Your babies sleep - success stories!

[milkyman]

Hi - I would love to hear people's success stories with their babies' sleep. I have a 4 month old and have read all sorts of stories of what might be to come (i.e. his terrible sleep habits may even get worse...). Has anyone had any successes, is so, what were they and what worked?

Hi - he's unpredictable. He can wake at 2am, 4am, 5am and 6am (and take some time to settle inbetween). I've read about 4 mth sleep regression but he has never slept through. What is the 19 wonder week?

No success stories to share unfortunately...A wonder week is a developmental stage they go through which can effect their sleep among other things.

This and the wonder weeks website are quite useful.

Milkyman - we had a really bad sleep regression. DD now nearly 7 months, and I feel like we have just turned a corner, although don't want to jinx things. I read the No Cry Sleep Solution, and have found a few things really useful - mainly to help her to self-settle rather than rely on BFing to get back to sleep (at her worst she was waking every 30 mins for the boob). So, I stopped BFing her to sleep at night or for naps, and put her down awake. Took a lot of shhh patting, but she now goes down awake and falls asleep without crying. Now I have started to time the length of any night feeds, and cut them down a bit each night - currently down to 2.5 mins per feed. Also got her attached to a teddy bear which she snuggles with. I also put her in her cot during the day while I'm doing stuff in her room and she plays with her teddies and lies under the mobile (or sits now) - I think this has stopped her automatically crying when she goes anywhere near her cot. Also, she has become very wriggly in bed, and was waking up with limbs hanging out of the bars, so I bought an Air Wrap bumper which I think has helped too.
Like I said, I don't want to jinx things, but not long after we stopped feeding to sleep she started only waking twice before 7am, and for the past few nights her first wake up has been 4am which feels pretty amazing. There were nights where it felt she was never going to get better, it was pretty miserable. Hopefully your baby won't have a bad regression, but there is definitely hope, and there are things you can try, definitely! (I sometimes wonder if she might have got better on her own, but for me, just knowing I was trying stuff made me feel better). Sorry for essay - completely sleep obsessed!

My DD had a sleep regression from about 4.5 m

Sorry... Flailing baby arms hit send. We had a sleep regression at 4 months I had been doing a dream feed at 11 as I went to bed a feed at 5 and then up at 7. But all of a sudden she was demanding feeds at 10, 1 4.30 and wanting to be up at 6! Not on. After about 4 weeks I couldn't take any more (even as a new born she didn't wake that much) so one night I sent my DP in when she woke he reswaddled and let her cry she was asleep after 5mins when she next woke I sent DP in again, again went to sleep untill morning! It took3 days of her waking at the times I used to feed her and my DP reswaddling her untill she slept through. Now
she sleeps 7-7 and if she wakes she settles herself back off. Once I knew she didn't need the night feeds for nutrition we got strict. I'd already done some gentle CC for nap times so she knew there was no option. Don't know if this makes any sense... Writing on my phone whilst feeding... She's running late for bed tonight fingers crossed that means lie in tomorrow! Doubt it!

If you can consider sleeping 5-5 a success then I have two of them (well one slept 7-7, the current little one is determined that 5 is bedtime no matter what I do).

But I break some rules.... I put them both in their own rooms from about 6 weeks (yes I know the sids advice and the reasoning behind it), no talking, room completely blacked out, chair by the cot, put baby in sleeping bag, feed bottle, pop dummy in, lay down etc. If they unsettle pat and replace dummy, stroke hair and leave. Repeat as necessary.

I did that with all naps and all bedtimes with both dd age 9 and ds 7 months and both have slept through from about 12 weeks.

If they woke in the night I would feed by the cot, replace dummy and repeat bedtime routine.

Ds is now so good at going to sleep I just pop him down with a dummy for naps or bedtime and a few minutes later (no crying whatsoever) hes asleep. :)