Night Waking - Page 3

[scowgirl]

Vivianne, can your dh go to him at night and try to settle him with just rocking or other soothing? Maybe he is smelling the milk and becoming agitated even if he isn't really hungry.

I have also heard that it can help to separate nursing from sleep in the bedtime routine... so instead of doing bath, book, boob, bed, you would do bath, boob, book, bed, for example. We are trying that approach currently with our almost 7-month-old--I feed her and then DH reads a book or two with her, rocks her, and puts her in her crib. I guess the idea is to help them develop the ability to put themselves to sleep without being too dependent on the nipple. However, I like nursing her to sleep and still do so at night wakings, so I guess I can't say if the change in bedtime routine is really making that much difference.

The other thing we are starting to do is putting her in her swing to go to sleep, especially for naps (she's still small enough that she can use it). The swing is soothing enough that she can be put in it after bedtime routine and we say "night night Evy, sleep tight, we love you" etc. and leave the room, and she is able to put herself to sleep without getting upset. They say that a lot of sleep problems in 6-month-olds and older are related to circumstances being one way when they go to sleep (e.g. Mommy or Daddy is in the room, patting or nursing them), and another way when they wake up (all alone in a quiet room). I have to admit we didn't really work on this enough when she was younger, so now we are trying to help her develop those "going to sleep" skills before she gets too much older. I hate to see her waking up crying multiple times per night--I try really hard to help her get enough sleep to feel rested, and it just doesn't seem like she gets that if she has a bad night, up and down all night etc.

I would like to cosleep but I'm obese, so it's not considered safe. So every time she wakes up at night it's a full waking and it's kind of hard on all of us.

[vivianne]

Thanks for advice ! Dont know what to do anymore ! Wish you could hear him now ( not ! . ) he is SCREAMING with my mum inside! Try rocking him, dancing him, walking him, feeding him to sleep and he wont sleep! My took over after me trying for an hour! But i know what will happen. I will be in pain for hear him cryong, walk in and try to feed untill he stop resisting... Then gell sleep for a while and start again ... 1/2 hours for rest of night ..... . ! Last night he done same, then i was so tired of walking n dancing ( hes 9 kg ) i put him on my bed and rocked him with my hands... And for the FIRST time ever he slept for 4 hours straight! But today he does not want ANYTHING! My mum is inside on rocking chair with him and im about to go in .... ! HELP

[vivianne]

Im here with him, walking, bouncing, he wont feed n nothing settles him !! God it breaks my heart

[vivianne]

I danced samba , he is quiet now, im on rocking chair ( had to keep dancing on chair) as its 9 pm already And im soooo tired , i wont put him on cot, will put on bed ( we sleep in my daughters room , he on bed on floor n me on top till im so tired and in one of feeds we are all together) , good luck for me tonight!! So much to do tomorrow, dd does not have school n ill be zombieing around lol

[scowgirl]

Big hugs, vivianne.  I am so sorry you are having such a tough time with your son's sleep. I know your situation is way tougher than mine, so I hope my advice did not sound callous or simplistic. I just really hope and wish for you to get a decent night's sleep soon.

[vivianne]

Thaks scowgirl ! Your advice was great and what i want to do ! Have to put my life in order and have a bit of routine , but its hard !! Right now hes due to his first nap but i have to go out to take my mum to dentist! I know that dont help but he will have to nap on car !
Last night he didnt cryed after i wrote but was up ALL night feeding !
I dont mind feeding all night if i could get at least a bit of 4/5 hours sleep n rest ! But i think its getting worst ... Will try n do sonething today , make sure hes not overtired, rock him before hea crancky, pat him.. See how we go... Tks again

[LilyTiger]

Vivianne, I found the No Cry Sleep Solution really helpful.  It gave me a plan of attack and hope that the future would get better.  At the time, my daughter was five months old and up every 2.5 hours at night with very short naps during the day.  I work during the day and I was exhausted and frustrated and upset.  People kept advocating crying it out and I was sorely tempted.  I bought that book and found that within a few weeks I saw major changes.  She's now, at six months, sleeping about six hour stretches at night and taking at least two roughly hour-long naps during the day.  It sounds like my daughter was a longer and happier sleeper than your little one, so these suggestions might not work, but it could give you some hope.  The major changes we made were putting her down while still drowsy, putting her down for naps during the day every 1.5 hours (so way before she could get cranky and tired) and transitioning her away from needing to nurse to fall asleep.  I also found transitioning away from co-sleeping helped her sleep longer.  That's not true for everyone, but it was for us.

You might also want to have your babe checked out by his pediatrician just to rule out allergies or digestive issues that could be making him uncomfortable. 

It sounds really tough and I hope you find some relief soon.