Sleepless 8 month old-HELP!!!!

[momx4]

I usually post on the diapering board. But I really need some ideas on how to get my 8 mo dd to sleep. She sleeps in our room in her own crib. She is up 3-4 times a night. I am getting no sleep so I am grumpy and on edge during the day. She has not been napping either. She is right now in her crib screaming because I am at my witts end. My dh is gone several nights a week which leaves all of this night waking for me to solve. She does this even if she is in bed with me. If she nurses, it is only for a few minutes and then she is back to sleep. If I talk softly to her from my bed, she screams. All she wants is for me to hold her. Sometimes she goes back to sleep and sometimes not. She will not nurse to sleep during the day anymore. She won't rock to sleep either.She is sooo tired during the day that all she does is whine. HELP! I hope someone has some new ideas for me.

[village idiot]

I'm sorry you are going through this. If you nurse her down at night, she might be waking up when she realizes she is not next to your warm body anymore. Is it possible for you to cosleep with her? My dd will wake up several times a night before I go to bed and all she usually does is latch on for a few minutes. Once I come to bed, she sleeps much better but will still wake up to nurse at least once, usually twice, in the night. I wake up long enough to get her latched on then I fall right back to sleep.

My dd will not nap if we are out in the living room and her sister or dh is doing something. She needs to know what is going on at all times If I take her to her room, I can usually nurse her down for a nap if she is ready. When we were recently on vacation, she didn't nap unless we were driving in the car or she was totally exhausted. There was just too much to see, yk?

Maybe your older children can entertain her some during the day so she is not whining all day long. Just throwing ideas out there.

Anyway, I hope some of that helps. I know how frustrating it can be to be sleep deprived and you have other dc to take care of too.

[momx4]

Thank you so much for the reply. I can cosleep when my dh is away but when he is home it is waaaay too crowded for us. So I don't see the sense in getting her used to cosleeping since it can't be consistant.

She used to nap at 10 and 2 like clockwork. It is just in the last 3 weeks that everything has changed! I don't know why or how to fix it.

My older kids all went back to school last week. So I have lost my
entertainers. My oldest dd is a God send! I know that this is part of my frustration. I don't have the help that I did during the day. I can't even get dishes done. It has been in the upper 90's and we don't have air downstairs so I can't sling her. We cool off in the pool when we can. I would think that she would want to nap in the cool upstairs since it has been so hot but no such luck.

It is almost like she is going through seperation anxiety in an extreme way. She just cannot stand to not be with me. I feel for her but boy is it wearing on me!

On a positive note, when dh and the older kids got home from Sunday school he took me to JoAnn's. I got to spend an hour and a half browsing the store while he took care of the kids in the van. That did re-energize me some.

I know this is just a phase but it sure seems like a hard one to get through. Also one that we never experienced with the other 3.

Thank you!!!!

[Mona]

Unfortunately i don't have any advice, but my 8 mo old has been doing similar sleep changes. Naps have altered radically, and her patterns at night are changing too. We co sleep, and it used to be that if she woke up (not from hunger) i could put a paci in her mouth and she would go back to sleep. not any more! (i hate the paci actually, but it did serve a purpose- but that is another story.)
i figured she is teething AGAIN, but who knows!
All i have to say is UGH!!!!!

:

[Brayg]

Is it an 8 month old thing??? Ds is also 8 months and just in the last couple of weeks has changed his sleep schedule. Mostly his naps--I'm lucky if he naps 2 times a day for 1/2 hour at a time. It seems as if I get nothing done. I'm pretty fortunate that he sleeps well at night-usually about 10 hours. He did night wake the last few nights to nurse--he was HUNGRY. I attribute that to a growth spurt.

[village idiot]

Yes, I was thinking maybe it is a growth spurt or a developmental spurt about to happen. I've heard that babies don't sleep well when they are learning new things. They get restless. My dd went through this when she learned how to crawl recently.

My dd is going through seperation anxiety now too! Sometimes, I'm the only one she wants and nobody else will work.

I'm glad your dh is supportive and giving you some time to recharge. Maybe you could cosleep for naps so you both can get rest and maybe you could put her crib mattress next to your mattress or get a bigger bed? Take care of yourself and I'm sure you already know this but this too shall pass!

[Brayg]

I've heard that babies don't sleep well when they are learning new things.

That would explain our problems! Thanks!

[momx4]

I glad to know that I am not alone!

I wish we could get a bigger bed. But we can't get anything bigger than a queen upstairs. As it was, we had to bring it in through the window and it was a tight fit. Plus our room isn't big enough. The mattress on the floor bothers me so I won't do that.

She is starting to walk so maybe that is her problem! I know she isn't teething so that isn't it.

My dh has said from the get-go that this one is definetly "my" baby. The other 3 always wanted him. But Melina always wants me. I never really had to deal with seperation anxiety before. Wheh!

She went to bed last night at her normal time. She has been going to sleep 1-2 hrs. earlier. Her sleep pattern was more normal last night. Up at midnight and 4. She did sleep with me because I really needed some sleep and dh was gone. This morning she fell asleep at 10 for her nap. I HOPE she is getting back into somewhat of a routine.

Thanks everyone for your support and replies!

[Brayg]

Angie--dh says the same thing about Owen being "my baby". He just seems to be really attached to me. But I'm sure that has something to do with the fact that Jacob was bottle fed so dh could do more with him than with Owen. Owen has never taken a bottle, so he obviously relies on me more.

Last night Owen was dog tired at about 6:45. At 7:30 I started his last nursing for the night. He ate well, fell asleep and dh put him to bed. He woke up right away and was energized! We hung out w/him till after 9:00 (!) and finally for the very first time I let him CIO. He was so tired he didn't even get that worked up before he fell asleep. He needed to do it and for my sanity, I needed to do it. He's just not napping much during the day, so I really rely on his 8pm bedtime to have some "me" time before I go to bed.