Is it teething or accidental parenting.

[Rebecca's Mom]

Hi there, my baby Rebecca is nearly 10 months old and was sleeping through the night from 6 weeks old.  While she was a great sleeper at night.  During the day her naps only lasted 45 mins and she was so cross when she woke.. As this was upsetting her I started rocking her to sleep by day and would rock her coming up to 45 mins and this would get her through 1 1/2 hours.  Everything was going well up to 5 1/2 months when she started waking frequently by night.  All I would do is rub her back and she would go back to sleep.  Low and behold she got her first tooth 3 days after her 6 month b/day.  This sleep pattern continued and as weeks went on she got 6 teeth in a row.  She has not got a tooth since the end of July but her sleep pattern has stayed the same with a good night being waking at 3 and then at 6 and a bad night being anywhere up to 5 times a night.. When she wakes she stands up in the cot and cries, I lie her down on her side and rub her back and she goes back to sleep within 5 mins - this goes on until she wakes at 6 and no way will she lie down then - she screams the house down and accidental parenting has kicked in and I bring her into the bed.  Sometimes this doesnt work and she is still crying!!! Is this still teething or bad habits??? Sometimes she wakes an hour or so after going to sleep and is standing and the minute she sees us come into the room she throws herself down and goes back to sleep herself? She slept one night last week from 8.30 till 7 and we didnt know ourselves it was like the old days!!    Also I have stopped rocking her to sleep and she goes down in her cot for naps.  I used to sit and watch her coming up to 45 mins and rub her back.. Her naps extended to 1 1/2 in morning and 45 mins in afternoon.  The travel cot that my mother uses when minding her 3 days that I am at work  broke about 3 wks ago and my mother started rocking her to sleep again.  The last two weeks the morning nap has gone back to 45 mins!!  :cry: Is there anyone out there in the same predicament? I dont know is it just bad habits set in or is she still teething even though there has been no sign of a tooth since July!![/quote]

[Maddy's Mum]

Hi there,

It sounds like she no longer has the ability to self soothe or send herself off to sleep, hence why she has regressed back to 45 minute naps and waking in the night. I think using PU/PD will help her to learn how to soothe herself to sleep and for naps, but you will have to get your Mum on board to be consistent otherwise it may take some time to sort out.

Perhaps if you put a weekend aside to work on naps/bedtime using PU/PD then by the time she goes to your Mum during the week, Mum will only have to do a few PU/PDs to get her to sleep...hopefully! 

I think at 10 month we just used the PD part of PU/PD with Mads - when she got upset we would use our voice to reassure her and a hand on her tummy/back and then wait until she stood up before gently laying her back down again and reiterating that its just bedtime honey, time for sleep. When she calmed, we tended to step back from the cot to try and get out of her vision but if she got upset, we would repeat the process again.

Good luck!

Dee
x

[Rebecca's Mom]

Thanks Dee for advice.. I am off that opinion aswell.. It drives me mad when I hear she has been rocked to sleep during the day after I did so much work to get her out of habit.. But my mother refuses to hear her crying by doing the pu/pd.  Last night was a disaster she woke at 2.45 and didnt go back to sleep till 5.  Now this morning I looked in her mouth and there was one really white patch where I expect the next tooth is coming up so I will wait and see if this one comes up and things might calm down a bit.. I dont see the point of putting the child through the pu/pd when it is not consistant with my mother - I think that is cruel..  I am desperately trying to win the lottery so I can stay at home full time with her ha ha!! If only eh!!  Thanks again.  I will keep you posted.

[Rebecca's Mom]

Just an update on my 10 month old Rebecca.  I found a new tooth the day after her very bad night (awake from 2.45 - 5).  I had been looking down on her bottom gum as she only has two front teeth down there but found her new tooth up on top which is her fifth one on top.  Rebecca's nights have been so much better since.. She is sleeping through till 6.30 - 7.30 now and her naps have returned to 1 1/2 hour in the morning so she is back on track!! It looks like teething had a huge effect on her sleep for past few weeks.. The dribbles started over the weekend again and a runny nose so I think we are not finished with the teething yet!!