Transitioning sleep = exhausted mama

snookums2013 · February 2014

After dragging my feet forever, because my almost 6 mo daughter was sick for a while and I didn't want to mess with her already poor sleep, I finally tried transitioning her from the bassinet on top of the pack n play to the pack n play mattress in the netted hanging thing with a quilted sheet yesterday. She is tiny, but is getting too long for the bassinet and I'm not ready to be separated from her for nursing and worrying purposes. A few months ago before she got sick she slept through the night several days in a row (till about 5am). Now I'm lucky if she does that one day a week. For a while now she's been waking up twice a night and the first time around 2 or 3am, she's been up for over an hour. She falls asleep nursing and then as soon as I put her in her bassinet she starts crying again. Sometimes it takes several times of nursing and putting her down to get her to stay asleep. She has also been fighting sleep during the day when she's home and usually only takes cat naps on my lap after nursing (and the same thing happens with waking up if I try to move her). At daycare they somehow get her to sleep several times in the bouncer and usually one 2 hr nap a day.

I tried to get her to nap in the pack n play yesterday but she kept waking up so that didn't happen. I put her to bed at 8:15 and she woke up an hour later. I nursed her again and put her back down. Things were looking good until 2:20 when she woke up again and literally kept me up for 3 hours. I put her down 8 different times and each time she fell asleep either from nursing or swaying and patting her back and as soon as she was on the mattress she woke up again. I also tried letting her fuss a little bit until it turned into screaming and having her sleep on me. Finally I put her back in the bassinet because I was so exhausted and couldn't take it anymore and she fussed once and then stayed asleep until almost 8. During my sleep deprivation in the middle of the night, I made an impulse buy on Amazon and ordered her a Merlin Magic Sleep Suit. She also keeps sucking even after I stop nursing her for a few seconds so I'm wondering if a pacifier might help, but she's not good at holding onto them. I also worry about introducing new things that I will later have to ween her from. Does anyone know what pacifier is best for babies that have trouble holding onto it? Again, at daycare they somehow get her to keep it in while sleeping in the bouncer. They must have some magic powers!

So I'm wondering what to do next. I work full time so I don't know if I can take another sleepless night in a row. I realize it takes some time to train them on the transition, but this just seems ridiculous that she keeps waking up and she was doing that in her bassinet too lately, just not as severely. I have Amazon Prime so the sleepsuit should be here in a few days. She normally sleeps in a sleep sack. I would appreciate any advice or shared stories. I have a feeling she would do the same thing if I tried the crib and as I mentioned above, I am worried about having her in her own room, especially since we have a cat. Thanks!

Mailmans Baby Momma · February 2014

We used the sleep suit to transition from the RnP to the crib and it worked like a charm. Dress her in her normal pjs...it looks super warm but it's not.

We also elevated the mattress with towels to help with reflux.

I play paci retrieval every night until he is finished with it...I can tell when he's finished soothing and doesn't want it anymore.

Hope this helps! GL!

shannoncorrin · February 2014

The baby whisperer has a lot of great suggestions if you have time to read! They've work great for me

Carnation77 · February 2014

Can you put the basinett thing she used to sleep in inside the pack n play? That way she'll be safe if she falls out. Try to get her down on the regular pack n play mattress and if you get too tired as the night goes on then just stick her in the basinett thing on top of the mattress.

When I transitioned my son to his crib I started with naps then moved to night time sleeping once I could get him to sleep there for naps. I'd put him down and keep soothing him until he was no longer falling asleep when I put him down. Then I'd put him back in his rock n play for the rest of the night. It took a couple weeks but now he's sleeping the whole night in his crib. It just took some time. Like you, I work, and I just couldn't stay up all night trying to get him to sleep where I wanted him to.

On another note, I don't see how the pack n play can be comfortable to sleep in. The pad on the bottom is really thin and you can feel the bars through it. If she continues to have problems maybe you could move the crib into your room until you're ready for her to sleep separate from you.

Good luck!

snookums2013 · February 2014

Yea the bassinet attaches to the inside (top) of the pack n play so it's always been inside it technically. She stayed asleep when I put her down on the mattress tonight, so we'll see how it goes. I agree that the mattress probably isn't comfortable and that's why I tried to pad it with the quilted sheet. If she continues to not want to sleep on it I guess I won't have a choice but to put her in the crib, but I'm worried I'll have the same issues with the crib since she's used to sleeping on something so plush and not on a flat surface.

snookums2013 · February 2014

Day 2 she slept from 8:30 - 1:00am when my husband made noise and woke her up. :-/. She was up for 2 hours with several tries of nursing and rocking and finally stayed asleep in the bassinet again till our alarm went off at 7:30.

pkaren · February 2014

It will definitely take a few nights for her to get used to a new sleeping environment, but it will get better! I know when we're sleep deprived it can seem like things will never get better. No matter what happens you won't be nursing her to sleep when she goes to college! Lol the sleep suit helped transition my DD from swing sleeping and now it's a part of our bedtime routine. I used The Sleepeasy solution with my DD when I was at the end of my rope and it has been the best thing ever for both of us! I highly recommend it. My DD went from waking up every 2 hours to sleeping 12 hrs. I give her 2 dream feeds though because she's still under 13 lbs at 5.5 months.

jaylee212 · February 2014

Maybe try a sound machine too? When i moved my LO into her own room and crib at 9 weeks, as soon as i would turn it on she would want her bottle and then sleep. It doesn't work for us for naps (i think she associates the sound with her long term sleep) but for the past 8 weeks she's been sleeping 11-12 hour stretches! Could be worth a try, good luck!

snookums2013 · February 2014

We already have an air filter that is pretty loud. Which sound have you found works best on the sound machine?

redhead610 · February 2014

No advice on the sleep transition, but a reminder that the top of the pack and play has a weight limit of 15 lbs. Once baby is 15 lbs, you need to move the mattress all the way to the bottom.

snookums2013 · February 2014

Thanks, I was wondering what the weight limit was. She's tiny for her age so only 13 something right now.

Unknown · February 2014

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snookums2013 · February 2014

Ugh day 3 has been horrible. :-(. She took a 3 hr 10 min nap at daycare so I wonder if that contributed. I started her out in the bassinet because I didn't want to deal with another sleepless night in a row and I should have known that would be too easy. She woke up 2 hrs later and was up for 2.5 hrs. I tried to put her down over a dozen times and she fell asleep each time from nursing or rocking and again woke up as soon as I put her down.

I eventually took the bassinet back out because she was pushing against it with her feet which was pushing her head into the other end when she woke up and was fussing. I tried a sound machine too. Nothing would keep her asleep. I thought I finally got her to stay asleep and then 5 mins later she was screaming again.

After probably the 8th time nursing she fell asleep and I just kept her with me in bed but I can never really sleep like that because I'm worried about her being able to breath and not rolling off. She woke up about 30 mins later and then I nursed her one more time and put her on the mattress and she somehow stayed asleep, but only for. 3 hrs. Now she's up again at 5am. :-( I'm really at the end of my rope with 3 nights in a row like this!

Unknown · February 2014

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amy11401 · February 2014

I feel your pain. My LO sounds similar to your LO. Although we are trying to transition him from the RnP to his crib. Good luck!

snookums2013 · February 2014

I was ready to move the crib into our room tonight until I measured and realized that it won't fit through her door and my husband doesn't want to take it apart. So if the sleep suit doesn't work tonight I think my next attempt will be to put the rock n play in our room until this weekend and then try moving her to her own room. If I move her to the nursery I need to figure out how to keep the cat out because I'm not comfortable with closing the door.

roo1oo · February 2014

Just keep at it. It really sucks, but it won't last forever. I'm on week 3 of trying to get my LO back to STTN. We were doing the RnP to crib transition and were almost there, then he went through a growth spurt, then he got sick, and now we're back in the RnP with wakings to eat every 2-3 hours. I too am sleep deprived, at I'm sick, and I've gotta work... it's been a really rough week, but the more I remind myself that it won't last forever, the easier it is to deal with it.

Personally I find a pacifier is a great help with those "I want to nurse but not eat" times (mine is bottle fed but he also wants to "nurse" to sleep). Try a WubbaNub pacifier. The little animal attached helps it stay in place - as long as your LO isn't more interested in playing with the animal, which happens to me sometimes. Even if LO pulls the paci out, sometimes they can figure out how to get it back in easier than just a straight paci.

snookums2013 · February 2014

Day 4 = MAGIC (or she was just really exhausted, but either way, I'll take it)! I put the sleepsuit on her, nursed her and put her in the pack n play. She woke up right away so I nursed her again and the second time she stayed asleep from 8:30 to 3:15! Then I only had to put her down twice (so up for 45 mins) and she slept again till 7:20! We'll see if it goes as well again tonight. My only complaints about the sleepsuit are that it's difficult to change her diaper and I'm worried about the fact that it makes her keep her arms straight out because it's so padded. I had to laugh though because she looks so funny in it... like a little marshmallow babe! ;-) Is it possible that making her stay in one position could physically harm her growth or anything?

About the wubbanub, is it safe to have that sitting on them while they sleep? She has the Babies R Us version that has a bunny with a small blanky attached and I've been afraid to put that on her when she's sleeping for being a suffocation hazard.

roo1oo · February 2014

My initial thought is that she's 6 months old, she ought to be able to move it off her face, and they are quite small so it'd be a real feat for her to stuff it in her mouth to cause an issue. The little bunny with small blanky is thin enough that I don't think there's a suffocation hazard. Suffocation hazards with blankets are only issues with thick comforter type blankets. I've woken up a couple times in the middle of the night to find my LO has his lovey (a monkey version of the bunny you have) draped over his forehead. But if it worries you then don't use it.

jwthoms1 · February 2014

Get a paci for sure!

PrimRoseMama · February 2014

There is a six month sleep regression.

Babies learn to hold on to the pacifier eventually. Until then go put it back. Transitions suck. We are doing the same. Ride it out.

keri_mw@yahoo.com · February 2014

There is a great chapter on sleep and paci training in the "Happiest Baby on the Block" book. If you haven't read it, it might help. It sounds like you are doing a great job. We had an issue where we had to step back through the "S's" in the book, but are now able to slowly phase them out. We are now just using sleep sacks (the one's that zip down the front make it much easier to change diapers) instead of the full swaddle, still use the sound machine, but now don't need the swing to sleep, and lay her down drowsy with her lovie blanket. It is a super hard transition from the bassinet to the crib, but you can do it! You're an amazing momma!

Carnation77 · February 2014

Glad to hear you're having some success! About the cat and her nursery - I don't have a cat. Do baby gates work for them or are they able to climb over them?

snookums2013 · February 2014

Thanks for all the support! It seems like there's a sleep regression at every age... lol. Update: After the first night of success with the magic sleepsuit, the second night was horrible. So now I'm going on an entire week of no sleep and when I get a chance to take a nap I can't even sleep because I'm over tired and stressed. :-( Two nights ago I decided to try the crib in her own room. I got a gate that is a little taller and just has vertical bars so there's no chance of my cat climbing it and with it being taller hopefully he'll think he can't jump over it. I also just keep her door open a little bit so he will hopefully think that the door is closed and doesn't have much room if he did decide to jump. I also moved her humidifier to her room and put on a white noise app since she's used to the noise of our air filter.

Well the first night in the crib... I washed her sleep suit and it was still damp so I just put her down in her sleep sack. She didn't wake up as soon as she touched the mattress like she did with the pack n play so I guess you could consider that an improvement, but she woke up 30 mins later so I nursed her again and put her down. She fussed and I gave her the binky which helped her fall back asleep. She was then up again at 10:40 and again at 1am. After that she was up every 30-60 mins for the rest of the night... horrible! I was sad that she wasn't with me so that kept me up for the first few hours too and then I couldn't sleep when my husband took her in the morning.

Last night I put her in the crib in her sleep sack because I washed the sleep suit and it was still a little bit damp. She woke up 20 mins later and kept rolling to the side toward the wood slats and was sticking her feet in between them. I was worried she was going to push herself into the wood or end up on her stomach, but she didn't last anyway and was up again a few mins later... a total of 6+ times between 8 and 9:30 or 10pm even when I put the sleep suit back on in the crib, so I finally decided to put her back in the pack n play in my room. If she fussed a little when I put her down, I would give her the binky and it worked pretty much every time. She slept from 9:30 or 10 until 2:30am, nursed again, and went down again until 6am and nursed and then down until about 7:45am. In between she cried out in her sleep several times, but when she was actually awake I gave her the binky and she fell asleep again. So even though this still sucked, at least most of it was prior to 10pm and she did have some decent stretches in there so I would say this is an improvement. But now the question is do I continue with the pack n play or try the crib again?

luvmygirlss · February 2014

Have you tried the crib yet. It's going to be hard if she gets use to the PNP, then you have to make another transition...

snookums2013 · February 2014

Yes, I tried to crib two nights in a row (see my latest post above).

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Transitioning sleep = exhausted mama

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