Going to bed TOO early?

[chrisnjeri]

Hi MDC,

My 6 month old is having difficulty falling asleep at night.  She will latch on, then, as she's getting nice and comfy, it's like she realises sleep is on it's way and abruptly twists her head to wake back up.  She then will talk to the ceiling fan, squeal, kick & flail about, then want to latch back on and begin again.  She can do this for an hour or more, and I get frustrated and sore.  I try to follow her sleepy cues -- fussy, eye-rubbing, etc., but I feel like we should be getting her to bed before she starts with cues, like with nursing.  Maybe this is where we're going wrong, putting her to bed too early?  I always wait until she's asleep before I get back up (if I do), but I feel like if I keep her up, there will be more tears.

I have a history of sleep problems and I really want her to develop healthy sleep habits, but it doesn't seem to be happening.  Any advice is much appreciated!

[Asiago]

Perhaps motion will help, along with the nursing. Motion and nursing have always helped to get my son off to sleep. You could achieve that in various ways, bouncing on a birth ball, wearing her in a carrier, sitting on the end of the bed with her across your lap while bouncing your knee.

One way that has often worked for my son is to lie down in bed with him nursing, his body across my belly, then I rock his bottom with my hand. It's sort of difficult to describe.....his body is diagonally across mine, so he's nursing from the far breast, then I can rock and pat his bottom and his entire body moves back and forth toward my breast. If that explanation helps 

[justgonnadoulait]

I haven't had to deal with nighttime sleep issues myself as I'm pregnant with my first.  However, I've read a fair amount on sleep issues and worked with many families over the years that have dealt with them.  And I've dealt with this a lot myself during nap times.  It's counter intuitive, but I've found sleep begets sleep.  Try starting the night routine BEFORE she shows signs.  That often solves my sleep issues with kids.  The 3 month old I care for now does exactly what you are describing if he is overtired.  If I start to rock him to sleep before he's really showing signs, it's much easier and he drifts off without fussing.  I hope that helps.  Good luck!