I need your help ladies - Also posted on baby 6-9 months.

skibunny59 · November 2012

I don't know what's going on with DD's sleep.

I am starting to feel very frustrated and angry with my sweet baby. She was never a great sleeper but her sleep has gone to total crap in the last 2 weeks. We put her down when she's tired which is anywhere between 6-7:30. When it's my turn to put her down I nurse her to sleep and DH usually rocks her and sings to her. She usually goes down very easy and it doesn't take us long at all to put her to sleep. Normally she would wake up an hour or so after we put her down and DH would quickly put her back down and then she would wake up again in the MOTN and I would then get her and nurse her back in our bed and she usually would stay in our bed for the rest of the night.

For the past 2 weeks, she will wake up between 9 and 10 and it is impossible to get her back in her crib. DH will go in and she will be asleep in his arms and the minute he goes to put her down she pops awake and will scream. When I go in I will nurse her and she will fall asleep nursing and unlatch herself but the minute I try to put her down she screams. This will go on for an hour to an hour and a half and at that point, we give up and bring her into our bed. Once she's in our bed then she wants to nurse almost the entire night.

I'm not against cosleeping but it would be nice to have a couple hours of sleep in my own bed without a baby attached to my boob. I don't mind bringing her back into our bed in the MOTN but I really don't want her in our bed the entire night. I'm not sure what's going on with her. I'm not sure if maybe she's not getting enough during the day and that's why she needs to nurse so much at night. I certainly don't want to deny her food if she's hungry but I just can't do this all night long. I'm not sure what to do. She's 7 months old.

Emerald27 · November 2012

I'm sorry you're so tired and frustrated. I've been there, and it is so hard!

Since your sweet LO is becoming more and more aware of her surroundings, she may be needing to be closer to you more, in which case she should relax soon as she gets used to such awareness/alertness. She might just need extra snuggles right now to get through the milestone changes. Everything is so new to them t this age, and with milestones and learning often comes sleep trouble.

You are such a good mama for following your instinct to attend to her and not leaveher to cry! You could absolutely be right that maybe it is a growth spurt, so she is nursing through the night to increase your supply/ eat more.

I bed share but LO usually unlatches once he's really asleep. If your LO does this, could you scoot her into a sidecarred crib next to your bed, to give you more room to sleep? Also, a great book to help parents get their babies to sleep without nursing but in a super gentle way is "the no-cry sleep solution". I highly recommend it!

Good luck! I hope you and your LO get the sleep, milk, and snuggles you both need tonight!

blu-eyedwife · November 2012

What is your teething situation like? I know my kid's sleep goes to *** when he's teething. He wakes more frequently and it's more difficult to get him in a nice deep sleep, because his mouth is uncomfortable. The nursing is a comfort thing too, so would make sense if she's getting something in.

Uiowachick01 · November 2012

My LOs always seem to wake more when a milestone is about to be reached. Rolling over, crawling, sitting up. Thats some difficult stuff to master. (((HUGS))) mama, I've been there.

nellynoo · November 2012

You poor thing it is so hard when it seems like something is sussed like sleeping only to go to pot. I think it was Dr Sears who basically said babies i just not great at sleeping. My 14mth old still wakes to nurse every few hours through the night so we have been cosleeping since he was 4 mths so i can actually rest. He hit a stage at 4mth like you described where he would be sound asleep until you put him down. Teething and growth spurt kicked our really bad nights off. Could it be either of them? I can only reasure you that you are not alone and send you mumma hugs. Sounds to me like you are doing great and it seems to me the rough patches peek and then get better before getting rubbish again eek he he. Have you read Dr Sears sleep book?I found it quite comforting. Hope things improve soon!