Help! I Need Sleep!
I would really welcome any comments pertaining to how I can get my baby to sleep better at night so that I can get more than 3 hours of sleep at one time. Marty suggests trying rice cereal since she's old enough now. Maybe that will keep her little tummy so full that she'll sleep more deeply.
I'm so exhausted that I can hardly think straight. Some nights are better than others -- 2 nights ago she slept from 1:30 to 5:00 am. But last night she ate at 11:00 pm, was up crying at 12:30, hungry at 3:00 am, then again at 5:00 and 7:00!
And then, on the nights when Luke wakes up, too, it's crazy! Usually I can get him back to sleep pretty easily... he just needs a diaper change and maybe some milk.
Lexie seems to either need re-swaddled and her binky popped back in to get back to sleep. Or she needs to eat. I've never seen a hungrier baby! And we can't let her cry it out because she's in our room! Our pediatrician recommended not letting her cry it out until she's 6 months old. She said that at 4 months of age Lexie probably still needs to eat 1-2 times a night.
So... I need thoughts and prayers, please! Thanks!
posted by Amber @ 9:20 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
This might sound really different, but we co-slept with Reese. We'd put him in his own bed (crib, bassinet, etc) to start, and then the first time he woke up, I'd bring him to bed with me, help him latch on, and I'd be back to sleep in no time while he ate & slept the rest of the night. I wasn't sure about it at first, but it worked well for us.
At a year our pediatrician had us try giving him water at night instead of milk. She said his tummy was big enough to make it thru the night, but the water would satisfy him if he was truly thirsty. After about a week he started sleeping much longer, although every so often he needs some water at night.
We haven't found a way around the diaper changes though--still have those a few times per week. My approach has been to open my eyes as little as possible and go quick so I can get back to bed. =)
Good luck!
I am with Kerri here. I used to take Alanna to bed with me during night feedings, or we would lie down on the couch in the living room and I would sleep there while she was nursing... I didn't quite understand your comment about (not) letting her cry it out. I always thought that at 4 (or even 6) months it's not to teach them to sleep through the night, but merely to teach them to fall asleep on their own (without rocking, etc). We did it when Alanna was 4.5 months old, and it worked with us -- she cried for about 15 min three nights in a row, and then started falling asleep on her own. It was great. But she would still wake up to eat each night (once or twice), and she did it till she was almost a year old... As for the rice cereal... I know that some people do it, but our ped said that any solid food should be given to a baby as solid food, not from a bottle. When were you thinking to start introducing solids? Did your ped say anything about it? I am sorry it's so hard on you... Get rest when you can -- napping with them, asking and delegating, etc. It should start getting better and better very soon. Have a wonderfull long weekend! Anya
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