Baby wakes EVERY night after 45 minutes

[bruindawn]

My 3 month baby goes down easily each night, but at exactly 45 minutes each night she wakes up screaming.  We go in sh/pat and she will fall back asleep only to wake 1-10 minutes later screaming again. We continue to sh/pat/talk to her to calm her. She will settle down and then start screaming again. We do this for 1-2 hours each night. We are now completely exhausted and at our witts end.  We even tried letting her cry it out for a week and that has not worked either.  We are frustrated and don't know what else to do at this point. HELP!

[sanaya]

huge hugs sweety. seems like its been rough on you and the baby.

could you post your easy?
seems like she is ot or has gas/relux.
are you sure its not colic?
do u swaddle? i find swaddling really helps.
dont let her cio, they are so little. u need to be there reassuring her that you are there.
seems like something is bothering your lo.

sanaya

[bruindawn]

EASY

7:00 am BF
7:30-9:00 playtime
9:00 nap
9:45 BF
10-11:45 playtime
12:00-12:45 nap
1:00 BF
1:30-3:00 playtime
3:00-3:45 nap
4:00 BF
4:30-6:00 playtime
6:00-6:30 nap
6:30 bottle of breastmilk
7:00-7:30 bath and massage
7:30-8:00 Calm Baby video
8:00 BF
8:30 bedtime

Her naps are also 45 minutes. But when I go in after 45 minutes she smiles and seems to alert and awake.  I get her up and she is fine.  She is not fussy after a 45 minute nap. 

[natashacs]

You know about babies 45 min sleep cycles? It sounds like she's having problems transitioning from one sleep cycle to the next, and is waking up as a result. Does she sleep for longer spells through the rest of the night? Even if she doesn't seem to need a longer nap at that age she prob could benefit from a bit more sleep in the daytime, or at least one longer nap.

[bruindawn]

We just started doing the shh/pat in the cradle and stopped picking her up.  Once she finally falls asleep she sleeps through the night-- a good 10 hours! 

I do think it is a sleep cycle transition problem.  Any suggestions are welcome!

[Karen:)]

Hi.

Sorry to hear you're going through a difficult time right now.  It will pass.  You mentioned that she wakes every 45mins.  Sounds like she is having trouble transitioning to the next sleep cycle.  You might want to start changing her day time pattern first.  The better her rest is during the day, the better she'll sleep at night.  First teach her to sleep to the next cycle during the day.  When she wakes during her nap, leave her in her crib, she may fall back asleep.  If you go in too early you're not giving her a chance to learn.  If she does cry, try to do shh/pat to calm her, but don't take her out of her room until nap time is over.  You may have to stay with her for another 45 mins.  Make sure she is comfortable and a good temperature in the room, so that when she does wake she is not distracted by discomfort.  Good luck.

[A pair of Charlies]

Hi

First up, big hugs. Sounds like you're having a hard time. Hopefully, between us all we can help.

10 hours sleep is great!!! WOW! DS has sttn once in 9 1/2 months (that was only 7 hours!)...so it's not all bad.  Am I right in thinking that nights are okay except for the first few hours where LO is waking within 10 mins of shh patt to sleep? Wakes from naps at 45 mins everytime? When LO wakes, is she happy or crying? Tired and needing more sleep or ready to be up and playing? If the latter (up and ready for A time), is she happy and awake for the rest of the A time? I think you mentioned that she's not fussy after a short nap? Feeding well etc?

How do you get LO to sleep with ssh patt exactly? Swaddled? Put in cot awake and patted into sleep or shh patted until she's close to sleep?

Just trying to get a full picture of what is happening. Your nights seem really really good aside from the first hell hours (just my opinion) so reluctant to offer advice that may upset that without understanding what happens during the day and how LO is generally.

Some LOs do have really tough patches in the evenings. Sanaya asked about reflux & colic - these can hit hard in the evenings especially so really worth investigating that. Some babies can just be more upset in the evenings and it remains a mystery as to why.

For now, stick close to your baby and offer loads of reassurance. The CIO is scary for a little one as you are their whole world, so might be good to reassure that you are there and not going anywhere, won't do it again and always will be there for her.  I believe building up some more reassurance will pay off.

A couple of links that might help:
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=85134.0 - Typical amounts of day and night-time sleep
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=10385.15 - Sample EASY routines for 3 - 6 months (take a look through for similar aged LOs for ideas).

TBH, I think your LO may nap longer after a slight increase in A time as she isn't fussy after a short nap. Check out the sleep guide and example routines and see what you think.

Hugs

Charlotte