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Somebody help me with our sleeping issue!

macbookmacbook member
in Babies: 3 - 6 Months
So my baby is 5 months old and last night after putting her to bed at 8:30 pm, she woke up seven times between then and 5:30AM. This is pretty regular for us and its getting exhausting. I have become a very light sleeper and wake at the smallest sound of her fuss (she sleeps in her nursery now) and I will immediately run over and comfort her. 

I know there is a whole thing on sleep training - not picking them up immediately. I have tried rubbing her back and comforting her but unless i pick her up, she isn't satisfied. She kicks, lifts her head up off the bed, and just fusses until she gets picked up. What is worse is for some reason she will almost immediately go to sleep in my arms, but not my husbands (it is a lot harder for him to put her to bed than it is me). So while it isn't hard to get her back to bed, its hard on us because we are waking constantly. I know i'm not the type that will be able to listen to her cry and not do anything about it. But i'm wondering what else can i do? Anyone else go through this? Can I assume she will just outgrow this phase? I worry because I have to start going back to work full time in 2 months and there is no way I will be able to do it like this. Any help or commiseration would be appreciated!
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Re: Somebody help me with our sleeping issue!

  • acoxwellacoxwell member
    Can you cosleep or move baby closer to where you are sleeping?  Your comment about being a light sleeper makes me feel like you should move her closer to you.  I still sleep better if DS is in the same room and he is 2.  

    Take the path of least resistance in my opinion.  Have LO sleep in a swing.  Try anything you can, you just never know.  A noise machine or music could help.  Try rubbing, patting, massage on baby a lot of different ways.  My DS had very specific rhythms that he liked. 

    It is just a phase.  She could be teething or growth spurting.  Hugs to you. 
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  • macbookmacbook member
    I would like her to be in the same room as us! We had a bassinet but she grew out of it. I wanted to buy a cosleeper but the question is there one that is big enough for a growing 5 month old and my husband complains that making the bed will be impossible with one? 

    I have tried putting her in between us but then I really can't sleep because I feel like I can't move a muscle lol. 

    I think she may be teething? Would that cause her to wake up every so often. She definitely tries to rub her gums against things. 
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  • acoxwellacoxwell member
    You may want to think about Hylands Teething Tablets.  They helped DS so much.  They are easy to find (Walmart/Target/grocery store)

    Also- I have a full size bed in DS's room.  That way, if I need to cosleep, I can sleep in there and not disturb DH.  I know this isn't feasible for everyone but it has worked well for us and made DS's transition to a "big bed" much easier.  

    I hope it improves soon!
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  • jenn43jenn43 member
    I'm also a light sleeper, and I found I sleep better with LO in his own room.  I actually keep the monitor on its lowest setting so that I don't hear every little noise, and I'll even play white noise to help with that.  Then I only wake up when LO is actually crying, not just readjusting before he goes back to sleep.
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  • macbookmacbook member
    Have others tried soothing their baby and rubbing their back without actually picking them up? Did this work and how long did it take?

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  • TeacherVickyTeacherVicky member
    How is her daytime sleep? Does she nap well, is she following a napping schedule? In my experience, most sleep issues (especially fragmented night sleep) came from LO being overtired.

    8:30 is a late bedtime for that age. I would aim for a 6:30(ish) bedtime, 7 being the latest, all depending on what time she woke from her last nap.
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  • jnnfrrose6jnnfrrose6 member
    macbook said:
    Have others tried soothing their baby and rubbing their back without actually picking them up? Did this work and how long did it take?

    We did this.  DD is in her own room precisely because all of her little noises were waking me and I wasn't giving her the opportunity to settle herself.  She also has noise machine to help cover the smaller noises she makes and outside noises that might wake her.  We give her about 3 minutes of fussing before going to her (unless it's a full on "something's wrong" cry).  I can usually give her her pacifier, lightly place my hand on her tummy (she's not sleeping on her stomach yet) and gently jiggle her.  I slowly let up the jiggling once she's settled and leave the room.  Sometimes that's all she needs and she's back asleep, others she's making noise again shortly after I leave her room.  If that's the case, I repeat the process.  I'll do it 3 times max before picking her up to nurse/settle her down.  She was STTN after about a month of this, but we hit the 4 month sleep regression right around daylight savings so she's up a couple nights in the week and we've upped the time to let her fuss to 5-7 minutes now to try and get back on track.
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  • macbookmacbook member
    Last night I tried comforting her by patting her back, it worked a little but eventually I had to pick her up. I'm going to keep trying this. How long should one expect to see results?


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