My 5 Mos Old Never Sleeps!

Hi!
When my daughter was about 4-5 months old, I started using techniques I found in Elizabeth Pantley's No Cry Sleep Solution book. I had to be consistent with my methods, but it definitely worked. I found that it was hard to digest the whole book (especially being so tired), so I focused on a few techniques that seemed do-able to me or that seemed to really speak to my daughter's particular difficulties - and this worked very well for us. I also felt uncomfortable with any CIO plans. Pantley's techniques are very gentle but effective! Good luck!!

Hire a babysitter and catch up on your sleep - soon!

Take her outside for at least 30 mins a day every day, preferably an hour or 2 before bedtime. The sunlight and lack of it will help her body adjust to when its dark and she will fall into a deeper sleep.

If you haven't talked to your ped about this issue you should start there. Make an appt just to talk about this and make sure you make clear to the dr how hard this is making YOUR life. A good ped should realize that if the parents can't function it's bad for the baby.
And frankly I know you're opposed to CIO but do you REALLY understand how it would work? Have you read Dr Ferber's book(s)? It's hardly torture and you don't walk away and let them scream for hours (usually less than 10 minutes). I have a 31/2 yo and a 1yo and it worked very well for both starting from about 4mos.
If you've really tried all the other major sleep training techniques out there maybe it's time to try CIO. Different kids have different learning styles, starting when they're babies. Sometimes you need to be the parent your kid needs you to be and that's not the one you thought you wanted to be.

would you try a modified version of CIO?? Be totally committed to try it for 7 days and if things haven't improved, then try something else. but the idea is children learn by consistency & repetition. So, on day one, the baby cries for 5 min until you go in and soothe him, but NO verbal contact should be made. The next night or two, wait 10min before you go in and soothe him (w/o taking him out of the crib, BTW. This reinforces that when he cries, mommy is still there, but bedtime is not optional. Every couple nights extend the crying by 5 more minutes. You will be surprised that he is slowly learning to self-soothe and the amount of crying will start to wane--you watch! And do NOT attend to him if he is not directly calling for you. Try it and keep us posted--good luck!!

You sound like me w/my daughter who is now 11. Just asking does or could she have reflux? My daughter looking back at it was waking every 2 to 2 1/2 hours fussing and/crying. We were dying. We couldn't figure it out. She did spit up alot but when I brought this up to the pedi he didn't make anything out of it and new time parents we didn't know any better. We though we were doing something wrong or she was spoiled or something. I found out years later it must have been reflux from all the info of collic and spit up etc that is out there now. No have a 2 week old and same thing less soo much spit up. I brought him to the doctors and really forced the issue that he seems like he is in discomfort and nothing seems to comfort him and my daughter's experience plus I have reflux and my family. Gave me zantac and what a different kid. Yes, there are fussy periods like all kids but not like before just way calmer and different. I am still in the beginning of this trial (just 2 days), but seems to be sleeping more and all together less fussy. Good luck.

We have also had great difficulty with sleeping children. We even went to see a DR. at the Ferber sleep clinic. At 5 months a baby is fully capable of sleeping through the night and they often wake out of habit (unless she has a medical diagnosis or reason for not sleeping). If you are not willing to do what ever it takes to help your child learn to sleep than in my opinion you need to succumb to the fact that your child is going to call the shots and decide when she wants to sleep more. It is funny to me that while you sound very desperate to sleep more, and I certainly understand that, you are totally against trying something that may actually work to help you sleep.
Maybe when you get tired enough you will be willing to try and let her cry it out.