Here we go again... 8.5 mo old waking ALOT

[Layla]

Does she need you for naps? Are you able to put her awake at nap time & leave or do you pat her then as well?

I would start tonight, at bedtime! When you go to put her down, give her some time to see if she will settle on her own. If she's just playing, rolling, calling out, fussing, leave her. If she is crying & it sounds like she REALLY needs you, then you go in & do pd.

Have you had a look at the pu/pd board? There is lots of good info there how to use it, etc... Then for every awakening at night, you have to do the same thing.

[stheo]

thought i would give an update.... Sat night was horrible... Ainslee was up from 115 to 400... DH went and tried to get her to sleep and he finally saw how hard it is, so he came back and said "we have to do something"... so last night, i spent lots of time w her b4 bed, gave bath, pj's bottle in her dim room, swaddled her up good, gave kiss and hug, told her it was "night night", put her in her bed, turned the lights off and left.. She fussed ( not to loud) periodically for 15 mins ( nothin that made me go in to her) and then fell asleep....BY HERSELF!!!!!! .. she slept all night until 630 this morning... i fed her, put her back in bed and she talked to herself and went back to sleep.... i was so excited....  this morning for her nap, i did the exact same thing... she fussed and talked for 5 min and is sound asleep again BY HERSELF... i guess i under estimated by child, but she has done great.. hopefully she will keep it up... thanks ladies

[momofclaire]

That is great!  I hope it keeps up. 

[Layla]

That is great news !!!! I also hope this keeps up!

[stheo]

hi ladies.... just a quick question... ainslee has been putting herself to sleep ever since my last post... the last week she came down with a cold, running nose, fever, coughing.. we took her to the Dr and they said it was probably a virus and gave us a cough, antihistamine medicine.. we have stuck to her putting herself to sleep but before she would sleep all the way thru and the last 2 nights she has woke up 1-2 times.. she doesn't settle herself bc i wait and see since I know that she can do it.. since she is ill i do go in and tell her to lay down, cover her back up and pat her a min( not to sleep, just to know that i am there) and she goes back to sleep.. Is that ok!! i want to comfort her while she is sick i just dont want to so too much AP parenting and screw up everything since it is wonderful not to have to bounce or rock   her every night..

[momofclaire]

That is exactly what I do when Claire is sick.  I try to comfort her but not totally break from the rules.  You are doing great.  I hope she feels better soon.
Myia

[stheo]

HI ladies.... Ainslee isn't sick anymore but she is still waking up at least 1 time at night.. I wait to see if she will put herself back to sleep but fussing turns into crying.. i go in to comfort her and them she starts crying as soon as I leave the room.. its like I make it worse... She just cut one of her front teeth last week ( it is barely through the skin) and I think 2 more are coming on the bottom ( she wont let me look). last night she was up for an 2 hours.. I changed her, gave tylenol and teething tablets, finally i fed her at 400, she sucked down whole 6 oz bottle and them she went to sleep on her own... I dont know if it is teething, separation anxiety ( she screams if I leave the room) she is sleeping too much during the day ( 3 hrs) not tired enough at bedtime ( awake at least 3.5 hrs before bed) or growth spurt ( she will be 10 months on Aug 17) but she was a couple of weeks early so could this be 9 month spurt).. she puts herself to sleep for all naps and bedtime but when she wakes at night she doesnt want to go back to sleep.. any ideas?

[momofclaire]

If she is really putting herself to sleep for naps and bedtime then I would guess she is waking from pain or hunger.  How is she eating during the day?  Has she been eating bigger meals than normal? 
It could be SA but when Claire had SA it only presented when it was bedtime not throughout the night.

[stheo]

She goes to sleep for naps and bedtime in less than 5 mins, just rolls over and goes to sleep.. i thought maybe pain and gave some tylenol but it was an hour later after i fed her that she went to sleep no problem... She has been sick so she wasn't really eating alot and even after she wa over her cold, her meals havent picked that well... she may drink 4-6 oz of formula and a good lunch and dinner... i try to tank her up during the day but she is so spirited and  mobile that i can't make her eat anymore than she wants to..

[momofclaire]

If she is only waking once and she goes to sleep after a feed I would think she is hitting a growth spurt and because she was sick just isn't eating enough during the day.  Try to really up her calories over the next day or so.  If t is a spurt it will only last about a week. I would try to not feed her at night but if you do everything else and you know she can soothe herself otherwise, maybe she is hungry.

[stheo]

MY MIL has her since i am working and says that the other front tooth popped out today so maybe that was some of it... I always try something else before feeding her since I dont want to start that again, usually it is a last resort when she has been up for an hour or so.. and she always goes back to sleep on her own after the bottle... i will keep you updated.. thanks for the help

[momofclaire]

Poor thing, teething is really tough. Claire is getting more, I think her 2 year molars, man they really make even an angel baby very moody! 

[stheo]

last night she woke at 130. i went in after she started yelling. i gave tylenol and teething tablets and waited a  little bit until she calmed down and gave meds time to work.. put her in her bed and she was ok as long as i was in there ( thinking SA )  but wouldn't go to sleep, so since she was calm i left... as soon as i did she started screaming again...  she then she talked off and on and fell back asleep then woke 30 mins later... we waited and finally mu DH tried to feed her.. she only took 1 oz so he left her and she talked herself to sleep...  we just got her back yesterday fr MIL after 3 days and she doesn't wake like this for MIL.. so i dont understand why she does it every night that we have her unless it is SA... what do you think

[momofclaire]

It could be a kind of just checking to make sure your still there type SA.  This is a tough one because it seems you and mil do things the same right?  Have you considered all things that could be different, bedding, room, temp...
You probably are dealing with SA and the teething doesn't help for sure.
SA is something you just have to work through.  I would try all the normal stuff, play peek a boo, tell her when you are leaving the room, don't leave her while she is crying...it might take some time.