Opinions please on 5 month old sleep - going a bit mad here! What is going on & how to improve?

[zambooloo]

Ok so I've posted lots about how rubbish my dd's sleep is but I'm just finding her sleep patterns so crazy.

Generally naps are -
1-1.5hrs from 8.30
2hrs from 11
then another hr or 2 in afternoon - this might be a problem as like today she slept 4-6.

She then went to bed at 8 after bath, bottle etc.

However nothing I do during the day seems to have any impact on the night.

During the day I have tried...
More naps
less naps
going out lots
not going out
watching for tired signs

so at night... She will sleep ok for maybe 1st 3hrs with maybe 1 wake up. She is fed again at about 10 or 11. If I'm lucky she might sleep till 1 but usually she wakes at 12ish. I'm then up and down all night.

Tonight after waking every 40 mins from 12 I got to 2.30 and she is just wide awake. She has just gone back to sleep but I've been rocking her all that time.

I can usually get her to do sort of 20min sessions in her cot up until maybe 4ish then she is just awake or sleeping so lightly that she wakes as soon as I put her down.

Occasionally when she wakes I can shush pat her back but tonight she seems so awake that manic rocking was on order.

We always give up on sleep between 5 and 6 as she is so awake.

I really can't face cc or anything like that. She is in her cot in her own room. We tried co-sleeping but it makes no difference to her sleep. In fact it seems maybe a bit worse as we distract her!

She gets so tired and ratty during the day if she doesn't get the sleep she needs and will really only be awake and happy for 2hrs at a time. She just seems to sleep so lightly at night - she is asleep on me now but I can't move or she wakes up and I gave to repeat all the rocking again.

Also she is so alert she hates to miss out on anything. She won't nap if out or if we have guests. I have to feed her in the dark as if anything distracts her she won't feed.

Sorry this post is epic - any ideas really welcome.

Have you tried HiPP Organic Good Night Milk ?

No - what is different about it?

Hello, you have my sympathy I am going through similar with my DD, such a shock as my two DSs were pretty easy going but DD is high maintainence!

I'm sure you have tried everything but one thing I have found that helps my DD to settle in her cot is to use white noise, I think it just creates a chilled atmos and although so far has not made D D sleep longer it has made it easier to get her back in the cot. we have a sheep (a toy not an actual real sheep, that would be mad!) that plays sounds of the ocean etc.

We are currently having four month sleep regression and last two nights she has been up every two hours, am so tired! Here's hoping someone comes along with miracle sleep cure soon!

Good luck!

Thanks yes we use White noise and she is swaddled - she won't sleep at all, even on me if she isn't swaddled. Her arms just don't stop and she keeps herself awake getting more and more distressed.

I'm thinking we need to keep her awake more - the late nap is too late and for too long I think, any thoughts? Its so hard as she is just so miserable without the nap but I'm all out of ideas!

I think you might have a case of day/night confusion on your hands... Any way you can limit her daytime naps to three hours? Total sleep chaos here too btw (19 weeks) Good luck!

I know I have just outed myself as someone whose DD sleeps badly but thought I would offer some more advice anyway!

It does sound like your DD is sleeping too much in the day, three hours should be enough at 5 months. With my DS2 who was a good sleeper he kind of naturally fell into a kind of Gina Ford nap routine, which although I don't like her methods I think the timings make sense....so could you try this:

9am ? 45 minute nap

12pm ? 2 hour 15 min nap

then if they need it a 15 minute power nap later in the afternoon but try and make sure they are awake from 4pm until bedtime at 7.

Hopefully if you hardcore it with a grumpy baby for a few days she'll settle into more of a routine then hopefully it'll improve her night sleeping.

Thanks everyone. She just fell asleep at 4 so I'll let her have 1/2hr then keep her awake till 7 (or as close to 7 as I can manage). Yes I'm thinking you're right, a few days of grumpy baby might sort the problem. I'll aim for total 3hr daytime naps for a while and pray for improvement!!

What time does the gina ford technique say they should wake in morning?

I feel your pain. My DD2 (5months) rarely sleeps in the day and still wakes between 1-3 times a night - she has between 4-5 7oz bottles a day plus lunch & fruit for tea. I need to figure out how to get her to go overnight. She generally settles herself to
Sleep by 8pm.

How did you get her to settle herself? That is a distant dream for me - we go in for endless rocking!!

I put her into her cot at 8pm awake after drinking most of her bottle - then give the rest to her whilst she lays down - then kiss and walk away. if she cry's moans, she's generally fast asleep 2 mins later. it's getting her to stay asleep which is the problem, especially because she now rolls over all the time!

wow she sleeps loads in the day, my DD has about 4 x 30-45 min naps in the day. If I'm lucky she'll sleep for an hour and at the weekend she did one mammoth 2.5hr nap! But we generally only get 1-2 night wakings - apart from last night when we had 5!

Hi thanks for a replies. Yes, I'm thinking she is having way too much daytime sleep. So I'm going to limit it to 3 hours, and hope that the grumpy tired baby I currently have will sleep better at night and less during the day.

I think it will take a little while to get her used to this. She is quite grumpy and tired at the moment as I'm not letting her sleep as much as she would like.

How long do you think it will take to get her into this new routine?

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