10 Mo Old Waking up Screaming Every 2 Hours!!! Any Advice for a Tired Mom!?

Did you rule out teething? Gas pain? Growing pains? Hunger? etc

Have you spoken to her pediatrician about it?

I would give tylenol and gas drops to see if that helps.

Hi Nickie,
I am a career driven, 'hip' mom who loves gucci and prada. I had a baby at 42 and ended up breastfeeding and co-sleeping. Never would have guessed it. Co-sleeping worked for us and actually my son at 2 1/2 asked for his own bed and room. I let him also decided to stop bfeeding at 2...

My point is...I think go with your instincts and then your children will learn to trust theirs as well. Does that make sense?

Also -- there is a great book -- No cry sleep solution by elizabeth pantley. she also answers questions via her website. Dr. Laura Markham's ahaparenting website is also very good.

Good Luck.
jilly

I'd commit to a few nights of not going in to comfort her in any way. She's learned that when I wake up, I cry and mom and dad come check on me, so I know I'm OK then to go back to sleep. Through ignoring my son's late night wake up calls, he learned very quickly to fall back asleep on his own. And all I was doing was going in and putting his Nuk back in his mouth! It took only a few nights of ignoring him for him to soothe himself back to sleep. Now he doesn't fuss at all if he does wake up, because this mama doesn't hear him till morning. I know it's hard to listen to them cry, I still cringe. But I have to be very logical about it. He's not hungry, he's got a clean diaper on, he's warm enough, he just wants to get a cuddle when it's not cuddle time.

We can't go back in our daughter's room when she cries or it makes it worse. Usually she will work it out on her own (unless she's teething or sick). Sounds like your baby needs to learn how to self soothe. Doing that requires that she be left to her own devices. I know some people poo-poo the CIO approach, but sadly, it does work. And when you are tired enough, you'll try it. lol

I would definitely give co-sleeping a shot. It really, really worked for us! We try to make sure our boys begin the night in their own bed, so we know we'll get at least a couple of hours to ourselves. After that, if they wake up and want to come into our bed they're welcome. One week we were all sick and having trouble sleeping. Other than that, we pretty much just all go right back to sleep.

At 10 months old, I wouldn't even begin to worry about the safety of sleeping in your bed. As much as they move around at that age, I'm pretty sure SIDS is no longer a concern.

If it is teething, ibuprofen drops work much longer than tylenol. I used to give them ibpuprofen dorps before bedtime since the pain was waking them up.
If the crying is because she is used to getting fed every 2 hours, then it is time to cry-it-out or ferberize again. With my first I let her cry it out - she cried for 4 hours straight for 4 nights in a row and then she slept through from about 11 to 5. With my second I used Ferber and it took a lot longer (2-3 weeks) but the end result was the same. I would use the CIO if I had to do it again. It works.

Ear infections? I swear my daughter was a dream sleeper until around 6 months and then the same thing - up every couple hours just crying and moaning - come to find out she kept getting ear infections and it did not get any better for us until we got tubes put in her ears. Within a week she was a different baby that slept like a normal baby - at least more regularly than before.

Otherwise I second the ideas below...good luck.

Is it a night fright terror? Maybe u need to wake her from her fright before her going back to sleep

Don't co-sleep! I know it is hard but right now its time to become her advocate, start with what H&H mom said have her ears checked, have her blood checked for food allergies, lastly take her to the chiropractor that is comfortable with babies, and have her hips, and spine adjusted, it will cost you but well worth it, find a doctor who is willing to work with you financially. When I took my daughter I paid out of pocket because our insurance does not cover it, so I paid about $40 a visit. she went probably about 5-6 times after her first adjustment she went home and slept soundly for 3 hours! and I never had anymore real sleep problems out of her. Do some research about Chiropractic work in children I was very skeptical at first but it works! Good luck!

I did co-sleeping with all my children. I have no regrets and I think we all slept better for it. Seems natural to be by your children when they are so small. Read up on it though to make sure you are doing it safely. Shouldn't be too big of a concern with a 10 month old ... But smaller babies need more precautions.

N.,
Have you checked if she is teething? My son was three months when he started teething!!! I had my son with me in my bed until he was 20 mths and then it was a process to take him out of our room. If you can check and see the teeth! If it is the teeth, try Humphryes #3; this worked for all my children. If you stay home with her, try to sleep when she sleeps. I know that this is easier said than done, but you really need to do it so you can get your energy back. If you put her in bed with you and she stops crying, then you know that she just wants your comfort. I used to take my shirt off and lay it down with my daughter so she would still smell my scent while I was in bed :) that worked with her but not with my boys.
It is really up to you if you want to take her to bed with you, just put one of the pillows that you use to keep her on her side between the two of you, so that way if you turn you'll feel it and won't move any closer to her.