My little girl has always been pretty high maintenance especially in the sleep area. For a while, she'd wake up 6 times per night (after 6 months old). She's now 18 months old and is still demanding in the middle of the night. I stopped nursing her 3 weeks ago and that went well (I'm expecting our 3rd child so I had to stop). She usually drinks milk before bed and goes down fairly easily. My problem comes when she wakes up in the middle of the night. My husband or I or both of us will hold her, rock her and she'll cuddle up to us. But when we put her back in bed, the tears and screams begin. Last night, she cried for over 2 hours. I just can't take it any longer. There are times when we'll put her back and she'll go right back to sleep. She even occasionally sleeps through the night. For naps, she typically goes down without a problem.
So, what can I do? Or what should I stop doing? Our 3rd child is going to be here in 4 months so I need to get some sleep and have her going to sleep on her own (in the middle of the night) by the time this baby arrives. Please help!! I'm ready to run in front of a moving truck.
OK--definitely don't run in front of a moving truck! LOL
Brace yourself for Three Nights Of Hell.
Do the modified sleep CIO. Check on her 5 then 10 minutes, etc.....
It will be Three Nights Of Hell but then it will be over.
Better now than after the new baby, right?
Good luck!
You poor girl. You need to get some rest! Maybe she is having issues with knowing there is another child coming/nursing stoppin and she just wants some additional attention. I hate to say it, but you probably just need to let her fuss until she understands that it is nite time and she needs to soothe herself back to sleep. Now obviuosly I dont mean do it if she is ill, etc. She is old enough to learn to sleep through the nite and now that she is 18 mos it will be hard to break her of this habit. I would let her fuss for about 5 mins and then go in and rub her back and tell her shhhhh and not talk to her or pick her up and then continue to stretch that out till she understands she isnt getting out of the bed and its time to sleep. You will probably have to do it for a week or 2 since she is so old now. The main thing is, once you start dont revert back no matter how hard you want to. Good luck and bless you mama!
My son was still waking up in the middle of the night when he was 22 months old. There were nights when he wold go back to sleep on his own or he would sleep all night but not very many. He became really constipated for several days. We stopped giving him milk and he slept through the night! We decided to switch him to soy milk to see if he continued to sleep through the night. It worked. Apparently the milk upsets his stomach just a little so during the day it doesn't bother him much but at night he can't sleep. You may want to try not giving her milk and see if it helps. For my son he slept through the night that same night, so you wouldn't need to do it long term if it doesn't help.
Cry It Out method works wonders. It was sooo hard for me, bt it was worth it. However , i got this squared away at 6 months so i agree w Ali it will be slightly tougher bc she is older . But i promise it works. I strongly support CIO ! :) Happy Sleepings! : D
Go to 3daysleepsolution.com. I consulted w/Davis Erhler and my babies have slept 12hrs/night since they were 3&4 months old. She guarantees her program will work in 3days. She has a great video if you can't consult w/her. It was the BEST $ I have ever spent. Happy sleeping!!!! :)
Yes, you definitely need sleep and rest! I agree with the first post (oneanddone) - I used the same exact method - modified CIO, and it worked. It was very tough, but well worth it. Good luck!!!
