Please Help!!! Exhausted mommy here...

Jbosarge85

My LO is 6.5 months old. She is the worst sleeper in the world! She slept through the night for a week when she was 2 months old and never since then. On good day's she wakes up every two hours. But sometimes she's like last night, every hour. So she went to sleep at 9pm last night and slept on our bed on the boppy while we watched tv in our room so we could watch her and make sure she was fine, she slept like that till we went to sleep at 10:30pm. Then I picked her up and we slept together (we've been bedsharing since she was born). And an hour later she was up, and every hour after. Sometimes she would wake up crying sometimes she would just wiggle non stop. I've tried nursing her laying down (she just kicks my stomach and wiggles the whole time). Sometimes she will fall asleep with me rocking her in my arms sitting on the bed, sometimes I have to nurse her and she falls asleep instantly, but last sometimes like last night I have to get up and walk around rocking her for an hour sometimes more. The pediatrician said she's teething, but if that was why wouldn't it take me putting something on her gums or baby tylenol to get her to sleep? Please help, I can't do this horrible sleeping at night anymore.

ncbelle

Have you read the No Cry Sleep Solution?  

One thing that jumps out from your post - she should be sleeping in a dark, quiet room (night light and white noise are good) without TV and activity.  Some babies do sleep better in their own space - you might try having her sleep in your room but not right beside you and see if that helps.  Teething does seem like a possibility.  Motrin always worked far better for my kids and it's fine for her now that she's over 6 months.

vlevitt

I don't know if I have much advice I can give you but I definitely feel your pain. Our DS is about 7.5 months and has never been much of a sleeper. For a few weeks he was also up every 1.5 to 2 hours and is still up every 3 or so hours a night after a "long" chunk of 4 hours at the start of the night. What has helped a little is having a very set bedtime ritual every night, plus starting solid foods and knowing this cant possibly continue forever. Starting on solids made me reasonably comfortable that he didn't NEED to nurse every two hours, it was just a habit. I just went in, settled him and left again. After a week ornsonthe night wakings lessened. I have no idea if it was what I did or him being a few weeks older! Alsohow are your baby's daytime naps? Daytime sleep begets night time sleep. Is it possible naps aren't long enough during the day? Also, what about moving bed time a little earlier? It may be that baby is overtired when you get to bed time at 9pm, which could lead to more frequent night wakings. Good luck! This can't continue forever!

JJ_13

earlier bedtime (7 - 7:30 pm), dark room, white noise, very soft night light. It could be that she's ready for her own space. Some babies do better not bed-sharing. Basically what ncbelle said...

Jbosarge85

Yeah I've tried to get her to sleep in her crib. She just cries and cries. She takes about 3 naps during the day usually for an hour. She went to sleep once at 7;30pm and she was trying to wake for the day at 2am. But usually she will fight me trying to get her to sleep till 8;30-9pm. She eats solids now too, I feed her twice a day a 4 oz jar the last time is at 7pm or 7;30pm. Then Mon, Wed, and Sat we have shower time (we shower together) at 8:00pm. I know it won't last forever, it just feels like it will most days.

ToastieSimons

DS2 was like this, except we didn't watch TV in our bedroom.  We bedshared and he was up ALL night.  

DH finally got fed up with it and demanded we put him in his own room, in his crib.  I was hesitant because he was so little, just under 6 months.  We didn't BF so I didn't have that argument, so I agreed to try it with DH.  I rocked him to sleep and laid him in his crib.  

He woke up one time that night.  And has been an amazing sleeper since.  He just needed his own space, he likes to move around a lot and we were all waking each other up..

bikramgirl

I have an 8 month old who is an awful sleeper. We have a scheduled bedtime, bedtime routine, etc. He sleeps in his nursery in a crib now after bedsharing for the first 3-4 months. I feel lucky if he naps without waking for an hour and a 3-4 hour stretch at night is a dream. In fact he is exhausted right now but won't sleep. I spent almost 3 hours trying to put him down for a nap that resulted in 30-40 minutes of shut eye. I feel your pain.

monalua

I definitely feel your pain. It sucks. I truly believe it's just the way some babies are. My son was exactly this way and we tried everything - routine, early bedtime, dark room, white noise, crib, special sheets, sleep sheep, different feeding routines, etc. We never did CIO. He woke every 1-3 hours every night until I nightweaned him at 26 months. He started sleeping through the night shortly after that. Now at age 3 he's a great sleeper. I just think it took him a (very long) while to grow out of it. His sister (4 months) is now following in his footsteps, up every 1-2 hours. Maybe it's genetic lol. I am a wimp and can't do CIO, at least not with my kids, they cry til they puke. So no real advice, just sympathy. Definitely read No Cry Sleep Solution if you haven't already. You could also read Ferber and Weisbluth (spelling?). My way to cope was asking for help from friends and family so I could sleep during the day, hiring a temporary cleaning service, having my hubby let me sleep in on weekends, etc. Hang in there!!! It most definitely doesn't last forever even though it feels like it. Sometimes I'm still in awe at my son sleeping through the night. We have come such a long way.

musicalmama5

ToastieSimons said:

DS2 was like this, except we didn't watch TV in our bedroom.  We bedshared and he was up ALL night.  

DH finally got fed up with it and demanded we put him in his own room, in his crib.  I was hesitant because he was so little, just under 6 months.  We didn't BF so I didn't have that argument, so I agreed to try it with DH.  I rocked him to sleep and laid him in his crib.  

He woke up one time that night.  And has been an amazing sleeper since.  He just needed his own space, he likes to move around a lot and we were all waking each other up..

This was us, except I only lasted about 6 weeks before giving LO the boot. And then at 8 weeks I even put him in his own room, because not only is he too wiggly, he's also quite loud when he sleeps. And I'm an incredibly light sleeper. Bad combo.