Sleep Advice Needed

DD is 4.5 months old and sleeps in her crib in our room ( 1 bedroom apt)


When putting her to sleep (after her bedtime routine) she wakes up 3-4 times a nite before settling into her sleep.

She cries, we go in and rub her tummy, and she falls back asleep. She does this a few times until we relent and pick her up and then she falls asleep in our arms. It is clear that she wants to be held; but once we put her down, the process starts over again.

Last night I brought her into bed with us just to get sleep and of course she slept great. Not so much for us.

How do I end this pattern?

Re: Sleep Advice Needed

I have no answer for you, but wanted to give you plenty of !

I know exactly what you're going through because my 4 1/2 month old was doing the same thing for about 2 months straight. We were dying!!!!

He started doing it while he was swaddled and then shortly after, we quit swaddling. Obviously in the beginning, he was waking because it was some sort of growth spurt.

Anyway, we went back to swaddling (out of desperation) and now he only gets up once a night. The problem was he would wake up a little bit and start rubbing his eyes, which would really wake him up. Unfortunately he hasn't really learned to self soothe yet, so he doesn't know how to put himself back to sleep on his own.

Again, no advice for you, but i can sympathize with you. It was pure h*ll for us waking up 4-5 times a night for 2 months. you find the answer soon or that it's a growth spurt and it passes soon!

Message edited 11/19/2008 11:02:31 AM.

Re: Sleep Advice Needed

I understand! DD is now 5 months and around 3 months began night waking multiple times per night. Sometimes it was to be fed and other times it was just b/c she went into a new cycle of sleep and partially awoke. We would be able to get her back to sleep in a minute or two. Around 4 1/2 months she began waking more when we went in b/c she sought our company. We followed Healthy Sleep Habit and it has worked wonderfully. We don't do the naps exactly as Weissbluth says b/c if I did I would never leave the house. Plus, some days DD takes short naps. Now, DD only wakes to eat, which is fine. She always went down for the night w/o a problem. Now, if she wakes at night she may or may not cry..but if she cries out it is only for a couple minutes. It was tough to do but worth it to teach her how to sleep. I rather do this now than when she is older.