sleep question

[dowlinal]

Can someone recommend a good book on sleep that does not involve CIO? We are having some sleeping issues in my home. I am thinking that they are due to the move, teething, and/or the fact that Madeline is on the verge of walking, but I am starting to become concerned. She is refusing to go to sleep at night even though she is exhausted, she is fighting off naps and won't nap for more than 30 min at a time, and now she is getting up 1-2 hours earlier in the morning. I know she is sleep deprived and needs more sleep but nothing is working right now. In the past, she would always sleep if mommy laid down with her and would go back to sleep in the middle of hte night if she was brought into our bed. I just don't quite know what is going on here and feel the need to read up on this subject.

[daisymommy]

The No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley! I know everyone here is probably tired of me suggesting it ;) but it worked wonders for us! I used the books advice to wean Josh off cosleeping after nearly year and get him to sleep in his crib, to take better naps, and to sleep thru the night. I would be a sleep deprived crazy woman if it were not for this great book!

I also like the sleep studies that are in Weissbluth's book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child", but I really don't like his advice on HOW to get a child a to fall asleep (basically just let them CIO).

I agree with you that your instincts are correct as to WHY she isn't sleeping well: moving, teething, getting ready to walk. Unfortunately, there may be little you can do to force her to sleep until she has moved past some of these issues, but hopefully there are things you can do to take the edge off and make it bareable until then. Such as Motrin for teething, not letting her get over tired before trying to get her to go to sleep (which ironically makes them less able to fall asleep and stay asleep for long periods of time). But until she adjusts and wears off some of that energy from trying to walk, it may be difficult. I'm sorry! Try to nap when she does during the day. Good Luck, and this too shall pass :)

[AvasMama]

This is word for word exactly what happened with Ava about a month ago when she was 10 months old. We did end up doing CIO just this past week and it worked wonders for her nighttime sleep, but her naps are still a mess. I know that it is not the right choice for everyone, but it did work for us.

I would also recommend The No Cry Sleep Solution if you do not want to CIO. It did not work in our case, but I think there is lots of great info in it that will help you regardless.

Good luck!
Robyn & Ava

[Judegirl]

I just wanted to wish you well, and tell you to hang in there if the book doesn't help. I've read Pantley and Weissbluth, tried everything except for CIO, and dd is apparently going to remain very sleep-deprived until these teeth come in, and/or she starts crawling.

We went nuts over this (lots of people on the board can attest to this; I was bugging everyone all the time!)...but almost three months later, dd is STILL going to bed at 2-4 am every night. (We had a 2-night reprieve between the breakthrough of the bottom teeth and teething for the top...!) She's completely overtired, but we just cannot get her to sleep, and I won't let her CIO, at least not while she's teething like this.

I hope you have better luck than we had with the books - but if not, there's GOT TO be a light at the end of the tunnel. And you're not alone.

:)
Jude

[dowlinal]

Jude,

I thought of you when I was posting this. Fortunately for us I can still get Madeline to sleep by 11 but she's getting up around 6 am instead of her usual 9pm - 8 am. Tonight she went right to sleep and at dinner I noticed that her second tooth has gone from a little nub to a real tooth so maybe that was the problem. I agree with you about the CIO. If I thought she was playing a game with me then I would consider it but all of my mommy instincts say that something is bothering her.

A