Our 21 week old refuses to nap or sleep at night unless it's on us - and even then, she doesn't sleep for long. Anyone have any advice? We have moved her to a crib because she was sitting up in her rock and play, and it wasn't safe anymore. In the month before we moved her to the crib, she would sleep 6-8 hours straight at night in the RnP, but wouldn't nap in it. I think this started as a sleep regression (she was a great napper and sleeper up until about 4 mos old), but with the added transition of the crib, it's just a disaster. We tried a modified CIO based on the advice of our ped, but after 4 hours of her crying the first night, I couldn't take it. Crying seems to wind her up; not calm her down. I have been nursing her to sleep, and am trying to stop. We've tried everything - white noise, music, pacifiers (she hates them), rocking, putting her down awake but drowsy - I've even tried to put her next to me in our bed, but she hates that! Basically, I don't know what to do. Anyone have any advice? Thanks!
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I'm so sorry! My first was like that for a while too. it seems like a lot of changes at once for her. Would you be opposed to continuing nursing to sleep until she adjusts to the crib?
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She cried for four hours? Ugh that is awful! you have me scared as my six week old sleeps like a dream in her rock and play (for now). Maybe try the merlin magic sleep suit or something similar so she feels more secure in the crib? Will she sleep in the swing?
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Oh my gosh, that sounds so rough! I was thinking the same thing as @regberadaisy: about nursing to sleep, if you are ok with it. Sometimes you just gotta do what works. For what it's worth, I nursed my son to sleep for over a year. He's almost 2 now and can go to sleep just fine with out nursing.
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Thanks, ladies! I am fine with nursing to sleep but the problem is that 3 out of 4 times when I go to lay her down in the crib after, she wakes up, and the process starts all over again. The other night I didn't sit down to eat dinner until 11:30pm (started bedtime at 6:30), and then she was up again throughout the night. I just don't know what else to do, because she can't do the rock n play safely anymore, and this kid is not sleeping enough...and neither am I!
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@britcomfan: ugh we had the same issue but at its worst it took 2 hours.
There is a blog post suggesting using a warm rice bag on their stomach to emulate your body warmth temporarily until they fall into a deep sleep.
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Have you thought about getting a sleep consultant in to help you? It sounds like you are dealing with some really tough circumstances
I don't know where you are, but here in Australia there are government run agencies that you can do a residential stay at, as well as private sleep consultants that you can hire to come stay with you. I don't know if there are services like that where you are, but my sister had to get someone in after about 4 weeks of only a couple of hours of broken sleep at night, she was so run down that she didn't feel safe to drive or care for her daughters. She got one night of uninterrupted sleep while the consultant tended to her daughter, and then 3 more nights of gentle sleep training with the consultants help. She and my brother in law had to take out a personal loan to pay for it but it has been life changing for them. My niece also did not respond to CIO and cried for 3 hrs a couple of nights in a row with no improvement. Not sure exactly what methods the consultant used, but I know they didn't involve CIO.
Good luck - I wish I had some advice for you xo -
Thank you all so much! I really appreciate the advice. We'll keep trying a few different things, and crossing our fingers she learns!
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