Sleep help

[macksmom]

I am wondering if I can get some input on how to handle putting DD3 to sleep. She has never been the type of baby that falls asleep nursing or really likes to be rocked (this is quite sad to me since she is definitely my last baby ). Anyway, putting her down to sleep for the night has basically been a nightmare since birth with her. I try nursing, rocking, walking, looking at a crib fish tank thingy...sometimes it's ok but lots of times I run from the room practically in tears because she just wont settle and I have no idea what else to do and can't take it anymore so I have DH take over.

Since she is over 6 months now and she doesn't respond to the usual methods I figured we might as well try to leave her be within reason. I have never really used this method but nothing else works and she cries anyway so I figured why not see if she would be more comfortable in her own space. I am not one that can handle a lot of crying and was VERY turned off by one of DH's friend's wives who said she let her 5M old baby cry for an hour and 40 mins to get him to sleep better. So whenever I heard "CIO" I thought of that but I realize there is a very wide range of methods and how much the parents are involved.

Lately I have been nursing and rocking her until she starts to get drowsy and fidgety and then I put her in her crib (a mini co-sleeper) and see what happens. I let her fuss for 1 minute and then if she hasn't settled I help her on to her belly. She can roll over but doesn't always have enough room to do it and she seems to prefer to sleep on her tummy. This is where it gets confusing. 70% of the time once I flip her over and pat her back for a bit she is fine. I do stand there and pat her and then I will step back and see if she fusses. I will leave her for a minute to see if she settles but I will help her if she doesn't. The other 30% she goes totally crazy and cries and fusses and will not calm down.

So my questions are: is what I am doing going to lead to her successfully sleeping on her own? I know I need to be consistent but I get confused when she has different reactions. How do I handle the 30% of crazy baby? Am I not waiting long enough? If she gets too worked up then she doesn't calm down and I am just not that comfortable with extended periods of crying. Am I making things worse for her by doing that? Should I be waiting longer each time? Also if I am waiting say 1 minute and she cries for 20 seconds but then stops for 30 seconds but then starts again how long should I be waiting to see if she will settle again?

Any advice is appreciated. I'd really like for this to be a helpful discussion and not an anti-cio thing. I don't consider what I am doing to be cio but honestly I am kind of at a loss on what to do here and have tried my usual tactics and she isn't responding to them. FWIW she does seem to prefer to fall asleep on her own I am just not sure she totally knows how...

Sorry this ended up long!

[MomOfAnOnly]

Does she seem more tired on the days she goes nuts? I'm thinking she might be overtired and unable to get to sleep. Maybe try bedtime 20 minutes earlier and see if that helps? Or maybe she's not tired enough those days and 20 minutes later would have been better..... but I would try an earlier bedtime before trying later.

[macksmom]

I think she is chronically overtired or was. I think this pseudo-method is kind of helping, Before she was hardly napping at all. Now she may do 2-3 45 min naps or sometimes one longer one. So I think you may definitely be on to something with the overtired thing.

I also try to do a consistent bedtime routine but it's not always at the same time. We do bath, book, nursing, rocking then crib. I try to time it based on when she woke up from her last nap. Actually the last night she went batty may have been too close to her previous nap....

[MomOfAnOnly]

If I were you I would actually keep a journal of her sleep- naps, bedtime, how she did- so you can look over it and find the overall pattern of what works better. One or two random hard nights can seem to throw you off and have you doubting what what you're doing when you try to remember how the last week went, but if you have it in writing I think it will be easier to see how she actually did (without having your emotional response in the way to muddle it up).

[tanyachap]

It looks like she is not a good napper and I am sure she is overtired, which in my extensive experience with 2 crappy sleepers means more waking up at night and sometimes difficulty falling asleep. Is there a way to help with one of the naps? Make it last longer than 45 min? Let's say the middle one. Is there anything that helps her stay asleep longer? Any idea what contributes to her waking up quickly?

FWIW, I have heard of little ones that take small naps but them sleep well at night, but for the most part and overtired, under-napped 6 month old will sleep poorly at night.

The second thought, does she have digestive issues? My Ds2 had a weird reflux, I never figured out what makes it worse but he would be so miserable and cry. He slept much better on his tummy as most reflux babies do but still had these horrible nights when he would be up a lot. When his reflux flared up, man, that was tough at night. Plus he has this strong voice, I am sure the neighbors could hear him. He would wake up the whole house. Unfortunately, for him meds did not help. Docs did not want to prescribe anything strong. They gave him zantac but it did not cut and I stopped using it (with doc's ok at some point). I made my gripe water and gave him lots of probiotics. That helped a lot but did not resolve it altogether. On the bright side, he outgrew it completely at 2 and became a decent sleeper but these were 2 long years. Not sure this is her problem, however, so it might be worth mentioning to the pedi if you have not.

I don't consider what you are doing a CIO and I would keep doing it. I let DS2 fuss a little and encouraged him falling asleep on his own. Earlier than 6 months. He now fall asleep on his own very well. I read him books, tuck him in, stay for about 2-3 min and kiss him good night. I am sure the early encouragement to fall asleep on his own helped. However, he still sleeps with us, but mostly because DS1 can't sleep on his own and DS2 has to follow big brother. He would do fine on his own.

[tanyachap]

Ds2 also had nights when he would be a monster falling asleep. I think with him it was reflux. I sometimes burped and did the bicycle, sometimes gave him his gripe water. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it did not. I still don't know what was causing it... So I would do what you are doing in the 30% of cranky time and leave her for a little bit, go in, help. I would not be comfortable with very long periods and very strong crying but I would try to stay comparatively consistent. I dont think any system works 100%

[macksmom]

Keeping a log is a good idea. This house is so chaotic I can't remember one day to the next so it's hard to remember if she slept well that day or whatever. DH and DD1 were home fro,m xmas-new years and that was a disastrous time because she would not nap like at all. Now that we are back into our routine I am trying to focus on following her schedule. She basically fell into the usual 2-3 nap schedule on her own.

The problem with that is - I have 2 other kids in 2 different schools so we are in and out of the car a lot. I am trying to fit her schedule in with my other kids. So far it looks like she can take her morning nap on the drive to drop DD2 off on Tues and Thurs. On MWF she takes it at home and YES I am trying to make it longer! 45 mins sucks and that is actually longer than she was doing over xmas break! She was doing 10-20 mins I think because there was just too much going on.

I assume one of the reasons she takes short naps is because she can't transition. What I have read about sleep is that we/they wake up and go back to sleep many times. Babies who can't settle themselves wake up during that 1st transition and can't get themselves back. I am HOPING that the process of letting her fall asleep on her own will get her through that transition and lengthen her naps.

Surprisingly her night waking isn't too bad. That, ironically, I don't even care about! I will get up 2-3 times if it means she will take a good nap and go down easily at night. For now she seems to wake around 11 or 12 and then sometimes 2 then 4 or 5 so I guess it's kind of every 2-3 hours. Last night she woke at 11:30 and I fed her and she went back until 4:30, then was up at 6:30. I don't mind that at all. She generally nurses and goes right back but sometimes at the early morning one she is unsettled.

I do think she has digestive issues. We use probiotics and I try to remember to give her gas drops as much as possible. Tummy sleeping definitely helps with everything.

Just now I nursed and rocked her for her morning nap. She was pretty much sleeping but I knew she would wake up if I tried to put her in her crib so I did purposely so she could settle herself. I put her in and when she started to fuss I turned her over and gave her a paci and she was fine. Now I am wondering what will happen in 30-45 mins. The other day I waited to see if she settled and she didn't so I went in to get her but decided to give her a paci to see what she did and she ended up sleeping for another hour! So I may try that again but I would rather she did it herself.....

[sookie4415]

we had so many issues with our baby(she is now 20m and an awesome sleeper)...it was hell on wheels and that is no understatement. It was all night long from 9pm(and she would go to bed from 7-9 no problem) after 9 she was up every hour on the hour screaming no matter what we did. We had to tag team it because we were both walking zombies as we both work full time. Her crib was right next to our bed(might as well have been side carred. it was so close)...I think for her she knew we were there and it was complete torture. I tried a fan, sound machine etc so she did not hear us and it did not help. So one day when she was 10m we decided it was time to rearrange everyone for sleep. We moved our 5 and 3 year olds down to our lower level(right below us) and moved her crib across the way into her own room. Within 2 days she was sleeping all night all by herself...I honestly think that her knowing she was right next to us was hindering everyone's sleep. It was amazing, she was just ready for her own quiet space. now she sleeps 12-14 hours a night no problem and no fussing at all.

[sookie4415]

and i agree...consistency with sleep/naps is what helps them. Allie would always take awesome naps, just sleeping at night that sucked so bad.

[pumpkinseed2011]

Maybe she needs more room, if she wants to roll over but can't? My DD is all over in her crib, always has been. The log sounds good too. Good luck.

[macksmom]

we had so many issues with our baby(she is now 20m and an awesome sleeper)...it was hell on wheels and that is no understatement. It was all night long from 9pm(and she would go to bed from 7-9 no problem) after 9 she was up every hour on the hour screaming no matter what we did. We had to tag team it because we were both walking zombies as we both work full time. Her crib was right next to our bed(might as well have been side carred. it was so close)...I think for her she knew we were there and it was complete torture. I tried a fan, sound machine etc so she did not hear us and it did not help. So one day when she was 10m we decided it was time to rearrange everyone for sleep. We moved our 5 and 3 year olds down to our lower level(right below us) and moved her crib across the way into her own room. Within 2 days she was sleeping all night all by herself...I honestly think that her knowing she was right next to us was hindering everyone's sleep. It was amazing, she was just ready for her own quiet space. now she sleeps 12-14 hours a night no problem and no fussing at all.

I had her crib next to me the other night and it was pretty bad. I suspected it was because she was near me. Right now she sleeps in the living room with DH and will only wake 1-3 times. I am missing some screws on her crib so I need to get them before I can put her in there. I am tempted to just let her spend the night in her own room but I am lazy and don't want to have to go in there o feed her lol.

She would also have more room in her crib to roll over herself....

She just took her morning nap and slept from 9ish-10:30! She is actually awake and just hanging out in there right now. I can see her on the monitor. She woke 2 times and cried out for a second and went back. I am hoping this is a good sign! I know she is better rested now because she woke up happy.

Her next nap is tricky because I have to pick DD1 up from school. We sometimes leave at 2 and drive around and she sleep in the car. This time I will try to get her down by 12:30/1 and hope she is up for pick up. Then ideally she will take a short nap around 5 then down for the night at 7:30. That is the schedule I want her on!

[tanyachap]

Let us know how the rest of the naps go. Hopefully she will be fine and happy and go down easy at night.

[macksmom]

Let us know how the rest of the naps go. Hopefully she will be fine and happy and go down easy at night.

Thanks. We are on nap #2. Not going as well. First she had a MAJOR poop blow out! It was bathworthy. So at 12:30 she sat in a warm bath for about 10 mins. She just needed a rinse. I figured this would be good to relax her for her nap as well. So I dressed her and then nursed and rocked. She was sleepy - eyes closed and calm. I knew she would wake up if I put her in the crib so I did. And she did. I flipped her and she settled but then started to get fired up again. I left her for a bit because she would settle in a few secs so I wanted to see what she would do. She kept starting and stopping and doing a cough-like cry - like not a real one. Then she started really crying so I wanted 30 secs maybe and went in and gave her a paci and patted her back. Once she settled I left again. I am in the living room now and I think she is sleeping! I don't hear crying. I didn't fully shut the door so I will go do that but I think that went well! Watch her sleep for 2 hrs now I have to pick up DD1 in 1.5 hrs so I am hoping she is up by then.

So far so good today

So with the start/stop crying do you just let that go? How long do you let that go on for? Do you wait for a full stretch of crying to go back? I can only handle about 1 minute of actual crying I am not good at this part....

[Pangie]

What you just described is pretty much what we did. If the baby was doing the fake crying or just fussing we didn't go in. If they really started crying then we wait a few minutes to see if they would calm down on their own, and if they didn't then one of us (usually DH if it was at night) would go in and offer a paci and pat their back. It usually took a few nights but they eventually learned to sleep on their own. Luckily we didn't have major sleeping issues with either of them, and I think a good regular routine during the day helps a lot, like everyone else said. Good luck!

[macksmom]

What you just described is pretty much what we did. If the baby was doing the fake crying or just fussing we didn't go in. If they really started crying then we wait a few minutes to see if they would calm down on their own, and if they didn't then one of us (usually DH if it was at night) would go in and offer a paci and pat their back. It usually took a few nights but they eventually learned to sleep on their own. Luckily we didn't have major sleeping issues with either of them, and I think a good regular routine during the day helps a lot, like everyone else said. Good luck!

I hope it works as well. thanks!

Well she woke up around 1:45 and did a lot of start/stop crying/fussing or "yelling" like ahhhhhhhhhhh. It went on for about 5 mins. Normally I would go in and try to soothe her back but I have to pick up DD1 in 40 mins This is going to be a major problem. So I just took her out instead but she is a tad cranky so I am sure she needed more. I just hope that by doing that I am not confusing her and ultimately making things worse. I hate that I have to leave at 2:30 every day.

Now she will want to nap again around 4 I assume and that is tough because my mom will be here and she will be distracted. I usually wear her for the evening nap because it's the only way I can keep her calm and not distracted. When my mom isnt here it's just me and the older 2 and I can't lock myself in a quiet room....

[sparks3]

You've gotten a lot of really great advice!

As far as how long to wait to go in, I agree with Pangie...we do the same. If Libby's fussing, I have a 5 minute rule (it can be less if you're not comfortable with that). Either way, I go in (3) times total...if she starts fussing, I wait 5 minutes to let her try and settle herself. If she doesn't settle, I go in, give her her paci, pat her back a couple of times til her eyelids fall (doesn't take much) and leave. I repeat this 3 times if she starts back up fussing after I leave. After the third time, I get her up.

I think you're doing a great job. I know it can be so frustrating, but I think that S will eventually get to the point where she knows how to soothe herself to/back to sleep. Sounds like you're making some progress on naps! Conquer those first (like you're doing), and I'm sure nighttime will get easier.

ETA: I also totally agree with moving her to her crib in her own space. Levi slept with me for his first year. He was a great sleeper, as long as he was on me, but it got to the point where neither he nor I were getting any rest. When he was around a year old, we moved him to his crib in his own room...I thought it was going to be horrible, but within 3 nights he was not only STTN, he was also putting himself to sleep. Sometimes they just need their own space, and I agree a crib might help her get onto her tummy a little easier, too.

[macksmom]

You've gotten a lot of really great advice!

As far as how long to wait to go in, I agree with Pangie...we do the same. If Libby's fussing, I have a 5 minute rule (it can be less if you're not comfortable with that). Either way, I go in (3) times total...if she starts fussing, I wait 5 minutes to let her try and settle herself. If she doesn't settle, I go in, give her her paci, pat her back a couple of times til her eyelids fall (doesn't take much) and leave. I repeat this 3 times if she starts back up fussing after I leave. After the third time, I get her up.

I think you're doing a great job. I know it can be so frustrating, but I think that S will eventually get to the point where she knows how to soothe herself to/back to sleep. Sounds like you're making some progress on naps! Conquer those first (like you're doing), and I'm sure nighttime will get easier.

ETA: I also totally agree with moving her to her crib in her own space. Levi slept with me for his first year. He was a great sleeper, as long as he was on me, but it got to the point where neither he nor I were getting any rest. When he was around a year old, we moved him to his crib in his own room...I thought it was going to be horrible, but within 3 nights he was not only STTN, he was also putting himself to sleep. Sometimes they just need their own space, and I agree a crib might help her get onto her tummy a little easier, too.

I like the 3 times idea. I will keep that in mind...

OK so tonight is awful. I am so confused. The day has gone fairly well I think. The morning nap was perfect. Nap #2 was harder but not awful and a bit short. Nap #3 was an hour later than I planned but I wore her and she slept for maybe 30 mins from about 4:50-5:15ish?

The evening was ok. She was a bit fussy. I took her from DH at 7 and gave her a short bath, dressed her, read stories and nursed - same as every night. She was dozing so I kissed her and put her in her crib. Same as always. She fussed and I turned her over. Same as always. Except she went a.p.e.s.h.i.t. Well not right away. She fussed and settled for about 5 mins. I went to her maybe 2 times to replace her paci and shush and calm her down. Then I couldn't deal anymore so I picked her up. Well she was almost WORSE then. And this is EXACTLY why I started this process in the first place! She wont let you actually rock her to sleep. I sat with her and she squirmed and cried. I tried different positions. I tried to stand but I thought I was going to drop her. She is totally impossible! So I put her back because I couldn't hold her anymore with all the squirming and crying and I was starting to get really upset and frustrated. I tried to console her more in the crib leaning all the way down so my head was next to her but she was not having any of it. It's so frustrating. I just had no idea what to do. So I walked out and asked DH to go in and take over. There was nothing more I could do. I probably could have nursed but it would not have made a difference because I have done it a thousand times before and my nips are really hurting today. When she is in this state she is brutal on my boobs and I couldn't handle that today.

So DH went in and she WAILED. I told him to do whatever he had to do to calm her down - rock, walk, etc. She screamed for probably 5-10 mins but now it's quiet so I assumed she calmed down

This is basically the same thing that happened last night but in reverse. He started with her and I went in to relieve him.

WTF!? It seemed like she was doing so well. I thought during the day would be much harder? Why is she doing this?

What will probably happen is that she will fall asleep with him and he will put her down. Then about 20-30 mins later she cries and we replace her paci and she goes back. This may happen a few times then she will sleep for a while. She will generally get up at around 11 or 12 to nurse and then either 2 or 4 and 6.

I just hate ending the day like this. I really thought it was getting better and that she was getting used to this. Why would she sleep there just fine during the day but not at night?

[tanyachap]

That was ds2 for the longest time. Months. He would scream and yell falling asleep. Then he would be tired and sleep for a long stretch at night. It sounds you are doing all you can. I would let her fuss and fake cry but go in if she is really upset. I would keep working on her naps and go for GI consultion with a speciailist. Not the pedi unless you need a referral. She might have some underlying physical issues, perhaps not necessarily GI. I would probably take her to the pedi to trouble shoot.

[tanyachap]

Is it possible to move her bedtime to 7? My ds2 improved a lot once we moved his bedtime. Even if he took a nap around 5, i still laid him down at 7. I just remembered that this was the eurika moment for us. He them started falling asleep better.

[tanyachap]

Seriously! I cant believe that it took me so long to remember what solved our problem. I kept thinking about it all day and even asked dh. He did not reemeber either but remebered the wailing and screaming at bedtime.

[runningmomofmany]

First, I'll say I'm not someone who believes in "cio". But I wonder if you should just give her more time to work it out on her own. If she doesn't settle while being patted, rocked, nursed, etc, maybe you need to just step back and give her more time. It could be all your fussing with her is being counter productive. Have you tried giving her more time to settle without going back into her room? I'm not suggesting you just drop her in bed and leave her, but instead of going back in 1 minute, give her 5-10.

My own baby is 15m and doesn't sleep great at night. I'm still nursing her to sleep and I am sure she would sleep better at night if she was in her own room, but I just haven't figured it all out yet. But she does ok for naps. As long as she is just fussing and not hard crying I'll give her 10 minutes to settle herself. She usually takes just about 5mins. I can tell when she flips from just fussing to coming undone, and I'll get her up then. But occasionally she will just scream bloody murder but stop just as I get to her, so I know that even then she can just go to sleep.

And we still have days where she will take a great nap (she has never napped more than once a day!) But NOT go to bed at night. Or she will do great for several days in a row then just flip out one day.

[macksmom]

Seriously! I cant believe that it took me so long to remember what solved our problem. I kept thinking about it all day and even asked dh. He did not reemeber either but remebered the wailing and screaming at bedtime.

That is funny how that happens. My only fear in moving her bedtime earlier is that I remember with the other kids that they would treat the early bedtime as a nap and when they woke up would be up for another 2 hours. That did happen with DD3 once or twice so I always made sure I never put her down before 8. I recently moved it to 7:30 (depending on the late nap time). I suppose it's worth a try. Even if she did treat it as a nap it wouldn't be SO awful as we are up late but ugh...

She was probably overtired though so who knows maybe it would work. It would be great to get her down and then be able to focus on the other kids.

First, I'll say I'm not someone who believes in "cio". But I wonder if you should just give her more time to work it out on her own. If she doesn't settle while being patted, rocked, nursed, etc, maybe you need to just step back and give her more time. It could be all your fussing with her is being counter productive. Have you tried giving her more time to settle without going back into her room? I'm not suggesting you just drop her in bed and leave her, but instead of going back in 1 minute, give her 5-10.

My own baby is 15m and doesn't sleep great at night. I'm still nursing her to sleep and I am sure she would sleep better at night if she was in her own room, but I just haven't figured it all out yet. But she does ok for naps. As long as she is just fussing and not hard crying I'll give her 10 minutes to settle herself. She usually takes just about 5mins. I can tell when she flips from just fussing to coming undone, and I'll get her up then. But occasionally she will just scream bloody murder but stop just as I get to her, so I know that even then she can just go to sleep.

And we still have days where she will take a great nap (she has never napped more than once a day!) But NOT go to bed at night. Or she will do great for several days in a row then just flip out one day.

I was thinking the same thing - that my messing with her is making things worse. The problem is because of the other kids I have just been staying in the room because I don't want to go in and out. That could also be a problem. I just step back and sit in the rocking chair. She can't see me but she probably knows i am there. I am not sure I could do 10 mins or even 5 but maybe I will start with 2-3 lol. Maybe if I leave the room it will be easier. Obviously if she is really going nuts I will go to her but she does a lot of stop/start fussing and even that stresses me out while I am sitting there. Also once I can get her in to her real crib we have a little fish tank attachment that maybe she will look at while she falls asleep. My 1st used to do that.

The bolded part is how I am feeling although bedtime has been a battle forever with her. It's actually the opposite, she will be crazy for many days and then be great 1-2 nights and I will think we are finally getting somewhere and then it's back to crazy baby

[hotpinkmomma0811]

I don't have much advice but, I wanted to say don't feel bad or guilty for letting her cry for 5-15 minutes. I haven't read the other responses but, I never did more than 15 minutes of crying for any age because it just meant the baby was either hungry, sore from teething/ illness, needed a change, or just needed to cuddle. Just my 0.2 for what is worth. If she is still having more trouble sleeping and seems to have any bit of colic I've heard of chiropractors helping with colic-ly babies.

[MomOfAnOnly]

Maybe in addition to keeping a journal of her sleep schedule and how she did, you could also keep track of what you're eating and when. I know you've suspected some allergies and tried cutting some things out, but tracking your food and her sleep may help you narrow it down.

[tanyachap]

Maybe in addition to keeping a journal of her sleep schedule and how she did, you could also keep track of what you're eating and when. I know you've suspected some allergies and tried cutting some things out, but tracking your food and her sleep may help you narrow it down.

That might be worth trying and I did it with zero success. The problem with food and sensitivities is that it takes up to 2 weeks for the offending food to leave your bloodstream and milk so unless you do strict elimination diet you might get confusing results. But if you keep a diary, you might notice some immediate reactions to food once it is been consumed. Let's say you eat peanuts rarely, about once or twice a month and you notice that she reacts within 6 hours of your eating peanuts. Otherwise, you have to go on strict elimination diet.

I tried a lot of food restrictions due to DS2's pretty serious flares of reflux but was never able to figure out what bothered him. I went for months wheat, diary and soy free. Nightmare with zero success and me gaining a ton of weight. Also, I later excluded nuts, again no success.

[macksmom]

I suppose food could be contributing. SOMETHING is going on because last night was a total disaster and now so is this morning I am getting sooooooo very tired of this I thought the idea was that is was tough in the beginning but the end result would be worth it but it's just getting worse. She is a bit stuffy. Maybe she isn't feeling well but we have all been passing a little cold back and forth since Thanksgiving it seems.

Anyway, she woke up at 12 I think and I nursed her and she didn't go back down easily but it wasn't too awful. Then she was up at 1:30 and WIDE awake! DH was watching a movie so he just hung out with her and then rocked her to sleep around 2 or something? He came to me at 3 or 3:30 with her saying he couldn't take it anymore....I guess she wouldn't settle. So I took her and she just slept with me in the bed. She fussed every now and then and I whipped out boob and we kept going like this until maybe 7 or 8? Then she wouldn't settle and I realized she was totally wet so DH took her and changed her and kept her up and I slept lol.

Now it's 10am and I tried to put her down for her morning nap and it's the same crap as last night except she was losing it before I even put her in the crib! While I was trying to nurse her she kept using my leg as a base and pushing up! omg not pleasant! I tried just rocking and then the other side all the while she is squirming and just impossible to hold. So I put her in the crib because I couldn't hold her and thought maybe she just wanted space. Well she lost it more and so did I I had to just walk out. I am so frustrated. DH went in and now she is quiet so I guess she is sleeping but I am sure he picked her up and was rocking her which I would want him to do.

I just feel like she is all over the place. She wont be rocked to sleep (unless she is totally freaking) but doesn't want to be on her own either. The weekends are usually AWFUL as everyone is home and she is too stimulated to sleep at all. I just don't know what to do anymore.

[Babidol]

I'm sorry. That's all I can offer. My DD is/was a terrible sleeper. She was different in that he wanted to be held all the time and never put down. Which was equally frustrating. I hope this gets better for you soon.

[sparks3]

My SIL is going through the same exact thing with her 5-month old. Crappy napper, crapper sleeper period. During the day he catnaps (maybe 1/2 hour of sleep stretches at the most) and at night he's up every hour. He's been a bad sleeper since day 1. She's tried solid nighttime routines, reflux meds, colic meds, diet restrictions, and now I believe he's even on form...nothing has helped. I'll keep you posted on if she finds anything that works. He's their only child, so no overstimulation going on or anything like that. I wish I could offer more advice...I know that it's got to be so hard on you and her both! Hang in there (I know, so much easier for me to say!).

[macksmom]

Thanks. Glad to hear I am not alone but ugh it's frustrating. It makes me feel better that it's more likely it's not something I am doing wrong.

She just woke up from that awful scene after 20 mins but I waited to see where it went and she never really cried but just kind of fussed and now she is quiet. She may have gone back to sleep....I can't tell from the monitor. If so I am even more confused lol! WTF child!?

[MomOfAnOnly]

I'm so sorry Am She really sounds so much like Emme was as a baby. She never slept, was never happy with anyone else but me. But I could always boob her. If she wasn't asleep she wanted to be nursing constantly.

When you nurse her could you lay her on a big pillow on your lap? That way maybe she wouldn't be able to push off your legs. I used to have to nurse Emme that way. She slept on me on a pillow in the recliner for at least one nap every day until she was 2.