We started out with co-sleeping
-Here's a picture of the co-sleeper we used. So it's not like she was directly in the bed with us. I never thought we would co-sleep with our baby but it is what worked out best for us. It def helped for recovery after my c-section and when we first brought her home she was on the bili machine and screamed her poor lil head off all night long. This helped big time!
But now I am ready to have my bed back! I just started reading The Sleep easy solution recommended to me by a fellow blogger and Facebook friend. I haven't read to much as Gianna was sick last week. One tip many of the books say is to put your baby down in her crib or bassinet in a state of drowsiness. Well when I do that Gianna will play for a little bit before turning into a crying screaming machine. You know the kind that arches her back and kicks her legs. So I pick her up and comfort her. I'm not a fan of letting her cry it out. We did try that that other day for about 30-40 mins and she screamed the whole time. That was the end of that
If I rock, nurse and hold her she will fall asleep. She could be snoring away in my arms but the minute I gently place her in her bassinet the eyes pop open and the screaming begins. I try giving her a paci, she shoves it out of her mouth and continues the kicking and screaming.
Last night I was up until 2 am trying to get her to sleep. Id nurse her or hold her, place her down when she was semi asleep and go lay down. 5 mins later she was screaming. I'd wait and the screaming would get worse so I'd go give her a paci and comfort her. She'd calm down and then would scream the minute I laid back in bed. If she did fall Asleep it was only for about 40 mins tips.
So mommies any suggestions? I don't even know where to start. The hubs jokes that we've created a monster. That being said I don't regret co-sleeping or nursing, rocking and cuddling my baby girl to sleep. She will only be this little once and I want to enjoy every moment of it even if it means I'm sleep deprived!
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My friend Emy used the Ferber method and it worked really well for them. Her daughter was a co-sleeper as well and had a hard time moving to her bed at a year. It got better everyday as long as they were consistent and stuck with it. Her daughter is 3 now and is still very much a "Drama queen". You should see some of these "shows" she puts on when she doesn't get her way. :o/ I wish I had something helpful to say but I have no experience with sleep training. :o( But I hope you find something that works for you and it starts to go a little better.
ReplyDeleteDo you use any music to help her sleep? My son would just melt and fall fast asleep with a CD with waves crashing... it also works really well for most of my newborn sessions.
Your baby girl sounds like my almost 11 week old baby girl! It's so great to know we're not alone! Ive read several books- Babywise, Moms on Call, The 90 Minute Sleep solution.
ReplyDeleteWe had her in a co-sleeper next to our bed for the first four weeks. She hated it. At five weeks I was at my wits end and put her in the bed with us, between me and the co-sleeper. She slept so well but like you, we are ready for our bed back. At 8 weeks we started a modified version of the Moms on call method-basically just getting her in a bedtime routine. We do bath, dress and diaper, feed, swaddle, white noise. We only let her cry for a few minutes at a time before soothing her with rocking, paci, etc. She usually falls asleep in 5-60 minutes. We try and make sure she has been awake for at least the last 90 minutes before bath time. We just moved her back to her co-sleeper this past week and so far, it's been good. We are using the Woombie with legs now and she loves it. She was breaking out of the swaddle blankets. Despite trying to follow all of these methods, she still screams most nights when we put her down and wakes up every 3-4.5 hrs at night to eat. She also sometimes wakes up as soon as I lay her down, especially during naps. It's very frustrating. I usually just end up holding her.
Sorry for the long winded response! It's nice to know there really are other babies out there like mine. All of my IRL friends seem to have perfect babies who go down without a fuss and sleep through the night. =)
They say great things come from hard work (or something like that, ha!) so I just had to work hard and we got Grace sleeping through the night.
ReplyDeleteIf you aren't a total fan of having her "cry it out," try extending your wait time. You said you waited 30-40 minutes one night, but this next night, try going 50-60 minutes before going in to comfort her. Then, pick her up, snuggle and/or nurse her, put her back down and try again. Try it two or three times that night then revert to your usual ways.
If she still hasn't fallen asleep, the next night stretch the time to 60-70 minutes and so on. If I could guess, within 3-4 nights she will start falling asleep within the hour!
I was the exact same way. Never understood CIO. Just not something we could do. I totally understand wanting your bed back! I wish there was an easy way.. It just takes lots of time and patience. Because a baby isn't going to do it until they are ready. Just slowly keep trying to leave her in her crib. I still nurse my 15 month old to sleep and put him in his crib and he sleeps so much better! Everyone is different though, you just have to find some way that works for you guys. Keep your patience :-)
ReplyDeleteI have lots of experience with sleep training - we did it with Sophie when she was 5 months old for night time and at 7 months old for naps. I am happy to be a resource to you because I have seriously read EVERY sleep book out there (including Sleep Easy Solution!) and have more information on sleep than any one person needs!
ReplyDeleteAlso - I am part of a group on Babycenter.com dedicated solely to sleep training - there are some "expert" mamas on there that are an amazing resource.
Please feel free to email me if you want help making a plan! lifesabeach.blog@gmail.com. I'm happy to help!
Brayden didn't move into his crib until he was 7 months old. Until then he slept either in our bed or in his bassinet by our bed. It took alot of patience. Alot of nursing and putting him down drowsy and then picking him back up if he didn't sleep. But he finally got it. He was 10 months before he slept through the night which is completely unacceptable for some. But for us, we were not going to do CIO. No discussion needed. So it took time. I know this isn't much help at all. I'm sorry! Just trust your instincts and don't let anyone push you to do something you aren't comfortable with.
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