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im the mom of an erratic sleeper, she is 6 months old

8 replies

jabuti · 12/01/2008 10:08

i have been reading all the posts related to babies that wont do the magic 7-7 shift and im wondering if im doing something wrong here.

my DD was waking up only once between 2-3 months, for a quick feed, and back to sleep. then the teething started and it all went down the drain. i had nights that i had to wake up every hour. never mind.

it seems that the teething crisis is gone for the past 3-4 weeks. i have just now moved her to her own room (before her crib was in our room) and in the past weeks she has:

a) slept the whole night (only once)

b) woke up 3-4 times

c) woke up once

d) woke up 3-4 times and wouldnt settle easily after 6 am

i read about controlled crying too but the thing is, when she wakes up 3-4 times during the night, she only needs a quick hand holding, dummy in mouth, and she is back to sleep. i have let her cry for 5/10 minutes before but i didnt see any good out of it, in her case, since she needs a minimal help to go back to sleep. but of course im shattered in the next day for waking up so many times. she also has 3 to 4 (lasting 30/45 minutes) naps during the day. i would love to keep her awake, but is impossible because she gets really cranky and cries a lot. not much she or i can do if her body needs those naps. in the past week she did not have a nap after 6 pm twice, which i thought it was very promising (or am i fooling myself here and that doesnt mean anything?).

she can settle herself to sleep quite nicely when its bedtime, and i always mentally praise herself for that.

do you think im doing something wrong? or do i have to just suck it up that she is an erratic sleeper and hope she will settle one day?

OP posts:
dooley1 · 12/01/2008 10:10

I don't get why you are letting her nap after 6pm.
Can't you just put her to bed.
Anytime after 6pm is bedtime in our house.

jabuti · 12/01/2008 10:13

i have tried, she wakes up after her usual 30/45 minutes and she is fully awake.

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dooley1 · 12/01/2008 10:15

do you try and keep her awke a bit longer? Give her lots of time playingin the bath, let her really wear herself out. I think at this age the aim is for a nap 2 hours after waking up and one after lunch. So around 9am and then aroud 12.30pm.
Would she sleep longer if she is out and about in the car or pushchair?

jabuti · 12/01/2008 10:25

i read about that too, that is better for bedtime sleep if the baby has longer naps during the day. but she works like a clockwork in that matter, even in the push chair she wakes up after her usual nap time, that is around 30 minutes. she has increased the gap between naps lately (before she couldnt go more than 2 hours before she collapsed), i give her lots of toys and she seems to be able to enjoy them more now than a month ago.

especially after 6 pm, i have been trying really hard not to let her sleep again until bedtime. she has been always very active in the evenings, since womb. her bedtime routine starts at 10 pm and by 11 she is sleeping deeply. i have tried to bring this back to 9/8/7 but she is just too awake.

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pulapula · 12/01/2008 19:29

30 minute naps and frequent night wakings can be a sign of overtiredness/overstimulation. Do you wait until she is really really tired before getting her to sleep, as you do talk about keeping her up til she "collapsed". As you say, if you keep her up she gets cranky and cries, which is what all babies do if they're tired. Could you try to get her to sleep when she first shows signs of tiredness, such as her first yawn. You need to make sure she has a wind-down period to get her prepared for sleep. That way she may have better quality naps and go to bed earlier in the evening. Being really active in the evening may also be a sign she can't wind-down for bed due to being overstimulated? I really recommend the baby whisperer books or website as there are some techniques to encourage longer naps and discourage frequent night wakings.

jabuti · 13/01/2008 14:29

i just bought the book you recommended it, i went for coffee, browsed it and found out we are doing quite a few mistakes

will start working immediately on her new routine, lets see how it goes!

OP posts:
pulapula · 13/01/2008 14:42

Good luck jabuti and hope it helps you. Let me know how you get on.

jabuti · 13/01/2008 15:00

will do

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