Hi everyone, this is my first post and unfortunately it is a desperate outreach for advice and help! It's also very long as I've tried to put in as much info as possible. I've spoken to other mums at baby group and our health visitor but none of their suggestions have worked.. :(
Our little girl is 8 months old, formula fed since 6 weeks and has solid food regularly, twice daily. She has always been a good sleeper and slept through the night since about 6 weeks old. In fact, when she was 3 months old up until when she was 5 months old she would go to bed at 5pm and not wake until 6am for a feed.. bliss!
However, at around 5.5 months her bedtimes suddenly became an issue and her previous routine stopped working effectively. She started crying and screaming inconsolably for up to 2 hours as soon as I put her down in her cot. We thought at first that it was due to starting solids and that she was just getting used to digestion, but it has carried on since then, every night. We pushed her bedtime back from 5-6pm to 6-7pm but it hasn't changed anything either.
Her current routine is books, bottle, bed. I used to bathe her every night too but she developed a bad case of eczema and even with creams and bath additives her skin is very dry and bathing her so often was making it worse. I now bathe her twice a week but those nights are no different crying wise than non bath nights.
I always look out for signs of tiredness, yawning, eye rubbing etc and act immediately but it makes no difference, she will lie there and cry for hours. Occasionally she goes to sleep straight away but wakes after 30 mins (her usual nap length) and then cries as usual. Her naps are usually okay but vary from three a day to just one, but I've always just followed her lead and let her nap whenever (though I do try to avoid naps after 5pm).
I have tried the cry it out method, gradual retreat, everything I can think of and everything I have Googled! Most of the time she is crying with her eyes shut and won't even take her dummy, and doesn't even notice that I'm in the room or not. She stops crying if I pick her up but as soon as I start to lower her back down she starts screaming again. She is visibly exhausted as she cries and I don't think that its overtiredness every night as I look out for all the sleepy signals so closely.
I try to keep telling myself that it's just a phase but I still end up in tears virtually every night, as I am now. I'm exhausted from her crying and I'm feeling neglected (selfish, I know, and I'm sorry but it's true) as by the time she is asleep (8-9pm) there's nothing I can face doing other than sorting her bottles out and going to bed myself.
I have been trying to get a Dr appointment for over a week incase they have anything else to suggest but they won't prebook and if I phone in the morning I'm kept on hold for ages and by the time I get through all the appts are gone. I will obviously keep trying!
Any advice, help, suggestions etc would be gratefully welcomed and thank you for reading this essay..
(PS. When I say 'I' I do mean 'we'.. My partner helps when he can but works long hours and I'm not back at work yet.)
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8mo cries inconsolably for hours at bedtime
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livvv112 · 21/05/2015 21:33
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