- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
Babies: 6 - 9 Months
I'm so exhausted, I'm losing my mind.
I know there's a lot of posts on here about sleep training and different methods, but I feel like I've tried everything. My DH and I are at wits end and so sleep deprived. My lo is just shy of 6 months. I'm SAHM to her and my 3.5 year old is in preschool. Well she barely naps all day and wakes up 3x during the night. She goes to bed around 7:30-8pm. It takes about an hour to get her to sleep because she keeps waking up crying. Then she eats at approx. 11, 2, 5 and then up at 7-7:30. She takes a nap around 10am for 20 minutes and then again around 1-2pm for another 20 minutes. Then she's so exhausted by 4 from refusing naps and can barely keep her eyes open till we finally do her 7pm feeding. Then she's out like a light for about 10-20 minutes and the hour long process starts all over again. I'm baffled how she can function on such little sleep and I'm baffled how I am too. She's currently on Zantac for reflux at the appropriate dosage and eating 2 solid food meals a day along with her formula. She barely finishes a 5oz bottle so I know she's not still hungry. I just can't figure out what could be wrong. Is it a food issue, discomfort issue? I'm so lost and the peds just keep trying to get us to ween night feedings. Well feedings are the only thing getting us ANY sleep. Any advice would be so appreciated.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: I'm so exhausted, I'm losing my mind.
I feel your pain! I know you said you've tried a lot, so maybe these ideas are old, but this is what helped us:
1. DS can't stay awake more than about 2 to 2.5 hours, or he is a cranky mess. I watch the clock all day and make sure that he goes down on time. Some evenings get messed up b/c I don't put him down for naps after 5:00, and those are the hardest evenings. Yesterday and today I timed things better so that he was only up for 2.5 hours b/n his last nap and bedtime, and he was a lot more sociable this evening.
2. Around 5.5 months (I think) DS started waking up b/n sleep cycles and couldn't put himself back to sleep. I read SleepEasy and started doing it at 6 months. It has helped TREMENDOUSLY. He used to wake up at night constantly and cry until I gave him his paci, rocked him, etc. He was also waking up wanting a bottle b/n 3:30 and 4:30. I now put him down for bed b/n 7:00 and 8:00, give him a dream feed around 10:00, and he's good until 6:30 or so. He will still sometimes wake up or whine in between sleep cycles, but he's usually back to sleep within 2 minutes. He still wakes kind of early in the morning sometimes, but that is getting better.
3. One of the things they talk about in SleepEasy is weaning night feeds. We didn't have that issue, but from what I remember they advise getting the baby up an hour before she normally wakes for a feeding and offering an ounce less each night. I think you work on dropping one feeding at a time, so maybe start with the 2:00 bottle...give it at 1:00 and only give 4 oz the first night, 3 oz the 2nd night, etc. I am not sure on this, so I would consult the book if I were you. Also, see if you can up her day time feedings a little bit, even if you have to feed more frequently. This way if she gets her daily ounces in before she goes to bed, if she wakes in the middle of the night she doesn't really need to feed. (Of course, you'd still need to wean the night feedings rather than dropping them all together, but you know what I mean.)
I hope this helps! Hang in there!
Your DD sounds like my DD2. She is a horrible napper and she would fall asleep at night and then wake up crying 20 minutes later.
We did Ferber with DD1 with great results and so when DD2 was a week shy of 6 months we started it with her. I figured that with DD2, she would nurse to sleep and then wake up somewhere other than my arms and she would wake up crying. So I started making sure she didn't fall asleep while doing her last feeding for the day. Then, did Ferber method if she started crying after I put her to bed. We started this last week, and for the last 4 nights now,she has fussed for maybe 15-20 minutes tops and then she gets comfortable and falls asleep...AND STAYS ASLEEP!
I know certain methods of CIO aren't for everyone, but if you are ok with it, maybe give it a try. It has certainly saved my sanity. Not to mention, it gives me a little more time with DD1 before she goes to bed. Good luck!
Goodbye little angel(7/22/2011)....see you in heaven
Goodbye my second angel (9/18/2011)
Thanks for the advice. i think we just need to stay consistent w/ CIO. problem at night is that my 3.5 yo son sleeps directly across the hall from her and he will wake up and start a whole other issue.
I don't know why but she, for instance, this morning, she passed out for her first nap. Then 5 minutes later she woke up and rolled on her belly and couldn't get back over (I don't know why she still can't do this at 6 mo.). So I went in and rolled her on her side and she started to fall asleep so I went to walk out and she immediately rolled on her belly again. So I let her CIO for 5-7 minutes and she's falling asleep on her belly now. This is great for now, but I'm sure she will wake up in 15-20 minutes and want to stay up. It's just not long enough because in about an hour or so she will be exhausted again. It's a vicious cycle. Last night she woke at 12:30 to eat and then again at 5 and up at 7:40. Not a bad night, but its so inconsistent it could be 3x tonight. I just wish we had more of a predictable schedule.