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need help w/sleep for me and Abby

Amy - posted on 05/07/2010 ( 1 mom has responded )

8

15

Abby is 3mo 3wkd old. She used to sleep through the night from almost birth till 3 weeks ago when i started her in her crib from her bassinette. Her naps during the day were only 30-45mins, which was fine because she slept so well during the night.



Now she is up 4 times a night. She goes to bed around 8-830. She gets up about 1230, 230, 430, and 630, then gets up for the day about 730-830. Now she naps for 1-2 hours late morning and then again late afternoon.



She eats during the day about every 1.5-2hrs and then at night she makes it about 4 hrs and then every 2 hrs after that. I feed her everytime on each breast. She used to go through the 8 hours without eating at night. Not sure what's going on.



So a couple days ago I would not let her sleep as long during the day so she'd sleep hard at night. NOPE, she is on the same schedule, up 4 times, except now she is back to her 1/2hr naps during the day so she's grumpy.



On top of that, she will not nap on her own. She fights it ALL THE TIME! I don't expect her to all the time, but sometimes I would think she would just want some quiet time in her crib with her mobile and fall asleep on her own.



I am just exhausted and she doesn't nap long enough for me to try and get some sleep.



Any thoughts? What am I doing wrong?

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1 Comment

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Petula - posted on 05/07/2010

8

24

Hi Amy, You're not doing anything wrong. Let's take a deep breath. First, if you can or have anyone you can trust, ask them to come over for an hour to care for her while you take a nap. Once or twice a week for a few weeks 'cause you're going to need to be rested to deal with this.

Secondly, I have a very trusted friend who is a licensed daycare provider and she has cared for my three younger children for the past four years. She would probably tell you that she's hungry and that she needs a little cereal. If you're not giving her any formula now may be a good time to pump a little each day and add a little rice cereal. Still thin, but a little more filling. I would try this with the night time bottle.

How soon after she wakes up do you go to her? Is it five minutes or is it less than five minutes? If she's medically safe then try waiting longer periods before going to get her to see if she'll go ahead and soothe herself back to sleep.

Last resort, if she doesn't sleep on her own at all and you're running on empty then lay down with her so you can get a nap. Your rest is most important here so you can deal with the stress of getting her through this sleep period.

Good luck and have a Happy Mother's Day!

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