my 3 month old was finally sleeping for 3-4 hour stretches in her crib at night after REFUSING to sleep there for her 1st 6 weeks. about a week and a half ago, she started waking up every 30-45 minutes all night long unless i hold her. when she wakes up, she does not cry for quite a while, she just lies there kicking and squirming very vigorously until she finally cries after another 30 mins or so. i'm going back to work in 2 days and i can't imagine facing my 11th graders after nights like that. i'd even be satisfied with her sleeping for 2 hours at a stretch. why is she doing this and is there anything i can do?
aside: i know everything says it's too early for teething but she has all the signs--could that be waking her up?
My son was like this and what we started doing was co-sleeping. He started sleeping for longer periods. He is still not a good sleeper, but he had gotten better. He only used to sleep for 10-30 minutes for his naps. Now he takes 1-3 hours naps, just depends on growth spurts and whatnot. He doesn't always sleep through the whole night, but he is getting better. He wil lbe 21 months next week. I would try co-sleeping and see if that helps.
Co-sleeping saved my sanity and I got BETTER sleep, especially as a breastfeeding mom. I also lashed my son's crib to my bed and took the side off, so it is like a huge, co-sleeper. Works FABULOUS. Plus, he gets used to his crib, but is still able to co-sleep. He associates good memories with his crib, so that when he night-weans, I can start moving him slowly into his own room. I did the same thing with my now 9 year old daughter.
It takes time, but it is REALLY worth it.
Good job with the baby and boobies!
:)
Make sure she is warm enough. My son woke up every 45 minutes the 1st night he was home and we wondered if he was going to be like that for a while. He had jaundice and a nurse came to our house and said he was cold. Does she stop crying when you pick her up - could be the body heat! Take her temp and make sure it's within normal range for a baby. He was a little low but that made him very uncomfortable! Once he had on a hat, socks, a onesie, a sleep bag and was swaddled, he slept better. We also ended up putting a heater in his room throughout the winter (he was born early September). If you go the heater route, make sure you get one with a high safety rating, one that is cool to the touch and one that turns off if it tips over. You have my symapthy - good luck!
As for teething - she could be. My son had 2 teeth in his head @ 5 months - teethed for almost 2 months before they came through (and everyone said I was crazy until they saw those teeth!)
I know you are probably REALLY tired at this point and are anxious about returning to work, so I am sure this is very frustrating. At her age, however, it may still be hard for her to have a set routine. She should be getting at least three naps a day and giving you longer stretches at night....do you have a routine before bed so she knows it is night time? How long do you let her struggle before you go in to hold her? Is she swaddled? All three of my kids started sleeping longer stretches around three months, but they were four months old before they really slept. I recommend you choose a sleep strategy that works for you and your life style and try it for several weeks. I highly recommend Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child....the premise is sleep begets sleep, the more opportunity you give you child to sleep the longer and better they will sleep. soothing routines are recommended (swaddling, bath, sucking (bottle, pacifier, nursing).
As for teething, while none of mine cut teeth before 11 months old, teething signs started as early as two months (drooling, etc).
It is absolutely NOT too early for teething, as some babies are BORN with teeth! My daughter was teething at 3 mos of age. A little oragel helps, in fact it works WONDERS. Run your finger along her gums (particularly the bottom front) and if you feel little bumps theres your answer!
Hello!
I'm sorry you are going through this.
My boys were preemies. In the hospital incubators, they had them on their bellies to sleep. When we got them home - they couldn't sleep on their backs. I know it's NOT recommended to sleep on bellies - but this is how my now 8 and 10 years old HAD to sleep. If they were on their backs - I was up every 1 hour.
If you talk to your mom and your husband's mom - find out when you teethed - it's entirely possible she's teething it is NOT too early - if she has more drool coming out and sticking her hands in her mouth - that's the beginnings of teething.
I would take shifts with your husband so that you can get some sleep too.
Do you swaddle her? If she is too big for receiving blankets, you can buy a swaddle wrap at Babies R Us. If that doesn't work, use the baby wedges. You can get on at Walmart. It will hold your baby securely in a position.
If things are really rough, you can secure her in her care seat. That seemed to work for me when we had really rough nights.
If this continues you want to discuss it with your pediatrician to make sure your daughter isn't suffering from gas or reflux.
Congrats on your baby and good luck.
