She's driving me nuts!! 45 min waking!!

[nicky37]

Hello

My little girl is driving me insane!! She has always been a really good baby and slept more than most, she is now going through the night and has been for about 2 weeks (she is 12 weeks old).  She has however about 4 days ago started waking from daytime naps after 40-45 mins.

At the lunchtime nap I put her down at 11.15 and at 12 she was awake, she cried for about 20 mins then stopped for 5 mins or so and then started again, finally settled at 1pm (I didn't go into her at all) but she then woke again at about 1.45 and was due a feed at 2.15 so I went into her at about 2.10.

I then kept her awake until 3.30 and made sure I didn't stimulate her too much before 3.30 and she has woken again at 4.15, she has screamed since then, I have gone into her once and just stroked her cheek and she settled but as soon as I left the room she started again.

I know she is still tired so why won't she sleep!!!

Any ideas how I can overcome this or do I just carry on this way letting her cry which is heart breaking!!

Thanks in advance
Nicky

[heather10]

Nicky, I am sorry - many of us are/have been right where you are. 

I am still battling this at 17 weeks, and my son does not sleep through the night.

Can you give more information about when she wakes, how long her activity time is, and what her pre-bed routine looks like?

[celia]

Hi There

I'm in exactly the same position as you nicky...the main difference is that i will be lucky to get my little girl to sleep 1.5 hours throughout the whole day. 
She is now 9 weeks old and to be honest we are quite lucky that from week 1 she has slept from 11pm (which is when she decides to go to sleep all by herself!!!) to 7am most nights.

I am still breasfeeding all day and we give her one bottle of formula for her last feed, i think the reason she goes through the night is due to the formula milk. Is this right???

How do i get her to go to sleep in the daytime, she never wants to go to sleep and i really don't know what to do anymore as it really is stressing me out as i know it can't be good for her not sleeping through the day. i have read other posts but would like some advice and tips on how i can help her go to sleep..

Thanks
Celia and Lola-Mae

[Matthew's Mommy]

At this age, a young infant needs support with their sleep. Their ability to self soothe, and settle independently hasn't been completely mastered yet.. and what tends to happen is the more they cry, the more upset, overwhelmed, overtired, they become, which creates a completely opposite affect-- they get more geared up and have a harder time to fall asleep on their own.

How familiar are you with Tracy's strategies? Are you familiar with Babywhispering?

Let's start here.

[celia]

At this age, a young infant needs support with their sleep. Their ability to self soothe, and settle independently hasn't been completely mastered yet.. and what tends to happen is the more they cry, the more upset, overwhelmed, overtired, they become, which creates a completely opposite affect-- they get more geared up and have a harder time to fall asleep on their own.

How familiar are you with Tracy's strategies? Are you familiar with Babywhispering?

Let's start here.

hello, i have read the baby whisperer book and i have tried to recognise the cries and the cues but it is still very hard for me to determine what is what. i try to spot the first yawn and i have been swaddling lola-mae and trying the pat/sshh which worked a few times but doesn't seem to work anymore. when we go out in the car she falls asleep straight away and also in the pram but she won't sleep in her crib during the day only at night.

[nicky37]

Hi

Bit of a breakthrough this morning, I put her down at 8.30 and made sure at 8.15 I walked around with her and gently rocked her.  I then made sure the house was very quiet at the crucial 40-45 min mark and I woke her up at 9.45, probably should have left her longer as she was a grump until I fed her at 10.15!! Our normal routine is...

7am wake and feed
8.30-10 sleep
10.30ish feed
11.30 - 2ish sleep
2.30 feed
3.30-5ish sleep
5 feed
5.45 bath, massage jammies on
6.15 feed
6.30 bed
10.30 feed
sleeps through

SHe can't stay awake more than 1 1/2 hours at a time...the above routine is an ideal which normally doesn't happen exactly...

Thanks for the replies....

[mommynow]

Why did you wake her when it wasn't time to eat yet?  Just wondering.  I don't have a lot of advice.  Your babe sleeps a lot more than mine.  Are you saying she sleeps from 6:30pm-7am and then another 5 1/2 hours during the day?  That is a lot of sleep!!!  I wish  :shock: Mine sleeps 12 hours at night but then only a 1.5 nap and two 45 min naps!!  That is if we are lucky  :?

[iunyper]

one thing that's worked for me is to shake the crib when he stirs at the 45-minute point.  just grab hold of the head- or footboard and shake firmly as soon as they start to stir.  this seems to help settle him and isn't as disruptive as p/s - i just today did it several times for my 8 week old son and he made it past an hour asleep (and thanks to my dad for the idea - he was doing it to us when we were babies, apparently).

[Matthew's Mommy]

Nicky, just keep doing what you are doing. Getting past the 45 min. mark can be take time for many babies.. you'll have your good days and your crazy days.  Around the 5th and 6th month, they start to take longer naps on their own, without assistance, and for many babies it's earlier.

Hang in there.. you're on the learning curve!