Hellobee Boards

Login/Register

Oct 12 babies - Sleep

  1. hilsy85

    squash / 13764 posts

    @mrskc: oh that totally sounds like reverse cycling...not sure what to do about that unfortunately. Does Kelly mom have any info?

    We are in the same spot--naps are way better but night time is crap. He was up at 1130 (woke up on his tummy and was upset); 130 (nursed); 4 (paci); 5 (woke up on tummy, nursed him). From 5 to 6 he was just whining in his crib and flipping back to his stomach so finally I just got up with him. Now it's 615 and he's happy as a clam. I on the other hand don't think I got more than 2 hours straight all night. I think I need to buy the no cry sleep book.

  2. SleepyMonkey

    grapefruit / 4006 posts

    @mrskc: i totally agree that baby sleeping habits are luck of the draw. i think each baby gets to sleeping thru the night on their own schedule. sorry you are having such a tough time with getting A to sleep. re: bedtime routine, we do bath (only every other day), pj's, baby facial (lotion and aquaphor), bedtime story, nurse, lullaby and put down. most of the time she is awake and drowsy. naps, on the other hand, are hit or miss with us. 40 mins is the norm, but occasionally we get 1-1.5 hours, she cries sometimes when we put her down. i don't have much advice, but sending over some hugs and telling you to hang in there!

    so i decided to give CIO for night weaning a try, per our pedi's advice...she cried for 45 mins starting at 2:30, fell asleep for 10, whined for 5 mins and then fell back asleep until 7:30 this morning. of course DH and i were arguing about it at 3am after he went in there to soothe her, which just made her so MAD and he came back and declared "OK i'm going to feed her!" even though he told me before we went to bed that he was supportive of CIO. and he came up with all these reasons why tonight wasn't a good night for CIO...so we're arguing, arguing and finally she's quiet. i don't know how tonight will go, but last night wasn't as bad as i thought it was going to be. she's cried/whined up to 1.5 hours before, after which i gave in and fed her. she was happy this morning...ravenous, but happy. onto night #2.

  3. mrskc

    bananas / 9357 posts

    @Kemma: Ok, I'm glad I'm not the only one that hasn't got this figured out yet. They do sound similar in the fact that they fight going to sleep at night.

    @hilsy85: I've read up a little on Kellymom and a couple of other sites. Kellymom encourages it for working moms. Which when I think about it, it is actually nice b/c I don't have to stress with making sure I'm pumping enough while I'm gone. I've been freezing a lot of milk. So I think co-sleeping is the best solution for us right now so I can get more sleep. Oy! Your night sounds rough. Hopefully this is just a phase while he figures out the rolling thing. Has he ever rolled belly to back before? Sounds like he doesn't like ending up on his tummy.

    @SleepyMonkey: awww thank you. Good luck with CIO for her MOTN feeding. Sounds like it was successful. Is your DH on board now after he saw she fell back to sleep and slept until 7:30? Hopefully tonight goes better.

    Here was our night last night: 9p bed (we were at a retirement dinner last night), 1a woke up and DH brought to our bed & he nursed (I'm surprised he slept until 1 am!) 3:30a nursed, 5:30a nursed & from 5:30-6:30 he was tossing and waking up a lot and kicking me in the face and we finally got him up for the day at 6:30a. Not a horrible night for us.

  4. hilsy85

    squash / 13764 posts

    @mrskc: yup he's rolled belly to back a bunch of times, during the day. He's very capable of doing it, he just seems to forget how during the night!

    @SleepyMonkey: how is it going??

    So last night I went to bed at 9pm, thinking LO would at least sleep til 1am so I could get a good chunk of sleep...and of course he wakes up at 11pm screaming! Even when I try to go to bed early, I STILL only get 2 hours in a row! WTF?!

  5. SleepyMonkey

    grapefruit / 4006 posts

    @mrskc: @hilsy85: DH was definitely on board for it last night, but she slept until 6:30 this morning!! 11 hours. that is the first time she has done that since she was around 3 months old. i hope this keeps up...but we will see. babies are so unpredictable!

  6. Kemma

    grapefruit / 4291 posts

    So after almost two months of not great sleep, today I'm having a consultation with a "Baby Whisperer" postnatal advisor.

    I went to one of her seminars yesterday and she had some really good info so hopefully she'll be able to help us out! I'm thinking that I probably need to get A into a routine to help her sleep and yesterday the Baby Whisperer mentioned that active babies (like mine) often have different needs and strategies to ensure they get good sleep.

    Last night A went down easily at 1915 but grizzled at 2030, woke and nursed at 2145, grizzled again at 2305, woke again at 0015 and didn't go back to sleep until I got into bed with her at 0115. After all that she still woke for her usual "night" feed at 0520 then got up for the day at 0645 - ack!!! And then this morning I popped her in her cot to play while I had a shower and she put herself to sleep - sigh.

  7. hilsy85

    squash / 13764 posts

    @Kemma: my DH really wants to meet/hire a sleep consultant. Let us know how it goes!

    As some of you saw on IG, I just spent $50 on sleep books...SOMETHING needs to work!

    I also think LO is teething, he was on and off hysterical crying for like two hours before bed tonight so we gave him some tylenol. Hopefully it helps (and maybe he'll sleep better...).

  8. Beebug

    pomegranate / 3917 posts

    I won't talk about what seems to be going on at our house with sleep......sorry some of you are going through it so tough.....I have deffffinitely been there, so totally feel for you.

    She had an awful day though today....just awful.

  9. Tidybee

    nectarine / 2834 posts

    DD is another one going through a weird sleep cycle these days. She was sleeping 7:30-5, nurse, back down til 7:30. Last week she had bronchiolitis and a double ear infection, so of course her sleep was thrown off. However, it has not returned to normal, and she is waking every hour or so absolutely screaming her head off. All DH and I have to do is go in and let her know we're there, and she's out like a light within an instant. Then, as soon as we tiptoe out, she's up again. Who knows...

  10. hilsy85

    squash / 13764 posts

    @Tidybee: aw poor C

    @Beebug: haha I'm jealous That's all I'll say!

  11. hilsy85

    squash / 13764 posts

    @Beebug: You went through dropping the paci right? How did you do it? Cold turkey? Do you use it at any point during the day now?

    I think we need to do that...he was up every two hours last night for the paci. While I'm glad he went right back to sleep after I gave it to him, this is just not sustainable. Sleep training is happening this weekend!

  12. Beebug

    pomegranate / 3917 posts

    @hilsy85: we went cold turkey!

    We are back to using it a little more now, but she still doesn't sleep with it unless I get desperate from 5am onward with either bottle + back to sleep or getting a little later sttn!

  13. MrsRcCar

    grapefruit / 4712 posts

    @Beebug: You are so much braver then us. N is totally in love with his Paci at nap and bed time. Dh and I have decided that N can keep it until he loses his bottle or weans himself of it.

    N had been doing well sleep wise, until his 6 month shots. Since then he has been a bear to get to go down! However once he is down, he is generally down for the night.

    Naps are another animal. When DH or I are home N will not nap unless he is on us. Once asleep we can put him down but not until then. My mom watches N when DH and I both have to work and he goes right down for her. I am sure it is a bad habit DH and I have started. I am hoping to correct it soon....

    Our normal schedule looks like this:
    7:30-8am: Wake up for the day
    8:30: Cereal
    9:00; Bottle
    9:30-11:30: Play time
    11:30-2: Long nap
    2pm: Bottle as soon as changed
    2:30-6:00: Play time
    6:30(ish): Dinner time
    7:30-8pm: Short nap
    8:30pm: Night time bottle
    9pm: Bath and snuggles
    10:30pm: Hopefully asleep in his crib.

  14. Beebug

    pomegranate / 3917 posts

    @MrsRcCar: With 8 zillion wake ups a night because she was losing it and couldn't get it back in (then) it was so worth cutting it, her sleep became so amazing!!! Then she got sick and that went out the window, lol. Then she got better, we re-trained and now we have sort of given it to her again, but not for sleep, just when needed.....like all day yesterday and today, omg save us.

    She must be teething? Something, oh man. Today and yesterday times have been hell. I am sure DH didn't believe how bad yesterday was, he is home today and she is just baaad.

  15. MrsRcCar

    grapefruit / 4712 posts

    @Beebug: I hope things calm down with her soon...

  16. hilsy85

    squash / 13764 posts

    Omg you guys...I am losing it. I bought LO a pair of sunglasses from Amazon (our second pair after losing the first pair last weekend) and I"m pretty sure I threw them in the garbage! I took the garbage out before noticing they were missing, so they're gone for good. This lack of sleep is getting to me...I feel like I"m just on autopilot most of the day. DH told me my Mother's Day gift would be a third pair of the sunglasses

    @Beebug: how is C doing?

    @MrsRcCar: hope N's naps are better soon!

  17. Beebug

    pomegranate / 3917 posts

    @hilsy85: @MrsRcCar: Today was bad too, my goodness I hope this elusive first tooth is coming!!!

    She sttn again last night, so that appears to be our new normal, but again today, mayyyyybe half hour long naps? 3 total? Her first one was like at 8:30am, it's so weird!! Earlier waking with sttn, so I get it, and I think we're really struggling adjusting to three naps as with that early waking, two doesn't seem enough, unless she had long ones.....which....doesn't seem to be happening!

    Again today didn't want to be left alone, didn't want to be held, she actually ate today, I had a feeling it might be not that she's not hungry, but frustrated with flow, not sure but I switched nipples today and she finished all four bottles, so I might be on to something. She ate food, food like a pig again, and we had fun when she was tolerable, lol.

    My poor neighbours! All windows open now, and out in our back yard lots, listening to her noise, oye, lol.

  18. Beebug

    pomegranate / 3917 posts

    PS yay new avatar for me!!

  19. SleepyMonkey

    grapefruit / 4006 posts

    omg we are having the worst time with naps in the last few days. she will not go down without screaming...i think its separation anxiety or something. every time we put her down, she makes her frowny face and starts yelling, which escalates into screaming with big tears. agh.

    anyway, happy mothers' day everyone!

  20. hilsy85

    squash / 13764 posts

    @Beebug: @SleepyMonkey: sorry you guys have been struggling with naps!

    As you might have seen on the other thread i started, we started sleep training on Friday night...The first night was not bad--20 min of crying to go to sleep and then he woke up at 1am, I did checks at 3, 5, and 7 minutes, and then he slept til 6am! Last night, he went to sleep no problem, woke at 1:30 (I nursed him), and then cried at 3:30 and 4:40 but went back to sleep within 3 minutes. Then he woke up at 5:08 and we did one 5 minute check, but like some of you said, the check seemed to piss him off more so then we just left him and watched on the monitor. He cried on and off (mainly fussing with some cries) for 23 minutes and then went to sleep and slept til 7:15. So not too bad! I hope tonight is even smoother...I'm surprised that it's not harder for me to hear him cry (is that wrong?)--I think because I can see him and know that he's mainly just pissed off/angry, and not hurt or scared.

    Anyway, happy mother's day to you all!

  21. hilsy85

    squash / 13764 posts

    Ladies!! We had the best night! Lo went to bed at 640 (probably fell asleep around 7 after rolling around), slept til 515! I nursed him and he went back to sleep! It's now 715 and he's still sleeping! I am totally a Ferber convert lol. Especially since in total he probably cried for about an hours over like 3 nights combined.

    Now, do I wake him up so his schedule doesn't get thrown off? Or do I have a cup of coffee in peace?!

  22. Beebug

    pomegranate / 3917 posts

    @hilsy85: Ummmm amazing!!!!

    Is he still sleeping? I wouldn't let him sleep in too late, but would definitely enjoy the cup of coffee

    C got a handle on the naps again (sort of) but is doing the weird 10-11pm waking, crying, crying, and crying. She eventually settles again, but we definitely are keeping an eye on her to see if she actually needs us or if she's just being silly.

    Hope everyone had a good Mother's Day. I just finished my morning tea, C went down for a nap at 9am!

  23. hilsy85

    squash / 13764 posts

    @Beebug: I ended up waking him up at 730...I didn't want his day to get too off course. L went down for a nap at 9 as well, actually fell asleep around 910 or so...I really hope this keeps up!

  24. Beebug

    pomegranate / 3917 posts

    @hilsy85: Here's hoping! Even if he deviates a bit, knowing it's possible is amazing! I know I kept that in mind and still am a bit in denial to say she sttn's to anyone in real life! I really feel like since she started sttn 3 naps would be better than her two, so I think that's why our naps are sucking, so hopefully we will figure things out here soon.

  25. hilsy85

    squash / 13764 posts

    @Beebug: yeah I have heard that the 3-2 transition period is tough, they go back and forth a bunch. Hope she figures it out soon! Either way, yay for better overnight sleep I definitely am not talking about it in real life yet! It could have been a fluke...

  26. Beebug

    pomegranate / 3917 posts

    @hilsy85: annnd she just woke. Yah....3 nap day today for sure. Yuck when she wakes grumpy.

  27. mrskc

    bananas / 9357 posts

    @hilsy85: how is L's sleep doing since you sleep trained? That's great it worked so well for you. I've kinda let A cry sometimes and he just escalates and escalates. I could handle 15-20 min of crying but I think he would end up crying for hours and I can't do it.

    AJ is such a horrible sleeper. I'm not really sure what to do. He sleeps in our bed, which I'm ok with, but lately he's been waking up every 1.5-2 hours and has trouble going back to sleep. It's annoying. I think I'm the only one left with a LO not sleeping longer stretches at night.

  28. hilsy85

    squash / 13764 posts

    @mrskc: it has been So SO much better. We are down to one wake up a night (I'm happy with that, I didn't want to night wean yet), and he puts himself back to sleep. Have you let him go 15-20 minutes while crying? I ask because like you, we totally thought LO would end up crying for hours and hours...in actuality, the longest he cried was 23 minutes, and that was on and off (cried for 2 minutes, quiet for 5, fussing for 2, etc). So maybe give it a shot! He might surprise you...

    Also, I really really recommend reading Ferber's book...I think he discusses super modified techniques in there, and I think he also talks about how to sleep train while LO is co sleeping. Also, don't feel pressured to sleep train if your situation is working for you...I think it's hard to hear that other babies are maybe sleeping longer, in their cribs, etc...but if your situation is working for you guys, then go with it! Although it sounds like maybe it's getting a bit old at this point?

    So that being said, last night was terrible...Lo rolled onto his tummy and got annoyed when he woke up in the MOTN. So we were up for an hour rolling him back. But today, he's napped on his tummy for both naps (only took 2 today!) and went to bed on his tummy so maybe he'll be ok with it tonight.

    He took 1 2hr 15 min this morning and a 2.5 hour nap at noon! I had to wake him up from that one, we needed to leave the house to run some errands. we'll see how tonight goes...

  29. mrskc

    bananas / 9357 posts

    @hilsy85: That's so awesome! I have actually let him cry up to 20 minutes before. One time was even longer b/c I had just been at my wits end and needed to step away for awhile. He starts out kind of fake crying. Starts and stops and then it just starts escalating and escalating to where he is full on sobbing and uncontrollably crying. At which point, I can't take it and I go to him. I even tried staying right next to his crib where he could see me and he did the same thing. Just freaked out. I will check out Ferber's book.

    I don't mind the cosleeping but I do mind the waking up every 1.5-2 hours all night long and the crying when he wakes up and then the struggle to get him back to sleep. I'm trying to just go with it, but my DH is pushing CIO now. I think my DH has had enough of it. BUT next week is my last week of working half days and then I'll be full time. I also worry about my milk supply if I try and get him to sleep all night. So part of me just doesn't want to mess with it so I don't have to worry about my supply. The other part wants more sleep and to make DH happier. I guess in an ideal world, we would continue to co sleep with only 2 wake ups. Oh and he would sleep better the first part of the night in his crib. If only this was an ideal world...

    Those are some nice long naps he took! Hopefully tonight is better!

  30. hilsy85

    squash / 13764 posts

    @mrskc: aw that sounds really rough in your situation I would have done the same thing...I can't take hysterical crying for more than like 2 minutes. I would say if you do modified CIO (with checks at intervals, which is what we did), I would have your Dh do the checks...I feel like when they see/smell/hear us, the babies get more upset when we're not picking them up. It sounds like he's not hungry tho and doesn't need anything, per se, when he cries ? More that he just wants snuggles with you (I'm taking that from the fact that you said he fake cries/complains in the beginning). It's also so tough since he's reverse cycling...hugs!

    Does he go back to sleep if you nurse him? Or is it a struggle to get him to sleep even after he nurses? And does he go down easily for naps--he does right? One thing Ferber says is if LOs go to sleep on their own in one situation (i.e. for naps, or at the beginning of the night), then sleep training will be much much easier. I hope things get better soon!

  31. mrskc

    bananas / 9357 posts

    @hilsy85: Yes, he definitely wants snuggles. He's a little mommy's boy. So usually after his bath, we've been letting him play. Then when he gets cranky, I nurse him and he falls asleep. Then I move him to his crib. Some nights he'll sleep a good 2 hours with out waking and then we bring him to our bed. Other nights he wakes up after 20 min - 1 hour and cries. My DH tries to soothe him, but he doesn't want him. As soon as he's in my arms, instantly falls back to sleep.

    In the middle of the night, at first I'll try just giving him the paci and if that doesn't work, then I nurse him and he usually goes back to sleep. It's just annoying when it's happening every 1.5 hours all night long. There have been some nights where he's slept a good 3 hours with out waking.

    I think maybe our problem is that he doesn't know how to go to sleep on his own. We've been rocking him or I nurse him. He does go down for a nap easily but we rock him until he's asleep and then put him down. He usually wakes during the transfer, but it doesn't bother him. He'll open his eyes a little and then just drift back to sleep. Maybe that's our problem? I guess it's a little our fault for just doing what works. Not wanting to take the time to put him down somewhat awake and let him fall asleep on his own. So we should maybe work on that. But there have been occasions, where I put him down for a nap awake and he fell asleep on his own. Only a handful of times though.

  32. hilsy85

    squash / 13764 posts

    @mrskc: ah gotcha...that was L's problem too. We were rocking him/nursing him to sleep in the MOTN so when he woke during sleep transitions, he couldn't put himself back to sleep. Does he have a lovey? We introduced one and it seems to help!

    Another thing is, I read on the babycenter sleep forum (great resource--just google, babycenter teaching your baby and toddler to sleep) that waking every 1.5-3 hours all night is a sign of overtiredness. At first it didn't make sense to me because LO was getting 3 naps a day...but I realized that the frequent night wakings were seriously taking a toll on him, and causing him to be more tired the next day, and creating this cycle. That's what really made me feel serious about sleep training--it wasn't just that I was tired, he was too (even though I didn't realize it at first).

  33. mrskc

    bananas / 9357 posts

    @hilsy85: Hmmm that's interesting. I mean I guess if I'm so tired from waking up so much, he must be too. But I would think the naps would help, but maybe not so much. I'm going to have to look into ways to teach him to sleep longer. Do you think all these physical milestones he's been learning one after the other is affecting him too? I keep telling myself, he'll sleep better once he starts walking. Maybe it's wishful thinking.

  34. hilsy85

    squash / 13764 posts

    @mrskc: I think some kids are really affected by that stuff and some kids aren't, AJ could definitely be one of those who is really affected by all the stuff he's learning!...at the same time, they'll be going through all these milestones for a while--same with teething, they go through teething til they're like 2! So I feel like there's gotta be some middle ground where we can help them sleep better even when they're feeling frazzled from all the changes they're going through. i wish I had some magic solution for all of us

  35. mrskc

    bananas / 9357 posts

    @hilsy85: Oh for sure! I want to help him sleep better, but I'm not sure how. Right now, when he wakes, I do whatever I can to get him back asleep as quickly as I can (like nursing, rocking, paci, patting, shushing). I'm not sure how to teach him to sleep longer. Man, this sleep thing is harder than I could have ever imagined.

    ETA: Oh and I've tried introducing a lovey. He's totally uninterested in it. But I still keep it near him when he nurses.

  36. mrskc

    bananas / 9357 posts

    Worst night to date. Little man is getting his first cold I think. He was congested yesterday so I think it affected his sleep last night. He woke up every hour all night long. I had to get up at 5:30a this morning to come to work. I'm so exhausted. Anyone have any tips for dealing with a cold? I've just been trying to suck the snot out with a bulb syringe.

  37. hellobeeboston

    honeydew / 7235 posts

    @mrskc: oh no! poor guy.... we've had 3 colds so far, the first one was the worst - it's so hard to see them not feeling well!

    Nose Frida/Snot suckers are a must, even though they hate it. The saline helps to break it up if he is coughing. Nurse/feed more, the extra fluid is good.... And we put Maty's Chest Rub (it's an all natural vicks) on his feet with socks -- this was mostly for his cough, but I think it helped with the stuffiness. And I think fresh air helps if it's not too hot out there!

  38. mrskc

    bananas / 9357 posts

    @hellobeeboston: Thanks! Do you know where I can buy a nose frida from a store? I don't want to wait the two day shipping from Amazon. I want one TODAY! I don't think the bulb syringe is working well.

  39. hellobeeboston

    honeydew / 7235 posts

    @mrskc: do you have a BuyBuyBaby?? That's where I bought mine.

    Babies R Us has something that looks similar too.

  40. mrskc

    bananas / 9357 posts

    @hellobeeboston: no Buy buy baby near us. I'll call babies r us.

Reply »

You must login / Register to post

© copyright 2011-2014 Hellobee