My 5.5 mo old DD fights sleep with everything in her being. she always has. she rarely falls asleep without a struggle and tears. i've read NCSS and started a routine at night. didn't help. I'm reading Weissbluth - i'm not particularly fond of his use of quotations around the word Attachment or his support of the CIO method. however i thought i'd try a super-early bed time as he feels this corrects many sleep problems. i've started prepping DD for bed at 5:30 and end up spending 4 hours trying to get her to sleep. she seems to sleep from 9:30- 7 a.m. (waking up every 1.5 hours) no matter what i do. she only takes a few hour long naps during the day.. so in total she's sleeping 13 hours in a 24 hr period rather than the recommended 15 or more.
at night i'd like to put her to sleep in the pack and play downstairs until we go up to bed at 10. even if i can get her to sleep at 8 (which sleep experts say is too late). i need at least an hour to grade papers at night. but she wakes up when i put her down- even in a dark room w/ a white noise machine. and then she cries. it's evident she knows crying will make me pick her up. i watch her sometimes..she'll cry, stop, look at me, see that i'm not picking her up, and cry again. i, of course, always pick her up..she still cries...i try to get her to sleep...doesn't work..she gets overtired, etc. even nursing to sleep works only on occasion.
i know you can't spoil a baby. but once it becomes evident that it's at least partially a power struggle, how can i ensure that she doesn't learn what she can and can't get away with? as it is i pick her up, and even if she's kicking and crying, i hold her and let her know it's time for sleep- and now she has begun to scream- loudly- because she doesn't want to sleep. i can see she's tired much of the day- she's happy, but at times will get whiny, rub her eyes, pull her ears, only a half hour after she wakes up. and the battle begins again. so what's best for her is to SLEEP.
would putting her in her pack and play and allowing her to cry while i sit there and rub her stomach constitute CIO? how can you maintain healthy attachment while teaching that even though it's not what they want, it's what they have to do because it's best for them? that is my question after all of this rambling.
at night i'd like to put her to sleep in the pack and play downstairs until we go up to bed at 10. even if i can get her to sleep at 8 (which sleep experts say is too late). i need at least an hour to grade papers at night. but she wakes up when i put her down- even in a dark room w/ a white noise machine. and then she cries. it's evident she knows crying will make me pick her up. i watch her sometimes..she'll cry, stop, look at me, see that i'm not picking her up, and cry again. i, of course, always pick her up..she still cries...i try to get her to sleep...doesn't work..she gets overtired, etc. even nursing to sleep works only on occasion.
i know you can't spoil a baby. but once it becomes evident that it's at least partially a power struggle, how can i ensure that she doesn't learn what she can and can't get away with? as it is i pick her up, and even if she's kicking and crying, i hold her and let her know it's time for sleep- and now she has begun to scream- loudly- because she doesn't want to sleep. i can see she's tired much of the day- she's happy, but at times will get whiny, rub her eyes, pull her ears, only a half hour after she wakes up. and the battle begins again. so what's best for her is to SLEEP.
would putting her in her pack and play and allowing her to cry while i sit there and rub her stomach constitute CIO? how can you maintain healthy attachment while teaching that even though it's not what they want, it's what they have to do because it's best for them? that is my question after all of this rambling.