Can't go back to sleep!

[lottie 22]

Hi

Can any one give me any suggestions on how to get my 4mth old back to sleep!  Usually if she wakes I just need to give her a quick SHH pat and she goes straight back to sleep.  Not for the last few days though.  She has woken and I have give her a SHH pat and she has started to go back off to sleep but then woken up again.  We spent 2 hours this morning with her dozing off and then waking up again.  She wasn't crying for food so don't think its a food issue.  She also does the same thing at nap time, it doesn't matter how long I stay Shh ing her as soon as I move away she wakes up and starts to cry again.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Lottie

[A pair of Charlies]

How far into her nap is she waking up?

If it's 30 mins, could be OT and needs some extra blocking out of stimulation, physical helping through the jolts.

If it's 40 or 45 mins, it could be not tired enough to go back to sleep (needs an increase in A...not sure what you're on now) OR could be that just needs help getting back to sleep but shh patt is too stimulating.

Perhaps try either shhing, but not patting. Or vice versa. My DS responded well to my rubbing / soothing his back very very lightly or just resting my hand on his chest. Comfort without any stimulation or activity, IYKWIM? They reach an age where ssh patt is too much for them and it's all bit exciting (or for my DS, sometimes annoying).

HTH. Let us know how you get on?

Charlotte

[lottie 22]

Thanks for the suggestions.  I've just tried talking softly which seems to help more than SSH.  We had another early wake up this morning and still couldn't go back to sleep.  Some times at nap time Olivia will sleep about 30 mins before waking and crying other times she will sleep for 2 hours. Guess I need to look at what we are doing during the A time. 

[A pair of Charlies]

Just another thought.... is there any chance that she might be teething? The movement and pressure comes before you see anything on the gum line and can disturb sleep a little. With my DS he started teething around this age although we didn't see any teeth for a long while. I gave Calpol when I thought there was a chance it was disturbing him.

For naps, I think it's looking at your A times and what's happening in them for clues. But the nap problem could be a continuation of the NW problem, IYKWIM?

When is this happening? Dawn hours or the horrific early hours? Does she seem a little wakeful and as if she's having trouble drifting back into sleep or does she seem desperate to get back to sleep?

Charlotte

[A pair of Charlies]

Sorry, If You Know What I Mean   

[lottie 22]

When she wakes in a morning it is usually around an hour early and seems desperate to get back to sleep.  I rub her tummy and she starts to drift off but as soon as I move away she wakes again.  This can go on for hours!!  It always seems to coinside with when she needs to do a poo which seems to wake her up.  Then she is tired after her first feed and wanting to nap earlier so she will then sleep right up to her next feed, but in the afternoon she will get tired around an hour after her feed and want to go to sleep but will only sleep for about 30mins.  Try as I might I can't get her to go back to sleep even though she is still tired and trying to put her self back to sleep.    We are on a 4 hour rountine, I am going to try and keep her up longer in the morning so she is only sleeping 2 hours for her morning nap and see if that would help?  I wondered if she might be starting to teeth as she is doing a lot of frothing at the mouth!!!

[lottie 22]

Wake up at 8.30am.  Breast feed .  9.30 - walk in pram Olivia usually goes to sleep about 10am while I am feeding the horses.  Usually sleeps while 12.30 feed ( if I am lucky!) Plays in rocker for 30 mins, some tummy time then I try and get her to sleep around 2.30-3pm.  Somedays she will go to sleep in her cot other times she just screams so i end up putting her in the pram and taking her for a walk to get her to sleep.  She usually wakes a couple of times.  If I have got her in to her cot she will get to the transitional stage , and stare so I block out the light and she will doze off for a few minutes but then her eyes will pop open and we start all over again.  Its the same when she wakes early in the mornings and seems deperate to go back to sleep.  I wake her up about 4.45pm for her next breast feed and she will play happily until about 6.30pm when she has a 45 min nap again sometimes she will sleep in her cot other more often than not we end up taking her for a push in her pram!  Than its bath, feed and bed at 8.30pm.    would love to be able to get her back to sleep at her nap times, tommorrow I am going to try and extend her A time by 15 mins after her first feed.

Hope this makes sense!!