My daughter started sleeping through the night about 2-months ago (7:30pm till 6 or 7am). All of a sudden, the past few weeks, that has changed. We think she may be teething because she is irritable all day long, isn't taking very good naps, wants to be held all the time...however at night, when she does cry every 3-4 hours, as long as I am holding her, she will go back to sleep. So I don't think it is teething pain?
The other change we have recently made was she started eating solids. Started with whole grain cereal (which she didn't like but we could get a couple of spoonfuls in), then this weekend we did Oatmeal and avacado's, which she LOVES. Could changing to eating solid food make her sleep patterns irregular? I thought that usually helped them sleep through the night.
Help! Does it sound like teething or new foods or just change in demeanor where she wants her mommy all the time?
P.S. When she was sleeping through the night, I would not have to rock her to sleep or nurse her to sleep. She would become tired, I would lay her down, turn off the lights, play a bit of music, and maybe have to go in a couple times to soothe her back...but for the most part, she put herself to sleep. Same with all of her naps. Until now, becuase she is so fussy, I have to rock her to sleep.
Well, I think I might have the main culprit. I stopped giving her solid food in the evening thinking maybe she was too full and that was causing her to not sleep soundly. The past three nights she has slept through the night. Hmmm, it could still be teething becuase I am having problems nursing her lately too, she seems uncomfortable. Seems to be OK with the bottle at daycare, but not when nursing with me. I think she has to work to hard and it hurts her mouth/ears?
Anyway, thank you all for your feedback. You gave me some great ideas!!
L.
I've used the Ferber method with my last threea nd they're much better sleepers than my first. Her sleep will be off though when she's sick,teething,traveling,changes in habit or if she over tired. I feel as if I'm consistently retraining one of them. It is worth it though by the third or forth year.
Good Luck!!
I know this isn't very helpful, but one of the things nobody ever told me (or most new parents I know) about babies is that just because they sleep through the night at 4 months (or 6, or whatever) doesn't mean they will sleep through at 7, or 8 or whatever months. They eventually figure it out and get completely regular, but chances are there will just be phases that your girl goes through where she doesn't sleep through.
That's the time my children changed 2. Nothing is wrong with her - every day they learn something and their bodies change. I know it's hard buy enjoy her wanting you much, cuz soon She will be walking and not wanting you to hold her.
my son slept through the night until he was about 5 months old..
i was told that it was gas.. the change in his eating habbits and different foods that i was feeding him..
id give him a dose of baby gas medicine before his dinner food and then he got better..
I don't know if the problem is the change in diet - those aren't really gassy foods. I do agree that the most likely culprit is the teething. And like the other poster said, there's not much you can do but give your daughter some tylenol and cuddle with her. When my son teethes, I just give him constant doses of Tylenol or baby Motrin to take the edge off, and I plan it so he gets the doses about a half hour before I expect him to nap or go down for the night. Talk to your doctor about the right dosage because although it's still safe for a 6 month old, the bottles are only labeled for older babies. During the day, letting your daughter suck on cool, wet washcloths may help.
I think you're doing the right thing so far - your daughter is most likely not able to settle herself back down to sleep overnight because of the pain, so holding her and comforting her is what she needs to do it. I know how hard it is to start getting up again overnight when you've just gotten used to uniterrupted sleep! But when teething is involved, it's what she needs. I'd steer away from Ferberizing her just yet - if she is teething, she's probably in a lot of pain and letting her cry it out isn't fair and isn't going to help. Have you tried baby Anbesol? My son didn't like it but I hear from other moms that it helps.
My little guy started teething at 2 1/2 months. He's 15 months old now and working on his 2 year molars. He's a teething powerhouse. Take it from me, it's tough! Good luck, and it should all be over in a few weeks... until the next teeth come!
Hi L.,
Any of those things could potentially affect sleeping patterns. But the main question is how was she falling asleep before? When she started sleeping through the night was it just luck or did she put herself to sleep? Meaning, do you nurse her to sleep or rock her to sleep or do you put her in the crib awake and she falls asleep on her own? The reason I ask is that my baby started sleeping through the night around 5 months but then a couple of weeks later he started waking once or twice a night and I blamed it on teething or being sick or whatever I could blame it on. By his nine month doctor's appointment he was waking up every 2-3 hours and I couldn't remember the last time I had more than a few hours of sleep in a row. The doctor asked me how I put him to sleep and when I said I rocked him to sleep every night, he said that it was my fault the baby wasn't sleeping. He needed to learn how to put himself to sleep. We finally forced ourselves to try the Ferber method when he was about 10 months old and it was brutal but he started sleeping 11 hours a night after that.
Good luck!!
L.
First of all, these sleeping patterns may actually in fact be due to teething. If she is in pain she may be ok with the comfort of mommy. So holding her is working due to that factor. Second of all, babies get smarter as they get older. They test us mothers to see if they can get away with things as soon as they see it is a challenge for us to leave them sleep alone. I know each mother has her way of doing things and you may have your approach to the sleep stuff as well. However, if you would like to read what I think about it I posted a few days back about sleep and that may or may not provide you with insight on the matter. I hope you don't beat yourself up over it all cause whatever you do if you're calm and happy your baby will be too. Its hard with the first knowing what to do and how to approach things...especially sleep. But you may want to let her sleep near you and see what happens!!!
I'm not sure of advice, butI was actually going to post something similar! My son will be 4 months on the 12th of this month and until about a week ago I'd give him a bath @ 7:00, feed him one last time and put him to bed while in the 'lalla' state - still a little awake, but on his way to sleep. He'd go right to sleep and sleep anywhere from 3-5:00 in the morning. All of a sudden he's been waking soon after laying him down - I've tried letting him cry for a little while (5-10 mins) and then going back in to rub his head and put his music on - he'll sleep another hour and do the same thing. Then last night I decided to warm up a bottle around 10:30, he went to sleep shortly after and then woke again around 2:00. He used to have a predictable 3-4 hour feeding cycle during the day, now he sometimes wants to eat after 1.5-2 hours!!! I'm trying to figure out if it's growth or possible teething (I thought it was too early, but I hear some kids get teeth this early). So, like I said, I don't really have advice, but wanted to let you know it sounds like we may be in the same boat!!! Except mine hasn't yet started solids - wondering if maybe that's an issue too - that the dr. may think it's time for a least cereal or something??? I don't know!! Well, good luck!!!!!! :)
My kids were doing really well for a while prior to 6 months... putting down around 7/8 and sleep until 4/5. Then 6 months hit and bang.... every 3 hours. Well, my son more than my daughter. I attributed to more irritated gums, GROWTH SPURT, solids. I wish I could provide the magic button to make them sleep better... as I could still use it many nights myself! Good luck!
hey my son stopped sleeping through the night to he has to be rocked to sleep and all my dr told me it can happen when you change anything in their diet it may make them gassy or what not....my son is now 16 mons and still wont sleep through the night but we found if you do the oatmeal right b4 bed then a bath it helps get them to sleep longer and more soundly. Oh and get the night time bath stuff we found that it helps to
It's gotta be the teeth. My daughter went through the same thing at that age...and just recently too (at 16 months). I really feel for you, because there is not much you can do except for give them a little dose of Tylenol and snuggle them back to sleep. They don't understand why they hurt, and they know that when mama holds them, it's comforting. You're doing the right thing...trust me. Mine would NEVER take the cold teething rings, etc..we just had to suffer through it. My son would scream for 2 days and break 2 teeth at a time...my daughter is crabby for weeks on end and gets one at a time. Also, napping is pretty much out the window during teething months. Be patient and keep up the good work!
Hope this helps you feel a little better.
L.,
Wow - you've gotten lots of advice already, but here is mine: If she is grumpy all of the time and not sleeping and you know she doesn't have a cold or fever or anything, then give her some Tylenol and Motrin to relieve teething pain. Try it during the day, as well as at night - if you alternate between Tylenol and Motrin then you can dose her every 4 hours. Try this for 2 days and see if it works. If it doesn't work - what have you lost? If it does work, then you'll have your happy sleeping baby back. Good luck! ~ K.
