Ah! I feel like I'm losing it. My DD#2 is extremely inconsistent when it comes to sleeping. But I suppose she's consistently not a good sleeper. Some nights she'll wake up twice a night and others she'll wake up every hour. Last night was one of those nights she woke up every hour. The night before she woke up 5 times between 10pm and 6am. And before that we had a two days where she only woke up twice (and I was literally exuberant the next day haha). I'm tracking her sleep because I am so desperate to find a pattern or something to help her sleep better for her health and my sanity. Obviously young babies are not great sleepers, but I feel like it's affecting my moods during the day. I also have a 2.5 y/o so I can't sleep during the day. I am running on fumes.
So here is what we do: She's exclusively breastfed and very plump :) She's generally a content and happy baby. She still sleeps in a pack n' play in our room. I put her down at 7pm and she sleeps until 9 or 10 and sometimes until 1am. When she wakes at 9 or 10 I know it will be a every 1-2 hour night, if she sleeps till 1am, I get excited because then she will generally only wake up at 4am. She is swaddled.
I thought it was the swaddling, so we tried going without but that made it worse. Her arms were flailing everywhere and she woke up every 30-45 minutes! But Now she breaks out of the swaddle and flails her arms and it wakes her up. AHHH. She's not rolling over yet, so I planned to swaddle her until then but now I'm worried she relies on it to help her sleep...
One more thing: I don't think this has to do with growth spurts because it happens every 3-5 days and then she doesn't sleep for more than 1-2 hours at night for anywhere from 1-5 days.
Thank you for listening and for your advice. Maybe there is nothing I can do, but it helps to put this out there in a ploy for sympathy :)
Oh wow that double swaddle thing is the neatest trick! I watched the video on youtube and will try it tonight!
I tried the double swaddle last night. Works great and she woke every 2 hours starting at midnight - which is an improvement. She eats every time, but really not that much bc she falls asleep.
If double swaddling doesn't help - try bed-sharing. Most babies will prefer sleeping next to Mom, especially if they are breastfed and are used to that close contact.
Try putting her on her belly, unswaddled. As long as there's nothing to block her breathing and her head is turned to one side, she'll be fine. All 3 of my girls slept WONDERFULLY like that.
Oy. I feel for you. Some kids are just light sleepers. You've gotten some great advice, keep trying, something might help. But know that you are not alone in your sleeplessness, and that it will not always be like this. Your baby is happy and healthy - let that reassure you that there's nothing deeply wrong, she's just going to need some time to figure out how to sleep.
I wish you peaceful sleep - celebrate when you get three hours in a row!
Try getting her a muslin swaddle wrap, I know Amazon has them, but other places might as well. They are light weight and large enough to do a double swaddle, which she shouldn't be able to get out of. Look on YouTube for videos for how to do the double swaddle. If you think the flailing is causing the problem then this will definitely help.
At 4 mos, she's just become SUPER aware of her environment. She's knows when you're in the room, and she's figured out that those arms and legs move around at her will...and more to the point - when she cried, you come!
I was there with my DD at 4mos. I hit my breaking point at 22 weeks and let her CIO. BEST. DECISION. EVER. Now, this kid sleeps through colds, teething, everything. 12 hrs straight every night.
You have to do what you're comfortable with, but some form of sleep training is in order at this point. Right now, she's just got a habit. She cries, you come!
My baby was the same way when she was really little and she was colicky as well. When she started breaking out of the swaddle, I bought a Miracle Blanket to try out. It was expensive (about $35.00) but I was so desperate for sleep I would try anything. She's almost 8 months now and we still use it at bedtime and she routinely sleeps from 9pm to 4-5am without waking herself up. It's pretty light, so I don't worry about her getting too warm, and she calms down immediately when I put her in it. She is also breastfed, and I'll wrap her up before nursing at bedtime and I just set her in her crib when she falls asleep. I'd try that blanket, the way it's designed your baby can't break out of it, and my doctor says that when they aren't comforted by the swaddle any longer then it's time to stop but if it still comforts them at night time it's just fine. http://www.miracleblanket.com/cart/ is where I bought mine, and I buy them now for all of my friends. Good luck!
When my boys broke out of their wraps, I started to wrap them with their arms down at their sides. They seemed quite comfy and slept fine like that. It was a nice firm wrap. In summer I had great cheesecloth-type wraps that were not too hot. I think I got them to arou d 6 or 7 months and then took the wraps away and did Teach To Sleep which worked a treat. When I was exhausted and sleep deprived I had to remind myself to relax into it, and not fight what was needed to be done (ie, waking up 5 times a night). It just helped me to cope better. Good luck, hope you get some rest soon!
Have you had her ears checked, could be injection. It soulds like what my son has been going through some nights.
My oldest son had the same problem, woke up because he broke out of swaddle. Put a little duct tape on corner to hold it. We read it in one of our sleep books, sounds kind of weird, but actually I have a friend who did it too. Worked like a charm, we even have pictures ......it is too funny. Just duct tape near wear the arms are, not the feet area. We even used packing tape when we didn't have duct tape.
