How can i get my baby to fall asleep alone when she wakes?

Question

Sleep has been an issue right from the start but we have managed to cope with it best we can, she's 8 months and wakes upto 6 times throught the night, we often find her crawling around the cot in her sleep, legs falling through the bars, head buried under the blankets and bum stuck up in the air, sqaushed up in the corner.Its bizarre but she's done it since about 6 months, she'll cry out on the monitor if we ignore it she'll go into a full blown scream, so we'll go running, turn her back on her side and pop the dummy back in.Most of the time her eyes are closed but she's wriggling and thrashing her head about, other times she'll scream and be wide awake only calming when i give her a bottle and into our bed for the rest of the night (not sure if she's too old for a night feed).We've tried leaving a light on,keep it warm, has plenty of food and water before bed, has a cuddle blanket.Does anyone have a similar problem or know any suggestions? Thanks

Answer 1

Babies are not supposed to fall asleep on their own, THEY ARE BABIES. We are parents because we are able to love, nurture, and protect them. You wouldn't leave your husband alone if he was sobbing, you wouldn't lock your dog in a cage, why would you put your baby in what is essentially a baby-cage and leave him/ her to cry? Doesn't make sense and if you really think about it you will realize that.
Spend more time cuddling with your baby in those waking night times, it may be a while before they outgrow the night wakings and you might as well enjoy it while you have it.

Answer 2

I agree with keeping her up more in the daytime so she is more tired at night. At 8 months my children were taking 2 naps a day about 1 - 1.5 hour each. If she wakes up before an hour during a nap leave her in the crib to either fall back asleep or entertain herself. This will help her learn to self sooth. If her bedroom is close to hers, turn off the monitor. If she screams loud enough to wake you then go to her. One thing that happened with my second daughter is she would wake up screaming in the middle of the night from gas pains, turned out it was too much cheese. So you might jot down what she eats on nights she screams in case it is food related.

Answer 3

Can you buy baby sleeping bags these days. They were like dressing gowns but buttoned at the bottom - they certainly solved the problem of wandering and getting cold as a result, babies.
At 8 months we didn't give a night feed - if a baby woke and wanted something it was generally thirsty, so some boiled water seemed to satisfy.
Certainly never took them into our bed - not a good habit to get into. My daughter found with her first that getting a toddler to settle in a cot was a major problem after she'd experienced the luxury of being in with mummy. No way was she going to settle in a cot. Different with her second - baby slept in cot from day one!

Answer 4

If you know you're baby is not hungry, not wet, not in pain: ignore her. I'm sure you can hear the difference in crying.
my 11 month old cries most nights when i leave her bedroom. As soon as I'm back she'll stop. So I eventually started to ignore her cry. I left her for 5 minutes the first time. now we're at 20 minutes. She wriggles around in her bed and now that she can pull herself up it's no easier.
Good luck!

Answer 5

i had the same problem and i found this helps she is at the age now where she knows she cries n u go back in so heres what i suggest it take at least a week but with my daughter it took 3 days so here goes

1st of all ur bed is out of bounds (full stop)

* bath you daughter and let her play in bath for at least 15 mins

* get her ready for bed and let her have 15 mins with u n ur partner

*give her a bottle and her dummy

* tell her its time for bed lay her in the cot and read her a story (not a long one)

*when story has finished u say to her its time for bed love you and walk out of the room with the lights out and door shut

* if she starts to cry leave her for 10 mins then when u go back in the room u just say ' its time for bed'

* walk out of the room and begin again but this time double the time u leave her on her own so this time it will be 20 mins

*if she is not asleep by this time u go in lay her bk down if she is stood up not saying a word to her and leave again let her cry for 10 mins and if it happens again u go bk in and still no eye contact n no speaking she will finally drop off and if she plays up for a good 1/2 hour then she will be exhausted this was the technique i used u have to remain strong and not give in no matter how tired u are this routine also helped my daughter go into a big girls bed and she has always gone to bed awake and goes off herself she dont have a mobile on now she even says bed time as she knows that there is no room in mammy n daddys bed and that she must sleep in her own bed good luck i hope this helps perservier with her and remember ur bed is strictly out of bounds until 6 in morning let me know how this goes i promise give this a max of 2 weeks and u will be sleeping in ur own bed snug as a bug n so will ur daughter

Answer 6

Is she teething? If so then that could definitely explain her sleeping problems. What time do you usually put her to bed? I'll tell you what I did/do and hopefully it'll help. At about 7 months i started a bedtime routine with my daughter who is now one. we put her to bed promptly at 7:30 pm. is she wakes up whimpering, we let her cry it out a bit and usually she stops. if she doesn't then i'll go in her room to check on her. she's one but occasionaly i still have to give a small bottle of milk or water to help her get back to sleep. lately i've been playing Mazzy Star's album So Tonight That I Might See and it totally soothes her to sleep. You could try othe white noise like a recording of television static or vacuum. Have you tried talking to her pediatrician about it? They may be able to help you. When I had this same problem my pedi basically told me that if she cries, let her cry because otherwise she'll just get used to us coming in and taking care of her all the time and that's a bad habit. They need to learn how to get themselves back to sleep w/out our help. I know it's tough listening to your baby cry, but there have been nights where I've just had to put a pillow over my head and take deep breaths and wait for her to fall back asleep which she eventually did. I hope I've been at least a tad helpful.

Answer 7

Some babies just wake frequently throughout the night. My son is 18 mo and still waking 2-4 times a night (at your babes age it was 6+).

It's normal. Feed her if shes hungry, bring her to your bed and enjoy cuddling with her. She will eventually sleep through the night... but I wouldn't expect it until at least age 2.

Answer 8

Music??

Nightlight??

We had this - about four months of total exhaustion. He did eventually grow out of it, although we have the odd night still.

Its hard - maybe you need to try doing the check, leave, 5 minutes, go back and check with no contract thing?? try offering water during the night so she doesn't chose to wake up for milk (I'm assuming she gets enough food via solids during the day)

good luck - I know how tough it is.

Answer 9

Well my theroy is that newborns are born after being in the womb and are suddenly stuck in a quiet room in a crib by themselves. That must be pretty startling to them. I sleep with my baby. By the time he is the age of your baby, I will have weaned him slowly into sleeping on his own... he is 19 days old and already naps on his own. I would suggest comforting her and sleeping with her and giving her time to feel that it is OK to not be able to sleep well alone or settle into sleep. Then she will relax and make the tranisition

Answer 10

this is very odd. however, dont give your child a bottle and leaving it in the crib, i've heard of cases where the milk drips down to the ear and they have bad causes bc of it....however, i think that you should try to keep her up as much as possible during the day not allowing her to take naps therefore she will sleep better at night...if that doesnt work, you should really try to have her sleep with you in your bed so you can watch her closer...