Defeating mama radar?

[justKate]

pak

i bought baby monitors last weekend b/c DD (11 mos) has mama-radar and I need some technological help to defeat it.

Right now, this is her schedule--
7.30 p - bedtime routine, bath, nurse
7.45-8.15 - asleep in crib right next to mama bed
9.10 - awake, nurse, asleep in crib (this happens at least once but often more before i go to bed)
10.15 - mama goes to sleep in bed
10.23 - awake screaming mad that she is not nursing in bed with mama, gets in bed with mama for the rest of the night
12.00-5.30 - wake every 1.5 - 2 hrs and scream to nurse, even if laying right next to me or with daddy
6.30 a - woken up by mama getting her dressed; angry b/c she is being disturbed

The baby has mama-radar. The minute I walk in to the room to go to sleep, she starts waking up. It never takes more than 7 minutes for her to realize that I'm there and that she needs me. Don't get me wrong, I love sleeping with my baby. But I would also love a few hours of uninterrupted sleep at least once a night. So my plan is, instead of going to sleep in our room where her crib is, I'll turn the monitor on and go to sleep in the spare room. Then the first time she wakes up, she and I can both go to sleep in the big bed with daddy. Is that reasonable? Then I could (possibly) get a 3 hour stretch....

I never thought of myself as a baby monitor person, but I'm thinking I might not wake up if sleeping in a different room without it--who knows. Any other parents of babies with radar? Any other way to defeat it?

Thanks for your thoughts!!

[LianneM]

She doesn't wake when her daddy goes to bed? Does she seem to wake easily for other noises besides yours?

If she sleeps through everything but you, sure, it might work - worth a try!

My DD (18mo) is a light sleeper - she wakes at any tiny noise, even with music or white noise in the room. She settles back down nursing, though, and also uses a pacifier when she doesn't want milk anymore.

The screaming is my biggest concern, I think - why do you think she wakes screaming even if she's right next to you? Do you think she could be unsure where she is and worried she's in her crib? Have you thought about ditching the crib altogether and just letting her sleep in your bed from the start? Is she teething or is there something else that could be going on making her uncomfortable? Just brainstorming...

[sarah1122]

I'd suggest a white noise machine.

[justKate]

Originally Posted by LianneM

She doesn't wake when her daddy goes to bed? Does she seem to wake easily for other noises besides yours?

If she sleeps through everything but you, sure, it might work - worth a try!

My DD (18mo) is a light sleeper - she wakes at any tiny noise, even with music or white noise in the room. She settles back down nursing, though, and also uses a pacifier when she doesn't want milk anymore.

The screaming is my biggest concern, I think - why do you think she wakes screaming even if she's right next to you? Do you think she could be unsure where she is and worried she's in her crib? Have you thought about ditching the crib altogether and just letting her sleep in your bed from the start? Is she teething or is there something else that could be going on making her uncomfortable? Just brainstorming...

She doesn't wake when daddy goes to sleep, but usually he goes to sleep after he knows the screaming "because I just realized mama is in the room" has ended.

We run a humidifier near the crib that's pretty loud, and sometimes run the fan in the bathroom too. She doesn't really wake for any specific reason that I can find. She was on prevacid for reflux for a long time, but that seems to have resolved itself.

We didn't use the crib until about 3 weeks ago, when she jumped off the bed 2 nights in a row. Its just not safe (or possible to remove the frame) for her to be alone in it at this point. But she wakes up screaming angry no matter what. I can't get to her/nurse her fast enough! She might be worried that someone is not there with her, I guess--she's really not clingy at all during the day though! Hmm.

The other thing is that I'm SILENT when i sneak in to bed. It's like she smells me....