sleep 4mth old

[Stephbux]

Hi there

We haven't intentionally tried controlled crying, I don't even know the process as I'm not interested in doing that especially not at her age. We have only walked out of our room at the start of a sleep and don't continue, I guess the only reason we have done it is that it seems that I might be a distraction to her with patting and shhhing and if I leave for a short time she calms and falls asleep. Mind you this is only day time. I have Pinkys book, in fact I have been so close to calling her many times but can't afford to do it! unfortunately dd doesn't like wrapping anymore and doesn't like been in a sling either but we keep trying! I do end up feeding her quite regularly at night and it ends up being every hour sometimes - if she falls asleep we stay there for awhile and then try and put her in bed, sometimes she wakes and cries but if its really late she will occasionally stay asleep but often wakes shortly after. btw we are still really lucky as she sleeps for a long time when she goes down but its just breaking my heart trying to figure out why she is so tired but not wanting to sleep

[Stephbux]

btw thanks for all the best wishes
we are really finding it hard and my hubby doesn't handle it well so having a crying baby and a crying hubby feeling like he is a failure is pretty hard to handle
she is a fantastic little girl and happy during the day

[Stephbux]

thanks for that Human Bean! Yeah the feeding has been really tough but I really wanted to keep going so just keep giving myself short goals which keeps up my sanity. Will keep trying to stick it out

It does help to know that its normal for bubs to do this, I guess my fear is that while this is going on we might end up doing all the wrong things and make it worse
I understand at the end of the day only we can know her the best so we will keep trying to help her out and hopefully she calms down soon thanks for the book advice too might try and check that one out

[YoYo]

In my 3 years (almost) of motherhood I have learned that there are no wrongs. As long as you are doing what feels right for you and you don't take to heart what others say. Your DD will get through this...as will your DH, just keep on keeping on and all will be good. BB is a great place for advice too (and knowing you arent alone) so make sure you stick around

[Esme]

I don't know if you have heard of the wonderweeks. They basically are weeks where babies experience a big developmental leap. This really upsets them because their little world has been turned upside down. Just google 'wonderweek 19' to find out what she is learning and how you can help her make the adjustment. This fussy period can last from week 15 til week 19 (calculated from due date). Hang in there, hopefully she'll calm down for you soon!

[MummaSue]

Hey,
Just wanted to add that the 4 month mark can be a doozy. If you google "4 month sleep regression" you'll see a rake of stuff on it.

Also, there is a section here on sleep - if you go to Parenting, there are some sub forums in there - loads of us are always posting about our bubby's sleep!! Lots of lovely book reviews and fantastic advice over there on previous threads.

Also, have you thought about co-sleeping? It can really help settle bubby down.

It's hard hey? Sounds like you're doing a wonderful job though.

Sue

[ladybirdflies]

I haven't read the replies, I just wanted to chime in.... 4 month sleep regression, google it! Smack on four months my sleeping angel day and night was hysterical for hours through the night, not even a feed would help her. I feel your pain! Check out the baby sleep site, they have a bit of info on this regression period. But the main thing is to keep the rhythm the same and she will come through, if you start new habits like walking the halls at night it will start a hole new realm of sleep challenges. Our regression period was over pretty quick, and once I realised it was a phase it was easier to see her through the night and know that she will go back to sleeping again. Apparently there is one at eight months too... guh!
Go well

[Livinthedream]

She is not starting to teeth yet is she?
Chewing, drooling, madly sucking things?
Lots of bubbas get their bottom 2 teeth around this age.
Pain relief may be worth a try...

[Heaven]

Just a thought, maybe you could try feeding her more often in the day? You say she's feeding every 4 hrs? I think my DD never went more than 3hrs b/w feeds until she was well over one. Obviously all babies are different. But I was thinking maybe if you fed her more during the day she would not want so much at night. Does she have a cluster feed before bed?

How is it you are settling her for sleep? Are you sitting beside her and patting/shhhing?? I found that never worked for my DD either. She was a snuggly little thing and just wanted cuddles. So I had to hold her and rock her and sing to her, then put her down when she was asleep.

I never worried about routines or self-settling or anything like that either. I found, the more I relaxed and just went with it the happier I was. The more we tried to change her sleep habits, the more stressed we were. Cosleeping was great for getting some extra sleep too.