My 6 1/2 Month Old Daughter Doesn't sleep...and I Need To!!

J.,
I use to close myself and baby in his child proofed room and lay in front of the door and he would play and I would nap. I would subcongiously hear him but was resting enough to keep my energy level at functionable.

That nebulizer is going to amp her up making her excited and not want to lay down or be still and sleep. If you can't let her cry because of health issues. I would suggest either letting her sleep schedule just be what it is. Or put her in bed with you to sleep. Which is a habit you'll have to break later. Don't even put her in there to let her cry it out and then get her back out. You are sending her mixed messages when you do that. You know she's going to cry for a long time and you know that she can't be allowed to do that for health reasons so like I said before let her sleep as she is and the older she gets the longer she'll sleep or let her sleep with you. Good luck and Good sleep.

I feel your pain, as our almost 7 month old baby girl does exactly the same thing. My pedatrician also told us to let her cry it out and after 3 days, she should be sleeping through the night. We have let her cry up to 50 minutes on a couple of occasions, but can never do it more than 2 nights in a row without giving in. She lays there and gets angrier by the minute. We have a 4 year old little boy and I am always afraid she is going to wake him up. I still breastfeed her and I think some nights she just wants to use me as a pacifier.
A friend of mine suggested me putting one of my (worn)t-shirts in the crib, so she could be near my scent. I have not tried that yet, but I may soon.
Let me know if anyone sends you any other advice as my husband and I both work full time too.
good luck!

I would begin thinking of the possibility that she is teething. She may may not be cutting teeth but there are different teething stages and some are more painful than others. My daughter would do the same thing until I gave her oragel, motrin or even those teething tablets (works great) dissolved in her motrin. Now she adores her teethers and she sleeps very well after oragel. It may not solve it, but it is worth a try. If it is something as easy as teething you could be spoiling her or even "letting her cry" for nothing. Please consider it may not be a "behavioral" issue it could be that something is actually bothering her.

Another possibility is gas, you could try pedialyte ( my daughter who is 7 months likes the grape flavor or Mylacon) we went through a breif period of this when she had bad gas....does the car calm her? if it does it very well could be gas and the pedialyte and mylacon will resolve it.

My daughter had to be on a nebulizer as well for a short period of time. I use to elevate the side of her bed where her head and upper body was and she would sleep a lot better. My pediatrician at the time had recommended me letting her sleep in her car seat or swing so her upper body was higher but she was never able to sleep like that. Raising her head did the same thing and let her sleep better. What ever you choose to use to raise her head make sure you put it under the mattress so she can't get to it or sufficate. Otherwise, I would try letting her sleep with you. If she feels you next to her it will probably comfort her more and allow you some more time to sleep. Eventually you will get your sleep back to some degree. Good luck!

I had this same problem with my son, and it seemed he didn't have enough to eat, that is why he kept waking up. I then bought him the Podee, this was a Godsend. It is a bottle with a tube down the middle, so the baby can control when he or she wants to eat. I put it in the bed with him at night, and he ate when he wanted. I isn't as if they can choke, because they control the flow of the milk or formula. You have to get them on line, but they are available everywhere there now. Hope this helps, S.

Ditto Marcie.
Cosleeping will probably solve the problem.

I would try co-sleeping.she obviously just nedds her mommy's attention. good luck, M.

Hi J.,
I agree with the mother who said to use the shirt. I literally would take off my shirt i wore that day and let her sleep with it.in other words make sure its around her and pressed against her . I found also that the plain hard surface with just a blanket makes baby feel like there is no one behind or around and lonely so use a teddy to press behind her like spooning position and use your shirt for her front. not in front of her face but from like botton of the neck down. make her feel she is sandwiched. oh and always a warm bath with a hair wash and a quick walk outside where the heat gets em. and try to make sure she naps same time every day. this will take time but get up early, and get to bed early.

Hi J.,

I feel for you, my daughter did the same thing... In fact, she is 22 months old and just started sleeping through the night. I also tried to let her cry it out, but she would cry for hours, and ultimately I would have to cave in for any of us to get any rest.

I resorted to pacifier use, if I laid her back down with a pacifier she would often go back to sleep. When she got a little older I put half a dozen pacifiers in her crib so she could grab them herself. Uusally though, she wanted a little milk. I know the doctors discourage this, but for my sanity I chose giving her a few ounces of milk versus her screaming for hours. She would fall right asleep afterwards. Now that she's older, if she wakes in the night I give her some water, and she goes back to sleep until morning.

I DON'T KNOW IF THIS WILL HELP, BUT IT SEEMS AS IF SHE WANTS THAT COMFORT FEELING. YOU COULD TRY BUNDLING HER UP IN SOMETHING OF YOURS THAT YOU HAVE WORN AND HAS YOUR SCENT. ALSO THE VIBRATING BOUNCY SEAT ALWAYS WORKED WONDERS FOR ME. I WOULD EVEN LET MY DAUGHTER SLEEP IN IT AT NIGHT WHEN SHE HAD A STUFFY NOSE AND COULDN'T SLEEP, SHE LOVED IT. OCCASIONALLY, I WOULD HAVE TO BOUNCE IT UNTIL SHE WENT TO SLEEP, THEN LEAVE IT ON VIBRATE. THE SWING ALSO HELPED HER SLEEP. I WOULD TAKE NAPS WHEN SHE TOOK NAPS JUST SO I DIDN'T GET TOO WORN OUT!

I have 16 month old twins and had the same problem, times two! My girl was like that (my boy slept without a problem) then I read "Good Night, Sleep Tight" by Kim West, they call her 'the sleep lady'. I followed her advice for the most part, and wow, it made a huge difference in my life. Instead of being up till 11 or 11:30 every night, I have the kids in bed at 7 or 8, and witht his woman's guidelines, it really worked. I would definitely recommend reading the book, I knew I couldnt let my little girl cry it out because she got too upset, and this book kind of gave me a happy medium, where you teach your child to go to sleep on thier own, but with your support. Good luck!

The book, Happiest Baby on the Block is wonderful. My daughter still sleeps with an ocean cd playing and she's 18 months. The swing, swaddling, noice cds are all great ideas. Do you use a pacifier?
As hard as it seems, try to keep her awake during the day so that she may sleep longer for her nap and at night. She has fallen into a pattern of cat naps and the habit just needs to be broken.
I know how hard it is when you don't get enough sleep. My thoughts and prayers are with you. Good luck.

Hi, my son was the same way and everyone's advise was always different and conflicting, it's a nightmare and all you really want is sleep, precious sleep.. :)
No long story, OK. I will get right to what I finally did that worked. I tryed everything.
You know how you pick her up and she stop immediately. OK she is manipulating you. Of course, a baby want to be in her Mommy's arms! You have got to teach her she can not always be held. This is when the teaching begins. You teach you are in control not her. So what I did was, when my son would cry I would go in his room and not pick him up but rap my arms around him kiss him sing to him anything to calm him down. shhhhhhhh---- in his ear rather loud seemed to work great. Once you get her quit, kiss and say goodnight and leave. Turn on some loud white-noise also. like the ocean waves or birds singing, she needs loud noises to sleep something to remind her of mommies tummy, which was very noisy :) OK now I know she will cry when you leave the room, here's the thing. Time your self. Do not go back in for 5 minutes next time make it 10 or 15 minutes before you go back. Do the same thing just don't pick her up. Let her know Mommy is here for you, but when you put her in bed she stays in bed. Remember she is manipulating you. She wants what she wants and that is it, mommy needs to teach her what mommy wants her to do. Eventually she will give up and go to sleep... I did this for 3 days the 4Th day my son slept through the night! Sleep, I got Sleep and it was awesome, I was in shock and mad that I hadn't done that quicker. I have learned with my son, he needs 3 days to teach him a new routine... Good Luck Be Strong

Also, put her down for a 2 to 3 hr nap and do the same thing... Part of the problem probably is that she is over tired. It's time to put your foot down. 6 months is old enough to sleep through the night and take a 3 hour nap.. :) Remember you will have sleep again!

J.,
My girls are grown, but we had this problem with our grandsons. Have you tried a wind machine? Also, have you heard of vaccuum cleaner tapes? They really work wonders, or did for us. You can tape a vacuum cleaner running, yourself and play it all night, if needed. Give it a try. Baby's R Us probably have the wind or sound machines and the tapes. Good Luck. Let me know if this works.
N.
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Hi J.! I'm sorry that you are having a tough time!
I know it sounds harsh, but you're going have to let her cry! She's having a fit because she's not getting her way. She knows that if she cries long enough, you're going to come in and pick her up. You have to remember that, not only do you need sleep, but she does, too! It may be an agonizing time for you the first couple of nights, but eventually, she'll understand that the crying isn't getting her anywhere and that you're not going to come and get her. She has to learn to fall asleep on her own.
Also, you might try getting an air filter or a fan for some "white noise" in her room. It works wonders as far as soothing your baby to sleep goes, and it will also drown out some of the crying, as well!!
Good luck!
J.

Hi, my daughter was the same way. I agree with everyones responses. My baby would take 17 minute "naps" twice a day but only in her baby swing! I could not have lived without that swing! We swaddled her at night. I also double diapered her and once I did that (with the swaddling) she slept through the night. Keep her propped up with a mattress wedge. I also took my shirt off and put it in her bed. But I did not do that for too long since my ped said she would get in the habit of only sleeping if she had the shirt, after a few weeks I slowy started giving her my shirt less and less. She was fine. She has since day one listened to an ocean sound cd.
Also, they make nebulizer masks in small animal shapes. I would put it on my baby and let her see how she looked in the mirror. Good luck. This too will pass.

Ok The Swing is the best thing in the world...also does the nebulizer have steroids in it? that could be part of the problem...also i will tell you a story my cousin (who is very atractive) had the same problem with her son..only he was a year old and this was still going on...she finally asked his doctor what to do, and weather or not this was appropriate it made sence...he said if I knew that you would come into my room every time I cried trust me I would be crying all the time..it is true!! you are going to have to take about two weeks and every night add 15 miniuts to the time you go in...then after two weeks if it hasnt stopped take one more week and buy some head phones or have daddy go in cause she is wanting mommy and if daddy is all she gets then she may be apt to stop...but if you keep going in she is going to keep crying!!! but I would definatly talk to the doctor about what is in the nebulizer and also make sure that she reallly needs it they wanted to put my daughter on one, because she had a cold...I do think that doctors over medicate sometimes... so really see if she can do with out...it is hard and it puls your heart strings...but you have to be tough!!!!

My, now 9 month old, is just now starting to sleep all night. I had the same problem every single night. I barely slept and I worked during the day. I was told not to pick him up to much and also not to let him cry too much. The only thing I know that worked was this (it helped me get more sleep): When he cried at night, of course I got just as cranky, I picked him up and just treated him as if he were still a newborn. I would carry him and give him his bottle very close to my chest. He really calmed down. I would continue to hold him after he finished feeding for a while longer. It couldn't have taken more than a 20 minutes to put him in a good sleep. For some reason, he just wanted to be held close. If he continued to cry, I held him close and laid him down next to me for about an hour he would go straight to sleep. The key for me was keep him close. He still loves the security of it.

J., My son (now 18 months) did the same thing. Every 2 hours I would get up and feed him. I was a walking zombie. It is very hard to enjoy and build a bond between your child when you need rest. I got through it with the help of my family. My mom would come over on the weekends and let me get some sleep. But the good news is that it wont last forever. Steven (my son) was almost 8 months old before he started sleeping through the night (6 hours). I have been where you are now and I feel your pain, just hang in there! Remember your child loves you and even if you can't feel the bond because you are half asleep. It is there and every time you come to your child when she cries your building that bond stronger. Do not let your child "cry it out". Her bed is to be a good place in her mind, if it becomes a place of torment because she is not sure when you will be back to pick her up, you will never get any rest and bed time will be a struggle. I always came to my son when he cried. Now when it is bed time we say our goodnights and he lays down, not one tear, and goes to sleep. He knows that if he needs me I will be there. Soon she will sleep through knowing you are not far away and will come when she cries. It does get better!

All I can say is swing baby swing!!! Battery operated or plug into the wall doesn’t matter... Both of my children have had to use one at different points. When they were infants and had a hard time sleeping because there lungs couldn’t take laying down and being in distress... my life saver was my baby swing... and I only had a crank one but I didn’t take them out when they got to sleep.. I would sleep in a recliner by the swing or put the swing next to the bed... they were strapped in snugly. And I agree with the other moms... a shirt with your smell WITHOUT buttons!!! Or a slip that’s silky... my kids have had both!

Now when they got to big for the swing and would not take there nebulizer treatments I brought there car seats in and strapped them into it... they can argue with mommy but a car seat strap doesn’t give in! And it worked great. I know that’s going to make a few moms mad... but I just couldn’t hold my son and make sure he got his breathing treatment... and now 2 years later when ever they get a respiratory infection or inflammation attack they ask for there car seats for there breathing treatments and usually fall asleep... which is great there sitting up some and can breath all night!
A.