Nearly 4 mo old sleep problems - HELP

[TwoBees]

Hi there,

I saw that your last reply was a month ago, so I'm bumping this thread. Have you had any luck yet? We're facing our own sleep struggles right now with DD2, who is 10 months.

[fredct]

We have had some improvement. Honestly the biggest help was her starting daycare! She doesn't get the 1.5-2 hour arm nap until 5:30 in the evening, so shes more tired and goes to bed more willingly. Luckily she does nap at daycare... Usually not amazingly, but she'll most often take 3 or 4 half hour naps, some days 1 of them will stretch to an hour. I know they say that being overtired is worse, but either she's just different about it, or maybe she's not *over*tired, just tired. She still cries sometimes, but not nearly as much.

I do think she was a highly demanding baby, and that daycare has also had to help her to learn to self-entertain a little bit more, and not need to nearly constantly be held. We still hold her plenty, but now we can also eat a meal without getting down to change up her toys 15 times (now only a few times). The first couple weeks at daycare were hard - crying ever day by pickup time - but she adjusted by roughly the end of the second week, and I honestly think we're all better off for it.

Morning-wise, we've had to adjust to her. 8 AM is sleeping in - 6 to 7 is more common! I guess the trade off for getting some evening times to yourself is no more late mornings. We try to get to bed by 9 to 10. Although we try to alternate being the first one up and letting the other sleep later on weekends.


So from my sample size of 1 (high needs ) baby, part of our issue might have been her napping too much at least late in the day. And while I love her very much, I think it can be a good thing for them to learn that, while they are a very important part of it your world, they also sometimes have to wait a little while.


Of course, i don't really know what your experience is, and, my now nearly 5 month old is a very different developmental state than your 10 month old as well.