Waking up sobbing? Anyone else had experience with this.

[mumofalice]

At the moment I'd be happy with 12 hour nights and 2 hour naps 

[M and N's Mom]

IMO, and I'm not an expert, lol, I'd start with 1/2h earlier bedtime and see what she does with that.

[nwmm]

This isn't going to help you much, but my lo does that (nap and early morning) when she is tired.  Some of our trouble is:
* She is a light sleeper so any sort of noise often wakes her up.
* Never been good at putting herself back to sleep.   Once she wakes up she assumes she cannot go back to sleep and doesn't try much any more. 

[mumofalice]

Thanks for the input nwmm 
Not sure that DD is a light sleeper really - but she has been capable of going back to sleep herself in the past. However at the moment she seems to stand up in her cot and then she's ready to get up (nap or morning) whether she's tired or not  I have been laying her back down and saying 'bedtime' to her if I think she's still tired (usually EW) - and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Here's what's been happening the last few days.

Bed at 6.30pm on Sunday night - moaning started around 8.45pm and was on and off for about 45 mins. (I do go in and reassure her after 10-15 mins - but am not even sure she knows  )

Woke around 6am on Monday morning - but chatted on and off. Got her up around 7am.
Took her to the park in the morning and was heading home for nap at 12.15 - but she fell asleep in the car on the way home around 12. Transferred her to her cot and she slept til 2pm. Was hoping for a longer nap (due to broken night sleep and EW) but she wanted to get up.
Bed at 6.30pm. Moaning around 8.30pm - again on and off for 30 mins or so.

Not sure if she woke any earlier yesterday - but didn't hear her til 7.15am  . She was at the CM yesterday and napped from 12.15 to 2.40. Bedtime was between 6.30-6.45pm. Moaning just after 8.00pm - again on and off for up to an hour.

Didn't hear her this morning til just after 7am again. We've been to a music group, had lunch and I put her down for a nap at 12.15 - so she's in the land of nod right now.

So the slightly earlier bedtime seems to have helped the past couple of days with better wake up times WOO HOO (have probably just jinxed it now  ) but am still not sure what is going on with the moaning every night - can't remember the last time we had a night of unbroken sleep  It used be every night - with the added bonus of a shout out between 9 and 10pm. 

As I said DD almost doesn't notice us going in to 'settle her'. She tends to be on all fours with her face buried into lovie or mattress just moaning. We just roll her onto her right side (always been a side sleeper) make sure she has lovie and she goes quiet immediately - sometimes the moaning starts up again and if it goes on for a while we repeat . . .

Thanks for listening - and all the help. Any more nuggets of advice always welcome 

Berni x

[nwmm]

I hate to mention this, but anything having to do with her ears?  When you/they lay down the fluid, um what happens (??), backs up for lack of a better phrase and it can be painful.  Again, I don't mean to be negative, but as parents we often don't know they have a ear infection etc.   Happens all the time to friends etc.  We are lucky it only happened to us 2x - - 2 different kids.  When they are awake and moving about, the fluid does drain a bit so there is not the painful fluid back up.  Of course, I don't want you running to see the Dr., but maybe watch for signs that might be related to her ears. 

[M and N's Mom]

When you say she is moaning, is she crying an "I need you" type of cry?  What would happen if you didn't go lay her down?

Just wondering if you left her would she settle herself?

[mumofalice]

Thanks nwmm - I will watch out for signs that it might be related to her ears . . . hate to ask, but can you give me any pointers? Not an expert on ear infections . . . or any kind of illness really 

M and N's Mom - the moaning isn't an 'I need you' type of cry at all - which is why I don't respond to her immediately (even tho I feel bad  ). I too wonder if she would settle herself - but after 10-15 mins the moaning does tend to get louder, so I go and roll her. It's not even a case of laying her down - as I said, she's usually on all fours / haunches iykwim, with face buried into her lovie or the mattress.

Maybe it's time to leave her and see if she resettles herself . . . 

She napped from 12.15 to 2.40 today - which is great  and was down for bed at just after 6.30pm. I half expected her to start fighting nap and / or bedtimes but I think she's so used to the pre-nap or pre-bedtime routine that she just thinks it's time 

Thanks again ladies 

[M and N's Mom]

You have to do what you feel comfortable with, but I'd give it a try leaving her and see if she does resettle herself.  She is old enough to roll back onto her side if that's really where she wants to be.

[nwmm]

I would say, the major sign of an ear infection would be them tugging or playing with their ears.  Unfortunately, you hear Moms say all the time that their child never tugged/played with their ears.  I know, at a certain age, kids can't necessarily tell you that (let's say) their ears hurt.  They might say their elbow hurts or something like that.  I don't know what age this changes.  My 3 year old can tell me her nose feels stuffy, but we haven't had to deal with an ear infection since she was tiny. 

A more obvious sign of an ear infection would be a fever or a cold.  When they are little things get backed up and fluid gets into their ears.  I don't have a ton of experice with ear aches or an infections so I can't tell you exactly what happens inside to cause an ear ache or an infection. 

My littlest one just had a double ear infection.  We would not have known it at all if it wasn't for a persistent fever so we kept dragging her back in to the dr. until it finally appeared.  Her nose barely ran.

Unfortunately, any cold can cause an ear problem.

[mumofalice]

Thanks again for the responses ladies 

Will keep my eye out for any signs of an ear infection. DD does have a runny nose (but that's permanent  ) and a barking cough at the moment - but no fever.

I decided to try and leave her last night - but she didn't have a 'moaning episode' anyway. We had 2 almighty cries at around 8pm and 10pm - and although they sound like 'I need you' cries they were over as soon as they started, iykwim?

Head DD stirring at 6.20am this morning (said I jinxed the wake-up, didn't I?  ) and at 6.35am I went in. She was standing up in her cot - I laid her down with lovie (who had been evicted from the cot and was on the floor) and said it was bedtime. The next time I heard her was 7.15am - so am assuming she went back to sleep. I find it really strange that the standing in the cot is such a recent thing - but it's almost as tho she doesn't know how to get back down . . . but I KNOW she does. 

[knackered]

What jumps out at me reading through this thread is that you've said a few times that you feel that it's as if she doesn't know how to get back down from standing. Perhaps you need to give her some time in the cot when she's not sleeping so that she can figure out the standing up and lying back down thing. Even if she does it when she's up and about perhaps she feels it's different in the cot? Does she wear a sleeping bag?

BTW - being a mum of a chronic EWer I would kill for the nights you get!!!

HTH
Anna x

[mumofalice]

Thanks for the input Anna 

BTW - being a mum of a chronic EWer I would kill for the nights you get!!!

Sorry . . . I know I've been very lucky with my DD as far as sleep is concerned (always feel guilty when asking for help  ) - but she's always been on the high end of sleep needs and I had to fight the OT monster more times than I care to remember - not good for either of us. So am always worried that she's heading that way again - especially after we've gone to one nap.

I know what you mean about the standing up thing jumping out - this is a recent development in the morning and after naps. She used to wake up and chat and would usually still be laid down when we went to get her. Having said this - I KNOW that she is capable of lying down as she goes in her cot pretty much every morning. After breakfast we go upstairs to brush our teeth, then into her room where I dress her for the day and pop her into her cot whilst I shower / get dressed / whatever. I've seen her lie down from standing numerous times - she's even gone back to sleep sometimes  (usually when I didn't want her too LOL! Also we play 'sleeping bunnies' and 'dingle dangle scarecrow' - songs which start off by lying on the floor - and she totally gets how to lie down.

Oh - and yes, she's in a grobag - is that a good or a bad thing? 

[M and N's Mom]

Oh - and yes, she's in a grobag - is that a good or a bad thing? 

Would that make it harder for her to get down?  Or at least feel different?  Maybe you could practice with the grobag on sometime (during A time).