Any one else still haveing sleep problems... please help

Jessica - posted on 05/21/2009

Does she do the binky? The sucking on the bottle might just be comforting at night, that might be why all she eats is an ounce or so.

We give our baby a slightly bigger bottle right befor bed and one in the night if she has to eat, and that usually helps her stay asleep longer.

My mom said that it helps the baby get the feel for "bed time" if you help her get the feel of "night time" (I think this is a good reason why my baby sleeps so well) around bed time we turn off most of the lights , turn down the tv, so it's quiet and dark. do this right before bed and it'll help her get the feel of night time means bed time. I also keep the lights off when I feed the baby at night.

You might could also try keeping baby awake as much as you can during the day (I know, IT'S HARD! specially when nap time is your only moment of peace). Keep her awake as long as you can stand it and then make the naps short. that way when it's time for bed she'll be good and tired:)

Hope it helped:)

Ashley - posted on 05/20/2009

Hang in there Kristina! It will get better.

Molly - posted on 05/20/2009

Quoting Kristina:

I started the cry it out Ferber technique last night and she screamed for 45 minutes... it was the hardest thing ive ever done letting her cry for so long, but after she fell asleep she slept all night (she got up at 4 to eat and went right back to sleep). I was hopping tonight would be better but at the moment its 7:10 and shes been at it for almost half an hour already...I hate listening to her cry but i know its for her own good

Yes, the Ferber method at first is the worst.  I used the Ferber method while my husband was in school, but once he was done with night classes, he couldn't wait the 10-20 minutes of fussing to get to the sleeping- so our baby is back to needing to be pacified to sleep.  argh.  The point of this story is that every family is different and you'll find your niche with her.  If you are going to continue w/ Ferber, try being on the computer while you're waiting... it's a great time passer and helps distract you from your crying baby in the next room.  That's the only way I did it!

Good Luck :)

Kristina - posted on 05/20/2009

I started the cry it out Ferber technique last night and she screamed for 45 minutes... it was the hardest thing ive ever done letting her cry for so long, but after she fell asleep she slept all night (she got up at 4 to eat and went right back to sleep). I was hopping tonight would be better but at the moment its 7:10 and shes been at it for almost half an hour already...I hate listening to her cry but i know its for her own good

Alicia - posted on 05/20/2009

I've been working through some sleep issues also & am reading "The No Cry Sleep solution" - So far I really like it . I haven't really set up a plan yet but I have been using bits of advice and they seem to help. Good luck - I hope it get's better for you!

Juli - posted on 05/19/2009

Our baby boy is still waking 2-3 times per night with the occasional sleep through until 5 or 6. I alwasy feel like i need to change his diape to get him back down, but will try letting him work it out for a week and let you know how it goes.

It's also been recommended to me that we give him a 'dream feed' around 10-11 pm. offering him a bottle without turning on lights or talking with him. Sometimes it works but it seems to be hit or miss.

My husband didn't sleep much as a baby and I think our son may just be like him. Will let you know if we work it out.

Kristina - posted on 05/19/2009

i appreciated the advise thank u

Ashley - posted on 05/19/2009

Hi Kristina,
Her bedtime sounds good, and if you are recognizing when she's tired and needs bedtime then she is probably napping well too. I know what you mean about listening to them cry, it is heart wrenching at times. You should do what feels comfortable to you and right now if you need to comfort her then do it. I could never do that with my daughter. As soon as she sees me it wakes her up even more and she takes even longer to fall asleep. And she would never fall asleep easily when I rocked her, I would be doing it for like an hour and she would barely close her eyes. She would just look at me and talk and babble and fight sleep. I found if I left her alone (as long as I could see nothing was wrong) she fell asleep much, much faster. Now if she wakes up, I peek through the crack in the door to make sure she's okay and that way she doesn't see me, and she falls asleep within 10 minutes. And she doesn't really cry anymore, just moans and whines, and then falls asleep. But you guys will get there. When my daughter would wake up and not need anything and cry I would have to do something to distract myself, otherwise it seemed like forever. I would get on the computer, do the dishes, take a shower, even vacuum and it did help. But it is hard in the middle of the night. You are not being a bad mom either way, if you let her cry, or if you go to her. You are a good mom, you care about her sleep. So do what feels right to you.

Kristina - posted on 05/19/2009

she goes to bed between 6 and 7 as soon as she starts to seem tired i give her her bottle and she falls right to sleep, but then she is up at 8 and 930 and 10 12 1or 2 and always at 3 and then after 3 she will sleep till 630ish and is up for the morning.
I have had others tell me i need to let her cry, i tried last night and i just killed me it felt like she was screaming for ever. After about a half hour i just got her and continued to all night... I feel like im being a bad mom if i let her cry when im capable of helping her...i guess ill just have to try again tonight

Ashley - posted on 05/18/2009

Hi Kristina! I'm just curious to know what time you are putting her to bed??? If it's much past 6pm it could be that her bedtime is too late and that is what is making her wake up a lot. But if that's not it, then it does sound like you might need to deal with her crying a little bit and let her learn how to put herself back to sleep without relying on the bottle. I did this with my daughter and would listen to her cry for what seemed like forever, but it really was only about 25 minutes and she would go back to sleep. At first i thought she was just hungry, but she would only drink an ounce, so after that I never gave her a bottle. And my daughter did not like the pacifier either, she used to just suck on her hands/fingers to self-soothe but now she just rolls around, kicks, squeals, moans and is out. Definitely take your time getting to her, and maybe don't offer the bottle anymore. It will be a rough few nights but it will get better. And don't stress about your neighbors, I doubt they would be that considerate if they were in your shoes.

Kristina - posted on 05/18/2009

no i dont use a pacifier, shes never liked them and it just gets her more angry if i try to give it to her.
Thanks for the advice Molly im going to go with the taking my time at getting to her approach and see if it helps... i just always assumed the faster i get to her the faster i get to go back to sleep, its comforting to know that there are others out there dealing with this...
If anyone else has any ideas id appreciated it

Arlene - posted on 05/18/2009

do you use a pacifier?

Molly - posted on 05/18/2009

I feel you, I feel you, I feel you! We also live in an apartment so there's the guilt and my son gets up every two hours at night. What kills me is that he use to sleep through the night 12+ hours!!! argh! My husband said "just bring him to bed" one night, and I replied, "that's a dangerous road you want to go down. you sure you want to sleep on the floor for the rest of our stay here?".... and he's still on the floor... babies are all about mommies and patterns.



Your bedtime routine sounds good. Instead of Ferbering her, just take your time getting to her when she does cry... ie. bathroom, get yourself a glass of water, perhaps a snack, pluck your eye brows, or whatever.... try to take some time getting to her. The idea behind it is that she'll realize that mommy doesn't come the second she cries and hopefully she'll start to fall back asleep on her own... or at least become less dependent on you.



and the neighbors? either they're slamming doors, smoking in the hallways, vacuuming at odd hours or being generally obnoxious on their own. Most neighbors are sympathetic, knowing it's louder and more stressful for you than them. HOpe this helps :)