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Babies: 6 - 9 Months
I need help, I'm desperate!
I dont come on here as much as I used to. Mostly because I just cant find time anymore. But I am having some major sleep issues with Lola, and hope maybe some of you can help/relate.
First off, Lola is a very happy baby. She always seems well rested and is never cranky/ irritable. However, her naps during the day are very short. She goes down at about 9:30, and will sleep till about 10/10:15. So usually about 30-34 mins. Then she goes down at about 1:30 and will sleep for another 30-45 minutes.
Our bedtime routine is dinner at 7, a little playtime, then bath, book, boob and bed. Usually in bed by 7:45. The problem is, she often wakes up about an hour after I put her down. I then, go in and hold her hand and she falls back asleep (sometimes.) This often goes on 2 or 3 times after the initial wake up. Around 11pm, she wakes up again and I bring her in bed with me. I feed her to sleep. She eats again at around 5am.
I would love for Lola to be sleeping through the night. The only reason I bring her in bed with me, is I feel its the only way for me to get any sleep. My husband will be home from his deployment in about 2 weeks, and I need to have her sleeping in her crib all night by then.
Any insight would be GREATLY appreciated! Im desperate!
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Re: I need help, I'm desperate!
You have a good routine, which is (IMHO) the first step. However, along with your routine, you have created some habits that Lola is used to and you'll have to work hard to break them. I did the same thing with both of my kids, at some point it just became "whatever works to get you to sleep so I can sleep too".
In the past couple of weeks, we started giving Grady a bottle of water if he woke up in the middle of the night. I knew he was getting plenty to eat during the day and that he was waking up between 11:30 and 1:00 out of habit. He would take maybe an ounce of the water and then go back to sleep. Once he realized he wasn't going to get a boob or formula when he woke up, he dropped that nighttime wake-up (this took about a week).
I don't know how comfortable you are with CIO or other methods of teaching the baby to sooth herself to sleep, but for us it was entirely worth it to let Grady fuss a little, check on him, and repeat. After three nights of this, he was a pro at putting himself back to sleep. He is now sleeping from 7 pm to about 6 am without us having to go to him.
Good luck, and I hope this helps!
I agree with PP! Liam had HORRIBLE sleep habits but after 3 days of CIO he now sleeps in his crib (still wakes up 1-2x per night & wants to nurse)... I may try PP's water idea!
It will take a LOT of dedication on your part!! Start tomorrow!
I noticed that I would go to DD too soon. Is Lola actually crying when you go in or is she just fussing? My LO would often wake up, so I do my usual change/feed/rock back to sleep, and then like an hour later I would hear her again. I would go in and comfort her until one night I decided I wasn't going in. She was fed, changed and cuddled, she didn't need anything. She was never crying, just like moaning and fussing, and after about 20 mins, she got herself back to sleep.
Now DD STTN, but she does wake up, moan and groan for a few mns and then goes back to sleep. If she ever starts really crying (which is like once a week) then I go in and feed her. So maybe try to give her some time to get herself back to sleep, also, does she have a "lovey", that has seemed to help comfort my DD when I don't go in. GL!