8 months and need advice

[saydsh]

I don't know if anyone can help. DD has never been a "good" sleeper. She has been underweight for the last 4 months (she only eats when she wants to). She is very erratic. We follow the schedule below and do our best to read her, but she just doesn't do the same things everyday even though we do. For 8 months we have been trying to figure out what makes her tick, but we can't. I am out on disability for back surgery so I have been able to nap during the day, but go back to work in a couple weeks. I would like to have her only waking once in the night - is that realistic? We have started to wean the dream feed just recently (I hated to give it up because of her being underweight and she rarely eats more than 4-6 oz per feed anyway). I think that the teeth are giving her a hard time, so we give her Tylenol when she gets unbearable and starting to crawl may be hurting her sleep too. I just don't know what is realistic for a spirited baby when it comes to sleeping at night. I would like to get some solid hours of sleep. The pacifier may be a prop, but she doesn't wake up when it falls out. She does however like to have it back in (sometimes) to go to sleep when she gets up). Any suggestions or advice are greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

How old is your child? 8 months
What’s his/her daily routine?
Wakes any time from 5:30-7am (When she gets up early I try to shh/pat her (had back surgery recently so I can't do PU/PD)
Eats 7 am (solids and bottle 6 oz)
Activity till 9 am  or so
Nap 9 am- will sleep anywhere from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours
Eats 11am (solids and bottle 4-6oz)
Activity till 1 am
Nap 1 am- will sleep anywhere from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours
Eats 3pm (just bottle 4-6oz)
Activity
Naps between 4:30-6pm (usually only about 45 minutes)
Eats solids at 6pm
Activity
Eats bottle (6oz) at 7pm
Bath
Sleep for night at 7:30pm
Dream feed at 10:30
Wakes anywhere from 12-4 multiple times some nights - other nights only 1-2. We feed her between 3-4 when she wakes - the other times we just sh/pat her back to sleep.

What’s nap routine? Swaddle - she still needs this. As soon as her arms come out she is awake. We have tried so many times to get her to sleep w/o swaddle, just doesn't work. After swaddle we hold her for a couple of minutes (no rocking) and then lay her down in the cribe while still awake and shh/pat until she dozes off.

How long are naps? 30 minutes to 1.5 hrs
What's bedtime routine? Eat at 7, bath right after, swaddle, and put in crib. We put a hand on her back and she goes to sleep fairly quickly (usually within 10 minutes)

Do you bottle or breastfed?? Bottle
How much? or how long?  Between 4-6 oz each feed - sometimes more
How many wakes per night? Varies
What’s your LO like when waking at night? How long is he/she up?  she fusses and we usually put pacifier in and sh/pat her back to sleep. She can go right back to sleep or stay up for as long as an hour, but we never get her out of crib.
When you go to him/her is she fussing or crying? Or is it a mantra cry? We wait until she is crying - just to see if she can put herself back to sleep when she fusses.
What have you tried to settle?? shh/pat
What do you do for A time and how long is it? She plays with toys and sits in her activity center. She can go for about 1.5 -2 hours
Are there developmental issues such as teething or milestones? She already has 6 teeth and another coming in. She is also starting to crawl.
Have you introduced cereal? Why, how much, and how many times a day? She eats solids and eats anywhere from 1/3 to a whole jar at each sitting.
Do they have a prop? If so what is it? She uses her pacifier when she sleeps
Do they have a lovie? no

[Colin Macs Mom]

She does sound like a spirited one!    Actually I think that you're doing quite well given that you've had surgery and the spirited tend to be challenging sleepers. But I do think that one waking (or even none    ) is achievable. However, if you wish to continue with the paci usage then that might be harder - since she's swaddled then she obviously can't find and replace it herself, which means that you have to do it.   

You might consider trying the Aussie swaddle - there are instructions in a stickie under the FAQ section in Props. That way her hands would be under her chin, so maybe she would suck those instead of a paci?

I also encourage you to be as consistent as possible with the routine. I know it can be hard, but a LO, especially a spirited one, really thrives on consistency

[saydsh]

We had a good night last night! She feel asleep around 8 and ate 5 oz at her dream feed (10:30) and then slept until 4. I went in and patted her back and she fell back asleep until 6 and didn't have another bottle till 7. I could get used to that. I do try to keep a routine so that she knows what to expect, but again, with her the results are never the same. Last night she proved that she can go 8+ hours without a bottle, so I know that a full night of sleep is possible - it is just getting to that point. Thanks again for the advice!

[Colin Macs Mom]

It really is hard with a spirited one, so hang in there and do the best you can!