My dd won't sleep longer than 3 hours at a time

[allybaba]

My dd is 7 months old and won't sleep for any great length of time. She will only fall asleep by bf or by being rocked and then generally wakes after half an hour. After this first waking she will either contiue to keep waking or will sleep for a maximum of 3 hours. We have tried cc but found it too distressing. My dd is a very happy child during the day, she laughs a lot and is always excited about different things. She only has two 1/2 hour naps during the day and always wakes up with a huge smile on her face!
I have used a set routine for her for the last 5 months, she has a bath, music and lights in cot, bf then sleep.
Will she ever sleep through the night and will she do it wihout us resorting to cc?

Have you read the No cry sleep solution You have my sympathy, sleep deprivation is not good.

My answer to your last two questions:
Yes and yes

The problem is, IMHO, that false expectations are raised in new parents.
I think it is utterly NORMAL for a baby to wake up a lot, even after six months, possibly even up to 18 month-ish.

For the record, my dd's both did, what I did was co-sleeping, and I even fed them back to sleep (b/feeding) until well over a year old - and now they are five and three and both fantastic sleepers.

I have read the no cry sleep solution and it has helped quite a lot as she i was never able to get her to go to sleep before 10pm!
Thank you emkana, it is so reassuring to know that others have been through the same thing and come out the other side okay. I do co-sleep with my dd and bf her back to sleep, if i didn't neither of us would get any sleep.

Hi allybaba, I can second emkana's experience. When dd was more than a year, a 3-hour stretch would have been heaven! But at 3, she now sleeps through for 11 hours through almost anything, even her baby brother crying in her ear!

And she is most cuddly and engaging. I comfort myself with the thought that non-sleepers tend to be bright (although that is not to say good sleepers are not). Now have a ds 2 months that is exactly the same in sleep habits

Hi

You have my sympathy - poor you

The reason that she wakes up after half an hour is that babies have short sleep cycles - 30-45 mins and she gets into a light sleep - then she cannot put herslef to sleep again as she doesn't know how to yet - without you getting invloved ie rocked/cuddles etc...

I have not read the no cry sleep solution so i cannot comment. I did use a form of controlled cyring for my son - but modified it so that i could cope - i went in every few minutes and cuddled/picked up - but always returned him to the cot immedicately when he stopped crying- he got the hang of it in the end - really i modified the pickup/put down in the baby whisperer and febers controlled crying - it was hard work for a week - but now my son sleeps 12 hours at night and goes for 3 naps a day - he is nearly 6 months and has been doing this for the last 3 months. I do not think that the methods are written in stone and you can modify them to your own child.

I hope whatever you try and do works out for you

XX

FT

Some of them do it till 3. Just minimise stimulation - don't talk to her when you're getting her back to sleep. She'll improve with time but it may take longer than you think.