Baby won't sleep!!

hnull · July 2016

My daughter turned 5 months yesterday, for the last few months she's slept terribly. She used to sleep in a bassinet right next to me from newborn to 3 months then she out grew it. She refused to sleep in pack in play (and I wasn't ready for her to be in her crib as she rolled back to belly but not belly to back then). So she's been sleeping with me (husbands been sleeping on couch) and I hate co sleeping but I don't know what else to do. She wakes up every hour maybe 2.5 if I'm lucky. I'm thinking of sleep training?! Has anyone else had problems like this. Advice welcome!

satuttle1014 · July 2016

Dd has been in her crib since 8 weeks, she couldn't roll at that point. When she did learn how to roll she could only do back to belly. She always sleeps on her belly now.

Have you tried putting your shirt under the sheets in the pack n play so you are around without sleeping on you? Nursing or feeding to sleep? Rocking to sleep? You may just need to try options, at the beginning I don't think dd slept well in her pack n play, she would wake up every 2 hours. Once I put her in her crib she slept better. One night it just clicked for her to sleep longer, it may take some longer than others. If sleep training may work for you, try it. Hope it all works out soon!

hnull · July 2016

@satuttle1014 I haven't tried my shirt under the sheets, I'll give that a try, I've tried all the other options, with no luck. as soon as I put her in the pack in play she wakes up every time and then just plays in it until she gets frustrated and cries and I always get her. My husband is in the middle of wheat harvest right now so it's just been me doing everything around the house +'with her the last two weeks so I have been quick to grab her because I just want sleep even though it's not like she sleeps any better with me anyway! Thanks for the advice!

VitaLuna · July 2016

Tonight is night 1 of "Hell Week" at our house. Im transitioning LO (also 5m this week) from the RnP to crib cold turkey. No advice, just sending my sympathy and lots of coffee. DD1 was a nightmare sleep-wise unti she was almost 2. I'm well versed in feeling stressed and like a failure surrounding sleep habits.

=caenis= · July 2016

Sorry to hear this. You must be exhausted. My opinion? Time for sleep training, because it sounds like your LO needs to learn how to fall asleep by herself. If she's waking up that often, she hasn't figured it out yet.

Follow your gut on that, of course. I just know this was the case for my LO when he was having trouble sleeping in May/June. I was soooo very tired and he was ruling the whole day with his sleep troubles, making me feel like a very tired slave. I was going to him every time he was crying, until my mom stayed with us and pointed out how things weren't really working. She was totally right. We tried sleep training and now he sleeps great and I have my sanity!!

hnull · July 2016

@VitaLuna lol, sorry to hear your oldest was a bad sleeper too, I feel like that's going to be my girl too! I will be thinking of you this week, let me know how it goes for you- I'm thinking I'll start today too. First time mom here so I'm nervous!

DrillSergeantCat · July 2016

Is it weird that I put mine in his crib starting day 1? I now put mine to sleep on his belly because he sleeps so much better that way. He went from waking every 2 hours to waking up only twice a night.

mrsc12414 · July 2016

@DrillSergeantCat that's my plan next time !! Zoey always hated the basinette but we kept trying which then made our initial switch to crib awful . Next time (I pray we get one more) baby is going straight to crib

robinj716 · July 2016

@DrillSergeantCat I put my son in his crib after approx. 2 weeks and he's slept fine every night in his crib! I thought maybe I was the only one, but apparently not! I feel very lucky that he loves his crib! Sometimes I check on him and he's just laying there playing with his feet and looking around.

OP: my co worker has always told me that it takes 3 nights to get them transitioned. She said her pediatrician always told her to put baby to bed, shut the door and go grab a glass of wine. Not sure how you feel about letting baby cry a little bit, but if you're comfortable with it, you could give it a try. FWIW my co worker is in her late 50's.

ashton2190 · July 2016

DrillSergeantCat said:

Is it weird that I put mine in his crib starting day 1? I now put mine to sleep on his belly because he sleeps so much better that way. He went from waking every 2 hours to waking up only twice a night.

Mine has been in the crib since day 1. She loves it in there too (as long as you're not trying to put her down for a nap!)

mwmiller4 · July 2016

We did some sleep training during the night because DD was up every 1-2 hours no matter where she was (PnP next to our bed or in the crib in her room). We lucked out because She fell asleep/went down just fine in her crib so we only had wakings to deal with and some of those were because she could hear us moving around when she was in the PnP. Anyway, it took one night of 10-15 minutes and then 2 more nights of less than 5 minutes of fussing and she started sleeping 6+ hours again. Now I don't get her unless it's been 5+ hours since she's eaten (and I'm sure that will change completely when she starts teething/gets sick/realizes I wrote this). It has made it so she rolls around/tries to get back to sleep on her own when she wakes up. I didn't think it would work and thought that the fussing would be worse than it was. However, I'm pretty sure it's dumb luck that she was ready to go back to sleep by herself and loves sleeping as much as her mama does. Not sure this was helpful but I am hoping that whatever you decide to do works well and quickly!!!

smn14 · July 2016

@DrillSergeantCat- not weird I don't think. My LO has been in her cot since about 8 weeks Old. She loves it!

DrillSergeantCat · July 2016

I always heard that once they can roll, let them. If you want your baby to sleep better put her in her crib and let her sleep how she's comfortable.

robinj716 · July 2016

My LO sleeps on his stomach. I always place him on his back and he rolls right over. He is fine in my opinion because he can roll himself back over if need be. He is a belly sleeper!

middy411 · July 2016

mwmiller4 said:

Now I don't get her unless it's been 5+ hours since she's eaten (and I'm sure that will change completely when she starts teething/gets sick/realizes I wrote this).

Hahahaha! My thoughts exactly! We just came off of a horrible week with DD and I was stressing thinking we were doomed. This week she's back to sleeping 7ish hours + 2-3 more after a feeding. I realized that the harder I try to figure out why there was a change the more I realize it's for absolutely no reason (or every reason all at once). she has been teething pretty badly too. She also went from refusing naps last week to taking 4 naps yesterday. Just to keep me on my toes

hnull · July 2016

@robinj716
thanks! I had order mesh bumpers online for my daughters crib her legs kept getting stuck on it (I don't need a lecture on SIDs from anyone about bumpers) lol I'm gonna try the cry it out method once they come. Thanks. The glass of wine is a good idea. I have a video monitor too, I like to keep an eye on her

ashton2190 · July 2016

hnull said:

@robinj716
thanks! I had order mesh bumpers online for my daughters crib her legs kept getting stuck on it (I don't need a lecture on SIDs from anyone about bumpers) lol I'm gonna try the cry it out method once they come. Thanks. The glass of wine is a good idea. I have a video monitor too, I like to keep an eye on her

My littl girl is obsessed with getting her thighs stuck in the crib rails. I've found that I have to put her facing a certain direction because she always rolls to her right so I try and be strategic so she rolls toward the wall instead

robinj716 · July 2016

hnull said:

@robinj716
thanks! I had order mesh bumpers online for my daughters crib her legs kept getting stuck on it (I don't need a lecture on SIDs from anyone about bumpers) lol I'm gonna try the cry it out method once they come. Thanks. The glass of wine is a good idea. I have a video monitor too, I like to keep an eye on her

I have a mesh crib bumper too! He likes to kick and his legs were stuck a few times lol!

mwmiller4 · July 2016

I just ordered mesh bumpers today! She gets her chunky thighs stuck in the crib and I think it made little cuts/red marks. I feel like I'm breaking the law by putting them in but she rolls so much (and likes to bang her feet against the side while laughing like a nut before falling asleep) that I don't think there's a better solution. So glad I'm not the only one!

rainbowminion · August 2016

We've had mesh bumpers on for weeks! He thought it was the coolest thing when he figured out he could get his legs through the bars.

mwmiller4 · August 2016

@rainbowminion I put them on last night and she was extremely confused (and then a little irritated) that she couldn't stick her legs through! My in laws swear she's a genius, but stuff like this makes me wonder if she's even average

rainbowminion · August 2016

Aw, isn't baby frustration the worst!

robinj716 · August 2016

mwmiller4 said:

@rainbowminion I put them on last night and she was extremely confused (and then a little irritated) that she couldn't stick her legs through! My in laws swear she's a genius, but stuff like this makes me wonder if she's even average

Mine has figured out he can put his leg on top of the bumper and it pulls it down and then he can bang his feet on the bars

rainbowminion · August 2016

robinj716 said:

mwmiller4 said:

@rainbowminion I put them on last night and she was extremely confused (and then a little irritated) that she couldn't stick her legs through! My in laws swear she's a genius, but stuff like this makes me wonder if she's even average

Mine has figured out he can put his leg on top of the bumper and it pulls it down and then he can bang his feet on the bars

szabodyn · August 2016

Our little girl is turning 6 months in one week and still waking every hour to 2.5 hours too! It is SO exhausting. I can't figure out what to do. We have had lots of medical issues, she's on 2 medications and has already had one surgery, so much for such a little baby. I feel like some of this has messed with her sleep and made her a colicky baby. For about the past 2-3 months her sleep has been terrible and she cries and fusses constantly. We have never got more than 4 hours since she was born. We tried to CIO, didn't work for us. She cried for hours straight and never slept, I couldn't let her go any longer. I don't know what else to do!!

middy411 · August 2016

@szabodyn Probably an effect of the medical issues like you said instead of colic which is unexplainable. I'm sure it's easier said than done, but it sounds like she needs you right now. Don't judge her based on other babies. Each child is unique and you don't need that extra pressure of feeling like she should be doing something that she can't do right now. Maybe it's worth another word with your pediatrician? Know that this time will pass for her too and that you're doing the greatest job ever! *hugs* hope you both get sleep soon!

Miss Lilac · August 2016

Are you breastfeeding? Have you considered trying to co-sleep with her? It'll save you a boatload of sleep and be very comforting to her if she's already been through so much.

Edited for spelling.

VitaLuna · August 2016

@szabodyn Like PP said, don't compare your baby to others. My first daughter was a terrible sleeper. I beat myself up over it, tried everything, felt like a failure. In hindsight, she was just a baby that needed mama comfort (she was evicted from my belly early due to IUGR, was always a very small/petite baby, so I feel like maybe that contributed). We started bed sharing at 4 months and it was the only way I got sleep, because she was also up every 2-3hrs until close to a year. Luckily, DD2 is better, but so far I still haven't been able to get her out of the rock n play

Hang in there and do what YOU need to do, not what books, family, strangers, etc say you should be doing.

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