Gabriella has developed a distaste for sleeping these days. When she is tired it takes me forever to get her to sleep and when she finally does fall asleep if I try to put her down she is instantly awake and screaming. Her naps consist of 10-20 minute cat naps which are becoming less and less each day.
I love this girl but what is the deal with sleeping? Any noise she hears when she is almost asleep instantly alerts her and her little head pops up wanting to see what's going on. It seems to me that she thinks there are much more important things to be doing than sleeping and she's not going to let a nap get in the way of them.
Today I've had my fill of fussing and crying because she's tired and won't sleep. I'm open for any suggestions on how to help her sleep better.
4 comments:
Sorry to hear about the no sleeping, I REALLY do know how that feels. So my suggestion comes from my take on several books I have read. So first, in my opinion when you want to train a baby to sleep,try nap times first because you aren't as tired and annoyed as you would be at night. So start by putting her down when she is sleepy and leaving her for a time that you pick(anywhere from 2 to 5 mins. not too long she is little) Then you go in and pick her up and calm her down and then put her back down and walk out and do it all over again. This will take a LONG time the first few times. I like this method because she knows you care because you come back frequently and you hold her. It will take some determination but it really pays off. I just had a friend do this and she said by the second night it only took 15 mins whereas the first night was 90 mins. Call me if you want more details or a cheer up.(970-515-8873) Every baby is different and so are the methods to help. Most of all Pray. It will help you know how long to leave her crying or not.
My sister in law swears by her white noise machine. I have never had one, but basically it makes "white noise" (hers kind of sounds like ocean waves) which drowns out your every day noises (make sense?).
I agree with Sarah. Rock and cuddle her before nap or bed time. When she looks tired, yet is still awake, put her in her bed so she can learn to fall asleep in her own bed without the assistance of you.
Give her five minutes (or whatever you can handle), walk back in, tell her its bed time/nap time, that you love her and lay her back down. Don't stay long. I wouldn't pick her up (unless you totally can't stand it) - if you do, she learns that all she needs to do is cry hard to get you to do what she wants.
Then, if she wakes up too soon (or at night), wait five minutes before you go in to investigate. She may fall back asleep without you. Those five minutes are long and painful to wait out, but the sooner she learns to self soothe, the sooner you sleep through the night :)
Does she take a binki? When she's old enough to put them back in herself, put three or four in bed with her so she locate one quickly and fall back asleep faster :)
To help you while she cries, listen to music (headphones) or something (praying was a good suggestion!) to help your nerves!
Good luck, do what your comfort zone allows and what your Mom instinct dictates.
Amanda..your cousin Annalisa here. I feel your pain. I have no advice. Some people just have good sleepers and some people don't. I'm in the category of don't have good sleepers. My Annie is this description totally. She took her first nap that lasted 1 1/2 hours this week. My only advice is that eventually...maybe when they are 3 they will sleep. Until then we are tired.
Love Annalisa's comment...maybe when they're 3!! I totally agree that if you can get her to learn how to fall asleep on her own, your life will be SO much easier! Good luck!
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