Major sleep issues-suggestions please

[mommyoftwo]

Linnea has been having sleep issues for while as some of you may remember. Here is the latest. I'm finally getting her to bed a little earlier (had been 11 or 12), but she keeps waking up in the middle of the night wanting to play. The only way I can get her back to sleep is to put her in the swing. Last night she fell asleep around 8:30 and slept until midnight which was great. But then she woke up every 1.5 hours or so wanting to play. I would nurse her (didn't know what else to do) and then she would want to play. I try to avoid eye contact, talking with her etc. I put her in her crib and she will cry and cry. Finally I'll get back up and put her in her swing. She'll settle down, sleep for a little while and be back up in an hour or two at most. Then we repeat-all night long. At 5:30 this morning, I was up for the 4th time since midnight. If I didn't put her in the swing, she would happily get up and play. As frustrating as that is, then she is super crabby during the day and acts overtired. Yesterday, the only time she was happy was when she was in a carrier and I'm walking around. Then she will fall asleep. She's been sick twice recently and sleeping a good part of the day. She seems to have her days and nights mixed up. Sometimes she will take these super long naps like it's night time. I don't know if I should let her sleep as long as she wants or limit the time in an attempt to get her to sleep at night. Neither method has seemed to work. Anyone else had this problem? Anyone have any suggestions? I'm desperate to get more sleep.

[overcome]

nak

i'm sorry i don't have any suggestions, but i feel for you. My dd is not a great sleeper and i am so incredibly mean and nasty to dh when i don't get sleep. i never dreamed sleep would be so frustrating.


everyone says it will get better, so let's hope!!

ashley

[proggoddess]

Is your daughter starting any solid foods? We had problems with food sensitivities when DD was 6-7 months. She seems to become hyperactive when she eats squash and raspberries. No other reactions, no rashes, etc. She'd stay awake and playful until 11pm when normally her bedtime was around 7:30. When we pulled those foods, she went back to her normal schedule.

Also around that age, we'd let DD sleep for two naps around 1.5 hrs. each, and we'd try to make sure she'd wake from her afternoon nap before 4pm. I think babies around this time experience some sort of growth spurt or their minds are developing such that their sleep gets thrown off. DD was a great sleeper between 4-6 months, but months 6-8 really stunk!

[mommyoftwo]

Well, it's not foods because she is still exclusively BF due to lack of weight gain. I have a hard time getting her to take more than one nap, but maybe I could get her to take two short naps if I really work on it. She's learning to sit and crawl right now, so maybe it's a developmental thing.