Oh dear (sleep) gods, someoe please help me!

JBDamonM · August 2014

Hi ladies -
I am desperate for some advice over here.

Last night was honestly one of my top three worst with DD, made even worse since I have a day full of important meetings today. dH woke us both up at 1:30 bc he can't be quiet, and we honestly did not go back to sleep until 5am - with DD with me in bed. She wouldn't even lay in her crib. I've never seen this before, she is on anti biotics for an ear infection, but well past te worst of it and it shouldn't affect her sleep, and to my knowledge, no teething issues.

We did CIO back in January and it was a game changer. Things got loosy goosy in March, Btwn teeth and the time change and have not been nearly as consistent since. Summer activities seem to interfere with bedtime routines more nights than not, and somewhere along the way I developed some bad habits like putting her in her crib asleep (hangs head in shame.)

But....the buck stops here. Nights like last night are rare, but more importantly I know my 16 month old needs to be better about putting herself to bed.

My thoughts on how to fix this are two fold. 1) establish a more defined routine, which will be bottle in the glider like we always have done, and follow it with a few books and then into the crib to put herself to sleep. (Rather than me soothing her) all while being consistent with the start time. 2.) a few nights of CiO, which I can only hope will work as well as it did the first time.

If anyone has advice on how to re-train, please share. I need someoe to hold my hand and tell me this will all work. Also, now that she stands do I go in and lay her down? Or let her control it?

Thanks in advance for the insight

srveatch · August 2014

I hate to say it but I think it may be the ear infection. A kept getting them over and over. The antibiotics just weren't working. We always knew because her sleeping was terrible. She finally got tubes. Best of luck to you.. I know it is rough.

Jenny935 · August 2014

With DS's ear infection we needed to switch meds when we were 2/3 of the way done because the first one just wasn't working. (Unfortunately the same thing happened with DH the same week - hard to tell who was more the baby that week...) But I digress. It's possible that could have been a piece of tonight.

I think your plan moving forward is a good one, and if it means a lot to you then you'll find a way to survive the difficulties. We had to re-CIO after illness and it worked quicker than the first time.

As for the laying down thing - we had a terrible week of sleep when he learned to pull to standing because he would do it 10 times a night and didn't know how to get back down. I know it sounds mean, but I taught him how to fall by (gently of course) pushing him down and eventually that calmed down. I found that going in to lay him down caused more problems than it solved because he thought it was play time. Good luck - I can tell your sanity needs it! Hugs!

ccam · August 2014

I agree about getting her ears checked again just to be sure. DS had a few infections in a row and had to switch meds 3 times before they found one that worked. Ear infections are the worst!!

Besides that, I think your plan sounds good. It sounds like more of a phase. DS goes through them from time to time....aka right now

jessica_gail2 · August 2014

Ditto PP - I would be worried it was her ears again. Those things can be sneaky!

I think your plan sounds really good. A routine is what has worked best for us. We do bath then sippy in rocker while reading books. Then I turn out the light, love on her, and lay her down. Consistency is key!! CIO is hard but well worth it!

JBDamonM · August 2014

Hummmmm. I had not thought about ears because she's been on Augmenting for the past week (after 4 days of Amox).....after 2 days on the Augmenting her mood improved drastically so I just assumed it was working. Since she got sick early last week, we only had 2 bad nights since starting meds. I'll have to keep my eye on that. We started the routine tonight. She cried for 18 minutes. Of course now she's sound asleep with her feet sticking out through the spindles and ill probably have to deal with that later, but I'm still pleased. On top of that, I cooked dinner instead of take out, and we ate before 9:00. We've really been struggling with nightly tasks around here. I feel so much better tonight, like I'm steering this mother ship back on course;) hopefully the rest of the night goes as well

JBDamonM · August 2014

Ummm. AugmentIn, not augmenting. Damn auto correct.

mcgeeva · August 2014

Oh that is rough! No one can function at work with no sleep and babies..god bless them they need it too. I would just get a routine down and stick to it. Same bedtime every night if possible with bottle/book/bed and be consistent with CIO or what you do when you check on her in the middle of the night. Since she is sick I feel like you can't do that until she feels better because they are off themselves. Hang in there!

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Oh dear (sleep) gods, someoe please help me!

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