7 Month Suddenly Stopped Sleeping Through the Night...advice Posted: 10-04-07 10:32am
My wife and I have a beautiful 7
1/2-month-old baby girl who has suddenly
stopped sleeping through the night. We
have a well-established nighttime routine
that is non-stimulating and has worked for
months now. However, we do hold her till
she is asleep and then we place her in her
crib. I’m getting the feeling from some
of the literature that I have been reading
that this may not be a smart idea. Anyway,
she has been sleeping trough the night now
for months (between 10 and 12 hrs) but has
all of the sudden started waking up about
an hour after we put her down, and will
not go back to sleep for at least 3 to 4
hours, and then we usually place her on
one of our chests (I know, I know) until
she goes to sleep. Let me clarify.
During those 3 to 4 hours we can get her
back to sleep if we hold her or sometimes
just rub her back while lying in her crib.
But once we leave, 10 to 15 minutes later
she is right back to crying her little
heart out. Any suggestions? Any advice
here is welcome.
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tigresacanela24
Especially EHEALTHy
Joined: 11 Nov 2005 Posts: 5261 Location: Treat your children well, eventually they'll choose your nursing home.
Posted: 10-04-07 10:57am
Unfortunately, you can't force your baby
to sleep.
There are different things that they go
through as they grow that affect their
sleep patterns...growth spurts, separation
anxiety, medical reasons, teething,
bedroom temperature...you get the idea.
First check to make sure that something
that can be easily fixed isn't what's
causing your baby to wake up. Like the
temperature in the bedroom or scratchy
pj's, noise. Blah blah blah. If it's
nothing like that then maybe it's just
because she's become used to only falling
asleep one way. If that's the case try
different ways of putting her to bed so
that she can fall asleep in a variety of
ways. Since you always rock her, try
singing instead or try putting her down
when she's still awake but almost sleeping
so that she can learn to fall asleep on
her own. It's going to be rough
transitioning but it's worth it. If
nothing works, then just prepare to be
tired for a little while. It may just be
a phase that she's going through.
*edited to add* just thought of a white
noise machine. a friend of mine swears by
it.
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Mommy35
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 23 Sep 2006 Posts: 3165 Location: Vacationland, USA,
Posted: 10-04-07 13:47pm
There are so many reasons why babies go
through stages where they wake up. I
think it's important when she wakes up to
keep her enviroment stimulus free. Keep
the lights low, don't talk or play with
her. If she's fussy or acts scared
reassure her, but try to do so without a
lot of drama. If she learns that when she
wakes up it's play time, you'll be in for
a long road of this.
I rock my son to sleep every night. He is
able to go to sleep on his own, because he
does it at nap time. I love it and it's
special time that we share. It won't be
long before he won't want that anymore and
I'm going to cherish every moment he does.
There are different things that they go
through as they grow that affect their
sleep patterns...growth spurts, separation
anxiety, medical reasons, teething,
bedroom temperature...you get the idea.
First check to make sure that something
that can be easily fixed isn't what's
causing your baby to wake up. Like the
temperature in the bedroom or scratchy
pj's, noise. Blah blah blah. If it's
nothing like that then maybe it's just
because she's become used to only falling
asleep one way. If that's the case try
different ways of putting her to bed so
that she can fall asleep in a variety of
ways. Since you always rock her, try
singing instead or try putting her down
when she's still awake but almost sleeping
so that she can learn to fall asleep on
her own. It's going to be rough
transitioning but it's worth it. If
nothing works, then just prepare to be
tired for a little while. It may just be
a phase that she's going through.
