Ok girls i really need help...

[Imogensmum]

Ok girls i really need help, My princess Imogen (oh and what a princess she is ) is finding this whole sleep thing a problem!!

Days are not to bad- as we cuddle til she is almost asleep- awake but not awake IYKWIM- then i place her in her cot and she will doze of- usually! She will then sleep anywhere between 45mins- 11/2hrs.

But nights- AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
She screams herself to sleep- I am trying this C/C thing and I hate it- i feel like the most horrible mum- but i am going to give it one more week,

My main issue is that she is waking repeatedly all night, she goes to bed at 8ish- wakes at 9ish, back to sleep til 1030-sleepfeed- then wakes 12am, 2am,3am, 430am, 530am! What am i doing wrong????

Surely a 6 month old should be sleeping better than this????

Any advice would be greatly appriciated!!!

[BecH]

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/7/T070200.asp
this made me feel slightly better as my daughter does the same thing.
I have tried a lot of the advice however and things only work for a short period of time.

[watermelon]

Hi Imogen'smum,

I feel for you. My DD Sophie is only 10 days younger than Imogen and she too has started to wake more and more frequently during the night.
Sophie is getting her 2 bottom teeth at the moment so I'm sure that's contributing to the problem.

We put her to bed at 6:30pm and she wakes hourly till about 9pm. We can usually get her to take a dummy and go back to sleep. We do a dream feed at 9:30 and now she becomes wide awake for as much as two hours afterward. I finally get her back to sleep and then she wakes about 2am and can stay awake till about 4 or 5 am. If its already daylight then there' no hope of getting her back to sleep. Sophie will then have maybe 2 daytime sleeps of about 1 -2 hours if I lucky, so she's certainly not making up the sleep that's she's missed (and I'm not getting the sleep I need either).

If I just leave her to self settle at night she cries and cries and like you I have trouble with CC. DH has to go to work (the poor darling) so he won't get up at night to help. I don't think I can do CC by myself - I'd rather comfort her than hear her cry, but I think now she knows that I'm going to come back into the room to her so we need to try something different. But every night that I decide I'm going to change tactics she decides to have a good night and sleep from about 10pm to 4:30am.

I"ve bought almost every book out there about sleeping solutions and we've tried everything but CC. One book said its normal once babies reach about 6 months or 8kgs to wake every sleep cycle (ie 40 minutes) and some need more help than others to resettle (we obviously have these types of DDs). I've tried music, rocking, patting and even an extra feed if she's been awake for a long time. But nothing works 100% of the time.
Let me know how you go with the CC. Is someone there to help you with it at night? What are you doing while she's having her crying time? I find it hard to block it out for even 2 minutes.

I know I haven't been any help at all, but at least you know that you're not alone with the problem. Hopefully its just a stage and they will get over it.

Sam
Mum to Sophie (20/07/05)

[Imogensmum]

Thank you girls for replying- i was beging to think i had posted an invisible link!!

BecH that article was useful- it made me understand her sleep cycles better! Don't know if it will make me more tolerant of her waking but at least i understand why! Maybe i will look into all the stimuli in her room!

Sam- i feel for you- you are lacking a lot more sleep than i- i feel really silly complaing now! At least Imy just need settling and then will go back to sleep within 20 mins (usually)

Unfortunately no- i am the only one with Imy so the CC is up to me! And i suck t it- i hate hearing her cry and at nioght it is amplified!!!! i USUALLY GIVE HER A MINUTE OR TWO THEN REPLACE DUMMY, PAT TUMMY ETC! bUT SHE WILL PUT HER ARMS UP TO BE PICKED UP! sO I DO, THEN CUDDLE KISS AND BACK DOWN???? Oppps i hit the Caps lock key

I don't know- i really just don't know what to do!! I'm thinking of going to QE2 which is a mother and baby sleep school here in CanBerra!

[HoopDeeDoo]

Hey Shannan,
Sorry to hear Imy's giving you trouble.
We need to get together soon, I miss hanging with you guys.
Scott's on holidays this week so we've been out a lot - his grandparents are down so we've been hanging with them a bit.
Give me a call when you're not too sleep deprived. If you need a break from Imy I'd be happy to take her for a while.
Or call me if you need to vent, I can always come and sit with you while you try the CC thing

[AM]

It is actually normal for a 6 month old to feed that often at night, babies need nutrition 24 hours a day for around the first year, that is why co-sleeping is just so wonderful, it allows you and bubs to nurse and sleep pretty much at the same time.
So really the whole CC thing is kind of doing your child a disservice, due to not fulfilling the comfort or nutrition need.

All the best, I hope you come to terms with it all.

[Chickadee]

If it's any consolation, a lot of bubs who may have been sleeping well at night suddenly start having sleep issues around 6 months. My DD was like that and I've seen a lot of mums on here trying to resolve sudden night waking at 6-7 months. I'm not sure if it's linked to a development stage, introduction of new foods, or what, but you're certainly not alone. Hopefully, with time and patience it will pass and she'll get better again.

I used to give in and give Chloe a cuddle in the night if she was really upset. But once she was calmed I'd put her back in her cot, with her on her side with dummy and me patting her bum fairly firmly and shushing her till she started to drop off. You need to do what works for both of you, and if CC isn't working for you then look into some gentler alternatives. But I think you do need to be consistent with one method for at least a week if not 2 or 3 to give it a good chance.

[Imogensmum]

Well all- it has sorted itself! YAYAYAY

Imy and i had a long tearful discussion one day about a week ago! I told her that this not sleeping thing was not on- she agree'd (or at least i will pretend she did)

So i put her back in her cot- music box on and patted her belly til she calmed down- and then left the room while she was still awake- but calm! She stirred and grizzled after about 2 mins so i went back in and again patting and music box - I had to do this about 5 time this first attempt and then she slept for 45mins.

We did this every sleep that day, and the next and the next- with the amount of time i went into her decreasing and the amount of time she was sleeping increasing!! YAYAYAY

Her night waking has subsided to 2 wakes and feeds (which i am happy with) and day sleeps today being 3X 2hr sleeps!!!!!!!!!!!!

I worked on the theory that i wasn't going to let her scream but i wasn't going to get her up either- and luckily this worked for the two of us! So i only let her get to a loud whinge (IYKWIM- not talking/gooing but not crying) and then i would go resettle- but no eye contact and no talking. I feel comforted in the fact that she isn't upset in her cot now- and is able to self settle herself ( i know cause i watched her do it the other night as i contemplated giving her a 3rd bottle- but she rolled over rubbed the sheet and went back to sleep ) a very proud mummy moment i must say!


So thankyou to all those wonderful mummies out there who helped me through this rough patch- thankyou for not labling me an "unfit" mum, but instead giving me the advice and encouragement to help both Imogen and I get ourselves sorted.

I really hope though that there are other mummies out there who get something out of this post that will help them on some of those long horrid nights.


Sleepy sighs- Shannan