Jack is doing incredibly well at night! He slept from 10:30-6:30 last night. HALLELUJAH! HOWEVER... he does not like to sleep during the day. I have him swaddled. He is well fed. BUT WIDE AWAKE! If I am lucky he will sleep a good 3 hours in a row, one time a day. At night when I put him to bed for the night, he goes right to sleep in the crib without any assistance. (probably because he is so stinkin' tired!)
So this is what I have tried...
*I have rocked him to where he is asleep and put him in his bed. (crib and bassinet) 10 min later he wakes up.
*I have put him in his bed awake, and he screams.
*I have put him in his swing, awake and asleep.
*I have used a mobile to try to lull him to sleep.
He is 8 weeks tomorrow. Is is too soon to have him cry it out? Any other ideas?
I know most of you have forgotten what you did...and really I can vaguely remember what I did with Keegs..but dig deep and try to remember for me..will ya? :)
Thanks...
Confused Mom and Lonely Keegan
13 comments:
i wish i knew... we are still on three hour feeds until the pedi tells us otherwise. our boys will be 2 months tomorrow and hopefully when we see the pedi we can get on a better schedule. jack looks so much bigger than the twins!!! H IS TOO CUTE and looks so happy. it is hard to get my twins to sleep during the day but my hubby lets them cry it out (when he is here) for 10 minutes, if we have tried everything else and it seems to be ok, it works sometimes... i have to admit i hate it!! let me know what you do!! oh and when do you take a shower and how when you have two? i have not figured that out yet :-)
Like Courtney said, Ella was still waking up for 2 to 3 feedings in the night at 8 weeks. Personally, I think that is too young to let them cry it out, but I really have no basis for that. Sorry.
As you might imagine, I have absolutely no advice for you, but I love you and I'm praying for you!
I can completely relate to your frustration. Mia took great naps the first few weeks of her life and then things went downhill. She would sleep about 20 or 30 minutes for her naps and wake up. I tried everything just like you and was so frustrated it seemed like the only way I could get a good nap was if we were out and she slept in her car seat (she could sleep in there for hours). Finally I decided that I would put her down awake and let her put herself to sleep, if she woke up early I would let her cry it out to go back to sleep sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't, but I had faith it would one day. And I am here to tell you it finally did, now we are down to two naps a day and she sleeps so much better. So don't give up, it will get better! I will pray for perserverance for you!
He may be a cat-napper. Aubrey is 7 months old and only naps for 30-45 minutes at a time, and we've tried everything you have. She takes about 4 short naps a day. She sleeps great at night in her crib, but not during the day. We even hold her sometimes during the day and she'll still only cat-nap. Luckily he's a good night sleeper. I feel your frustration though-it's tough to get anything done.
Maybe he likes darkness when he sleeps. Try making his room dark and maybe putting some lullaby music on or even a small fan by his bed for noise purposes. If he likes being swaddles, then try one of those wedges that you can lay him in so he is snuggled again it. Let me know what you think and how he does. I have another friend going through the exact same thing. Oh, he's not too young to cry it out., the main thing is when you put him down, let him cry a bit and then tell him, it's okay and leave; if you pick him up, it's all over and then you have to start the process all over again. It's hard but well worth it in the long run. Love you!
Oh, I forgot to mention, if he is sleeping 3 hours in a row, you can wake him up...then when it's time for the afternoon nap, he'll be tired...:)
Well, I hope this might help. Jillian is about 3 1/2 months old and was sleeping about 7-9 hours at night at about 2 months. Then something happened, I think it might be a developmental thing. Our pedi told us that we could start letting her CIO at 2 months. I would start w/ just letting her cry for about 5 mins and then go in there. Babies that age should really only stay awake for about 1-2 hours at a time before they need a nap. I would encourage you to watch for signs of sleepiness. Sometimes, if they get over tired and we miss the signs (because we have a small toddler running everywhere!) then it is an uphill battle. When you see the signs maybe lay him on his back-awake in the crib until he get fussy-even let him cry for a minute or so to burn off some energy. Then bring him to where ever you are and get him to sleep on your shoulder. Once he is out, lay him in his crib and keep a hand on his tummy and shhhh him. If he starts crying, let him cry for a few minutes. If he is still crying about 5 mins or so go back in and get him back to sleep. I just keep going in there until she is asleep.
It does get better. Last night she slept 12 hours and had 2 3 1/2 hours naps today. Remember, babies don't stay in one stage for long. Hang in there. I totally understand what you are going through. Hang in there! If you need to call me for advice or to vent, feel free. You can get my # through Janelle!
Every child is so different. Mal was a sleeper. She slept for one long nap during the day and then all night. I just got done babysitting a 4 month old all last week. Sometimes, I personally think he was overstimulated. So I did let him cry it out with no stimulation in his bed; which I did let Mal do at 2 months old. So I do not think it is too early. Just remember that babies want to be soothed, we just do not remember what they want, lol. Sometimes all the things we do just over do it for them :}
Sorry not very good advice, lol.
Kim
My pedi said crying it out never hurt anyone, even an infant. Unless he is crying to the point of throwing up then he is fine. She said to not even touch them. Just stand at the doorway to reassure him you are still there and that he is okay. Although I must say it is SO hard to listen to!! Just makes you want to join in.
Advice is hard b/c every baby is so different. When everyone was telling me something different (lactation consultant, BabyWise, pedi, etc.) the best lesson I learned was just to watch Luke and pick up on his cues as best as I could and trust myself a little more. It was hard to do that, because I really wanted someone to just tell me what to do and that be the answer.
You're doing a great job, Michelle! Don't forget that! Try everything you're doing a couple times. I tried to remember all the adjusting that's going on for them and just to try something again, even if it didn't work the first time. They change so much, so maybe something that didn't work 2 days ago might work now; you never know.
That doesn't help, does it? :) Love you.
Do try and look for the signs of sleepiness. As soon as he yawns the first time, he is getting tired and try and put him down for a nap. Also, for some reason my daughter likes her crib elevated. I put a few phone books under the mattress and that helped her to sleep better.
Okay, I am by NO means the sleep expert, especially since I am right now having my own sleep issues with Noah. BUT, the instructor of my baby class did say that you don't have to feel bad about doing whatever it takes to lull them to sleep at this point, and that it's very common for them to have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. She said not to feel bad if you have to rock, bounce, or nurse them to sleep. (My own caveat was that I will only do that in extreme circumstances so that it doesn't become a sleep prop.) However, how can you spend 40 minutes several times a day putting one kid down to sleep with a toddler to keep an eye on, too? I don't know.
You might consider using a sling. That can work well, because the baby is curled up against you, and between your warmth, heartbeat, and movements, they often fall asleep (kind of the same thing as the car vibrations lulling them to sleep). Also, if you make large bouncing movements with him in the sling, it's super soothing.
You don't actually get to put him down with the sling, but you do have your hands free this way. I got a Hotsling (www.hotslings.com), and it always puts Noah to sleep after a while--such a nice, deep sleep that I can take him out, swaddle him, and put him in his bassinet without him waking up (okay, so I've only tried that once, but that's what happened). I would think it's also good for grocery shopping and whatnot so you can put Keegs in the basket and wear Jack.
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