Calvin suddenly stopped sleeping through the night on his 3 month birthday. A few days ago, on his 5 month birthday, it was like something "clicked." He's started rolling a bit more, sitting up somewhat unassisted, started making new sounds, and in general, he's seemed more content, less volatile. And he's started sleeping in longer stretches. We've been having just one wake-up now, around 1am, as compared to 3 or 4 (or more...) wake ups in the night. I hope this means we've made it through the sleep regression...
WTF. Why am I here again?! We had a good week, almost 2 weeks I think. LO still gets up somewhere around 1-3 and 4-5, and up for the day at 6, but I was consistently getting 4-5 hours in a chunk and then a few catnaps at night, not great but livable. Tonight she just. Won't. Sleep. Since 7pm when I put her to bed, she slept maybe 4 hours. Imagine how much I'm getting (hint: none). Sleep regression is one thing, but adults can't function well on the amount of sleep SHE'S getting (aside from the shit nightime sleep, she only take 3-4 half hour naps in the day. She has slept less than 7 hours in the last 24, and I'm TRYING to get her to sleep, not keeping her up!). How is an infant staying awake this much?
We're struggling over here, too. Zeke has decided his new wake up time needs to be 6 instead of 7:30 and he needs to wake up 3-4 times in the night instead of 1-2. And he apparently feels the need to eat a lot at each waking. I tried pushing his bed time even earlier but he still won't go down until at least 7:30 (pushing bedtime earlier just meant he wouldn't settle and we fought for longer till he gave up around 7:30). He fights naps so hard too.
I thought I finally found the solution because he had always been a belly sleeper but he put himself to sleep on his back for a nap yesterday (when I played strong hair dryer loudly next to his head). So I tried to recreate the situation with no success. He's currently waffling between wanting to be on his belly and on his back and if I don't guess right, it's game over (he can roll over but usually chooses not to). It's only been a few days like this but I already feel my patience and sanity wearing thin. Doesn't help that I have the beginnings of a migraine today and my MIL is coming for the weekend.
We're struggling over here, too. Zeke has decided his new wake up time needs to be 6 instead of 7:30 and he needs to wake up 3-4 times in the night instead of 1-2. And he apparently feels the need to eat a lot at each waking. I tried pushing his bed time even earlier but he still won't go down until at least 7:30 (pushing bedtime earlier just meant he wouldn't settle and we fought for longer till he gave up around 7:30). He fights naps so hard too.
I thought I finally found the solution because he had always been a belly sleeper but he put himself to sleep on his back for a nap yesterday (when I played strong hair dryer loudly next to his head). So I tried to recreate the situation with no success. He's currently waffling between wanting to be on his belly and on his back and if I don't guess right, it's game over (he can roll over but usually chooses not to). It's only been a few days like this but I already feel my patience and sanity wearing thin. Doesn't help that I have the beginnings of a migraine today and my MIL is coming for the weekend.
That sounds like pretty much the definition of a growth spurt/wonder week. You've just got to ride it out and keep things consistent.
If there's something strange underneath the hood. Who you gonna call? Your Doctor. If there's something weird and it don't look good. Who you gonna call? Your Doctor. Immediately. If it's new, painful, and possibly pregnancy related get your ass off the internet and call your doctor. It's for your health and your child's.
@rachswi these babies are tricky! It's like every time you think you've got them figured out they can sense it and take it as a challenge.
FYI - As the mother of a 10yr old, that doesn't apply just to babies!
If there's something strange underneath the hood. Who you gonna call? Your Doctor. If there's something weird and it don't look good. Who you gonna call? Your Doctor. Immediately. If it's new, painful, and possibly pregnancy related get your ass off the internet and call your doctor. It's for your health and your child's.
Same thing here if it makes you feel any better. We had gotten into a great sleep routine, she was still waking 1-2 times a night but eating and right back to sleep. The last week has been the hardest since the first night we came home from the hospital, worse actually, because now I have to get up and go to work in the morning. She is totally unpredictable, waking 4-5 times a night, won't nap and won't go back to sleep easily after waking at night. I keep telling myself it's just a phase, and we'll laugh about it in a few months, but it's really hard.
So I've come to my wits end and am exhausted. I've come so close to just letting him cry it out because I can't handle taking 2 hours to get him to go to bed only to have him awake and screaming for boob every 2 hours through the night. It seems like more than a growth spurt since its been going on a really long time. But even more than that, he just won't nurse to sleep anymore.
I really don't want him to just cry. It hurts my heart to hear him screaming (and honestly it raises my stress levels so I'm not handling his screams as well). My SIL suggested a method called Pick Up Put Down (PUPD) where when I finish the bedtime routine, I just put him down in his crib and walk out. As soon as he starts crying, I come back and pick him up till he calms down. Then the second he's calm, I put him back down and walk back out. It's a lot of back and forth, but theoretically the crying is minimized.
I I tried last night and it worked really well - only took 5-10 minutes. I tried just now for a nap and had to give up because Zeke was getting more and more worked up each time and would not calm down (and we have somewhere to be in an hour so I couldn't keep taking forever to try to get him down...) I think I may just do bedtime for now and work on naps later. Although I feel like he'd nap longer and better if he put himself to sleep.
So I've come to my wits end and am exhausted. I've come so close to just letting him cry it out because I can't handle taking 2 hours to get him to go to bed only to have him awake and screaming for boob every 2 hours through the night. It seems like more than a growth spurt since its been going on a really long time. But even more than that, he just won't nurse to sleep anymore.
I really don't want him to just cry. It hurts my heart to hear him screaming (and honestly it raises my stress levels so I'm not handling his screams as well). My SIL suggested a method called Pick Up Put Down (PUPD) where when I finish the bedtime routine, I just put him down in his crib and walk out. As soon as he starts crying, I come back and pick him up till he calms down. Then the second he's calm, I put him back down and walk back out. It's a lot of back and forth, but theoretically the crying is minimized.
I I tried last night and it worked really well - only took 5-10 minutes. I tried just now for a nap and had to give up because Zeke was getting more and more worked up each time and would not calm down (and we have somewhere to be in an hour so I couldn't keep taking forever to try to get him down...) I think I may just do bedtime for now and work on naps later. Although I feel like he'd nap longer and better if he put himself to sleep.
Anyone have any experience with PUPD? Any tips?
I didn't know that it was a system or anything like that, but that's pretty much what I do with Bridget. I put her down awake after her last feeding and when I can see that she's sleepy. She goes into the crib and will start moving around and fussing or "talking" for a little bit. Sometimes she starts to cry and I go in and just give her back her pacifier and rub her back. If that works to calm her down, I leave the room again. If it doesn't, I pick her up and spend a few moments with her then lay her down again. Lather, Rinse, Repeat. Bedtime has been going a lot better since I started doing this. She's certainly not STTN, but we were down to 2 - 3 wake ups each night instead of every 2hrs or less. (She's got a cold and a very stuffy nose now so it's completely thrown us back off our game.)
If there's something strange underneath the hood. Who you gonna call? Your Doctor. If there's something weird and it don't look good. Who you gonna call? Your Doctor. Immediately. If it's new, painful, and possibly pregnancy related get your ass off the internet and call your doctor. It's for your health and your child's.
@VexedMommy it's amazing how even little things can throw them off their game. Do you wait till she's actually crying before you go in (and not just fussing?)
@VexedMommy it's amazing how even little things can throw them off their game. Do you wait till she's actually crying before you go in (and not just fussing?)
I wait until she's actually crying and then go in right away. Sometimes she fusses for up to 15 minutes and then falls asleep. It gives her a chance to attempt self soothing before it escalates to actually crying. When she's crying, I don't believe she's developmentally capable of soothing herself only of wearing herself out.
If there's something strange underneath the hood. Who you gonna call? Your Doctor. If there's something weird and it don't look good. Who you gonna call? Your Doctor. Immediately. If it's new, painful, and possibly pregnancy related get your ass off the internet and call your doctor. It's for your health and your child's.
@VexedMommy it's amazing how even little things can throw them off their game. Do you wait till she's actually crying before you go in (and not just fussing?)
I wait until she's actually crying and then go in right away. Sometimes she fusses for up to 15 minutes and then falls asleep. It gives her a chance to attempt self soothing before it escalates to actually crying. When she's crying, I don't believe she's developmentally capable of soothing herself only of wearing herself out.
Sure that makes sense. Thanks! That gives me a little more direction for how to do the PUPD
Positive update on my side ! Before she was sleeping 10hrs straight. At 3.5 months she started reverse cycling and only ate 5oz during the day and woke up every 2-3 hours at night (3 times a night). But this week (5 months) her appetite came back, she now eats 10-12oz during the day (with nanny). Goes to bed at 8:00 and wakes up only once at 1am to eat. Ready for the day at 8am. I feel great again ! Yay ! Good luck mommies ! I did not change anything, it just happened. But at the same time the naps changed. She does one or two 30-40 min nap in the morning but is too excited to sleep well, she wants to play, and a 1:3-2h nap in the afternoon. The afternoon one is new, she was fighting all naps before.
@VexedMommy it's amazing how even little things can throw them off their game. Do you wait till she's actually crying before you go in (and not just fussing?)
We do pretty much exactly what vexy does. We are down to one wake up at night, he eats and goes right back down.
Re: 4 month sleep regression- let the games begin!
I thought I finally found the solution because he had always been a belly sleeper but he put himself to sleep on his back for a nap yesterday (when I played strong hair dryer loudly next to his head). So I tried to recreate the situation with no success. He's currently waffling between wanting to be on his belly and on his back and if I don't guess right, it's game over (he can roll over but usually chooses not to). It's only been a few days like this but I already feel my patience and sanity wearing thin. Doesn't help that I have the beginnings of a migraine today and my MIL is coming for the weekend.
I really don't want him to just cry. It hurts my heart to hear him screaming (and honestly it raises my stress levels so I'm not handling his screams as well). My SIL suggested a method called Pick Up Put Down (PUPD) where when I finish the bedtime routine, I just put him down in his crib and walk out. As soon as he starts crying, I come back and pick him up till he calms down. Then the second he's calm, I put him back down and walk back out. It's a lot of back and forth, but theoretically the crying is minimized.
I I tried last night and it worked really well - only took 5-10 minutes. I tried just now for a nap and had to give up because Zeke was getting more and more worked up each time and would not calm down (and we have somewhere to be in an hour so I couldn't keep taking forever to try to get him down...) I think I may just do bedtime for now and work on naps later. Although I feel like he'd nap longer and better if he put himself to sleep.
Anyone have any experience with PUPD? Any tips?
I did not change anything, it just happened. But at the same time the naps changed. She does one or two 30-40 min nap in the morning but is too excited to sleep well, she wants to play, and a 1:3-2h nap in the afternoon. The afternoon one is new, she was fighting all naps before.