Why won't he stay asleep?

[Saartje]

I know sleep patterns often change for the worse at four months. Isaac's have changed -- not entirely for the worse, but there's something I could use help figuring out.

For the last several days, Ish hasn't been staying asleep during the day. It's harder than usual to get him down for a nap, and then he won't stay asleep for more than 30 minutes at a stretch. (I can tell he needs more sleep -- he wakes up with bags still under his eyes, and wails if frustrated even slightly.) If I keep holding him while he sleeps, I can rock him back to sleep fairly quickly; if I lay him down while he's in a deep sleep, he'll take much longer to get back to sleep when I pick him back up after he wakes too soon. Either way, he sleeps for the same amount of time.

The result of this is that he gets more and more tired as the day goes on, continuing the cycle of being difficult to get to sleep until it culminates in a screaming session as bedtime approaches. The good news is that he's suddenly started sleeping through the night (I think we've had 3 consecutive nights of 10-11 hour stretches), but he needs more sleep in the day! And I can't keep rocking him all day, every day, either. (Rocking him now, as I type with one hand, in fact.) I would put him in the sling and go about my business, but he doesn't sleep as soundly there, so if I do that for too long or too often, he gets overtired anyway, leading to those same screaming sessions in the evening.

Thoughts? Help? Advice? Sympathy? I'm open to any and all. :)

[urquie]

i can't help... but am sure looking forward to others advice. i just spent a not so lovely hour trying to get dd to stop crying/screaming and take a much needed nap. she'll maybe get a 30 minute nap... unless all the crying made her extra tired (is that possible?) so i guess i can offer empathy!

[KrisM]

We have just started getting naps that are longer than 45 minutes. I've been putting him down earlier, when he doesn't even seem really tired yet. He might whine and complain for a couple of minutes, but falls asleep. Twice today, he woke at 45 min. and complained, but I was busy doing something and took about 1 min to respond...by then he was back asleep! So, maybe try to keep his awake periods just a bit shorter and see if that helps?

Other than that, I have no suggestions. We're still hoping for a repeatable 5 hour stretch at night!

[lizajane]

i SWEAR 4 months old is the sleep doom phase!!!!!!!

try some white noise. at this age, they become more aware of what is going on around them and wake more easily. a fan or air filter can drown out the dogs barking and the dryer rumbling and the phone ringing...

if you already use white noise, well, i wish i could help. we did CIO at 5 months when we were at our wits' end.

i wish i could determine why **I** can't stay asleep! i feel awful today!!

[mudder17]

4 month "sleep doom phase", LOL! I believe you speak truly. That's when DD started getting really bad. The white noise machine did help, but we also did the CIO at 18.5 weeks because we too were at our wits' end. But we used the CIO only for night time and still spent most of the day trying to get her to sleep. But like a PP said, we did let her fuss for a minute or so before going to her and sometimes she really did put herself back to sleep (and sometimes not). Also, there were times when I let her fall asleep on my bed, then when I noticed her stirring, I would run into the room, and quickly nurse her back to sleep. Sometimes she slept for another hour. In those early days of sleep training, she was definitely overtired during the day. I found that when I watched her really closely, she often was tired as soon as 30 minutes after waking! So maybe he just needs to be put down for a nap sooner?

Sorry you're feeling so awful today, Liza. I hope you feel better soon! <<hugs>>


Eileen

Mother of Beautiful Kaya
http://www.babysfirstsite.org/newtickers/ticker/16994.birthday.png

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_garnet_6m.gif Breastfed 6 months and counting

[jd11365]

Why? Because there is so much to see and do and practice! "Must practice rolling over... Must practice sitting up... Must stare at the cool mobile on my crib..." It's all coming together for Ishy now and he wants to be a part of it all. Don't worry...with a little luck from the Sleep Gods, he will figure it all out...and go back to sleep! Sorry if that wasn't much help, just my thoughts on the matter...

Love, hugs and big sleep vibes comin' your way you slingin', knittin', cloth diaperin', breastfeedin' Mama!

Jamie
Mommy to Kayla
May '03