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At my wits end - Some advise PLEASE!

I know sleeping posts can be a bit boring cos really theres chuff all anyone can suggest but me & hubby are on our knees.

DD is 8 months & goes down as part her her routine every night at 7.30pm like a dream. She has a bottle & one of us lays on the big bed with her & she's a gonner.

Then when we go to bed at about 9pm we move her in her cot with no fuss. Then she spits her dummy out about 15 times & we one of us goes & puts it in. She is wriggling round the cot, usually end up facing the other way, banging her feet off the mattress & generally being a nightmare. Then at about 1am she cries & won't settle so she comes in with us & one of us has to go off into the spare bed.

If this wasn't bad enough she then fidgets, throws the dummy, grizzles, throws herself round the bed & is a total nuisance.

I'm not sure if she is asleep whils she does this as her eyes are closed but i'm sure her quality of sleep is affected cos she has bags!

I would be prepared to sacrifice putting her in our bed if it meant she goes straight to sleep but it's really getting us both down, we are so so tired.

She only has a 1 hour or so nap in the day.

We have tried controlled crying a couple of times but I find it distressing & she gets into such a state it is then impossible to calm her.

Hubby think she's may be outgrowing her cot (at 8 months no way!) and should go in her own bed. This is not an option as I don't think it's safe even with the rails on.

Is anyone else having this? What going on? How long does it last?

She has no teeth through yet, sometimes we give her Nurofen if she seems crabby before bed but this makes no difference.

I'm convinced the child is as knackered as us ARRRGGGHHH!

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    Sounds like she's gotten used to a prop for sleep maybe and when she wakes she can't get herself back off without you!? Will she go off on her own in her cot?

    It could be she's overtired if she only has a nap for an hour in the day but then again some babies need less than others.



    It will improve at some poin Hun but it's hard now isn't it!

    There's a sleep chat thread on the forum, you know where people ask for advice, maybe have a read if you can!?

    Sorry I'm not much help! Xx
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    have you tried settling her later and giving her a bottle just before bed? my little one settles around 9 but stays asleep until seven when she wakes for a bottle and goes back off for a while. i also settle her with me in bed and then put her in the cot. she has one of my pillows(very flat pillow) in her cot. think it fools her into thinking she is in my bed!! hope things get better x x
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    Yep it sounds like she is struggling to self soothe herself back to sleep. It would be worth trying to put her straight in her cot at bedtime and leaving her to try and settle, if she cries just keep going in and shush, shush, and leaving bigger gaps each time you go in. May take a few nights and I know it is not easy leaving them to cry.



    My little one only naps for about an hour a day, given up on trying to get him to sleep anymore. Thankfully, he does go down well at night. We start bedtime routine at 7 and he is asleep in his cot for half 7, I always put him in the cot whilst he is still awake, so he can settle himself.



    Good luck, it might be worth you reading the Baby Whisperer, as there are some good techniques in there to help with sleeping
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    Thanks girls, I was going to ask if someone could recommend a good sleep book so will have a look on Amazon for that one.

    I am taking her to the docs today cos we are starting to think she may have thrush.

    Could be me dreaming things up but she has a bum rash that is just not clearing no matter what we do & she's trying to scratch at it all the time.

    If she has got thrush or somehting else then then hopefully that will be the end of the sleep probs!

    Wish me luck xx
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    i would agree with the others and try to get her settled in her cot straight away. Izzy self settles now but was a nightmare when she couldnt. hope it gets sorted soon xx
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    She has indeed got thrush - bless her.

    I hope now she has some cream we can get her right & this will go some way to helping her sleep better.

    I tried to get her in at docs a week ago but they said no appointments for a week not even for a baby...

    :x

    Anyway, I do think we've made a mistake letting her in with us but she was a brilliant sleeper but that all stopped around xmas which happens to co-inside with when I went back to work....

    I wonder if subcontiously that has something do do with it?
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    Hope the cream helps, thrush is awful, poor love! Doctors pee me off, they never seem to wan to see anyone! Funny that when I had an accident in the car an had to pay they got me in that morning!Grr!

    Maybe it's a little bit of separation anxiety as some of the maybies seem to be sufferig with that atm!

    Xx
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    Aw poor lovey, hope the cream clears it up quickly xx



    Not sure I can add anything over what the other ladies have said about the sleep situation, though I do agree it would be worth trying to settle her in the cot so that she doesn't get confused about where she is when she wakes up maybe?



    You don't say whether she sleeps in a bag? I found my lo got so frustrated kicking at the bag and slamming her feet down I've changed to a sheet and blankets tucked in and whilst she does wriggle up the cot she does seem to be sleeping better now she's not "confined" ifyswim.



    I also reckon my lo is asleep alot of the time when she "wakes" unsettled in her cot, quite often I can just ignore her and she settles back down else I can gently put her comforter near her cheek and she snuggles into it and quietens down again - sounds like you've tried that though.



    Wish I had the magic solution for you, wishing you plentiful sleep soon! xx
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    I'd agree with the others - you might like to try putting her to sleep in her own cot at the begining of the night, and get her to sleep in there all night. If you're moving her whilst she's not properly awake she might be getting disorintated as it must be quite confusing to wake up somewhere different to where you went to sleep.



    Once you've got her used to sleeping in her own cot I'd suggest ditching the dummy so that she can learn to fall asleep without it, making it easier for her to settle herself in the middle of the night. Since we ditched the dummy for night times Sophie has slept much better. You might have to resort to controlled crying for a night or two when you're doing it but if it makes you uncomfortable try pick up put down and sssh pat first. I found that those were actually making Sophie more distressed and did cc by default - I left the room to go to the loo not knowing what else to try and she went to sleep whilst I was out. She still wakes occasionally in the night (well, every night this week, but she has been ill) but she'll have a little cry for about 30 seconds and then go back to sleep again.



    Hope that helps a bit.
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