Hi Mummies!
I'm having trouble settling our 8month old daughter. A little about my situation: My husband is away for 2months at a time so I am the primary carer 24/7 of our little girl. Her sleeping was until recently relatively good ( down at 7.30pm, stir around 3am, put the dummy back in and wake up about 6am). When my hubby returned to sea after 8wks at home she started to regress. On nights when she fights going back into her cot I find myself putting her in to our bed, because I know that the majority of the time she'll sleep. She eats well, drinks well and is sitting steadily between the 50th/75th percentile.
Various issues...
- She'll sleep in her cot happily during the day for both morning and afternoon nap HOWEVER she resists her cot at night.
- She'll only fall asleep on me in the evening after milk and with a pacifier and wakes up 98% of the time when I transfer her into her cot. And then I have to start all over again.
- She'll sleep in her cot for upto 3hrs at the beginning of the night and then not go back down in her cot for the rest of the night.
- If I leave her to cry for a few minutes she becomes hysterical. Now that she rolls and crawls, she'll pull herself up in her cot.
I've tried controlled crying and it was heartbreaking for me and by all accounts seemed worse for her. She was so distraught she pooed and spent the next 25minutes uncontrolably crying. So, I've decided that 'cry it out' method is not for us.
I've tried a fixed daily routine based on set sleeping times in her cot during the day. (1.5-2hr sleep at 10am and a 1hr sleep at 3 or 4pm) this has had no bearing on her night times.
I've tried Hipps night milk, giving porridge as her evening meal and again - no improvements.
Any suggestions on how I can help my little girl sleep more and preferably in her cot?
Thanks so much for reading and any help you can offer. I'm at breaking point and don't know what else to do.