Not sleeping anymore!!!
Honestly every time I post something about Theo, he starts doing the complete opposite so hoping it will work this time!
Theo has decided that sleeping at night is rubbish and he isnt going to do it anymore.
We have a good bedtime routine, he has a bath, bottle and then goes straight down and is usually never down later than 7:30pm just because he simply cant stay awake past that time. He usually goes straight off to sleep but then come 1am, he is awake and is not keen on going back to sleep! When I go in there he is laying there wide awake and as soon as he sees me he smiles and starts kicking his legs but I just put his dummy back in and dont talk to him and walk back out but he will not go back to sleep! He gets really anygry and starts crying and just wont settle, he really kicks his arms and legs about and gets really cross and screams. I've tried controlled crying and I did it for 2 hours in the middle of the night. and it didnt work, he only went back off when I picked him up. If I do manage to get him back off he always wakes again about 3:30 and I feed him then and he goes back off ok then until 6. I've tried feeding him when he wakes at 1 but he doesnt want it. It seems to me like he's got himself into a habit of waking at these times because its always the same time and he does the exact same thing, question is..how do I get him out of it? He used to be so good, sleeping through till 4:30am and then having a feed and going back off until 7:30-8am.
What do I do??
xxx
Theo has decided that sleeping at night is rubbish and he isnt going to do it anymore.
We have a good bedtime routine, he has a bath, bottle and then goes straight down and is usually never down later than 7:30pm just because he simply cant stay awake past that time. He usually goes straight off to sleep but then come 1am, he is awake and is not keen on going back to sleep! When I go in there he is laying there wide awake and as soon as he sees me he smiles and starts kicking his legs but I just put his dummy back in and dont talk to him and walk back out but he will not go back to sleep! He gets really anygry and starts crying and just wont settle, he really kicks his arms and legs about and gets really cross and screams. I've tried controlled crying and I did it for 2 hours in the middle of the night. and it didnt work, he only went back off when I picked him up. If I do manage to get him back off he always wakes again about 3:30 and I feed him then and he goes back off ok then until 6. I've tried feeding him when he wakes at 1 but he doesnt want it. It seems to me like he's got himself into a habit of waking at these times because its always the same time and he does the exact same thing, question is..how do I get him out of it? He used to be so good, sleeping through till 4:30am and then having a feed and going back off until 7:30-8am.
What do I do??
xxx
0
Replies
love a tired fiona
Sorry not much help but you aint on your own!
Zacky is now 7 mths old and has taken to doing exactly the same. He wont sleep until between 1.30 and 2am. His bedtime is 9pm. We have hours of uncontrolable screaming until he tires himself out. We go into him when he screams and get the immediate smile and laughing. We put his dummy back in say goodnight and leave him to settle (he used to be really good at this). As soon as you leave the screams start again. I do not keep going back to him as I already know that nothing is wrong. But daddy can be a bit of a pushover.
We moved Zacky into his own room in his 'big boy cot' last night and he was a bit better than the night before. Will see how he goes.
When he was in our room we got to the point when we would just go to bed with him which has done us no favours at all. Cant do this now as his room is quite small.
Zacky has been doing this for nearly 2 months now. Dont want to get to the point where I have to wake him up early morning just to get a routine back, but will do if i have to.
None of this probably helps but didnt want you to feel that you were going through this alone.
Beck
Its just so goood to know I'm not alone! All my friends babies seem to be sleeping till 4 or something now and I've felt like Theo is the only one doing this but its such a relief to know that other babies are doing it too. Has anyone else tried the controlled crying? Theo is in his own room but is still sleeping in his carrycot which he is really getting too big for now but we have finally got the right bolts to put the cot together so Robs doing that today and we'll see how we get on.
Do any of you think it could be the dummy thats the problem? Everytime I go to my HV for advice about Theo's sleeping she immeadiatly says its the dummy thats the problem and we need to get rid of it, yet she was the one who told me to give him one when he was tiny!
xxx
after being in tears at 4 am this morning oh and i have decided that she has been overstimulated by xmas and having both if us at home, so we a re trying a very calm day today and trying to get herself to put hersefl to sleep for her naps letting her cry for a min then going
back.
went ok for the first nap but now i'm sitting in our room trying not to cry while oh gets to to try to put herself to sleep! ahhhh!!!
The cot is up! Just put him in it to have a look and he seems quite happy to have so much space.
xxx
to be honest 2 hours with controlled crying is too long IMO, I read somewhere that some babies cry to wind down (and then sleep) and for others, crying works them up which is prob happening with Theo.
What I found worked with Gabe is have him sleep in my bed for a few nights just so he could sleep and kind of be reminded that mummy sleeps at night so Gabe should too. Then when he went back in the cot he seemed to settle better but I know a lot of people dont agree with this.
xxx
Louise is nearly 6 months........and last night was the first time since she was 8 weeks that she only had 1 feed. BUT, she went to bed at 8pm, woke around 9pm, 10pm......had a little cry around 10.30pm and somehow then didn't wake till 3.15ish for a feed and then slept till 7.30am.
Have you thought about doing a 'dreamfeed' to see if you can 'top him up; before you go to bed? It worked with Louise for a while but then it started unsettling her so stopped it.
We had a couple of nights where she was sleeping some of the early hours in our bed and she just wouldn't let me put her back in her cot. We moved her into her own room a few nights ago, it seems to be helping as last night was an improvement! My dh always goes to her as we're convinced that she cries for a cuddle for mummy and want her to stop that!
Until moving her into her own room I was totally exhausted, snapping at my fantastic dh and was also crying because I just didn't know what to do to get more than a couple of hours uninterupted sleep.
I don't think the hype of christmas has helped, or me going out either, my dh also returns to work tom so we'll see if returning back to our normal routine helps!
Lisa and Louise
xxx
thay seem to be doing the same thing. how old is theo? Ella is 4 months and i was reading somewhere that apparently 4 months is a major growth spurt that can really disturb them for a week or so.... so i'm hgoping this is what it is and that it'll only last a week.
also am now trying pick up put down technique which seems to works after about an hour or so. Good luck with the dreamfeed. have to say when I tried it with Ella she just woke up more.
this parenting thing is madness! good luck for tonight everyone!! will be thinking of you all...
xx