Sleep woes

[OpalsMom]

Mostly, we're AP parents. DD sleeps sometimes with us, sometimes in a hammock next to our bed. But getting her to go to sleep -- oh my goodness, I spend so much time fretting over this. I used to lie down with her, but that stopped working. It took longer and longer and longer with more and more and more crying and not-sleeping on her part. So I would put her in her hammock and stay with her. Eventually that stopped working. So in desperation I took to putting her in her hammock and saying "Good night" and going away. Maybe one night a week she sighs, arches her back so the hammock bounces, and drifts off happily. 4-5 nights a week, she does "Howl, howl, snore" with a few cries. And the remaining night or three she wails, sometimes furiously, for as much as 5 minutes. But if I stick around, I get up to 2 hours of half-hearted howling. I hate walking away from her as she reaches for me, crying pitifully. But I hate spending 2 hours with her trying to get her to go to sleep as she cries, pulls my hair, fidgets, tries to get up and play, snuggles, rears back and whaps her skull into my chin as she starts to fidget again, cries some more... or I leave her in the hammock and she just reaches for me, crying pitifully, until either I pick her up (back to the fidget routine) or walk away (back to 5 minutes, max, and out like a light). AP says she ought to go to sleep with me. CIO says she ought to stop crying every night (and I've tried it for at least 4 straight weeks, it's not like I didn't give it a good shot.)

Mostly, I think this is just what she's like. She resents the whole idea of going to sleep. It's not being away from me she hates -- it's being asleep, and not getting to learn and do. So she's going to cry about it, and fight it. I need to do what makes it as easy as possible, which seems to be putting her in her own bed and leaving her to it. And then I read people talking about how mean this is, and I just don't know what to think. :banghead

[ServantofGod]

I've noticed with my baby (he is six months) that the longer he goes without good, solid, sleep, the harder and harder it gets to put him to sleep. Maybe that is happening with you, too? I stayed home all day today and just focused on getting him down for a nap quickly as soon as I started seeing signs that he was tired, because this past weekend we were away and I know he missed a lot of sleep. I can see how he needs to "make up" for the poor sleep he got over the weekend. When this starts to happen, I know I will need to be extra-sensitive to notice as soon as he's getting tired. If he goes too long, I can't get him down for anything, no matter what I do. Then it's bad for everyone cuz he's a freaked-out, screaming maniac and his mother is fried because nothing is helping him go to sleep. :eek

I hear ya loud and clear...I've mused, "What, is he an insomniac???" :laughtears But, for us, I definately find that those things you describe, the fidgeting, fighting, flipping and arching, happens when he's a few days short on sleep.

I also break out the Camomilla (sp?) then, too. :cool

I hope that helps.

[Radosny Matka]

:hugheart ITU. I am so sick and tired of fighting my son to sleep. :hugheart

[OpalsMom]

I tried putting her to bed earlier for 2 weeks. If anything, it was worse. Of course, because it was worse she didn't actually get any more sleep, so who knows?

Last night, however, was perfect. :clap We nursed, she was still awake, we lay down, and we were both asleep within minutes. Either it was a fluke, or putting on a CD made a big difference (total accident, I had a new CD I wanted to listen to that was appropriate for going to sleep to). I'll try the music again, and with any luck this time she'll go to sleep and I won't!