Author Topic: Please help - I am at my wit's end!  (Read 1144 times)

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Offline megbrunskill

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Please help - I am at my wit's end!
« on: September 15, 2005, 15:20:04 pm »
My wonderful DD is 13 weeks (14 tomorrow). She has been on EASY since 5 weeks. She is currently on a 3 hour EASY. She gets fussy after 1 hour of awake time (including her feed). She has been 45 minute napping since 7 weeks. Although lately they are getting even shorter. Her wind-down includes: swaddle, darken room, pacifier, sit and rock with me for 5 minutes, then into crib drowsy but awake. She almost always falls asleep after I leave the room. Sometimes I have to go back in to replace her pacifier. I can usually extend her naps by giving her back her pacifier (1-3 times). She used to wake up 2 times at night for a feed. But she is now waking up several times. I reswaddle and give her her pacifier and she falls asleep. I still feed her twice a night.
I do not let her full out cry at night, or even with naps. At night I am worried that she will wake my DH who has to work and at naptime she is easier to settle if I go in early.
She has been trying to find her thumb for several weeks - but to no success.
I know that I have not helped her to foster her ability to self-soothe and I cannot keep waking up ten times a night.
1) Should I wean the pacifer with PU/PD?
2) Should I wait till she starts crying before going in at night?
3) Should I try to increase her awake time?
She is more irritable because she doesn't get a good night's sleep and so am I.
I just don't know what to do.
Any help would be appreciated.
Megen

I just wanted to add that over the last two days she has been waking up from her naps everytime her pacifer falls out. At night she will do this a few times before I get an hour or two of sleep from her.

Offline SandyGal

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Please help - I am at my wit's end!
« Reply #1 on: September 15, 2005, 17:47:50 pm »
Hi Megen...

You've got this figured out. It is time for the pacifier to go. Since she is heading towards the four month age you might want to try PU/PD to get rid of the pacifier. Your other option is to shhhh/pat her to sleep during the transition. She will find her thumb for soothing much faster if the pacifier goes all together. Dd found hers between 6 and 8 weeks because she refused the pacifier at about that age as well so her thumb was her only choice when I removed the "pacifier that she wanted"... mom's breast. Extending her wake time is most likely a mistake... you are reading her cues and putting her to bed when tired. Stick with that.  :) And yes, I do recommend waiting until she is really calling for you with a real cry at night. If you don't do that, you are not giving her time to sooth herself and drift back to sleep. You have clearly thought about this alot and I think you are right on track. Good job! I recommend you use the PU/PD board for support while you make the paci transition. It will be rough for a few days so you might want to start on a weekend when DH can help you and you won't worry so much if he looses a little sleep. Best of luck!  :D
Sandy-Mom to Kyra (1-7-04) and Kylan (9-20-05)


Offline Threadhead

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Please help - I am at my wit's end!
« Reply #2 on: September 15, 2005, 18:53:45 pm »
Been there - DD is now 15 months, but we had the same thing round about the same time (if I remember rightly)!  Every hour almost on the hour, we were up finding pacifier.  We had introduced the pacifier as she had sucked her thumb dry (not kidding), but we had to get rid of it again because of the night waking.  Looking back, it only took 2 or 3 nights, but it seemed like FOREVER.  We were lucky though, as she had her thumb to go back to (still a thumb-sucker).  My advice would be to actually throw the paci's out.  If they are still in the house, you will be tempted to give it back.  Good luck!