Desperately seeking sleeping advice

karadominick

My 15 week old daughter will not sleep longer than 2 hours at a time. This has been going on since she was born. We've tried everything.. swaddling, not swaddling, breastmilk, formula, big girl crib, pack-n-play, swings, car seat.. EVERTHING. Pediatrician said eventually she will sleep longer but the interrupted sleep is really starting to catch up with me now that I'm back to work. Any suggestions?? I'm willing to try/buy anything at this point.

Blackwings13

Try keeping her awake throughout the afternoon and evening.

rochelledn

Check out sleepingbaby.com. They make a sleep sacks called zipadee-zips. It is meant to be a transition from swaddle to no swaddle... But in my experience, my LO just sees it and knows it's bedtime. She seems to sleep best with this rather than swaddle or no swaddle. It's right in between, allowing her to feel safe and snugly but still be able to move.

klyn347

Try merlin's magic sleep suit. My daughter would only sleep in 2 hours stretches until we got this suit and she staRted sleeping 5-6 hours at night and now it's closer to 8 hours. Good luck!

DLN85

I second merlin's magic sleep suit!

junebugjam

Do not keep her awake. She'll just be overtired and miserable.

Merlin sleep suit has been great for us, coupled with Sleep Sense sleep training. We decided to sleep train when my baby went back to 4+ wake ups every night. We've been doing it for about a week and he has slept through the night since day 2. Not everyone is comfortable with sleep training but it's been a life saver for us and definitely something I would recommend you at least consider or talk to your doctor about if you're struggling.

Ajohan01

When my little girl is restless and won't go to sleep I turn on a sound app on my phone called baby soothe. It's free and it has lots of different sounds to try. She loves the underwater and heartbeat combined. But there are other white noises on there you can try. It Always seems to relax her and gets her to sleep. Best part there is a timer you can set from 5 minutes up to 90 minutes. So if you fall asleep or forget about it, it shuts off. There were a few times I just kept it on all night for her. Good luck.

DLN85

I'm also told that as soon as they start eating solids they start sleeping better. I'm hoping this is true! We were doing better sleeping over here (6 hr stretches!) but we've been back to 2-3 hours for the past few weeks. Hang in there and try to catch up on your sleep on the weekends. Babysitters aren't just for when you go out

heltoncl

Have you considered Cosleeping?

shelles423

@junebugjam how much did the sleep sense program cost ?

maya020215

Sleep and feed schedule: wake up-feed nap @8 nap @ 10 then @ 12 then @ 2 last nap keep awake from 4-8, routine bath feed and nursery music (classical) down in crib by 8. The last feeding should be a long one to hold baby over through the night. Babies like schedules...2 or 3 times and she'll get the point then let you know what time it is

mmreed31

Someone posted something similar earlier about a similar thing... My LO (17 weeks) was sleeping from 8:00pm until 3:00am for almost a month starting at about 3 months of age...NOW, as of this past week, he decided to start waking every 2 hours again, and is up for feeding and nothing else, just like when he was first born home from the Birthing Center.
He is Exclusively Breast Fed, and I am not planning on introducing any solids, including baby cereal at all until 6 months...maybe even 9 months honestly, just because their stomach's are not fully developed until this age and it's not good for them to be introduced to soilds any earlier than this. In fact new evidence has shown that cereals may fill the belly but they get no nutritional value from it, which, to put it bluntly, means you are essentially starving them.
I got 4 weeks of bliss and now it's back to the grind...every baby is different, I think bags under our eyes are a mark of our awesomeness! Hang in there! You know what's best for your baby, but don't be discouraged! Breast fed babies will digest the milk faster than formula fed babies just because it is not as viscous. Your baby isn't doing ANYTHING wrong, at all, it's very common, you are not alone!

smd2014

There is also a sleep regression that happens with a simultaneous growth spurt around this time. We were getting 6-8 solid hours at night then up every 2-3 afterwards. Now we're in bed by 9, up at midnight, 1, 2, etc. Sometimes it's even just to be soothed (which she never needed before). You're not the only one momma! I don't have any tips other than "this too shall pass!"

https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-sleep-patterns/4-month-sleep-regression/

https://alphamom.com/parenting/baby/four-month-sleep-regression-survival-tips/

cajaro

co-sleeping (when done safely) will help. If you breastfeed you can do it while sleeping. I know it's not recommended but falling asleep out of exhaustion isn't good either.

junebugjam

shelles423 said:

@junebugjam how much did the sleep sense program cost ?

There are different levels. I paid $47 but there's also cheaper and more expensive options, depending on how much support you want.

nicholio

Second the sleep training. At 2 months my dd slept 9 hour stretches. Then the week she hit 3 months everything changed. She was waking hourly to feed. Once she got out of her growth spurt and the 4 month sleep regression she was waking every 2-3 hours so I decided to sleep train. It only took 3 says and now dd is sleeping in her own crib, in her room and all I have to do is her bedtime routine, give her a kiss and sag good night and she falls asleep on her own. Also! If you're comfortable with this and your LO has strong neck control try putting lo on their belly. My dd can roll so as soon as she rolled to her belly she loved it and hasn't slept on her back since.

wintersong

Lurker here. I third the cosleeping recommendation, if you're bfing. My son has always woken up 4-5 times a night, but I can just pop him on a nipple and be sleeping again in ten minutes.