Hi all. This is my first post. I am happy to have found mamapedia! I am hoping some of you can give me advice on helping my little 3 month old baby girl sleep better.
She barely naps, 10 min here, 40 min there, etc, etc all day long. By time night comes she is so overtired and screams and screams. It is just awful.
I've tried the swing, nursing her to sleep, the car, rocking her, holding her, walking around with her, sleeping next to her, etc, etc, and nothing seems to be able to help her sustain any sleep. I obviously can't force her to sleep and all the usual tactics are not working either. I have another child, 3 yrs old who I also have to look after.
I have an apptmt with a sleep specialist, but not until June. UGH.
I would love it if anyone has any ideas?
My youngest was like this the best thing I ever did was get an ergo.he has reflux and would only nap when worn or when in his swing.
Have you tried swaddling her and wearing her in a sling? Maybe the extra security will help her.
I fully believe sun exposure helps your body sleep better at night. Our bodies react to sunlight as well as the lack of it aka at night when its dark. Try taking her outside at the same time every day, once in the morning, once in the afternoon...youmight as well throw in a visit outside right before bedtime too.
She might not only sleep but sleep deeper!
hth
Oh, I'm so sorry, I know how difficult it is, esp. when you have another young child to care for. I've been there- three times. Mine had reflux, and I'm wondering if your DD could also have reflux? My children had it as infants- my youngest, though, never used to spit up. The acid would come up and go back down again. It's called silent reflux. Medication made a big difference- really, like night and day.
My other thought is, and I know this sounds strange, maybe lactose intolerance? I know you're nursing her, but I saw on 19 Kids and Counting an episode where it turned out their premie was lactose intolerant so her mom had to stop breastfeeding and switch to a lactose-free formula. Just a thought.
Ask her pedi- give as much information as possible. Does she fuss more/ less after feedings? Does she cry harder after burping (reflux), any other patterns you notice?
Hope you find a solution soon- I remember how exhausting it was- not just from the lack of sleep, but from caring for a baby that is fussy so much, and not really napping so you get a break.
Hang in there!!! :)
Is she eating enough? Maybe she's restless b/c she's hungry? My son was hungrier than my daughter and sometimes I worried that I was feeding him too much, but honestly, I don't think so. It helped him sleep and he was a happy baby! Also, is it possible she's got an allergy that's causing her to have an upset tummy and not sleep? I don't know, I'm just throwing out ideas since it seems you've already tried so much! It's so hard when they don't sleep! The swing always worked for me, so I'm sorry to hear it's not working for you! What does your pediatrician say?
Poor mama and poor baby girl! I agree with the reflux posts or maybe she has colic. My daughters both had reflux (except we didn't know it with the 1st) and it was very difficult. They slept ok during the day, but at night they would nurse and then cry and scream and spit up everywhere. It was not fun! Then we put our 2nd daughter on meds and within 2 nights she was sleeping 6 straight hours! What a difference for her and us! I wish you the best of luck!
CIO that's all you can do. We've been doing this with our son since he was 3 months old. Many people said i was mean for this. I was not, I made sure he was fed, changed and safe. Even my drs said it was ok for this. our son is a year old now and I just had a baby 13 days ago. We keep him on a schedule. He has his morning nap (he doesn't have to sleep but he can play in his room) and he has an afternoon nap which he does go to sleep. You need a schedule. I am sorry your going through a tough time, I am too seeing as the new addition doesn't want to sleep in his bassinet. hahaha. Good luck.
I always nursed my LO to sleep for naps and napped with her. When I was working, I would still nap with her when I returned home. We co-slept overnight too. We never had any sleep exhaustion issues - except I was working full time and went to school part time as a single Mother... so THAT was exhausting.
Put your 3 y/o down for a nap, once they are down - take baby into your room and nurse her to sleep while you get some much needed rest too. There isn't really that much you can get down around the house in 1-2 hours, especially when you need sleep more.
I second the suggestion about investigating whether your baby has reflux. My son was like yours at that age--barely sleeping, nursing lots but really fussy. And like you said, it's a cycle...they dont sleep during the day, making them more fussy at night. Like the other responder said, once my son was on the reflux meds, it was like night and day. Suddenly, he slept well and napped well and was an overall happier baby. The other suggestion I have is using some type of white noise, that really helped us too. My son was really sensitive to noises and the white noise helped block it out and soothe him to sleep. Good luck!
