Urgg! Habitual 2am waking

[thitz]

My dd has been waking at 2am since she was born :evil: .  She hasn't been fed at this time for over 2 months but she wakes up every night at 2am.  And she takes 0.5hr to 1.5hr of pu/pd and patting to get her back to sleep.    :? 

Also she cries and dh or I end up in her room at least 3 times a night.  Usually I just shift her a little so she knows I was there and leave and she settles for another 2 hours.  But I'm getting quite worn out.  I'd like to get at least 4 hours of sleep in a row! :cry:

Any suggestions would be really appreciated.

Thanks, Tarri

[Deb_in_oz]

Tarri - have you already tried wake to sleep? and if so how many nights did you try?  Tracy has said that you should generally do it for at least 3-4 nights - worth a try.  maybe some kids it takes konger just like the dream feed (it took us almost 2 weeks with DF before we shifted night feeds)

[rachelle]

Yes, I'd suggest wake to sleep also.


Also, when she wakes at nite, do you rush in at the first sound?  Make sure that you give her time to resettle herself.  If she is just making noise/fussing, don't go in!  Wait until she cries the "get in here now" cry before you go in, otherwise you are just enforcing her waking, and could turn all those other wakings into habits!

[thitz]

Thanks for your suggestions.  Last night we did our first wake-to-sleep.  Or I should say that dh did it while I listened in the monitor for an hour laying in bed.  She had woken at midnight too.  Anyways at 1:00, dh went in and woke her up (I think he woke her too much, I'll have to ask him about that) and it took him 15 mins. to get her calm again and it took her an hour in total to fall asleep.  Of course with me listening in the monitor.  She kept making noises so I couldn't relax cause I kept thinking I'm going to be up in a minute.  She slept till 4:00 and I did a quick reswaddle and then she slept till almost 7:00.

I'm going to get dh to keep up the wake to sleep for a total 4 days like the book says.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed for some improvement.

Also, I'll try to wait a bit longer before I respond to the cries.  It's just that often she's got her head against the crib side or a leg sticking thru and so she crys.  I think bumpers would help this but I read that you shouldn't use them cause of SIDS and other hazards.  I was using a bolster to help with this but she sweats buckets on her back when I use one.

Wish me luck, Tarri

[opp2]

Also, I'll try to wait a bit longer before I respond to the cries.  It's just that often she's got her head against the crib side or a leg sticking thru and so she crys.

I was going to say this, and also, get rid of the monitor if you can. Can you hear her if she really cries from your room?? This is a big problem I have. I have hearing problems so I have a monitor, but I have it turned very low so that I only hear when he cries loud, not when he's just fussing and playing. I found that if I turned it up and can hear everything, I lie awake waiting for him to wake me up. If I turn it down, I am not wakened by the fussing, only by the real hunger or trouble cries...

just my thoughts.

[Deb_in_oz]

tarri - that's not a bad reslt for night one.  just make sure he realises not to "wake" her up - it is just a slight stir you want, not a full wake up.

also - i have to have the monitor because the girls' rooms are at the farthest point from us (sounded good at the time  :lol: ) but finally agreed to turn themonitor down low so only hear if she really cries out - this really helped for general stirs.  still do the wake to sleep for the 2 am habitual waking.

good luck i know you need some sleep.

[thitz]

Dh did the second night of wake-to-sleep.  It took her an hour to resettle again but she didn't need us in the room.  Debra, he said all he did was rub her bum and say her name, I think I'll ask him not to say her name though.  Then she woke at 4:00 and 6:30.  It doesn't seem like progress to me but we'll stick with it.