Will I Ever Sleep Again? - Salem,OR

hey A.!
I am not usually a huge proponent of parenting books, but there is one for sleeping that changed my life. It is called "The No-Cry Sleep solution" It is a step by step book on how to get your baby or child to sleep WITH LITERALLY NO CRYING IT OUT!!! I has tips to combat any sleeping problem: nursing, needing to sleep ON TOP of someone, bottle feeding, pacifier use, getting out of bed-you name it. And it does not tell you that to break your baby of nightime nursing you can no longer sleep with them. I thought I would never sleep again with my daughter getting up constantly, until i read this book. It does take time, but what is a few weeks when you haven't been sleeping for months? And i would rather take the time than do the crying thing. Follow the sleep plan consistently-one night, you will see a change. And by the way, the author of the book, Elizabeth Pantley, did not write the book as some "expert" who thinks she is a know it all about sleep-she herself had a child who would not sleep, and came up with this plan through experience. Please let me know if this helps-and if it does, be sure to pass it on to other moms with the same problem. My copy of the book is long gone, circulating through my other friends who use it, love it, and pass it on to another sleepless mom!

This might be the most annoying thing anyone says to you here, but my sincere response is to say "enjoy it while it lasts".

My son just turned four. After he was born, I thought I'd never get through the colic, never get through the nighttime nursing, I though he'd never talk, never use the potty, and so many times I'd feel exasperated that things didn't happen as quickly or as soon as I thought they should. Now I know to savor every moment.
I know exactly how you feel, I REALLY do, but if your daughter is anything like my son, she'll decide all too abruptly that she's done with nursing and you'll be left stunned and kind of sad. Of course you probably went through this with your son already so you know what I'm saying.
Anyway, my whole point was to say enjoy it now, I promise that you will sleep again. Already, my son doesn't need my help with a n y t h i n g...lol

maybe you are pulling away too soon babies enter REM sleep first which is the stage that they wake up easier in this is a survival thing you may just need to wait til she is in deep sleep just lay there for a while after she falls a sleep then after about 5 min. place your finger next to her mouth and slowly try to slide it in her mouth to help release the sucking if she starts sucking really hard stop and wait a little longer if she is in deep sleep she will still suck at your finger but it will be gently and she should continue to sleep but don't be to quick to turn away from her this could rouse her again just ease back enough so that you don't brush her cheek and trigger the sucking reflex. I hope this helps I understand the frustration and the feeling like you just want to escape and go to sleep just try to breath through it and things will work out for you this is not forever its just a passing phase.

Hi A.,

I can feel your pain. My five month old daughter was wanting to nurse every two hours at night. So that meant once I fell asleep, I would be awakened an hour later -- I never got into a deep sleep. I have two other girls -- 3 and 2 -- very busy and still in need of my constant attention during the day! Such a hard balance to find in life! I was so exhausted and crabby. so ...

Two bits of advice I received from our PED. and they have made a noticeable difference.

First, try to give your daughter some alone time to nurse during the day. If she doesn't want to nurse much all day, maybe she is getting distracted by what's going on.

Second, I was also trying to feed my baby cereal before she went to bed to "fill her up". My doctor told me this is an old wives tale, and actually works against you. Feeding a big carb-filled meal before bed is like eating chinese food -- you're full at first, and then in an hour you're starving! If you have to give her food before bed, try to give more protein or some formula (per doctor) or just simply nurse. I tried this because it made a lot of sense to me, and now my baby wakes every four hours to nurse instead of every two! So, it worked for me!

Good luck!

I don't know and remember if this would help you now, but you never know. This was a big help for me being a new mom. The Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp M.D. and he has it for toddlers too. It's available in books and dvd. I was given the dvd as a gift at my baby shower. Good luck.