Two weeks ago my 5 1/2 month old daughter had a cold for a few days and had difficulty sleeping due to her stuffy nose. Prior to the cold she had just started a good sleep routine (go figure) of taking at least one long nap in the am and a few shorter ones in the pm and sleeping through the nite from about 7:30pm until 7:00am.
Since the cold naps and sleeping at nite have become a major issue. She will not nap during the day for more than 30 minutes at a time and screams her head off in the crib. At nite she wakes up anywhere from 5-50 times. She eats sometimes twice in the middle of the nite. As a new born she only woke once to eat during the nite (she is breastfeed) Yesterday she woke up at 4am for the day. Today she has been up since 5am. It is now 11am and she has fallen asleep twice for about 10 minutes each time.
Needless to say i am extremely sleep deprived. I am going back to work p/t next week as well. I can't be the only mom who has gone through this. Looking for suggestions of what helped your baby. At this point I am not opposed to letting her CIO. he only thing is that i have a son who is starting kindergarten tomorrow and am worried the crying at note will wake him up. Last nite i let hr cry for 45 minutes and my son did not wake uo.
Thanksfor your suggestions. Looking forward to hearing everyine's responses.
It sounds like you all are having a rough time, and I know it must be very difficult being sleep deprived. I would suggest however, that you consider NOT letting her cry it out. She has been ill, and her routine has been interrupted. As hard as it it for you, she may be seeking balance in terms of nutriton/nutrients but most of all--comfort. If she's in a crib, when she cries, pick her up and hold her. I wish you all the best.
this is the age where they start habits....she's probably waking up specifically to be fed. If you feed her every time she wakes up, she's going to continue to wake up. My friend said it best once..."If my husband woke up every night at 3 a.m. and I handed him a bowl of cereal, he'd wake up every night at 3 a.m. for a bowl of cereal."
I would definitely have her checked for an ear infection though...also, agreed with one of the other responses about making sure she's getting plenty to eat during the day. Good luck...there is nothing worse than sleep deprivation!
Lynsey
It could be a whole host of issues. My first thought is a possible ear infection. I know when my kids had them they seemed to really affect them at night or nap time. I couldn't lay them down at all!
IMO 5 1/2 months is WAY too young for cry it out. They just don't get it at that age. Basically, she just cries until she's too tired to cry anymore, then she falls asleep. You're not really teaching her anything. Babies at that young cry for a reason. She's too young too be trying to manipulate her. She's upset for a reason, you just have to figure out what it is. Much easier said than done, I know. I'd start with a call to the pediatrician to rule out an ear infection.
Often times, it's hard for babies to get back into a routine after being sick. You have to basically start all over again. It's rough and incredibly taxing on Mom.
Since it's Sunday, and the doctor's office is closed, you can try giving her a bit of Acetametophine to see if that helps. I would give her a small dose before her normal nap time, then nurse her. I'm pretty cautious about giving my kids medicine, but I know if I use the Tylenol and it works, then there's an underlying medical issue that I need to take them to the doctor for.
It could be that she's just not 100% over her cold yet and just needs some extra snuggles.
Good luck!
It's been awhile for me but sometimes they go through stages of this w/sleep and hunger. Maybe she needs some more filling food now and check with your doctor, but mine told me it was ok to give her some Benadryl to help her wind down at night to sleep. Also, check the diaper situation, is she waking b/c she is wet? I think pediatricians usually give good answers about these situations and they know you baby!
If she has had a cold, and is all of a sudden not sleeping well, it could very well be an ear infection... they hurt more lying down. Just a thought! She could be waking up and nursing for comfort, not because she is truly hungry! Oh, and if that is not the case, she could just be out of her sleep routine... that happened after my son was sick and hospitalized at 15 mos. The ONLY thing that finally worked to get him back into a routine was CIO... I have used CIO for my children at different times starting at 4 or 5 mos. and it does work, and they are FINE!!
It could be any one of a million things, even something really simple. Is your baby sleeping on one of those "rubber" mattresses? Because mine is (darn it, I wish I had reseached that more before I bought it!) and it's HOT sleeping on those things. I wasn't thinking about that, tried to save on electricity and bumped the thermostat up just a tad at night. This coincided with my 6 month old beginning to wake up at night when she had been sleeping thru. Unfortunately it took me 2 weeks to figure it out. Ugh. Good luck, parenting at this age is so hard...everything is a mystery and once you get it figured out it's on to something else!
Off the top of my head, I'm thinking: 1) teeth, or 2) some sort of ear or sinus infection. Both of those are worth your talking to your doctor about.
For what it's worth, I think your daughter is as unhappy about her situation as you are!
I am also a parent who has used CIO. However, I would have her checked out by the doctor first. She could have an ear infection which is very common after having a cold. Also, teething can be a factor. If she gets a clean bill of health then I would do the CIO but not until then for peace of mind.
Also, she doesn't have to be cranky when awake to have an ear infection, most times they don't hurt until laying down. My daughter would be smiling and happy and then up all night crying. Good luck!!
Okay, I'm a CIO-er, but I'm not sure that this is the best idea in your case. Here are things to try first:
1. Have you taken her to the doc to check for ear infections? Because that's a sure-fire cause for waking up and might be related to the cold.
2. If you bring her to the doc, ask them to check if she's teething. Another key wake-up reason.
If it's either of these things, pain meds should help a lot.
3. Really tank her up food-wise before bed. Six months is often a huge growth spurt. Either give her solids if you've introduced those, or make sure she's really nursing enough before you put her to bed. If she wakes hungry in the middle of the night, keep it as "nighttime" as much as possible (no lights, no diaper changing) but feed her.
4. Really work on naps. My daughter was the type that needed daytime sleep to get nighttime sleep. Even if you have to hold her for a couple of days to get her to take an hour or two nap, just turn on the TV and do it. Hopefully that might snap her nighttime sleep pattern back into place. Sounds counterintuative, but that always worked for my daughter.
5. If she's not in pain and is still doing this in 2 weeks, figure out a CIO plan that you can really live with, and commit to doing it for a couple of weeks. Hopefully it will have resolved itself by then.
Best of luck.
