest, then you soothe her for a minute and leave. It may take a couple of weeks, but it should work. You are reassuring while she learns how to put herself to sleep, instead of having to rely on you.
Also, I used to love a Dream Screen crib attachment that I used with my babies that helped to lull them to sleep.
Good luck!
This is exactly how my 8 month old daughter acts when she has an ear infection....she has had two. She would be perfectly fine during the day until it was bedtime and laid in her crib.It hurts because of the pressure when laid down. Dont know if this is the case but might be worth a try?
I recommend the book "The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems" by Tracy Hogg. It teaches you how to solve this problem as well as thousands of others! I started using this book with my first child after having similar problems with her and it taught me how to teach her to sleep on her own without having to let her cry it out. It was wonderful! So, from the time my second was born I used this book and he is now 1 year and 4 months and has gone to sleep perfectly on his own since he was only a few months old. You can get it cheaper online or buy it at just about any bookstore at regular price. It is well worth whatever you have to pay for it. Anytime I have a sleeping/eating/schedule problem- I just look at it and it helps me so much. There is also a website for immediate help: www.babywhisperer.com
Best wishes!
I would go back to the first issue you mentioned, gastic reflux and guess that it is not really resolved. If your baby sleeps sitting up that is the best indicator that the reflux is not healed. Have you asked your doctor to really look into this? Also routine motrin can further upset the stomach.Gastic upset is the first side effect. I'm an adult and cannot take motrin.
