I need some advice here. My dd is 8 months now, and still has a hard time sleeping through the night. I am so exhausted! I guess it is partly my fault, she was a colicky baby early on and being that she is my first, I could not help but pick her up! Now I am paying for it. Anyway, she will occasionally sleep all night, but most nights she is up at 3:38. Like she has an alarm clock in her head! She flips over on to her belly and screams until someone gets her. I tried letting her cry it out, but i give in because i need sleep too. I guess I have a lot on my plate. I work full time and go to class twice a week. I just am lost! Is this a phase? She has been extra cranky these past few days with new teeth coming in from the top. Help please!

By Emily7 on Tuesday, May 3, 2005 - 09:39 pm:

Angela your dd is adorable. I finally got my ds to sleep through the night after he turned 2, after I gave birth to my dd. I don't know if there is a magical way to get babies to sleep through the night. My dd finally does, we adjusted her naps & made sure she had a full tummy before bed. I know it doesn't feel like it, but she will start sleeping through the night & I promise it will be before her 18th birthday.

By Gammiejoan on Tuesday, May 3, 2005 - 09:47 pm:

Angela, my most recent experience with babies is with my grandsons. The younger one is three, and he was older than your daughter before he slept through the night. At eight months it was not unusual for him to awaken a couple of times every night. His parents tried everything with him before finally giving in and letting him into their bed. They would put him down for the night in his own bed and then bring him to bed with them when he would awaken. They found that they got more sleep that way as he usually settled down for the remainder of the night once he came to their bed. I've discovered that parents just need to do what works best for them despite what the experts say. Even the experts disagree with each other about parenting issues. I believe that my grandson's teething had something to do with his sleep difficulties--at least that was how it seemed to have started. He cut his first tooth at three months and was continually cutting them for the next several months. Does your little girl go back to sleep easily after she awakens? By the way, I saw her picture in your profile; and she is absolutely beautiful!

By Amecmom on Tuesday, May 3, 2005 - 10:30 pm:

Helen's 7 months and also wakes a few times a night. Her problem is reflux, though. Does your daughter use a pacifier? I know I've tried to get Helen to give her's up, but she can't quite manage it just yet. I've found that if I have a few in the crib, she has a better chance of grabbing one on her own and going back to sleep.

It also may be that your daughter can't roll onto her back yet and is not used to sleeping on her belly, so she wakes and is frustrated that she can't get to sleep.

Rather than letting her cry too long, go o her right away, flip her over matter of factly and leave the room quickly.

And ditto Joan - teething is a trial for them! I can't understand how these "experts" can say it's not painful. You see how much pain you're in when wisdom teeth come in, and those are just four. Imagine a mouthful!

Good luck, and I hope you both sleep well.
Ame

By Imamommyx4 on Wednesday, May 4, 2005 - 12:31 am:

My dd didn't start sleeping through the night until she was 26 months old and I put her in a full size bed with pillows and comforter. I believe she never liked her baby bed which turned into a toddler bed.
But she's always slept well in that full size regular bed.

By Reds9298 on Wednesday, May 4, 2005 - 08:48 am:

My dd has some trouble around 2mths, just waking up a lot. I put a mattress pad on her crib mattress and the problems stopped. I also changed her sheet to a knit jersey sheet and she stopped sweating at night. I think she was having general comfort issues.

By Tonya on Wednesday, May 4, 2005 - 09:24 am:

Oh my gosh if you do a search for things I have typed this was me 3 months ago but my DD at the time was 11 months. I will say thisto you it does go away. She is now 14 months and sleeps from 7pm - 7am every night and on the weekends she sleeps in. Usually in bed by 8pm and sleeps until 9-10am if we don't have anything going on. They will sleep all night I promise. Just hang in there. It does get better. Mine would get up 2-3x a night starting around 1am then 3am then 5am. It was awful. Plus having to go to work every morning. I would come to work exhausted but now I get to sleep all night. Good luck this too shall pass and then the next dilema will hit.

By Debbie on Wednesday, May 4, 2005 - 01:22 pm:

My 1st ds slept through the night at 8 weeks, but I remember different periods when he was teething, that he woke up during the night. Now, my 2nd ds was a whole other story. He didn't sleep through the night until he was about 12 months old. It drove me crazy! I was so sleep deprived.

It could be that your dd is waking up because of the teething. When my ds would wake up, I would just go in and rub his back and then leave. Usually, he would go right back to sleep.

By Agreen on Wednesday, May 4, 2005 - 02:10 pm:

Thanks for the advice everyone! i feel better knowing that I'm not alone on this. Fortunately, she does sleep in her crib, i stopped letting her sleep with us when she was 2 months. She hated her bassinet, but slept in her crib. When she wakes up during the night, and wants a bottle to go back to sleep. even if she takes 2 ounces, I guess that is her comfort. She does go back in her crib without fussing. maybe she just needs to know we are around... Anyway, she did sleep through the night last night! so i am a little more awake today. she is not a pacifier child, she likes to chew on it as a teether, but never liked sucking it. So i guess that is a plus for me. She is working on figuring out how to flip back onto her back. She hates staying her belly too long. so i guess time will tell. I hope tonight is another sleep filled night!

By Amyk on Thursday, May 5, 2005 - 07:06 am:

My ds did not sleep through the night until 16mo - I highly recommend the Baby Whisperer books - she has a great middle of the road technique that finally allowed us to make progress in a kind, gentle way.

I know how hard sleep deprivation is - don't give up hope and don't underestimate your dd. In simple terms, I finally figured out that my ds was waking b/c he thought he had to have me to go back to sleep. Once I taught him how to fall asleep on his own - and I never had to leave him alone to cio - it got much, much better. It is a long process - so start now!

Best,

Amy

By Heaventree on Thursday, May 5, 2005 - 07:24 am:

We went through the same thing at about the same time. I think it is a phase. She will learn to fall asleep on her own, it takes time. Does she have a pac. or a special teddy or blanket?

I stopped nursing at about 10 months this seemed to help. I think he realized if he wasn't going to get nursed he might as well sleep.

Matt is now 13 months and we put him to bed between 7:30 and 8 and he sleeps until 6:30 or 7 and he'll now play in his crib in the mornings by himself for up to an hour which is truly a blessing on the weekends. Hang in there it will get better. It must be really hard getting up and going to work in the morning.

As for the teething have your tried Highlands Teething Tablets? You can get them at the health food store.

By Agreen on Thursday, May 5, 2005 - 09:04 pm:

Amy-
I heard about that book you had mentioned, I will look into getting one. It is somewhere to start! thanks. The past three nights she has been sleeping very well! We'll see how tonight goes. I do thing she gets up and needs someone to put her back to sleep though.

Heaventree-
What are the teething tablets like? I have been using oral gel, when she lets me get in her mouth, i feel like i am attacking her to rub it in! She hates to suck on a pacifier, she likes to chew on it, so i leave one in her crib to find at night. She also loves her blankets, she likes to rub them on her face to fall asleep. So hopefully those continue to soothe her.

Thanks so much for the advice everyone. it has been so helpful!

By Amyk on Friday, May 6, 2005 - 07:07 am:

Best of luck to you - glad you've had some better nights - notice I put that my ds thought he needed me to go to sleep - I guess I meant that he just thought that was part of the nighttime routine - wake, cry, mommy, sleep. Oh, also, check out the baby whisperer website too - has a good sleep message board.

all the best,

Amy

By Heaventree on Friday, May 6, 2005 - 08:59 am:

I don't know a lot about the Hyland's Teething Tablets. I use them very sparingly. I bought a bottle almost a year ago and still have a lot left

Here is a link to what's in them.

http://www.drugs.com/PDR/Hyland_s_Teething_Tablets.html

I just realized that they have coffee in them, not sure why it's not listed as caffine? Anyway there can't be much as it appears to calm the baby and they get sleepy after taking these tablets.

Matt doesn't have a really hard time with teething so we don't use often, however I have heard other moms talk about them as if they were an absolute miracle. Perhaps you might want to ask your Dr. before trying.

In my opinion they do seem to help calm and stop the crying. The tablets are really small and dissolve in the mouth so you don't have to worry about choking. You can usually get them at the health food store or try your local pharmacy. Good luck and let me know if you try them.