Exhausted! HELP!

scdancer

Help! I'm a FT mom and don't usually get the chance to go on here since I have a nonstop 13 month old. Sorry this is so long, I'm lost as to what to do! She's never been a good sleeper from day one. At 4 months old we sleep trained her b/c she wouldn't nap or would only nap for 15 min. a couple times a day, therefore she'd be fussy all day. Well she learned how to fall asleep on her own and would take two 1 hr. naps a day (which is still not long enough for her). At 10 months she finally started STTN (only lasted 3 weeks though) and would take one nap a day lasting an hr. and 15 min. Exhausting but I got used to it. Well she just gets worse. She wakes up 1-2 times every night (STTN maybe a couple times a month). If it's in the middle of the night before 5 am I'll change her diaper if needed and rock her back to sleep for 10 min. She still gets a bedtime & morning bottle, we just took out her afternoon bottles (wouldn't take the sippy till 11 months). Plus she has low iron she she's still on formula. Well her one nap a day will only last 20-40 min. (an hour if I"m lucky) and if I try to put her down for another nap it won't happen (or if it does on a rare occasion it'll last 20-30 min.). I keep hearing people say their child takes a 2 hr. nap every day and sleeps through the night. I know every child is diff. but this is exhausting and I'm so jealous of those parents! And on top of that, for the past month or 2 (I keep losing track) she is a battle to feed usually at lunch and dinner but sometimes breakfast to. She will not eat baby food and we started giving her more solid food and she does ok with it but still not eating as much as she should. I've tried everything!! Please help! I'm losing my mind and am exhausted! She is fussy most of the day (we have our good moments but not a lot lately) and I"m mentally and physically exhausted. Her molars are coming in so I know that could be part of the issue but even on motrin or tylenol or hylands teething tablets it doesn't seem to help most of the time. TIA!

scdancer

We've tried sleep training again consistently and it seemed to help somewhat. She got into this phase of only wanting to be held to sleep and now she's out of that so I'm probably going to try the Ferber method to see if that works. And even when she STTN she will still take a short nap (sometimes not though). She's very unpredictable. I'll try a new sleep training method at night and hopefully that'll help during the day. I've tried to train her during the day by letting her cry when she wakes up after only 30 min. or so and I battled with her for a couple hrs. May have to try that again but consistently. She is very hard headed and stubborn so we'll see. And I've tried putting her on a schedule and having her nap b/t 12-12:30 everyday but sometimes she wakes up at 5:30 or 6 and wants an earlier nap. She is very difficult to get on a consistent schedule. Thank you!

HPickle23

I used the Sleep Solution for sleep training and it worked well for us. It's similar to Ferber except you check in after 10, 15, and 20 mins and elongate the time between checks. You don't pick up, touch, or talk to your baby; just peek in and then leave. Eventually she'll get the message that it's rest time and mommy isn't going to give in. I've been there. My DD sometimes goes on napping strikes and since I work at home, I NEED her to take naps. DD stopped taking two naps at 8-9 mos. so don't beat yourself up if you only get one nap a day. Does she cry when she wakes up in the middle of the night? DD used to wake up consistently at 4am and I finally got to the point where I stopped going in there and nursing her back to sleep. You have to get to a point where you draw a line, when is it reasonable to go get her or when is just because you don't want to hear it. I've put DD up in her crib for a nap plenty of times and she doesn't nap, but I leave her there for a little while as long as she's okay. I set aside that as quiet time, if she wants to look at books or nap is up to her. If her iron is low, that could be another piece to your sleep issue puzzle. Low iron makes for a super cranky baby to start with. I would talk to your pedi about supplementation besides formula if you're working on weening off of bottles. You can find those fruit and veggie pouches that have spinach and kale in them for extra iron boost, and I really like the Nature's Plus Animal Parade vitamins which give them 50% of their iron. Snack cups are also a great way to put fortified cereals in. It may get her into eating more since they are kind of fun to play with. My only other suggestion is asking your partner to put your baby to bed a few nights, and give yourself a break. Good luck!

scdancer

Thanks! My husband puts her to bed 3 nights a week b/c I work in the evenings. She's on an iron supplement and I bought foods with more iron in them. I'll try this method, thanks! She wakes up screaming, skips crying and goes straight to screaming. Sometimes it'll start as a cry but doesn't last long. I think she's realized if she screams we come in so I started to not go in right away but that hasn't stopped her from screaming. She does wake consistently the first time around 3-4 and the second time b/t 5:30-6 (sometimes earlier though the first time) and she just wants to be held. Thanks for the advice Much appreciated!

preggersin2011

What is your sleep schedule like?

rlyttle

Have you talked to her doctor about all this? Are her ears ok? What time does she go to sleep. If everything is ok I would personally just not go in and get her. If she knows screaming will get you to come in, she is doing that. If I did end up going into the room, I wouldn't get her out of the crib. I would turn on the sound machine, give her her blanket and walk out. I've always been very strict with DS and his sleeping habits. I believe this is why he is a good sleeper now. First I would talk to her doctor and make sure everything is ok though.