I'm pretty much losing my mind over here.
Blakely just won't sleep anymore. I am totally kicking myself for ever even muttering the words "I have a great sleeper"...UGH!
This all started when she turned 8 months old (about a month ago). She also began pulling up and crawling then as well. I figured it was just a phase but now I think it has become a habit.
She goes to bed at 9...every.single.night. She usually goes down great. But she will wake up multiple times in the middle of the night. She has always been really good at putting herself back to sleep but not now. She wakes up hysterically crying...and I mean hysterical. If it was just a fussy/whiny cry I wouldn't even go in her room.
When it first started she would go back to sleep on my (or Lonnie's) shoulder pretty quickly and then we would put her back in her crib. Gradually it has gotten worse. Sometimes she will go right back to sleep and others she screams until I give her the boob. I try not to feed her in the middle of the night but sometimes I am just desperate for sleep.
When she does wake up in the night she is so so so sleepy. She is just fighting it hard!
I am not sure what to do. I've tried just going in and reassuring her. I've tried letting her sleep with her lovie. I've tried feeding her more during the day. I've tried feeding her less. I've tried putting her to bed earlier. I've tried to give her more naps. I've tried giving her less nap time.
She has been napping much better this past week. An hour to and hour and a half in the morning and in the afternoon. That seems to maybe be helping. And by helping I mean she is waking up 3-4 times a night instead of 6-7.
I just downloaded like 3 books on Lonnie's iP.ad. I just need some ideas on what is going on and what I can do to help her sleep better. I've never had to deal with this with her before. She always put herself to sleep and slept through the night..since she was 8 weeks old.
I wonder if she could be having like nightmares or something? Or could it be like a form of separation anxiety?
I don't know if I can let her "cry it out" but I'm getting pretty desperate and so is Lonnie. He is very helpful in the middle of the night. But, he has a very demanding, high stress job. He needs his sleep big time. I feel terrible when he tries to put her back to sleep and it takes an hour. Sometimes it only takes 10-15 minutes but not always.
This is so much harder than the newborn stage....
Sorry for the ramblings...I just needed to vent! Any suggestions are welcome!
I'm going to have a glass of wine....yes, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon....
Not sure if this will help or not since she had been putting herself to sleep, but with your question of seperation anxiety it made me think of this article that I JUST read.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.troublesometots.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-sleeping-through-the-night-part-2/
I will check that site out...thanks!!
DeleteYikes! Could it be a Wonder Week or teething? We did CIO with Aiden and he's an awesome 11-12 hour sleeper (knock on wood). I'm not advocating CIO, but do whatever method/book feels the best for you and Lonnie. This sleep stuff is so hard, I hope you find answers soon! Feel free to vent and ramble anytime!
ReplyDeleteI thought it was a wonder week but it's been going on for like 5 weeks. And I don't *think* it's teething...no other signs but I really don't know!
DeleteOh honey, I feel your pain. As you know, Emily has never been a good sleeper and last week she actually did great....until she started crawling. Now that's all she wants to do in her crib. What has helped a little bit is getting her more active. I've taken her to the pool, to swimming lessons, to music class, around other babies at play dates- I pretty much try to wear her ass out. I hope it gets better soon! (and I'm totally wishing I could have some wine)
ReplyDeleteUgh...I seriously need to get B more involved. We don't do anything. I tried to do swimming lessons but every single place said she had to be a year old. I NEED A PLAY GROUP...PLEASE MOVE HERE! ;)
DeleteWhen Savannah was little (prob 6-8 months) I said I would NEVER let her CIO. I bought a "no cry" sleep book and did EVERYTHING it said. NOTHING WORKED!!! I was beyond desperate...so we let her CIO. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. At first she cried for about a half hour and every night it was less and less. It only lasted a few days and then she was awesome. I really with I had other advice then CIO. Shane wakes prob 4-5 nights a week (1 time a night) and the only thing that will help him is the boob. He goes from passed out sleeping to full blown hysterics in the blink of an eye. I don't think it is separation anxiety or nightmares. I think when they wake up they are still kinda sleeping (even with open eyes) and they are just like "WTF is going on/happening" so they freak out. Jay can't even hold Shane. He will push him away. All I have to do it speak and he will start to relax. But if he doesn't get the boob in like 5 seconds he starts his freak out again. I feel bad and don't want to wake Savannah so I just boob him back to sleep. I have often thought I should let him CIO when he wakes up but I can't have Savannah up too. Hopefully you will find somthing that works for her and you. ***Hugs***
ReplyDeleteIf you do let her CIO do it sooner rather then later. It will be far harder on you & Lonnie than it is on her. Have you read "Happiest Baby/Toddler on the Block? My neighbor was having awful sleep trouble with her 8 month old and said the book was a god sent. I just got the DVD-who the hell has time to read! I can't even find the time to watch the freaking movie.
ReplyDeleteOh wow I am so sorry her sleep has regressed. I have read a few blogs where once they become mobile that can happen. I wish I had advice for you, but it sure sounds like you've tried everything I could come up with also. I'm hoping this stage passes very quickly for all of your sanity! :(
ReplyDeleteThat is one of the books I downloaded. I definitely think she will be happier if she will sleep better...she did before!!
ReplyDeleteOh B, give your mommy some sleep! :(
ReplyDeleteThinking about you guys!
Yuck that sucks. I'm sorry nothing is worse than being sleep deprived. The big thing with us, is that Avery has to fall asleep on her own and in her crib. If she doesn't she freaks out when she wakes up later.
ReplyDeleteI didn't love the idea of CIO but our (who is wonderful adn I trust completely) suggested we try because Avery was always an awful sleeper. So we tried it and it lasted 3 days and since then things have been wonderful (even during her sleep regression at 8 months). She has truly only had like three bad night since then and each was due to teething or sickness.
I hope this helps.
I was very hesitant of CIO, but after another cold, during which Reagan became a horrible sleeper, we tried it. Our ped's office has podcasts, so we listened and practiced. We would put her to bed awake, let her cry for 5 minutes (if she lasted 5 minutes at all) and go back in to soothe her without picking her up. We'd start her seahorse again and leave the room. Then we'd give her 10 minutes...we have never gone past that. It worked wonderfully for a few weeks then she started waking up every 3 hours!! OMG! So we have started playing music all night and she sleeps all night, most nights. Sometimes we still have to go in at like 3 or 4, but her eyes are usually still closed.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if that helps, as Reagan isn't mobile yet, but that's what we did.
Good Luck!!