Hello everyone,
My daughter started sleeping 10 hours a night at 4 months. She got sick a few weeks after that and started waking up at night. We started brining her to bed with us because she was sick (bronchitis and a stuffy nose) and slept better with her head elevated on mine or my husbands arm and I’m sure because she was snuggled up close with us. When she got better we started putting her in her own bed, with the mattress elevated a little to keep her nose draining and a humidifier. Before she was sick we would end her nighttime routine by feeding her a bottle until she fell asleep and once she was asleep we would put her in her crib and she would stay asleep. Since she has gone back to her own bed she wakes up the second her body touches the mattress (this is what she did when she was sick and why we brought her to our bed). When we finally get her to stay asleep in her crib it's only for 1-3 hours at a stretch. I wouldn't mind this too much if she wakes up because she is hungry, but we pick her up and she falls asleep immediately in our arms. We hold her for a few minutes to a 1/2 hour and the second she hits that mattress she wakes up again. We even put the side of the crib down and lower ourselves with her and kind of lay on her (no weight, just so she feels us against her) and transition her to being in her crib alone. Once we get the side of the crib back up and are out the door, she’s awake. We really do not want her in our bed because if we move at all she wakes up and then we end up either staying in one position all night (which kills my back) or having to get out bed and walking her around for a few minutes before she falls back to sleep and we go back to bed. She does sleep fine in her swing, but I don’t feel safe with her sleeping in the swing if I’m sleeping. She has always had issues napping in her crib, and it’s almost like nap time has been moved to night tie. What can we do to get her to sleep again?
We decided to make sure she slept all night in her crib. We would get up with her and keep putting her back in her crib. She finally got use to that although she was still waking up 1-2 times a night. We just started putting her to bed an hour earlier and the past 4 nights have been heaven!
My niece was the same way. I had her mom put a t-shirt with her scent on it inside the crib next to my niece, or laid her down upon the shirt- so she could still smell her mom. Once we did this, her child slept longer. try and see if it helps.
Does she cry whenshe wakes up? If not, leave her in the crib to see if she'll put herself to sleep.
it is much more natural for a five month old to sleep with her mother than without her mother, this way she feels secure, and well fed (breast) and particularly if you are an absent mom during the day as you work. Your baby is showing excellent sense.
Hi C.,
This is a tough one. When did you go back to work? It occurs to me that even though it sounds like your daughter is in great hands, she still might be missing having you around all day. If you are not already doing this, you might try just spending some extra one-on-one quiet time with her in the evening before bed. Also, it's amazing how much babies can understand. If you are feeling more stressed at all, she will feel that too and that can disrupt her sense of security. You might just try talking to her about the changes that have happened, assuring her that she is safe, that you will be there for her in the mornings and evenings. You also might try explaining that she came into your bed when she was sick, but now that she's better, everyone will sleep better in their own beds. The thing is, it probably just feels better to her to be near you. If you want to try a professional's advice, my favorite on this topic is The No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley and William Sears. They have some great suggestions for gently teaching your baby to sleep without you.
Wishing you well - you WILL get through this.
The good news is that 5 months is the perfect time to start sleep training. We sleep trained our twins when they were 5 months of adjusted age, and they started sleeping through the night within days of starting the program. We used the latest edition of Dr. Ferber's _Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems_ (get the new one; it's updated and better than the one that's a decade or two old). It worked like a charm. It's not just "crying it out" because you check in to reassure your child at increasingly longer intervals. Yes, they hate it at first. Of course they'd rather be in your warm arms than it bed! But this way, they learn to self-soothe. Good luck!
Hi C. A Try some soft music by her bed. Like cd . Once you start that sleeping with you and your husband it's hard to get them back in the own bed. Milk makes more snot try give her more juice or water between meals. I had that problem a lot just keep on trying until it works . see if that work good luck. sleep when win your baby sleep. Kimberly B
We are having the same problem. One thing that I think has helped was putting a fleece blanket tightly tucked in on top of her mattress. There is less of a cold shock when we put our son down. Unfortunately, he still wakes up pretty frequently during the night. I have to nurse him back to sleep and very gently put him back in his crib. I kind of linger there next to him so he can hear my breathing and feel me next to him. I slowly move off after he stops moving and seems to be falling asleep. When he is particularly fussy, I sleep on a floor mattress with him on a mat next to me. When that doesn't work, I cuddle up with him, get little sleep, and wake up with a kinked neck and dead arm. So I guess I'm not helping. Good luck with that.
we had the exact same problem with our daughter, we even went as far as to call in a sleep consultant. Is she crawling or about to? A lot of times when they are little like that and on the brink of a developmental milestone that will mess with their sleeping pattern. (our daughter crawled at 4 months and walked at 8) That caused the problem for a bit. We slugged through it and it solved itself for a bit. Another question... How far away is her bedroom? Our daughter was upstairs and we moved her downstairs and put her in a big girl bed at 8 months and haven't had a problem since. in doing this we went against the Dr, sleep consultant and every book ever written on the subject but it worked....I totally feel for you it is hard when you think you have the sleep problem licked and it rears its ugly head again. Good Luck!
Hi C.:
Have you tried a "sound machine?" Sometimes white noise will lull babies to sleep quite well. Another thing that might help is if you put flannel sheets or a blanket over her crib sheet, so it's not cold when you put her down. The sheets can be chilly when you first lay down and that might be one thing that she doesn't like. You could also try using a co-sleeper (a little bed that attaches to your bed) if you're getting really sleep deprived. That way she could be right next to you without you putting your back out. If she were in your bed, you could just slide her over to her little side :) The last thing I can think of to help her sleep is a "crib rocker" which is an attachement to the crib railing that makes the entire crib vibrate. I don't know if that's what it's still called - I bought one years ago for my daughter and have since seen them when my son was born, but I'm not sure of the name.
I hope this helps and good luck!
PS Remember that this is all temporary :)
Still so young,it is pretty natural for her to want to be near you. That will all change soon enough,might as well love it up! I can sympathize with not wanting to wake her but then finding yourself in one position hurting you back...perhaps a co-sleeper baby bed that attatches to the side of yours would be a great alternative.That way she is still near yet won't feel your bed bouncing as you re-adjust. It sure makes breast feeding easy, you can do it right there! I highly reccomend any book by William Sears M.D. he is supportive of attatchment parenting. Giving great sleep solutions with out promoting the "crying it out method". Good luck!
Aweee, sounds like what I went through when my third baby got sick for the first time.. He would do the exact same thing your daughter is doing. What worked for me (and it really sounds harsh but it worked for me).. was to softly pat her back and let her know you're aware of her, but that it's nighttime and she needs to self soothe. Sometimes letting her cry it out helps.. (of course that's after you've ruled out a dirty diaper, hungry, or gas) It takes time and patience, but I'd reccommend starting with laying her down and letting her cry for 3 to 5 minutes, before you pick her up again, and then repeat it by placing her down again once she's asleep . I swear, usually by the 3rd or 4th night, she seems to have gotten it and she should be back to her routine. Being sick isn't fun as a baby, and of course only mommy and daddy can make it better, but I strongly belive it's possible to train a child to sleep through the night. I got my son to sleep thru the night for 12 hours from the time he was 5 weeks. I let him cry through ONE feeding for one night, and he never woke up again during that hour since then. Until he was about 5 months then we had to do the routine again. The reason I am able to do it successfully however is because I'm a deaf mother, with two older children, and it's imperative that everyone gets on the same schedule. He got it after ONE night.. and we're ALL happier for it. Again, I know it sounds mean, but it works, and the baby isn't going to be emotionally traumatized becuase she will know you're still there and she learns to self soothe. Hpe this helps, and maybe there's better advice than mine, but it DOES work! Good luck! Hope she feels better soon!
S.
My 3 1/2 month son did the same thing when he got his first cold. The doctor said it is very normal for an infant to be out of their routine after being sick. It took my son a little over a week before he slept through the night again. When he was congested we used his vibrating chair to elevate him in his crib. When he would start to fuss I would turn on the vibrations and it would lull him back to sleep. Your nighttime routine will naturally return also.
I've had the same problem multiple times. Babies fall in and out of habits. The only way I've found to fix them w/ my kids is to break the cycle. If they wake up every night at 1:00 to eat or whatever then get them up before you go to bed for a dream feed. Or get up at 12:55 to rub their back or you may just have to let her settle herself again. Leaving them to cry is hard but if you KNOW she doesn't need anything then she's just stuck in a habit so she needs to learn to go back to sleeping through the night again. It's never easy and takes at least 3 night to break habits, which is painful. Hang in there and just try out some things but try them consistently for at least 3 nights before giving up. Good luck!
It sounds like you have been teaching her to only sleep in your arms or bed ....
You have to put her down awake ... She needs to learn to fall sleep on her own.
It's really hard (on you) but worth it. She will cry .... but the sooner you do it -- the better.
I hated hearing my girls cry!
You put her down awake, she will cry, depending on how long ... go back in a few minutes for "a pat and it's ok" -- without picking her up-- and leave again.
The best way to get it started would be in the day for her naps. That way, depending on how she does, by night time she will be tired enough to go to sleep quickly!
Be strong and good luck!!
Have you tried letting her cry it out? I know it is hard to hear your LO crying, but that might be the only way to get her to sleep in her crib again. When my DS was around 3 weeks old he got Pyloric Stenosis. He couldn't digest anything. His poor little tummy always hurt and he fussed and cried a lot. Anyway, at night my husband and I would take turns sleeping with him on the couch. We would put him on our chest and he would usually sleep pretty well that way. Well, after his surgery and he was healed, we started putting him back into his crib at night. We had to let him cry it out, but eventually he was back to sleeping in his crib like normal. That is really the onl suggestion that I have that worked for me. Good Luck.
N.
Hi C., try a few of these and see if they work.
Put a heating pad or one of those things you put in the microwave (like a heating pad)in her crib before you put her down so the sheet is warm like the sheets in your bed and when she is falling asleep in your arms you are warm, when they hit the cold sheet it wakes them up. I have had to do this with mine. I also put my shirt that I have been wearing all day in with him so that my smell is right next to him.
Hope that helps.
Oh, also I read the "no cry sleep solution" it was awesome! I am not one to recommend crying it out, I personally cannot do it.
Good luck!
Hi C.-
I'm going through nearly the exact same cycle of sleeping/illness with my 7 month old BUT this is my third child and I know that these things eventually work themselves out.... you'll find a way to get her back in her crib again (she may fuss a little). Another comment that probably doesn't apply to your situation BUT is VERY good to keep in mind.... I went through a tough sleep time with my first child after one of her first illnesses....She didn't seem sick anymore and we couldn't figure out why she was so fussy. She went in around that time for a normal check up and we found out that she had an ear infection. We were shocked because she had no outward signs of an ear infection-- but of course it then made sense that going horizontal was uncomfortable.... Now whenever I have a fussy sleeper whether sick or not I try to rule out ear infection, especially if the episode lasts more than a couple of days... of course, teething can present in much the same ways as well.... it is always something :)... it is most important that you as parents find a way to get the sleep you need... babies will find a way, place, and time to get the sleep they need...
About me: Mom of three daughters: nearly 7 years, 4 and 1/2 years, and 7 months
One thing that helped us with this issue was to put a heating pad on the mattress on low to get the bed warm, which we remove just before we put our son down. Also, we put the blanket that we used in our bed that he slept on top of in his crib tucked firmly around the mattress, so it feels and smells like all of us in there as well. Also, consider if she is dressed warmly enough. My son started waking for a few nights around the time it got colder, and I figured out that he needed another layer, as he was used to sleeping in a warm snuggly bed with us. Now he sleeps usually from 6:30pm to 5am, and then gets to come in and "snuggle" in the morning, which seems to working for our family.
Good luck!
C.
I know it sounds hard but the best thing would be to put her in her crib and let her cry. Its heartbreaking but a 5 month old will put up less of a battle than a one year old. I know because we had almost the exact thing happen to us with our son he came into our bed at 4mos and stayed until a little over a year. We just couldn't stand to let him cry. However with my second one when she would wake as soon as she was laid in her crib we let her cry and she sleeps beautifully on her own and is a much better napper than her older brother. I think it all comes down to the child needs to learn to be able to fall asleep or comfort themselves back to sleep on their own. I would totally stay away from allowing her to sleep in the swing though. best of luck to you and hope my advice helps
A.
It's hard for me to comment on this because I'm having my own issues sleep training my 4 month old daughter... lol.
But my issues are more about her waking to eat rather than going to sleep, so I do have some advice to dispense!
You need to work with your daughter so that she's comfortable and happy in her crib. We have a mobile that my daughter loves to look at and she's happy to hang out in there while I get dressed or fold some laundry. Then when it's time for her to go to sleep she doesn't freak out when we put her in there.
Build some music into your evening routine so that she equates that with going down. Then for a few days get her to the point where she's ALMOST asleep, but not quite there and put her down in her crib. Stay near her and make sushing sounds, but keep the music going too so that she starts to equate that with sleepy time. We use the music from the mobile.
Eventually put her down more and more awake until she's able to go to sleep all on her own.
As others have said, this will eventually end, and you're doing the right thing by trying to find a solution now!
Hang in there!
