at my wits end?!!

Amanda - posted on 04/01/2011

oh n this has been on going since she was around 5 months old.. :( back n forth she had one good month around 7 months age and then down the shitter again lol... also she started walking around 8.5 months old and is now running from point A to B .. crazy kid ♥

Amanda - posted on 04/01/2011

well i now tht when she cut her first teeth.. ( bottoms 2 same time) she had a couple rough nights and was back to semi normal.. she just recently cut not the middle or the eye on the top but the one between them and im not sure but she may be cutting the 2 middle tops i can see white bumps but dont feel anything yet... we just had a 9 mnth check up i mentioned it to the dr so he made sure to do extra cheking on things and didnt seem to find anything so i dont think theres any ear infections it coulod be teeth thats what m,y bf thinks too... i tried advil 2x lastnight and she was still up every hr.. i gave up and brought her to bed i just seem to get a bit more sleep that way cuz then i just have to sit up lol rather then get up out of bed and down the hall n back again

Dianne - posted on 04/01/2011

I would have her checked for an ear infection. My son did the exact same things your baby girl is doing, whenever he would have an ear infection. Settle down and sleep whenever I picked him up, start screaming the moment I laid him down...because when you're lying down flat, the pressure in the ears during an ear infection is very painful, and is relieved upon sitting up. I mean, it could just be that she's going thru a stage, as the others have suggested. Certainly, most children do that, and all of mine have. (I have three.) But it could definitely be the ears...or it could be teething, as was also suggested. Try some Hyland's homeopathic teething gel. (The tablets were recalled but the gel has not been.) Next time she starts screaming, try rubbing some on her gums and see if that helps. It won't hurt to try; b/c it's homeopathic. If you have her checked and it's not her ears or teething (which I suspect it's one or the other), then the other thing it could be is night terrors. Most children start getting those at around a year old; your girl might be starting a bit early. If you think it could be that, just gently reassure her and hug her, offer a drink of water, binky (pacifier--if she takes one), whatever soothes her...and then lay her back down, reassure her once more with your voice, and then let her be. She might just have to cry it out, which I know, are three evil little words in the world of motherhood, lol. But at some point in each of my kid's lives, we've had to let them cry it out at night for a few nights...and then they go back to sleeping thru the night. It's not fun but it is a good way to break them of waking you up every 30 minutes, and to help you all get more sleep in the long run. One more thing--sometimes the waking up and screaming was so intense with my older daughter, that what I would do was to actually "start over" with bedtime--sort of like a reset button. I would turn her light on, get her a drink, tuck her into bed, sing her a song, talk to her for a minute, and then turn the light off and tell her "night night" just as if I were putting her to bed the first time around. It really seemed to work, and to break the cycle of the bad dream/waking up still thinking she's dreaming, and being frightened, etc. If all else fails, you could try that. It just "came to me" one night out of desperation. lol It might not work for everyone, and I do that RARELY, on the worst of nights only...but there it is, for what it's worth. ;) Hope you figure it out soon, and as someone else said, this won't last forever.

Candace - posted on 04/01/2011

My son goes through those phases too. He is 18 months old now and we just got through a phase like that. He would fall asleep only in my arms and then wake up the second I tried to put him down. Normally, I can lay him down awake without any fuss. And, what do you know, took him to the pediatrician and he had an early ear infection and today his eye tooth popped out. Phases and stages! Just keep your routine and soothe her the best you can. It won't last forever.

Lorraine - posted on 04/01/2011

The exact same thing happened with my son. He woke a lot during the night for three months, even though he had always slept through. I also breastfed him back to sleep but it is a vicious cycle. There can be lots of reasons for the waking starting but it is prolonged by habit and us! They are very intuitive at this age and they know that if they cry hard enough and long enough, that Mom and/or Dad will come. It can be caused by teething, wanting to practice new skills, separation anxiety and after a period of illness and they get into the habit of waking.
I used this method. Obviously i am aware that not everyone agrees what method is best but this worked for me after just 3 nights and he has slept through every night since, through illnesses and teething!
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Pediatrics-14...
While bfeeding them back to sleep at this age seems like the best thing to do, they don't need it, they just want the closeness and we are facilitating the waking then. babies wake naturally as we do after a sleep cycle and this method helped my son to be able to get himself back to sleep.
Good luck1 I know how hard to was when I went through this a few weeks ago :)

Heather - posted on 04/01/2011

we've had a few rounds of that, and i believe at that age as well. in hindsight, it's always been related to teething. it wears me down every time, but it's only a phase and it doesn't last. i just try to ride it out, co-sleep and nap with him when i can.

Liz - posted on 04/01/2011

It sounds like 9-month sleep regression! They go through a huge developmental phase around that time. It can last for a while too. :( Hang in there, mama!

Carolyn - posted on 03/31/2011

my son also did the same thing just before cutting 2 teeth just a few weeks ago, and he will be 10 months in a week. As soon as they broke through, he slept wonderfully.

he would scream when being put down, and i think its because there wasnt anythign distracting from the teething pain. he would also wake screaming ! and often the only thing that would help him settle was distraction ( i totally used the tv, i could doze on the couch and he could watch tv till he fell asleep) Sometimes a bit of orajel did the trick too.

teething can be quick for some, and a long drawn out process for others.

nursing can be comforting for babies who are teething as well

Amy - posted on 03/31/2011

My daughter did the same thing about that age. She actually started waking every 45 minutes, had to be fed to sleep where as previously we would put her in her crib and fall asleep on her own. We finally took her to the dr because I thought maybe it was an ear infection but he couldn't find anything wrong with her, two days later she got her first tooth and started sleeping straight through the night again. Then about a week and a half later we started the process all over again and Tylenol did nothing but help relieve the pain enough to get her to fall asleep but after about 3 hours she would start waking every hour or so. The only thing that would get my daughter to sleep was if I nursed her and like you I was exhausted but in our case she gies right back to sleeping as soon as the tooth come through. Good luck!