Sleep Issues - Help!

[LeeAndra]

I'm at my wits' end with DD's sleeping habits (or lack thereof).

She has always been a terrible sleeper. She did have reflux the first three or four months of her life, but once we switched to formula, it was no longer an issue. She did not sleep through the night until she was 18 months old, and even now at 2y3mo, she doesn't usually sleep more than 6 hours at a time. DH does work night shift, but she is often awake before he gets home. When she wakes up, she is awake for an hour (or longer!) at a time. She has a crib tent, so she can't get out (thank goodness!), but I still worry that she's not getting enough sleep.

I have tried everything with her --- short naps, eliminating nap altogether, going to bed early, going to bed late, having some milk before bed, not having milk before bed, etc etc. None of it helps, and she still wakes up 3 or 4 nights a week.

She does consistently wake up between 8 and 8:30 every morning.

Help! Any advice? Had a kid like this and s/he (I pray!) grew out of it eventually?! I'm dreading putting her in a big kid bed. I don't think she will ever sleep once she has the opportunity to get out of her bed and play in her room!

TIA!

[ayaandjudah]

we're in the same situation. My third is 7 months old and he does.not.sleep during the day. No more than half an hour. And we're up at least 3-4 times a night.

I wish I had answers. I can just offer hugs

[Julie Billingsley]

Both of my boys were like this. Up every night, always asking for a drink in the middle in the night, poor quality of sleep since they seemed to wake up tired. They were each diagnosed with airway obstruction from tonsils and adenoids. Jacob had his removed at age 3ish, Logan's were removed at age 6. Immediately after surgery, Jacob's sleep improved and he stopped snoring. Poor little guy had been struggling to breathe while lying down because of those enlarged adenoids. Logan's surgery helped, but didn't eliminate his sleep issues. Logan still is up several times during the night. But thankfully at age 8 he just stays in bed and tries to go back to sleep. Anyway, look into talking to your daughter's doctor because sometimes there is a medical reason for the sleeplessness. Hope you both get some sleep soon!!

[Lyd]

So sorry LA! Sleep issues are not fun! I think some sleep problems have to do with routine and environment, some have to do with medical issues, and some have to do with the personality of the child. And, of course, some are a combination of the three. I don't know what kind of bedtime/nap routine you have, but I know that once I established a good pattern for what happened before sleep time, my babies/kids always did better (but some not as well as others). I also agree with Julie - talk to you doctor and see if there's a physical/medical problem that could be addressed. Otherwise, I offer lots and lots of hugs. It's so hard to be a happy patient parent when you're sleep deprived.

[emmasmommy]

i hate to say it gets better, but i don't know that it does for all kids LOL

emma's ALWAYS been a poor sleeper. she doesn't sleep through the night quite often even now at 6, and while she goes to bed early, she does also get up early, which just works well for us. i do find that a consistent routine helps her with the anxiety, but other than that...i got nothin'

[breakingbrie]

I got lucky early, and my girls slept through the night as soon as we brought them home! I had to wake them to feed them. They slept a full night through even when they no longer needed nightime feedings - until they were about 2. Then they started not sleeping well at night. I thought I needed to cut out their 1 nap during the day, but that made it worse. Turned out with my girls, at that age, they still needed 2 short naps during the day(I had switched to 1 nap too early I guess), and when we went back to 2 naps, they slept well at night again. I know all kids are different though!

I hope something works for you soon, and you get her sleeping well through the night!! (hugs)

[lovely1m]

My Nicholas was also a terrible sleeper, I was exhausted all the time. I can tell you he now sleeps through the night in his own bed, but he only just started this in May and he just turned 5. I eventually bribed him into staying in his own bed and it happened to work this time. I did learn, he is a night owl and will stay up late, he also needs a 2 hour nap every day even now at 5. I am worried how things will be affected next year when he starts school. Good luck, I know how hard it is to be tired all the time.

[LeeAndra]

Thanks, guys. We do have a pretty consistent routine, but I will try harder to be more exact and see if that helps. I'll check with her doctor to see if there's anything there, too. Poor thing has her mama's propensity to be a light sleeper, so maybe it's just the noise factor that wakes her up and then she has a hard time turning her little brain off enough to go back to sleep.

I really would have preferred y'all said, 'Oh, once she turns 2 1/2, she'll sleep through the night every time. Didn't you read the manual?!'

[cardinalskate]

Every parent knows these sleepless nights get so old so fast, so hugs from me!

My kiddo is a poor sleeper when she's overly tired or when she's not getting enough sleep. It so weird how that works...you'd think she'd be exhausted and just konk out, but it's totally the opposite. We do have a very set bedtime schedule that my DD is into, and I think that's helped a lot.

When my DD was having consistent issues, and though this is a very personal decision, we decided to let her cry it out a couple nights. It was hard for me. My best friend, who has a degree in early childhood education, kep telling me "She's safe. She's not hurt. She's FINE." She would cry for a while. The longest I think she ever cried was 40 minutes. But she learned to stay in bed and put herself back to sleep. Mommy doesn't need to come in and do bedtime routine all over (sometimes 2 or 3 times). She's learned to put herself back to sleep (mostly...we still have not-great nights occasionally).

It's rough. I hope you find something that works for you guys.

[emmasmommy]

have you ever tried a white noise machine, LA? or even a box fan? my girls have always used a white noise machine and that REALLY helps with their nosiness

[ayaandjudah]

we tried whitenoise last night.....nada

[cardinalskate]

Yep, we've done white noise from day one and now I'm afraid to stop! Don't wanna rock the boat...

[Kara]

I have no advice because I'm in the same boat with my DD who is almost exactly the same age. I can say that my older boys are sleeping through the night at 6 and 4, so hopefully she will at some point, too!