4 month old won't stay asleep on her own.

Laura - posted on 01/20/2009

Quoting Rachel:

I asked the doc about reflux and he didn't think she had it, though in these situations you alomst hope there's a medical explanation-- then you know you can do something concrete! I should try the white noise and tummy thing. Does anyone have a good suggestion for a white noise machine? We bought one and it broke already.

There is a CD out there called "for crying out loud" and that is supposed to work wonders...I also just bought a Vicks Hot Steam Vaporizer for her room and it makes a boiling water sound and she knocks right out from it.

Laura - posted on 01/20/2009

Kadey was like that too and I was at my wits end but then the doctor had me start giving her rice cereal 3 times a day (morning afternoon and evening before bed) and since then it is like I have a different baby. She not only sleeps alot longer, she went from sleeping in bed with me every night to sleeping in her crib in her own room for 8 hours last night! We transitioned from my bed to a pack n play next to my bed for a week or so and after I saw how easy that was I figured I'd just try her room and sure enough last night worked like a charm. I was also able to put her down drowsy and she put herself to sleep!!! This was unheard of before I started feeding her more than just breastmilk, so if your pediatrician okays solids, I would absolutely go for it!

Michelle - posted on 01/19/2009

yeah i use the kiddopotamus one. it is the best!!! LOVE IT!!!!

Lisa - posted on 01/19/2009

sorry i remembered something else... there is something called a "snuggler" It basically looks like a baby straight jacket lol... it keeps them tight together so their habds and feet cant get out and they feel held or wrapped... it worked for her and now i actually just gother off of it... butu can try it its called baby snuggler .. u can find it at babies r us

Michelle - posted on 01/19/2009

Try to swaddle...can't hurt. Results will either be wonderful or you will still be where you are now, so it is definitely worth a try. My LO loves to be swaddled for all naps and night time. He is a great sleeper. My older son was a horrible sleeper and basically naps were very short lived. LOL! Anyhoo I found that with my older son the swing was a great way to keep him sleeping soundly for naps. Try these things.

Lisa - posted on 01/19/2009

Oh another good thing to do is if u are breast feeding to give formula at night ... holds them over longer

Lisa - posted on 01/19/2009

honestly the best thing is to let her cry... she is getting used to u picking her up when she cries and this is the age where she is getting to really know her mommy and getting to know a "routine" I did it from the beginning and my 4 month old has been sleeping through the night sincce she was 6 wks old! and I never put her to sleep... i always just put her down and let her put herself to sleep.. it will be rocky in the beginning but she'll get the habg of it, and you will get some sleep!

Lee - posted on 01/17/2009

We had the same problem with our wee girl. We co-slept at night but we did manage to get her down in her own bassinette during the day for wee naps. A friend of mine suggested putting her to sleep in her own cot instead of the bassinette so she didn't wake herself up by banging her arms on the sides. Worked a charm - sleeps nearly 12 hours now. We also started giving her a feed of expressed breast milk in a bottle while she was sleeping just before I go to bed so she doesn't wake up hungry. We also play the same lullaby CD everynight (its starting to drive me crazy need to find a new one) but she seems to know that when she has a bath and the cd comes on its bed time.

When we were having trouble so many people said to me - Routine, routine, routine and it really does work.



Hope this is of some help and good luck

Teri - posted on 01/17/2009

I have to agree with Alana, although frowned upon, my baby sleeps like an angel on her stomach. On her back she twitches or jumps. On her stomach she is so sound and peaceful!

Joriel - posted on 01/17/2009

You're definitely not alone in this. My little guy has been co-sleeping since birth and taking his naps in the moby wrap. He wants to be right up on me and it's done a number on my back!

Now we're working on getting him to sleep at least the first stretch of the night in the co-sleeper. We've still got a long way to go. He'll usually sleep at least two hours if I give him a good feed, swaddle him tightly, bounce him on the yoga ball until he's completely asleep, and play white noise for him. (I made a CD repeating this ocean surf track over and over and it works great - plus less irritating for me than static or vacuum sounds.)

Ellen - posted on 01/16/2009

Good one Ingrid! Again, keep a close eye because I know mine likes to pull anything to his face to snuggle it. Anyway the whole tummy thing... it made me so nervouse at first, but my mom and mother-in-law both said the following: We all did it when you were kids, before we knew any differently. There are so  many devices now that help us. Now they're saying no crib bumpers! My goodness. My son bangs his head on the crib rails all the time while he's sleeping in the middle of the night. I hear "boomph!!" and he starts crying. What will they ban next?

Ingrid - posted on 01/16/2009

A helpful hint I was told about was to put your shirt in the crib with her, so she smells you and it soothes her.

Erica - posted on 01/16/2009

You can even use a static radio station if you didn't want to buy a CD

Rachel - posted on 01/16/2009

Hey everyone,

This blog was helpful. At least we know we're not alone and that this is pretty normal for babies this age. http://www.askmoxie.org/2007/10/4-month-...

Rachel - posted on 01/16/2009

I've also heard of Angel Care Monitors? They may add an extra bit of safety for sleeping on tummy....

Mirna - posted on 01/15/2009

I totally agree with the sleeping on the tummy, even though we are told many times not to.  My daughter sleeps so well during nap time on her tummy.  At night I have her in her own crib in her bedroom on her back right now, but I think that I will switch her to her stomache.  It's dark and I turn on a classical or jazz station (on a clock radio) really low.  I also swaddle her as tight as possible.  It works for her.  With my oldest, was sleeping on her stomache from about 2 months old, with darkness, radio in her own bed.   

Ellen - posted on 01/15/2009

I would first try white noise from around the house to see if it works. If so, they even sell cd's that are called like, vacuum cleaner noise, washing machine, and dryer noise. If any of these work for her, then you'll know where to start. Best of luck to you. I sure hope this irons out and soon.

Rachel - posted on 01/15/2009

I asked the doc about reflux and he didn't think she had it, though in these situations you alomst hope there's a medical explanation-- then you know you can do something concrete! I should try the white noise and tummy thing. Does anyone have a good suggestion for a white noise machine? We bought one and it broke already.

Ellen - posted on 01/14/2009

Amen, Alana. Also another thing I had forgotten to mention was white noise. I found this by accident, but when Gabriel just wouldn't sleep and I was going out of my mind, my 4 year old was playing with the remote; he got static on the tv and instantly Gabe's eyes closed and he went to sleep. Additionally, I found that when my husband is in the shower and I take the baby into the bathroom he calms right down and goes to sleep. Lastly, when I vacuum, right out! It's crazy but true. Hey, I know I tried everything with mine, but the sleeping on the stomach and white noise were both lifesavers for me.

Alana - posted on 01/14/2009

i was going to suggest the same thing. Although its "frowned" upon my son has ben sleeping on his stomach almost since he came home.  On his back he jerks and jumps and wakes himself up. Just make sure the place baby sleeps is flat and has nothing to get a hold of. But if you can keep a quick eye on baby things should be fine. You have to get your sleep and so does baby.

Ellen - posted on 01/14/2009

I had this problem as well. Assuming that she sleeps as long as you are by her side and it's not a medical condition... I have a suggestion. My little guy is the same way so during the day when I can keep a close eye on him and know I'm totally aware, I put him down on his stomach and he "sleeps like a baby". I really think that with the uncontrollable arm and leg movements that babies have, they actually startle themselves awake. Have you tried this?

Nicole - posted on 01/14/2009

have you tried wrapping her really tight. they say the babies like to be wrapped tight because it is just like the womb

Leigh - posted on 01/14/2009

Actually, I was having the same problem with my baby boy....not sleeping unless I was holding him, and he would cry a lot in the day time....well.....I took him to the doctors and it turns out that he had acid reflux which explained the crying to me. The doctor said that he wasn't really sleeping on his own because we put him laying down and the acid would come back up. If we were holding him, he would be more upright and it wouldn't bother him as much. The doctor has put him on medication and he is a brand new baby in only a weeks time!! We also add some cerel to his bottle to help keep the acid down. This is something that he will grow out of. If I was you, I would take her to the doctors and maybe see if there could be something that could be wrong??? This whole Acid Reflux thing seems to be happening more and more these days!

I don't believe that she is spoiled in anyway, sounds like something could be bothering her.

Hope this helps and Good Luck!!

Rachel - posted on 01/14/2009

We're co-sleeping as well, but would love to have her take naps on her own at least during the day. I used to be able to wear her through her naps, but she's not sleeping as well in the moby wrap anymore. I'm really, really trying to avoid "crying it out" too. Though I am wondering if some of her grunts and moans and fusses are more like complaints than cries???? I don't know.... yikes!

Jamisen - posted on 01/14/2009

We are having the same problem.. We co-sleep and we are trying to get him into his crib... I don't want to let him cry it out....