I am a breastfeeding pregnant momma who naps twice daily (and nurses though our naps) with my 15 month old little girl. I work in the evenings so this has worked out great for us both thus far but... My beautiful and happy little one has slept in her crib and in her own room without problems for the last 7 months. We co slept with her until 10 months and then moved her to her own room using the ferber method which worked really really well. From 10 months until 12 months I would still nurse her when she woke at around 330 am but she otherwise slept and still continues to sleep from 9pm-7am. At 1 yr i stopped the 330 feeding without an issue (she cryed for 5 minutes the first night and then blessedly accepted the new routine). We recently moved (Dec 28) and she has slept fine with no change in our routine - naps and nightly sleep schedule the same - but for the last two nights shes has cryed intermittently for hours and I truly dont know what to do. My intuition is that the naps and the nursing through the naps has seen its its day but why all of a sudden? Last night it started at 1215am and she awoke with a start so I thought that she had a bad dream. I waited maybe two minutes to see if she would settle on her own but I didnt like the sound of her cry. I went in and nursed her and put her lovingly back into her crib and left to try and allow her to self sooth which didnt work as she screamed for 10 minutes. I thought maybe it was a teething issue so I went back in and gave her tylenol and nursed again for 15-20 minutes. Left again and got out the ferber book when she continued to cry another 20 minues. Now this is intermittent crying which ferber doesn't really speak to unless i missed it in my reading. This went on until 345 when I finally brought her into my bed and she slept "like a baby" until 7am. Tonight she was fussy before bed at 7-730pm which is also unlike her but i assumed that she was just extra tired from last night sleeplessness. The intermittent crying continued until 1030pm at which point i finally went in and gave her a cuddle in our chair and she was almost instantly heavy with much needed sleep. I held her against me for 20 minutes until i was sure that she was out and put her back in her crib where she has been sleeping soundly for the last 15 minutes or so.. Just long enough for me to write this book! :) Please help me... am I right in assuming that its our loovely naps that have created this problem for her? IS she teething? Is it the move? If it is indeed our naps how do I fix the problem? I dont want to wean her from my breastmilk quite yet but in all honesty I'm not a fan of the nursing thoughout her naps but I do love sleeping with my baby.
Does she have runny nose/could it be ears? Maybe just needed extra mom time w the changes. Is she on one nap now?
Check out the book, "The Vital Touch" by Sharon Heller. Your local library should have a copy or you can grab it off of Amazon.com.
If children are crying, there's a reason. I don't think the CIO method is appropriate for your situation.
Your daughter could be waking for a number or reasons, some like you stated, bad dreams, teething, gas, upset tummy, hunger, or any number of other reasons. She may simply want to be held and loved.
I say, if she's hungry - feed her. She may very well be going through a growth spurt.
Whether or not you're a fan of co-sleeping, in your case it worked to get you and your daughter a good night's sleep - so it's something I would consider that you continue to do, even if it's for a little while, just so that the all in the household get a good night's rest. That's important for mom and baby so that both can take care of each other properly.
Good luck with everything.
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She could be getting sick but doesn't have an obvious thing like a runny nose for you to see. She might have a sore throat or post nasal drip. There is something that just went through our house that had similar symptoms. My daughter (19 months old) wasn't sleeping well for several days and has just started sleeping better. There is no fever in any of us with this one. It's a thought. Could also be a growth spurt which can cause interuptions in sleep and wanting to nurse more.
If you have checked out teething, colds, ear infection and other health issues it could be she is ready to switch to a 1 nap schedule. Also is her new room too hot or cold?
Could be teeth or if she has been sick it could be her ears
How long does she sleep at each nap? If you think she is otherwise healthy it's possible she doesn't need as much sleep during the day anymore - although I get that YOU might miss it. I used Ferber too (successfully) and I never could find any help in there with the intermittent crying either but I do remember him giving suggested amounts of sleep kids need at different ages. Is she with in his ballpark guidelines, more or less? Another possibility, your breastmilk supply may have diminished as a result of the pregnancy. Is it possible she's hungry overnight because she's not getting as much during the day? You may have a tough time boosting your supply these days but maybe after her nursing and nap you could try giving her a cup of milk (or another snack).
Just a thought...my friend nursed her 2 year old while she was pregnant. This includes nursing to sleep. Her son started having a REALLY hard time, because her milk changed and he said it was yucky. Do you have a cup with something else you could offer? She might be unsatisfied with changes in your milk.
My thought was ear infection as well. Nursing at nap makes lying down less painful. Could be lots of things. She's almost at the age where 2 naps merge to one. Is she sleeping too much during the day? Also expending energy is tougher in the winter being inside so much. Good Luck!
The first thing that came to mind was an ear infection ... my son had them all the time and the only sign was his crying and once I cuddled him he would calm down but they were infected non the less. I would check it out.
All the suggestions that other moms have made are good ones. The only thing I can add is that she might be heading into a growth spurt and needing the extra calories... you might try giving her a bit more food during the day or offering a before bedtime snack and see if that helps.
