She wont sleep!

[cpbaby]

Ok, maybe its that she wont GO to sleep.And she sure wont STAY asleep. :o


Sophie used to be a great sleeper, then POOF that changed. For awhile she would go to sleep easily but would wake every hour or so. Then she started fighting sleep and once asleep ANY noise would wake her. It was horrible. Of course, I had been rocking her with her bottle every night, but I took her bottle around Halloween. So then I was feeding her about an hour before bedtime and giving her some milk out of the sippy cup. She then started getting up and wanting her sippy. Sometimes she would want a full cup of milk three or four times a night. We went to the pediatrician for another matter and I told him about her sleep problems. He told me to STOP giving her milk during the night, no sippy at night at all and the let her CIO. This breaks my(and my DH and my 10 yr olds) heart(s). We simply hate to hear her cry like we abandoned her, but if I go in there like I was told every ten minutes or so, she starts up worse when I leave the room

Right now she has been crying for what seems like forever, but has been asleep a few times in there. When she has been asleep and wakes, I went in, patted her back, covered her, and left the room quietly. She immediatly sits up and starts squalling.


HELP!!!

[ahippiechic]

Kaitlyn did the same thing at about 6 mo. Right after we moved. I had to just let her cry it out, but it hurt so bad to hear her cry like that, that I went out and stood on the balcony, so i couldn't hear her. :( (DH was inside) It was awful, but after a few nights she started going to sleep on her own, even if woke up in the night.

It's gonna be hard for you, so http://www.hippieshangout.com/forums/html/emoticons/huggie.gif

[queenangie]

Warm hugs to you, Mom!
1st off you are a great mother.

Baby is almost 11 months old now and should be able
to sleep through the night.
Some babies are better sleepers than others.
Some kids don't sleep all night until they are 5 yos.
Other babies start sleeping the night through when they hit the 10 pound weight mark.

1) Is she hungry?
2) Is she wet?
3) Is she teething?
4) Does she have an ear infection?
5) Does she have a cold?
6) Is she too warm or feel too cold?

If everything seems 'normal,' she ought to go to sleep.
I could not stand to have my kids cry for an extended period either.

Do you have a good night-night routine?
Snack, bath, brush teeth/tooth, read 1 story/rock/sing 1 song,
say prayers, hugs & kisses, go to sleep, small nightlight.

One good reference book suggested letting a child cry,
check at 10 minutes later,
wait & check at 20 minutes later,
wait & check at 30 minutes later....you get the idea.

Another thought would be to give her a little dose of Tylenol
at bedtime to help relax, take away any teething pain.
Don't do this every night, but on a rare occasion is ok.

Hope everyone at your home gets a good night's sleep tonight.

[Wimzik]

Have you tried putting a radio in the room with her, and letting soft music play through the night? It helps cover other noises in the house that would otherwise keep her awake. I tried all kinds of music, but Classical music worked best for my kids.

Good luck!!

I was just going to suggest that, I had the same problem with the twins, and I hated to let them cry. My sister gave me a classical music cassette called 'Baby Sleep' and it really helped.

[catssass]

Have you tried putting a radio in the room with her, and letting soft music play through the night? It helps cover other noises in the house that would otherwise keep her awake. I tried all kinds of music, but Classical music worked best for my kids.

Good luck!!


Music didn't work for my DD but we put an oscellating(sp?) fan on top of her dresser, I think the back & forth movement caught her attention and the soft hum of the fan lulled her to sleep....

[momfromTN]

Sometimes you just have to let them cry. It is not inhumane and they are not going to die from it, no matter what anyone says.

[DivineMsDi]

She might have separation anxiety. Simply put, kids of her age start realizing they are a separate person from Mom and begin to "miss" Mom and get upset apart from her.

My son was king of the non-sleepers. I remember many nights sitting in a chair and holding him the night through, even though we had all the bed time routines like bath, stories, soft music.

I know you won't believe this, but this WILL pass. Hugs to you. :)

[chacha]

Here's a few things I did with my children to fix the sleeping problems...

-Make sure they go to bed on a full belly...this will make them sleep longer.

-Make sure there is a small night light or something incase she does wake

-Use the Lavendar bubble bath before bed. It soothes and calms them

I also had the fish aquarium light thing for the side of the crib. That had the light and made the noises as well as the show. My daughter loved this. If she woke up, she would fall back to sleep easily with this. Maybe this would help if she doesn't already have one? HTH

[EtherealGirl]

Have you read the book called Touchpoints (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/020162690X/qid=1101995407/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/103-2172843-3421466?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) ? It was a lifesaver for me when my daughter went through any type of change like this.

Is it possible that she's going through a growth spurt? If she's hungry 3 or 4 times a night that would be my first thought. My second throught would be some sort of tummy upset. Are you giving her cow's milk? Is she under a year old? Babies' tummys can't digest cows milk. She could be having reflux too, especially if she's sitting up a lot. Have you tried giving her some baby cereal before bed?

I'm not a believer in letting them cry it out. Babies cry for a reason, and IMO, it's up to us to figure out why, and meet their needs. If it was me, I'd try another doctor! I wouldn't listen to anyone who basically told me to let my child go hungry and suffer alone.

PM me if you'd like to chat, and good luck!

[momfromTN]

Have you read the book called Touchpoints (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/020162690X/qid=1101995407/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/103-2172843-3421466?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) ? It was a lifesaver for me when my daughter went through any type of change like this.

Is it possible that she's going through a growth spurt? If she's hungry 3 or 4 times a night that would be my first thought. My second throught would be some sort of tummy upset. Are you giving her cow's milk? Is she under a year old? Babies' tummys can't digest cows milk. She could be having reflux too, especially if she's sitting up a lot. Have you tried giving her some baby cereal before bed?

I'm not a believer in letting them cry it out. Babies cry for a reason, and IMO, it's up to us to figure out why, and meet their needs. If it was me, I'd try another doctor! I wouldn't listen to anyone who basically told me to let my child go hungry and suffer alone.

PM me if you'd like to chat, and good luck!


I didn't mean to imply that she allow the child to cry for 8 hours straight every single night. By all means, get a second opinion from another pediatrician. But, sometimes kids DO just cry because they are not getting their way, or they want attention, or they just are trying to wind down and let off steam. Since babies cannot talk, obviously crying is their vocal outlet. If a medical problem is ruled out, the child needs to learn how to get herself back to sleep and not be fed and held all night. It sounds cruel and they sound so pathetic. But I assure you, there will be no permanent damage from allowing a child to cry it out a few times.

[DAVESBABYDOLL]

Dawson will be three in March and still has them rotten sleep nights. *knock on wood ,not lately. I put a fan in her room and she has a dim knight light,and that is when she started sleeping good.

[gwens29]

hi there my daughter did the same thing i broke her at 10 months from the bottle she was getting to many ear infections ... u have to break the cycle its the only way to restore the sleep pattern its hard and she will have a few setbacks i bet... but u have to tough it out u can do and will all sleep and feel better the next day

[Trishntx]

music or a fan really does help. My sister was a non sleeper, and to this day (She is 44), she still has to have a fan to go to sleep.
My oldest son, wouldn't sleep at all. Any bit of noise woke him up. He still is not a good sleeper (in early 20's). I took him riding in the car as a baby at 3 in the morning just to get him to fall asleep. He now sleeps the second he gets into a car. It is too funny.

[Eyore]

I can't sleep without a fan running in my bedroom and I'm 46.
I have also heard that running a vacuum cleaner is suppose to help babies sleep. I have no idea if it works or not just something I heard.

[Damnifiknw]

I'm not a believer in letting them cry it out. Babies cry for a reason, and IMO, it's up to us to figure out why, and meet their needs. If it was me, I'd try another doctor! I wouldn't listen to anyone who basically told me to let my child go hungry and suffer alone.

I agree with this statement. Babies do cry for a reason. They do not cry to get attention or get their way. Children on the other hand cry to get their way or attention.

Never listen to some who tells you to let your baby cry or not allow your baby to have milk during the night. Your baby needs milk during the night even though you weened(sp?) her from the bottle. Your baby isn't even a year old and a doctors telling you to not allow the baby milk. Get an doctor. This doctor sounds like he/she has read Dr Spocks book. (Dr Spock's a joke)

[buglebe]

I don't think you should let them cry it out that young either. On our recent trip to NC my grandson fretted all morning (9 months old). Finally his mom said, I think he is too warm, she stripped his clothes down to his diaper and he was fine. No more fretting. Yes when they are that young they are trying to tell us something when they cry. My husband and I also sleep with a fan. As for letting them CIO I did that a few times with my 3 children and still have terrible memories of it. Try something else, take the baby to bed with you. Co sleeping is in right now anyway so you'll be doing the "in" thing. :eek:

[INDYE911]

I also agree. Your baby is crying for a reason.

My 1st daughter screamed!- From birth.......While I was in the
hospital I kept trying to tell anyone that would listen that she was
crying excessively and that she was projectile vomiting and something
was wrong........They pretty much said I was a "new mother" and that
this was normal....Well, upon 2 weeks of being home-my dear mother-
finally told my Obstetrician that something was wrong. After this period
of time I, myself, was vomiting and running a high temp. My daughter
was intolerant of the forumula and I had an infection from my C-section.
My father (God rest his soul) got my daughter some Goat's milk (NOT recommended) And although this settled her stomach and she stopped
projectile vomiting-she then started bleeding from her stool (Her stomach
could not tolerate the enzymes in the goat's milk-hence the bad recommendation) So-Long story turning into a long story! The Pediatrician, who I Very much trust, put my daughter on soy milk....A miracle!

As for my infection-I was re-cut (Yes, It was very nasty) and I
had to stuff the open wound from my C-section with sterile pads that
had been soaked in peroxide.....It's been 15 yrs (WOW-I feel OLD!) and
to this day have an indentation from that infection.

Something is not right if your baby can not be consoled!

My 2nd daughter, as an infant was crying one night....She seemed fine
otherwise-She just would not stop crying.....I took her to the ER-I felt like an idiot after I got there-She only had a slight fever and was crying THEN they
said they were going to do a spinal tap. EXCUSE ME??? I tried to tell them that I was
just overconcerned and a spinal tap wasn't necessary....They said it absolutely was and she had a fever and wouldn't move her neck without
crying....I felt SO GUILTY when I found out she had viral meningitis!!!!!!


Thank The LORD it was not Bacterial...She was admitted to the
hospital on a 3 day stay to make sure it wasn't Bacterial...If you think something is wrong with your baby-and you are sure it's not just 'new
mother' jitters- tell you dr!!!!!!! You are that baby's mother...you
know best...TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS!