Sleep! Why won't you sleep!?

Angela - posted on 04/13/2010

Thanks to everyone, especially Jessica. :) Sorry mums, I'm not the 'cry it out' type of mum. I'm more of the opinion that my baby's emotional needs are as important as her physical needs. The more dedicated quality time I spend with her and the happier and calmer I am, the happier she is and the better she sleeps. But each mom is different and each has their own way that works best for them and their baby. :)



For the first 3 months of her life we shared a family bed, which started more out of necessity, but then we all enjoyed it. From about 3 months we moved her to her own cot and into her own room since she is a really wriggly sleeper like her mom, so nobody would get any sleep. I guess she is just taking really long to adjust to the fact that she is all alone, which makes her afraid, which I think anyone can relate to.



We are trying to implement a routine, but with our energiser bunny here, the awake times are more like between 3 and 5 hours! Night sleeps are ok and getting her to bed at night is easy. The bed time sleep routine is rough play, then a bath, then quiet play, (then supposed to be story time but she just usually tries to eat the book so we'll implement that again later) and then nursing and sleep.



Thanks again to all!

Sharna - posted on 04/10/2010

Sorry... I forgot to add...... have you read the book "Save Our Sleep" by Tissie Hall??? Miracle book!

Sharna - posted on 04/10/2010

We had to do a little 'control crying' with our 8 month old. You will know the difference between her 'distressed' cries and her 'resisting sleep' cry. If there were tears.... I would go into the room, but never pick him up. Either pat him on the back, sing to him.... but if he was really distressed I would then pick him up. The first 3 days/nights he cried for around 1 hour every time, this decreased and now he goes straight to sleep. (Unless teething..... then he takes a little while to settle) Go with your instincts... mummy knows best!!

Susan - posted on 04/09/2010

I agree with crying it out. If you see that she is tried and put her n her crib. Let her cry for about 10 mins. If she doesn't stop then go in there and rub the back. it has worked for me. As for feeding i give my daughter something to play with while i am feeding her and it seems to work but don't wait to long it gets harder and harder.

Jessica - posted on 04/09/2010

okay, first of all i would think she might find her room a tad scary? or associates it with feeling bad about going to sleep. I would try having some play time in her room and maybe put her in her cot and sing some songs or read a book, to make her see that her room and cot is fun not scary.

during the day for day sleeps, if you try and make her sleep when she's not tired she will fight you. let her be awake for around 2 1/2 to 3 hours before putting her to bed and let her know 15 minutes before that its going to be time for bed soon, sleep time ect. Try and establish a nap time routine, like bum change then read a book or sing a song. and always put her down at the same time every day so she gets that this time is sleep time. I put my son down twice every day he wakes at 7am hes back in bed at 9:30am then up at 11am and back to bed at 1:30pm and ill let him sleep as long as he wants to aslong as its not past 4pm. This has been working really well for him since he was about 3 months old.

I probably wouldnt let her cry it out at her age only because if you cant last the distance and you go into her you will do more damage then good and she will get confused. instead i would try and establish the same sleep times first by taking her for a drive int he car or go for a walk, and once she sleeps at the times you want even if its only for 30-40minutes thats good!!! then you can start to try her cot, but in the mean time you have to try and make her feel good about her room.

with her night sleep do you have a bed time routine in place? like bath, massage and dress then bottle and bed? it always helps to do the same thing every night so they know what to expect, i also use a little baby vicks balm on my sons chest and back its nice and calming.

In regards to the food, i feel your pain! my son is a fuss pot when it comes to food also. Try and steam some veggies like carrot, brocoli little bits of chicken and lamb and cut it into sizes she can pick up and eat and chew herself, i also sit down with my plate too and eat a little bit to encourage him, it works well.

You will find if your able to get her on a routine through the day her sleepingwill improve, its hard at first but it will get better!! good luck and i hope this has helped. and feel free to send me a message anytime.

=))

Rachael - posted on 04/09/2010

i think maybe let her cry it out. my son has alot of sleep problems, mostly at night though, not with naps. We let him cry it ouf it we knew he was tired and that was all that was wrong. after a few days he got the idea and rarely puts up a fight now. my son also hates getting dressed/undressed. i have no idea what to do for that. i usually just hold him down and try and shove him into it as fast as possible. for solids, the later you wait, the harder it will be. try giving her a spoon and letting her feed herself. it might be messy but she might actually eat it. good luck.