Q for co-sleepers - baby not sleeping...

[deborah_r]

It seemed like DS was getting to be a better sleeper, and he was even starting his night in the crib (for safety reasons, because we were not in the bed yet at his bedtime) and he would sleep for 4, sometimes 5 hour stretches. He always nurses during the night. But I used to offer him the pacifier first and he would usually take it if he had eaten less than 3 hours before. Now he always rejects the pacifier and he kicks and thrashes and cries until I nurse him. Also sometimes he just wakes up and sits up and wants to play with Daddy. Apparently I sleep through these sessions.

So did your co-sleeping babies go through a period like this? I'd say he is nursing every 2 hours, but sometimes even the nursing doesn't settle him back to sleep. I've tried Tylenol the last 2 nights thinking it was teething issues (ped said she saw swelling where the molars will come in) but the Tylenol has not seemed to help.

He is also really busy during the day practicing his new pulling-up-on-everything-and-anything skills.

And with regard to teething, why is he fine and happy all day, even takes his naps with no fuss, but at night he becomes so restless and fussy? I just don't understand what is going on with him...

Oh and one other thing - we do his bedtime routine (lotion, diaper change, jammies while watching a Baby Einstein DVD - followed by 2 books) and by the time we get to the books his head gets really hot- whole head, forehead and back of head. I've checked his temp during one of these times and it is not above normal. I feel like he maybe has anxiety because he knows what's coming next (bedtime) but I don't know why, because he's totally content to go in his crib during the day.

[Rachels]

FWIW, Abigail always goes through a tough stretch when she is working on a tooth. It's also very common for babies to have interrupted sleep when they're working on a new developmental milestone, as your little one is. They want to wake up at night to practice. It's hard, but it passes. As for your teething question, I think that it's harder at night for many reasons: lying down for extended periods increases pressure in the ears, they're tired from the day, they're not distracted by other activities, etc. Hang in there! This too shall pass.


-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[daisymommy]

Ditto to verything Rachel said :) I woula also add that we have had better luck with Motrin for dealing with pain, and Tylenol for mild fevers. So, for teething, Motrin works better and lasts longer--at least for Joshua. You may want to try that. Also, many times Joshua would wake up and try to play with us at night, and we would have to pretend we were asleep and ignore him, even though we were very aware of him tossing his head back and forth looking at us like "Hey guys! are you awake? time to play!" But after a few minutes he would just sigh and go back to sleep. Try to make his wake up times very boring, so he isn't rewarded for being awake in anyway. I know sometimes it's hard not to interact with them, talk to them, etc., especially when they start crawling around in your bed! But do what you can.
And yes, this too shall pass :) Good Luck!