Oh boy. We're having sleep issues. I'm hoping it's just a bump in the road.
Any suggestions? Here's our typical night time routine. We haven't changed anything over the last few weeks.
5:00 pm Bottle (averages around 4 oz each)
5:30 - 6:30 pm Playtime
6:30 pm 2 T cereal mixed with 1/2 jar fruit or vegetable (each child)
7:00 pm Pajamas
7:15 pm Bed time bottle (we always offer 5 ounces but it averages any where between 3-5 ounces)
7:30 pm In Bed
The kids usually fall asleep in our arms as soon as they finish their bed time bottle. We hold them for about 15-20 minutes to make sure they are asleep and then take them up to bed. We've done that ever since they were about 3 months old.
Beginning Friday night, they both started waking up about an hour after putting them to bed. It's almost like they think they were just taking a nap. We try to let them cry for about 10 minutes before going in to get them but it's hard if the other is still sleeping.
Last night was absolutely horrible. They did take naps yesterday but nothing extraordinary. An hour & 1/2 in the morning and an hour in the afternoon. They were both in bed by 7:30 and then here's how it went:
8:30 pm Christopher woke up. DH got him and brought him back downstairs so Kendall wouldn't wake up. Christopher fell asleep in DH's arms about 15 minutes later.
10:00 pm Kendall woke up. I let her cry for about 5 minutes until she woke Christopher up. When I went in to get Kendall, Christopher saw me leave the room and had an absolute temper tantrum. DH finally got him after about 15 minutes.
10:15 pm Kendall drank 4 ounces and fell back to sleep in my arms. As soon as I put her back in her crib, she woke up and started crying again. After that, she was wide awake and wanted to play.
12:00 am Finally got both kids back down.
3:00 am Christopher woke up crying again. DH got up with him and he drank 4 ounces and then fell asleep in his arms. When he put Christopher back in his crib at 4:00 am, he woke right up and started crying.
4:00 am I got up so DH could get some sleep. Christopher fell asleep from 4:30 - 5:30 am.
I have a theory for each of them but who knows? Christopher has started to show some signs of seperation anxiety (if I leave the room). I read that sometimes it manifests at night when the child wakes up and can't find the parents.
And, I think Kendall is cutting her 2 bottom teeth. I thought I saw something yesterday but she clamps down when I try to look so I can't say for sure. I did get my finger in her mouth and I thought I felt something at the gum.
I know that some bumps in the road are normal and expected but I think it's even harder when you get used to sleeping through the night and getting 7 consecutive hours of sleep. Not to mention the poor kids. They have to feel like crap too with waking up every 3 hours.
They are sharing a room right now so seperating them is an option but I really have a hard time with that. They lost so much time together when Kendall was in the hospital. I really want to keep them together for the first 2 years. If this really does become a problem where one is always waking the other, I'll make the move.
So, have any of you experienced similar sleeping issues and if so, what worked?
7 comments:
Try the Enfamil Restfull formula, and not that I am heartless, but maybe it is time to let them just cry it out. Sorry if that's harsh, but it seemed to work for us. Good luck!
Oh my! This sounds like what we went through about a month ago. Our boys are in the same room together too, and we started letting them cry not only to get used to hearing each other and not waking up but also to start sleeping through the night. Our pediatrician told us it was time for them to cry it out and learn to self-soothe. We leave a pacifier in the crib that they can get to to self-soothe, but we do not take another one back in if they drop it out of their cribs. The doctor said taking one back in was defeating the point.
The first night, both boys cried about 35 minutes and woke up about twice each crying and moaning here and there. We did not go in or look at them or talk to them or anything. The second night, both boys cried about 20 minutes and then fell asleep but did not wake at all during the night. From that night on, they have slept through the night, and it has been heaven!
I highly recommend it at this point. They are likely so fussy because they haven't been getting the uninterrupted sleep that they need. It will also make dealing with them easier for you during the day too!
Good luck and let us know what happens.
Is this a one time thing so far or has this happened multiple nights in a row? If only once then maybe it is a little bump. Are they going through a growth spurt? We had better luck with sleeping through the night when the meals through out the whole day were increased a little.
Good Luck!
(has a very hard time with CIO and only has 1 to worry about).
arg. i was getting ready to post something similar. (except your kids are taking much longer naps than mine, lol). can't wait to read what other people say. not sure i'm ready to just cry it out :(
My guess is when they are layed down they are asleep so when they wake in the night they don't know how to put themselves back to sleep so they holler out for you because they have learned the way to go to sleep is to be held and with a bottle. Try to break that habit and I bet things will get better. It might take some crying it out but they will learn AND they will go back to STTN and being well rested babies!
Ugh. We had the same problem with our twins. They were sleeping well at night and then they got into a bad habit of waking up and fussing--loudly. The boys are not only in the same room. They are in OUR room (we have a tiny apt). They were waking up, taking only a small amount of food, waking up again, etc. The doctor told us at approximately 8 months (adjusted) babies are physiologically mature enough to sleep through the night. She gave us the green light to sleep train them.
We started on a Friday night and sleep trained them (let them cry it out). It was painful to be sure. One of the boys cried for 45 min the first night. The next night was considerably better, the third night even better and by the 4th night they were sleeping all the way through!
The boys just turned one and we still have occasional hiccups where we need to soothe them in the middle of the night, but if we fall back in the same pattern, we always go back to crying it out. It works every time, and best yet, the kids don't even seem to be in a bad mood in the morning. In fact, they seem to be in a better mood and take better naps! Good luck!
Dave and Elaine has it right!
Your babies are WAY to old to be put down ASLEEP! They don't know how to put themselves asleep.
You need to put them down awake and let them cry it out!..At first put them down when they are just about to fall asleep..instead of 15-20 minutes after they fall asleep..
You assume they know how to soothe themselves back to sleep..
How would they?
Is this easy? No but it will only get harder if you contiue on the path you are on!
Good luck!
Post a Comment