Nocturnal, Nursing-All-'Night' Baby--Where to Start?

[Dulcette]

My almost 7-month-old DD has been starting her longest sleep as late as 6:30 am!  In general, this longest sleep is now a little under eight hours.  She is also taking three 'naps' at other times in the day, so I believe she has broken up this last nap from her sleep for the 'night' and they need to be consolidated.  She also needs the boob almost every time she stirs during her long sleep.

So...where to begin changing her sleeping habits?  That is, should I try to adjust her schedule first, or try getting her to nurse less first?  DH and I have tried a bit to get her down using anything but nursing, and this has worked, but we've not yet made any headway getting her to settle without the boob when she partially wakes and needs resettling.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

[lismcc]

I would try to adjust her schedule first.  We have been using Elizabeth Pantleys "no-Cry" book, and she address how babies don't have a set biological clock (which regulates sleeping and waking periods) until they are about 40 weeks old.  Some ideas to try would be keeping the room DARK, like middle of the night dark, from hours of 7 or 8 until the sun starts to come up.  When she wakes up during these hours, talk to her quietly and use very few words, just nurse and go back to sleep.   

In my opinion, taking away the boob now could just further confuse her.  I am dealing with helping my LO fall asleep with out the boob right now, and he is not getting it thus far (about 10 days into our efforts).  Because I don't want him to CIO, I end up nursing him until he is on the very edge of sleep, then taking my nipple out.  A lot of times he still roots for it, then I nurse again til he is almost asleep and pull it out.

I hope you get some rest soon!

[Dulcette]

Thanks for your reply! I did review the Pantley book again right after posting. But...I'm still having a lot of trouble changing her schedule. I can't get her to sleep easier at the right times at night if she's napped too much in the day...which is what she does if she happens to wake up early. As I mentioned in my first post, it's as though she's split up some of her true sleep time into a pre-sleep third nap. But that time in between the third nap and her sleep for the 'night' is...hours. It often ends up being her longest waking time. Last week, she was up six hours one night! So I can't see myself hanging out in our bedroom in the dark with her for hours, trying not to interact with her much so she'll go to sleep. But is this the best idea? (I do realize if we sat together in boredom in the dark, there's no way she'd stay up for six hours, but I can't see her going to sleep immediately when she wants to be up and active.) I'm thinking I should try one day when she wakes up early to keep her up more and shorten her naps if necessary...she gets SO upset when woken early, but obviously, doing anything differently will make her cranky. Thoughts?

Originally Posted by lismcc 

I would try to adjust her schedule first.  We have been using Elizabeth Pantleys "no-Cry" book, and she address how babies don't have a set biological clock (which regulates sleeping and waking periods) until they are about 40 weeks old.  Some ideas to try would be keeping the room DARK, like middle of the night dark, from hours of 7 or 8 until the sun starts to come up.  When she wakes up during these hours, talk to her quietly and use very few words, just nurse and go back to sleep.   

In my opinion, taking away the boob now could just further confuse her.  I am dealing with helping my LO fall asleep with out the boob right now, and he is not getting it thus far (about 10 days into our efforts).  Because I don't want him to CIO, I end up nursing him until he is on the very edge of sleep, then taking my nipple out.  A lot of times he still roots for it, then I nurse again til he is almost asleep and pull it out.

I hope you get some rest soon!

[lismcc]

It's so tough to make a change with little ones when we don't WANT to make them cranky; we want to make them happy!  The way I see it right now is that its going to be difficult, but the rewards will be worth it.  Its tough to stay in a dark room with your little one at night, so try to get her up earlier, keep her up longer, and ... GOOD LUCK!

[lismcc]

Also, I was talking with a friend who has a 13 month old.  They have been working on night weaning for about a month, and it is finally going so well.  Their baby sleeps 9-12 hours a night!  Just a few months ago she was heartbroken, sleep, deprived and incredibly stressed.  Now she is sleeping lots and snuggling with her man at night!  She reminded me that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  She also said that 8-9 months was the hardest sleep periods for them.  Just a thought.  I take comfort in remembering that other parents go through this, and get through it, and move on :)