NOTHING is working to get DD to sleep!

What am I doing wrong.

DD is 5 1/2 months and wakes constantly at night. She goes to sleep on her own for naps and bed with music, and sometimes a binky.

I have tried feeding her more, feeding her less, changing her, giving her tylenol, giving her mylicon, making her warmer, cosleeping, CIO.

Is there anything I haven't tried? Any suggestions would be so appreciated! I'll try ANYTHING at this point! I am having such a hard time taking care of my 2 year old all day, and being up with DD all night.

Re: NOTHING is working to get DD to sleep!

How is her routine during the day? How many naps does she take?

How many bottles does she take during the day? How many oz? Has she started solids yet?

Do you go thru the same bedtime routine each night?

How many times a night is she waking up?

Re: NOTHING is working to get DD to sleep!

what is she doing when she wakes up at night? does she eat? is she wet?

Re: NOTHING is working to get DD to sleep!

one more question, what do you mean CIO doesn't work, what are you trying to do exactly? How long is she crying for? And what do the cries sound like? Are they low pitch, high pitch, are there breaks in the cries.

If she's waking constantly throughout the night, it might be that her sleep patterns are developing and she's not sure how to go back to sleep from coming out of a REM cycle. CIO works best in that situation, because its something she really needs to figure out on her own and nothing you can do for it, but "drug" or "hypnotize" her to sleep.

Re: NOTHING is working to get DD to sleep!

pick up the No Cry Sleep Solution for babies.

I am reading this book and I just can't get enough of it. it has really good ideas. I am kicking myself that I didn't try it earlier. CIO is just not right for me or my son.

Re: NOTHING is working to get DD to sleep!

Re: NOTHING is working to get DD to sleep!

She does have a pretty good routine during the day.

this is her routine - give or take....

Between 8 and 9 - wake up
(the last couple of days its been more like 930)

Eats 2 TBSP cereal and 1/2 stage 1 veggie

Hour after wake up - nurses

2 hours after wake up - Nap
She always goes down really easily for this nap. she goes to sleep to her mobile music. Often without the binky.
This nap will last anywehre from 1 hour to 2 1/2 hours - usually somewhere in between there.

She is then awake for anothe r2 hours. She nurses during that time.

Her 2nd nap is usually about an hour. It is a little harder to get her to sleep for this nap sometimes. She usually uses music and the binky.

If she takes a 3rd nap it is 2 hours after she wakes up from her second nap. Usually around dinnertime. It can be tough to get her to settle down and go to sleep for this nap sometimes.

She nurses at 5 pm ish.

She nurses at 730 ish.

She falls asleep around 830 pm.

We have an ok bedtime routine. I change her and DS in the den while DS watches his bedtime show. Then we all go upstairs and read a book on DS;s bed. DS goes to sleep and I bring DD into her room to go to sleep. She goes sto sleep to her mobile music and with the binky.

She can start waking up a half hour after she falls to sleep! And it just goes on from there. She has woken up as many as 14 times in 12 hours. When she wakes up she cries - usually high pitched. Sometimes she has a burp - I sit her up in her crib and burp her and lay her back down...sometimes she goes back to sleep easily, sometimes it takes a while - with the music and binkky. She used to take the binky and go back to sleep easily - but now that she is not swaddled she swats herself in the face CONSTANTYLY. She knocks the binkyk out and generally annoys herself.

I love the No Cry Sleep Solution book... I have read it twice. It definitely helped us for naps with DD... but nothing is seeming to help with night time.

Last week we tried CIO. We did it for 5 nights. There was some improvemetn.... She went to sleep in her usual way. When she first woke up, we let her cry. She cried in total one hour and 20 minutes. The second night she cried for 30 minutes, and the third night for 10 minutes. BUT she contineus to wake up constantly. So she was just crying all night it felt like. We threw in the towl with that on night 6.

THANK YOU IF YOU H AVE READ ALL OF THIS!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry it's so long. Any ideas?

Re: NOTHING is working to get DD to sleep!

How is the temp in her room? My DDs sleep better in a cool room- about 65-68 degrees. Maybe put her in a sleep sack so she stays warm enough and her legs can move around. I would also try to cut the 3rd nap completely and put her down earlier. Both of my DDs have a 7pm bedtime that we have used since they were about 6 months old. It works for us and we do not have problems with waking at night. Lastly, I would pick up Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. It is a reference type book that you look up whatever specific issue you are dealing with. I HIGHLY recommend it and give it to my friends. I hope that helps!!

Re: NOTHING is working to get DD to sleep!

my son is almost 6 months - he only naps for maybe 2 hrs total the whole day if i'm lucky. Maybe she's thinking nighttime is another "Naptime"?

Re: NOTHING is working to get DD to sleep!

Is she teething? DD was waking up every hour for a few nights last week and my ped said it sound like tew
teething

Re: NOTHING is working to get DD to sleep!

My boys started doing the same thing like two weeks ago..constantly waking at night. (They are 7 mths old but born 2 months early so they are 5 mths adjusted)

Everyone kept saying it was just teething but I checked their gums everyday and NOTHING. Even the doc checked and didnt see anything. Then, all of sudden, I check today and there is a slit in the gum and little tooth showing. I guess that was it after all. Is she showing any signs of teething at all? If so, maybe try giving her tylenol b4 bed and see if that works.

HTH

Re: NOTHING is working to get DD to sleep!

Posted by twinkletoes807

How is the temp in her room? My DDs sleep better in a cool room- about 65-68 degrees. Maybe put her in a sleep sack so she stays warm enough and her legs can move around. I would also try to cut the 3rd nap completely and put her down earlier. Both of my DDs have a 7pm bedtime that we have used since they were about 6 months old. It works for us and we do not have problems with waking at night. Lastly, I would pick up Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. It is a reference type book that you look up whatever specific issue you are dealing with. I HIGHLY recommend it and give it to my friends. I hope that helps!!

Message edited 3/9/2011 8:30:01 AM.

Re: NOTHING is working to get DD to sleep!

I would suggest cutting that third nap and moving her bedtime to 7-8. After her first waketime of 2 hours, I would let her stay up 3 hours before her 2nd nap of the day. Then another 3 hours before bedtime.

Also, at this age I would say give more food. Add another meal around 4-5 o'clock. Maybe a yogurt or veggie.

THats about it, I cant think of anything else!! I hope she starts STTN night soon... I cant imagine what your dealing with

Re: NOTHING is working to get DD to sleep!

Thank you so much for your advice ladies!!!!!!!!!

We are on a super tight budget, but I am telling DH we need to buy this book - I keep reading about this Healthy sleep habits book on here.....

I DO think she is definitely teething.... but it's been going on forever! I check every morning for a tooth, thinking "last night was so bad, there HAS to be a tooth there today" but nothing yet. I have given tylenol. Sometimes it seems like it MIGHT help, but usually it doesn't seemto make a difference in teh amount of times she wakes up.

We did swaddle her. We weaned her off it starting around 4 1/2 months... first one arm out, then both. Last night I put her in a sleep sack for the first time. Swaddled fully, partly, or sleep sack - doesn't seem to matter.

I am going to try dropping the third nap today - AND giving her dinner arouund 4 or 5 pm.

OH, and I am working on eliminating the bniky totally. Even though she isn't a huge binky fan, I do think it is interfering with sleeping.

I can't thank you ladies enough!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Let's see how tonight goes.

Re: NOTHING is working to get DD to sleep!

Good luck!

I found getting DS on the best schedule was to start with bedtime. So when he was around that age bath time was 6:45 immediately followed by nursing and sleep. He'd be sleeping by 7:15ish.

With that being consistent, I noticed he would consistently wake up between 6:30-7 and I was able to work out 2 naps based off that wake up time.

Re: NOTHING is working to get DD to sleep!

Did you try anything like using a white noise CD or machine? There is a good white noise nature one on itunes for $5....we use it for DD for naps especially b/c there's noise in the house then

Re: NOTHING is working to get DD to sleep!

Re: NOTHING is working to get DD to sleep!

yep, we have used a white noise machine for DD for a long time.

WELL, yesterday I tried letting her just take 2 naps instead of 3. She woke up, awake for 2 hours, napped for 1 1/2 hours, awake for 3 hours, napped for 40 minutes (usually she naps for longer), awake for 3 hours, and went to bed at 7:10.

For all naps and for bedtime she went to sleep super easily - music on, in her sleep sack.

I fed her breakfast, lunch and dinner.

She fell asleep at 7:10. She woke up at 7:45. I nursed her.

(in the meantime my almost 3 year old was waiting to go to bed in his room - I ws watching him do stickers on his bed on the video monitor while nursing DD. When I went in to read him his story at 8:30 when I finally put DD down, he was ASLEEP on his bed. HE PUT HIMSELF TO BED. At least I have one good sleeper!!!!)

Anyway, I nursed her and put her down at 830. She wok eup at 845, 945, 1000 (gave tylenol becasue seh seemed super uncomfortable for some reason and I put her in her papasan chair to sleep), 1100, 100, 200, 230 (nursed). Took me until 400 to get her back down - I trie dthe crib a bunch of times, but ended up putting her in the papasan again. Then she finally slept through till 8 am. She chatted and then fell back to sleep till 9 am.



Trying teh same routine tonight to see if maybe she just needs time to get used to it.

ugh.

Re: NOTHING is working to get DD to sleep!

What happens when you just let her be when she wakes up every hour? Does she scream until you come in? I wonder if she's gassy and that could be the problem? As crazy as it sounds, this is something I think I would talk to my Ped. about if I were in your situation.

Good luck and many for tonight.