Sleeping issues-6 mths & up every 2 or less hrs

Karen - posted on 03/30/2009

It's good to know that others are going through the same things. I also do not want to wake my husband who works a regular day job, is a first responder, volunteer fire fighter and trying to study and go to 2 courses right now...his plate is full...He helps me as much as he can when he is home, so I really want to take care of night time by myself.

I jumped a little too quickly st saying no to teething, because about 15 minutes after I wrote that message, I discovered her first tooth pushed through. She is also working hard to crawl and she is doing amazing with sitting alone...so I guess she has a lot of things that are probably affecting her nights.  

Britney - posted on 03/30/2009

i'm right there with you. my little girl is almost 6 months and has been working on cutting two teeth, so i blamed it on that for a while. i just feel kinda out of control b/c she wakes up and i nurse her back to sleep and put her back in the crib (which is in our room). but then she'll wake up 30 min later crying again and even though i just nursed, i dont want her to scream and wake my husband (he works, i dont) so i end up just pulling her in bed with me and nursing until we both fall asleep. she still wakes every 2 hrs or so.

i feel like she'd be so much more comfortable in her own crib b/c she likes to sleep on her back with arms and legs spread out, plus she gets sweaty sleeping next to me. its just that when she wakes up in the crib she doesnt know to put herself back to sleep without breastfeeding, even if shes not hungry. (she'll sometimes put herself to sleep for naps, but only if shes sleepy and playing and just drifts off.)

the baby whisperer technique would be good, i just know it will take a few long nights of frequent crying and putting her back in the crib so i haven't wanted to commit to that yet. especially with my husband trying to sleep in the same room :(

so i understand your pain... i haven't slept for more than 4 hrs in a row for like 7-8 months!!!

Allison - posted on 03/30/2009

Keep in mind that sleep can be negatively effected by developmental milestones, as well as growth spurts and teething. So, if she's getting ready to sit on her own, she might wake up a lot more - it has to do with brain development and the overactivity it goes though when a new leap is about to happen. Teething, too, can be very uncomfortable even before you see teeth or gum swelling, so you might not want to rule that out.

If it makes you feel better, nursing every 2 hours at night is normal and it's ok to nurse back to sleep instead of "self-soothing". They do grow out of it, if you're patient enough. I honestly feel that supporting sleep for the first few years is very beneficial for babies and really only a short time in respect to their whole life (and yours, for that matter). Both my kids nursed all night (every 2 hours or more) until their 2 year molars came in, so I understand where you are and how you feel.

I agree that having someone else do some of the nighttime parenting is helpful - if my babies were sleeping with Daddy, they nursed less, cuz they were further from the milk. But they still woke up - my husband just worked on different techniques to get them back to sleep without nursing.

I'm sure you'll find something that works for you! Good luck!

Brooke - posted on 03/30/2009

try sending in someone they love who has no breasts to entice them! I fed my daughter several times at night until she was 16 months old. sometimes she'd need only one feeding, other times 7 or 8. My husband now sleeps with her and she sleeps through the night for the most part.

Karen - posted on 03/30/2009

Quoting Belinda:

Can't be a growth spurt if it has lasted 3 weeks, could she be teething??? 

I don't think so.

Karen - posted on 03/30/2009

Quoting Heather:

I had the same problem with my son.  He's almost 9 months old now, and I put up with it for three months!  Needless to say, I was exhausted.  I would strongly recommed getting a copy of The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems (Tracy Hogg) or The No-Cry Sleep Solution (Elizabeth Pandley).  They offer suggestions that don't involve 'cry it out'.  Using them together, my son is now much better at putting himself to sleep and only wakes up once in the night.  There were a few tears (using the pick up/put down method from Hogg's book ) but I was right there with him, comforting him and reassuring him everything was okay.  Both books are pretty easy to buy or find at the library.  Hopefully that helps and you won't wait as long as I did for a good night's sleep again!

Thank you, I will look into both books. I definately do not want to do the cry it out method, so I am happy for these suggestions.

Belinda - posted on 03/30/2009

Can't be a growth spurt if it has lasted 3 weeks, could she be teething??? 

Heather - posted on 03/30/2009

I had the same problem with my son.  He's almost 9 months old now, and I put up with it for three months!  Needless to say, I was exhausted.  I would strongly recommed getting a copy of The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems (Tracy Hogg) or The No-Cry Sleep Solution (Elizabeth Pandley).  They offer suggestions that don't involve 'cry it out'.  Using them together, my son is now much better at putting himself to sleep and only wakes up once in the night.  There were a few tears (using the pick up/put down method from Hogg's book ) but I was right there with him, comforting him and reassuring him everything was okay.  Both books are pretty easy to buy or find at the library.  Hopefully that helps and you won't wait as long as I did for a good night's sleep again!