sleep Help

Amanda - posted on 07/20/2010

I don't know if I can really be much help, but I can tell you that you are not alone. My son will be 1 next week and he rarely sleeps through the night, but he gets closer as time goes on. The one thing that I have noticed is that he sleeps better if he has more outdoor play time during the day. At 9 months he was still waking 3-4 times a night and now it's only 1-2 times. he has done this on his own without any intervention. Whatever you decided to do know that you are not alone.

Carolyn - posted on 07/20/2010

Read the book "On Becoming Baby Wise." As long as the baby is fed, warm, safe, and loved, it's okay to let them cry it out in order to go to sleep on their own. It doesn't make you a bad mom. It doesn't make letting them cry any easier, but you aren't a bad mom. I would go in every 10 minutes and rub my son's back until he calmed down, then leave the room and let him cry it out again. He would eventually fall asleep. Once he got used to going to sleep on his own though, he didn't need help falling asleep.

Julie - posted on 07/19/2010

We had to let our daughter cry it out one night (I say we, but I mean my husband had to do it!!). The way he did it was to sit in her room with her while she was in the crib and as she cried, he would periodically tell her it was ok, and that he was there, and that it was time to go night, night. She had to cry for a good 2-3 hours before she put herself to sleep, but it did the trick. It's really hard to listen to her cry, but it can be even worse for you to be so exhausted that you can't function (and as you get more exhausted, the less patience you have for the baby). I wish you both sweet dreams!! Good luck!

Sarah - posted on 07/19/2010

Some kids are just bad sleepers, they will grow out of it. I promise it. My second son did not sleep through the night until he was just over a year old. That was a long one, trust me. Sometimes keeping her awake a little longer at night will help. When she starts to sleep, change her, play with her, dance with her... Anything that will keep her awake a little longer. The next night she will stay awake a little longer. Also, is she taking a long nap during the day? You might try to shorten that as well. I know it is our time to get things done, but a good night sleep is important too. :) I hope something works for you, but don't worry if it doesn't, you learn to adjust.

Judy - posted on 07/19/2010

My recommendation would be to stick with the crying, in a controlled way. My good sleeper has just gone through a stage of waking at about 5am, and our house rule is that the day can start any time after 6am. We would start by going in the first time she cried out and give her a quick cuddle telling her it was too early to get up and she needed to go back to sleep for a bit longer. Put her back in her cot and leave the room. If she cried we would go back after 10mins, give her a quick pat and lay her down again. This process was repeated as many times as it took for her to settle down or until 6am. Yes some mornings it would seem easier to just get her up, but we wanted her to learn to sleep later. It took longer than I expected, infact I though it was never going to happen! BUT she has now slept until 6:15am or later for the past week, and her day sleeps have gone back to normal too, after doing the same process if she woke too early. Yes it was hard work, but soooo worth it in the end to have her sleeping better again.
My son used to wake for his dummy to be plugged back in again, and it wasn't until he was a bit older that he could find it again on his own to re-settle, give that one some time, but I would try to avoid having to rock her back to sleep, just give her the dummy and tell her it is time for sleep.
If she is not hot, cold or hungry then there is no reason for her to wake and she needs to learn to settle herself. Yes the crying seems to wake them up even more, but you need to make the choice between months/years of getting up to her repeatedly thought the night and having a few nights/weeks of horrible nights while you teach her to self settle.
Hope you find a solution. Good luck.