6 month baby girl.. trying to get her to sleep 7-7 with controlled crying

[SimonTheDad]

So.. here is the story.. we have a 6 month girl who has never really slept well. Here routine until this week:

wake 8-9am
feed
nap on/off untili 11am
feed
various feeds/45 min naps throughout the day awake 2hrs nap 45
right up until 10:30 then feed and sleep
various waking in the night

she has only slep through twice and typically wakes 3-4 times often just for a dummy replacement.

This week we started her on a more structured routine. We tried EASY and are essentially following it. Although she hates the PU/PD. The PU particularly drives her crazy with crying so there is no PD. So we have adapted it to controlled crying but with the EASY sched.

Day 5.. usual bed at 6:15 and crying on/off until currently 8:10 probably until 9 and a breast feed. She has learnt to roll over in her cot (progress for her motor skills) but i think that is mainly as she knows we come to arrange her when she gets all out of shape. She hates having the light off so we have some dim lighting in there. Ermm.. what else.. she is trying to sleep but just cannot.. we are entering her room every 10 minutes and giving light petting and replacing a dummy.

Any advice welcome.. its haaaaaardddd!!!

Oh.. she seems her usual happy self in the day.. but cannot sleep beyond 45 mins in the day so guess what.. its more controllded crying EASY PEASY during the day too... phewwww

ok, if she seems to sleep more naturally 9-9 then start like that and just move it back by 5 mins every few days until it's at a time wich suits you.

There is no problem feeding babies at night except that it means you don't get to sleep much.

If you are fine with that, great. OP is obviously not.

she sleep 12 hours btw.. 6-6

well i say sleep.. i mean theoretically she sleeps 12 hrs.. these 5 days she sleeps much less..

zZZZzzzZZZZZ now though SMILEY FACE THINGY

i'm confused.

summary so far:

5good effort. gogogo with routine it worked for us
5he is a witch.. burn him (joke)

lots of titbits of information that is all helpful.

Will keep u informed of progress

Cote - No, I am not a professional in this area . I just think a blanket statement that at 6mo it is definitely not hunger but habit is rather misleading. Why on earth should a 6mo with a still very small stomach not get hungry at night? And (whisper) what on earth is wrong with meeting a baby's needs for milk as 'just' comfort anyway? I just find the cutting out night feeds with this strictness at this age rather, well, draconian.

"i'm confused." me too LadyJogsAlot.. me too

Simon - you cant be that flippin tired, you've still got a sense of humour!

Simon - Did I misundersand your post? It reads like your DD goes to bed at 6, cries and doesn't sleep until 8 PM breastfeed, then wakes up several times in the night.

If she has a 12 hour uninterrupted stretch of sleep, I would not do CC. Just move her bedtime by 10 mins every day to get those 12 hours to 9-9 or 8-8 or whatever.

By the way, I wouldn't do CC for daytime naps either. Let her sleep however long she wants. Or if you prefer her to sleep longer and stay up longer, keep her awake for longer stretches and see if she sleeps for longer as well.

Cote.. she does not sleep 12 hours.. since we tried ne sched.. she goes to bed at 6.30.. cries for 2hrs on and off.. feeds around 8.30.. sleeps until 10:30 waking every so often.. has huge bottle 320ml.. sleeps until 4am needs dummy patting from time to time.. eats at 4am.. sleeps until 6-6:30.. wakey wakey with daddy for fun time down stairs.

its only really this 6:30 until 8.3-9 that is the main problem at the moment.. after that its so so till morning.. day time naps are still 45 mins and we stay with he petty here for 1hr 30 at the moment then she gets up.

I'd have killed for 2 45 min naps at 6 months... Mine does nap much better in fresh air, so as often as possible she's in her pram, well bundled up and very near the door (or in the porch in bad weather). Think she likes to look at trees, etc to help her go to sleep. And no, I'm not CV - she's not left to cry!

Simon - does she like cuddly toys? Can't remember if babyHab did at that age - may well have been later, but if so it may be worth a try. We found gradual withdrawal really really good (having to go back a few steps because of bastard molars right now).

bero - I didn't say it's not hunger. I said it's not need but habit.

If you wake up at 2 AM and eat a full meal before going back to sleep for a month (as some Muslims do during Ramadan month, for example), you would continue to wake up with a grumbling tummy at the same time. It is Habit Not Need. You don't eat at 2 AM for a few nights and you stop waking up for it.

A 6 month old is physically capable to go through the night without a feed. When you cut out night feeds, he feeds more in the day to compensate. He sleeps better > rested & happier baby. Parents sleep better > rested & happier parents > more patient parents.

Everybody wins, nobody loses.

why do you put her to bed at 6.30 if she doesn't go to sleep until 8.30?

"why do you put her to bed at 6.30 if she doesn't go to sleep until 8.30?"

lol.. because we did not realise she does not go to sleep until 8:30 until we tried to get her to sleep at 6:30. she used to go to sleep at 10:30.

Simon, just a thought but if your dw/dp is bf then someitmes babies can cluster feed at this time of night?! Maybe someone will clarify...my dd did this when I was bf but I stopped at 4 months so I dont know if bf babies at 6months still cluster feed?

"Simon, just a thought but if your dw/dp is bf then someitmes babies can cluster feed at this time of night?! Maybe someone will clarify...my dd did this when I was bf but I stopped at 4 months so I dont know if bf babies at 6months still cluster feed?"

yeah, in the book it said can cluster feed at 9 if growth spurt.. we let her have it now as it calms her down and helps her to sleep (i guess she is having a growth spurt right now or so we tell ourselves)

once again simon can i say that putting her to bed when you are seems to early.

here is what we do:

7pm - bath then into bedroom to put pjs on and have a story/bedtime song and cuddles
7.45 ish - feed, once feed is finished ds goes into cot where he cries for about 10 mins
11pm - dream feed
6.45 ish - he wakes up

he naps around 9,11 and 3. sometimes he drops one of these naps. they last anywhere from 10-45 mins. during the day i go with the flow (on his cues).

Why don't you have her in the front room with you though until she shows tiredness signs?

Rubbing eyes

Yawning

Jerky movements

And then start to put her to bed? She is 6 mths old, she can't tell the time

yes cluster feeding is common around this time too so maybe 9-8 ish would be a better routine. agree 10.30 bedtime is too much! you've done well to move it back to 8.30

"She is 6 mths old, she can't tell the time
Contact the poster Contact mumsnet about this post By LadyJogsAlot on Thu 17-Jan-08 21:48:28 " she shows those signs at 6:30 when we put her to bed for the non-sleep sleep

we are quite good at reading her now,, we know diff cries.. hunger.. pain.. moaning etc.. we know tired signs and act on them,, she just does not know how to settle herself to sleep

on a positive not.. she does know how to sit up and laugh

simon, you are talking gibberish. get some sleep.