Gianna has been sleeping through the night since she was probably 2 months old but last week she started waking up at either 2, 3 or 4am. I have been going in and feeding her but it is really taking a toll on me. I am so exhausted! I was thinking about this yesterday and it seems that if she was sleeping through the night before there is no reason she needs to be eating more now. I put her down somewhere between 6:30 and 7:15 every night. Then I do a dream feed about 3 hours later and she drinks almost an entire bottle. She used to sleep until 6 or 7 a.m. but for the past 9 days I have been getting up and feeding her in the early morning. Happy Child Healthy Sleep Habits says it is still normal for them to wake up and feed twice a night. But she was sleeping through the night and I am afraid I am allowing her to form a really bad habit of waking up. She will be 6 months on the 16th.
I might let her cry it out tonight. Maybe go in and give her a binky or rock her back to sleep??? Anyone have any advice?
Thanks!
5 comments:
WELCOME to, in my humble opinion, one of the trickiest and most frustrating aspects of the first year of life! I've been dealing with the EXACT same thing with Sydney. She slept like a total champ for 5 months, then did a 180 and started waking up multiple times.
I would say check with your pediatrician and she what he/she says. Mine was very willing to talk about it, including giving his input that with Sydney's size and age, he thought I should go ahead and feed her at least 2 times in the 12 hour ideal sleeping time if she seemed hungry. He also gave me permission to let her cry sometimes.
Unfortunately, I second guess myself no matter what I do, and I'm praying that she will grow out of it soon. I haven't been brave enough to do the cry it out thing consistently for more than 2 nights, so it didn't change anything. Hang in there. I know it's mind-numbingly frustrating! It's really good that you are conscious of not making bad habits, but don't be too hard on yourself.
Remember you are a good mommy!
Julie,
Obviously, my only experience is with Madeline. But, I can tell you that this did happen with her. She is a great sleeper, but has gone through some weird phases. I think that's normal.
And, I think you are right that she can sleep through the night, since she has been doing it. What we have done to break the habit when this has happened it just put the paci in her mouth. Usually, it takes several times the first night, and a little crying. Then, it gets better every night, and by the third or fouth night, I bet she'll be sleeping right through.At least, that has been our experience.
Good luck!!
PS- In light of this, I wouldn't drop the dream feel for a while...
I am there too... Gavin is almost 9 months old....WAS sleeping thourh the night, and now is waking up at 1 or 2 am every night....I go in feed hin 4oz, and he goes back to sleep. I should totally be letting him cry it out, but i also second guess myself!! I feed him anyway! Gianna is normal to do this, like all babies. It's a phase.....just do what feels right to you....for me its a matter if an hour of crying vs. feeding him and going back to bed in a matter of minutes. I agree with Jen, ask your Ped. but go with your gut! Love, Kel
I am certainly not the expert on getting kids to sleep through the night (Ethan is still up twice a night at 1 year!!). But I have found that when they are sleeping consistently and then start waking up, it is usually because of either a growth spurt, learning a new skill, or teething. So only one of those reasons necessitates eating in the middle of the night.
Has Gianna learned any new skills, like getting up on all fours? That's when Ethan stopped sleeping through the night. If she is consolable without eating, do it. give her a paci, rock her, sing her a song and lay her back down. If you want to try crying it out.....let her cry for 5 min, give her a kiss, rub her back - see if you can settle her without picking her up (if not, pick her up and get her calm), leave her - let her cry 10 min, then do the same thing - then let her cry 15 min, and then 20 min, 20 min, 20 min until she falls back to sleep. May take a couple nights, but that has worked pretty well for us....that is of course until the next skill is learned, or the next tooth comes in, and we start the cycle all over again :)
Have fun!!
Hi there!
We haven't met - I'm on of Kristi Templeton's friends and your blog title caught my eye.
Both my kids went through this - and with both of them it was due to growth spurts and simply needed more calories... So, I had to suffer through the middle of the night feedings and then re-acclamate (spelling?) them to sleeping through the night.
I agree w/ Jen Bunch - talk to your pediatrician or even the nurse if he/she takes calls. They may have some insight. And I also agree that sometimes it's okay to let them cry (it's hard, but sometimes you just have to...)
One good thing for us was - whenever they would go through a growth spurt where they were hungry all the time - it would be followed by a growth spurt where they SLEEP all the time!!!!
Good luck to you!!
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