Waking Too Frequently

My middle ground is staying next to my daughter until she falls asleep. She's really high anxiety so I know she is scared on her own in the dark, so I just lay down next to her until she falls asleep then sneak back into my room.

Is it possible to move her crib into your room? It seems she may be getting a little lonely by herself. If you are in the same room, but not the same bed, that might be enough to soothe her. It worked for us, and at just over 1 year old, we were able to move the crib into my son's room.

Since you are not comfortable with the cry it out or co-sleeping, why not try middle of the road. Go in to comfort when she wakes up, but don't feed her. Offer her a bit of water in a sippy/bottle if you must give something. I would just lay her back down, rub her back, and then leave the room. Crying it out, doesn't mean you have to let your child scream for hours til they pass out to sleep. You can go in and comfort, just make the intervals longer and longer. I didn't use the Weissbluth method, but the Ferber method. Since your daughter is getting up twice, this is her routine, so I would eliminate one feeding at a time. Try stopping maybe the midnight feeding first. Like I said, go in and comfort, but don't nurse. She may stop getting up, once she realizes that she is not getting to eat. It could take a week or two for her to get it. Think of it this way....you have established this eating twice at night routine for awhile and it isn't going to change in one day. I think your daughter is plenty old enough to go without eating during the night, but I am not living in your house =) I understand not wanting to just let your daughter scream herself to sleep. With my own daughter, once she was old enough to sleep all night, we just didn't feed her if she woke. I never had to let her cry it out per say, just go in and comfort and let her know its sleep time. She figured out there was nothing to get up for and has been sleeping through the night since about 3-5 months old. Hope this helps.

Just wanted to add---since you are nursing, is it possible for dad to just go in and comfort her? She won't be expecting the breast from him and it may be easier for her to get that this is not a feeding time. It will take some time, but she will get it.

is she hungry? Does it look like signs of reflux or trying a new food?

Snuggle spot...It is a baby bed/pillow that makes a baby feel like it is being held when you cant hold it. www.laneybug.net

I don’t know about you but I had a spoiled baby that only liked to sleep if someone is holding her. I got tired of sleepless nights so I invented this pillow that I call the Snuggle Spot. The pillow snuggles the baby so they feel like some one is holding them and they are safe. Babies love it, the first time I put my daughter in it she slept 9 hours straight and every night since! I put her in the pillow fully awake with a full belly, and swaddled. Since the pillow snuggles them the swaddle stays intact! I recently went out of town and I did not want to pack the portable crib, changing pad, etc. so I just took a chance and only took the pillow. It was amazing, even in a diff environment she slept all night. I just put her in the pillow in the bed next to me or on the floor next to me. It is the perfect Co-sleeper! I changed her diapers in it, She likes to watch colors and lights of the TV so i put it in front of the TV. It fits perfectly in portable cribs and in regular cribs. My Daughter has reflux and has to be elevated so that her formula stays down, The pillow slightly props her up so that she is comfortable and stays clean!!! If you have and questions or concerns or want to place an order feel free to send me a message. The pillow is totally custom, you can pick the fabric, name or saying.

I'm a middle camper, too. Won't do cry-it-out but she was too squirmy for cosleeping after 4mo. My baby was a lot like yours, so just know you're not alone! The big difference for me is that around 9 or 10 months, I stopped the night nursings. If she knows she will get nursed, she's gonna wake up for it. I would wean the night nursings, which, you will no doubt be on here for again bc that is a frustration all its own! For me, I just went in there and held her but explained I would not give her nana. She cried and screamed--pretty outraged! I just told held her and kept telling her I would do that but no nana. She screamed in my arms for about 2 hours and finally calmed down and went to sleep. Mine has a very strong personality, though! The next night I held her for an hour or so again and then she was night weaned. That was I how I handled doing it cold turkey and not crying-it-out! The worst, though, has been 18-24mo. When she starts waking up and screaming her head off suddenly in the middle of the night then, it's probably either an near infection or molars coming in. She just turned 2 and is finally starting to sleep thru the night again--most of the time! Best of luck and blessings.

When my daughter hit 9 months, I was so exhausted that I knew I had to do something. We tried sending hubby in. Didn't work, she just got more upset. We tried ignoring her and letting her cry a bit, didn't work. I then realized I just had to break her of the habit. I knew she could fall asleep without being nursed (I didn't nurse her to sleep at night). So, I offered her water. She got mad, screamed a bit, but I stood my ground. She would then take a sip, calm down and I'd put her back to bed. I don't recall how long it took. I started with the first waking, and then we worked on the others (my daughter woke three times).

She didn't give up the early morning nurse, however, until she self-weaned at 11.5 months.

My son went through phases of waking in the middle of the night. When it seemed like it was becoming a habit I would have my hubby go to him, he would rock him and put him back down. We did this because if I go to him he wanted to be nursed. You should do this for the midnight one first, then go you go in for the second one. Try that for a while. That worked for us. Now my son sleeps from 7-7:30 until 6:15 or so during the week and longer on the weekends when we do not have to get him up for daycare. Also try offering her cereal before bed to have a little extra in her tummy, that might help as well. Good luck

I can completely relate to the zombie feeling. Our daughter was not a good sleeper from day one (never seemed to require a lot of sleep). She was in first grade before she started having more nights where she slept through the whole night than not. We tried anything & everything that we read, advice from friends, pediatrician, etc. and nothing worked. She just did not seem to need the sleep. Hopefully you will get some good advice that will work. Have you tried keeping her up later? This never worked for our daughter; she is not a night owl so wouldn't make it without falling asleep but maybe if yours will stay up later, she will then sleep better once she goes to bed. I know that is hard on you too because you won't get time alone, with your husband or your older daughter in the evenings but at least it might allow you to get some uninterrupted sleep which may make life easier overall. It is very hard but you will get through it. Something to look forward to: since our daughter doesn't seem to require much sleep, we have no problem getting her up for school or anything else in the mornings so maybe you won't have that battle to fight when she is older. GOOD LUCK!!

I would reccomend upping her food intake during the day. While trying to eliminate one of those nighttime feedings, tank her up before bed time. That one extra feeding will sometimes make all the difference! :) Good luck!!