Aaaah! Need sleep!

I'm sure there are a thousand threads on this but I don't have time to read them anymore!

I love Mackenzie - soo cute and generally a good baby (eats well, poos and smiles alot) but her sleeping patterns are not so great. Pattern isn't the right word cause there is no pattern! She has a bout one MAYBE two 3-4 hr sleeps a day and the rest is pretty much napping or maybe some 1 hr sleeps. Now during the day I can generally cope because we're often in the car or visiting so others can give her cuddles but at night it is driving me crazy!

I feel like I'm doing everything right - well as best as I can. We do feed, play then try to sleep but sometimes it's more like feed, play, fedd, play, feed, play etc. etc. untill she finally sleeps.

I've read tons of books and heard lots of advice - any new ideas out there? She shows signs of being tired before I put her down so I figure she's tired but then about 5-10 mins later she wakes up. then I feed her again as more of a comfort (which I know probably isn't a great idea) and then the whole saga starts again.

Just wanted to vent really and maybe hear some NEW ideas!

thanks

Chances are she's waking up because she's just about to drift off - happens to DS and me too. Something just jars you out of sleep. Have you tried the pat-and-shush route until she's asleep again?

You say you put her down when she's tired. Where? In her cot in a room alone? With you? In a pushchair? Could where you're putting her be waking her? - maybe she's lonely without you, or maybe she's cold in another room, or the radio wakes her.

The other advice is that babies don't get the whole sleep-is-important thing and we just have to live with it until they do get the idea. Saved my sanity a few times in the last 9 months!

If my son shows signs of being tired, its too late. He is now overtired and overstimulated. I put him down a little while before he's due for bed , about 2 hrs 45 minutes after a good feed. He has learnt to put himself to sleep this way. Didn't work on all my babies but!! Good luck and i hope you find something that works!!

Sounds like your DD hasn't learnt to self-settle. As adults we wake approx every 90 mins but we know how to put ourselves back to sleep, babies don't and their sleep cycle is much shorter, something like 40 mins. You can encourage your DD back to sleep as Caryn has suggested or stroking her face gently at the side or sometimes I just lightly run my fingers over her eyes so it encourages her to close her eyes. You just have to persevere and be consistent. The other thing I do is potter around DD room if she seems a bit unsettled, so she knows that I am still around/I am not leaving her and this seems to calm her and eventually she drifts off to sleep. The other thing is your DD may be so tired b/c she isn't getting enough sleep and therefore is overtired and can't settle. Stick with the feed, play, sleep 'routine' and soon it will become the norm for your DD. Do the same thing over and over everyday/night.
Also, not sure if you are wrapping your DD at sleep times, but this may help her feel secure and settle better.

Oh Jordie I hear you loud and clear but I am so sorry I don't have any tips (Olivia is being worse) but I'm sending you heaps of hugs and thoughts that your little one gives you some sleep. I was just sitting here talking to my husband about this exact same thing. I'm going out of my mind with broken sleep. Here's hoping that someone can give us some tips.

Olivia was very similar to this. For the first 4 months. Then she was a legend sleeper. But for hte first 4 months it was chaos. I attempted to feed play sleep, but she would only sleep up right on me.........(in hindsight I think I needed to let her get a lot more wind up......)

My advice may not be new, but I would do everything you are doing, BUT, after you have fed her, then keep her up right for as long as possible on your shoulder/holding her on your lap. Do you have a bouncinette? I used one of these a lot with Charlie and Lexie.....feed, then bouncinette as it was "upright" as they "played". Then wrapped at the first tired sign and into bed......

That said, we used a hammock, which helped heaps.......an Amby one. Worth looking into.........

Good luck!