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fighting sleep
Added: 89 days ago.
Added by: niki
Section: Babies.
Status: This question is Closed. (Questions will be closed after 10 days.)


My daughter is almost 6 months old - i am finding it so difficult to do basically anything she screams and gets on and is so hard to get over to sleep. Apart from taking her for a lengthly drive any ideas.... i do breast feed and mistake i made was letting her stay at the breast until she falls asleep - now trying to cut down on her feeds as i have introduced solids and fruit juice.... please please help, im at my wits end.

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MelissaJoanne - 85 days ago Rating: 1 (1 votes) Feed her, cuddle her, falling asleep at the breast is a comfort, not a mistake.

Mommyof2boys - 89 days ago Rating: 4 (1 votes) It might take a few days, but try to establish a nighty routine like a warm bath and reading rock her till she's almost out and then put her in her bed while she's still awake, she'll cry but after a few days she'll learn to fall asleep on her own and you will be sleeping good too.

caitlin h - 89 days ago Rating: 5 (1 votes) Thank you for asking this- I am having the EXACT SAME PROBLEM with my almost 6 month old, so it was nice to be able to read other people's answers. I hope that it is just a stage?! Crying it out doesn't work for me- I just cry along with him!! He is being super cranky during the day too- wanting me to hold him and walk around/play with him all of the time! Good luck to you and your little girl! Hope you find something that works!

jaydsmom - 89 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) This may sound harsh, but you just have to make sure she's fed, dry and then lay her down and let her cry it out. My daughter was EXACTLY the same. My pediatrician said I needed to let her cry. It lasted almost 3 hours the first night. I thought I was gonna go insane listening to her and not responding, but the dr said so I did it. Within a week she was falling asleep on her own and sleeping way way way longer.

Melanie07 - 89 days ago Rating: 4 (1 votes) She needs to learn how to put herself to sleep. Don't take away her food. You need to put hr to bed awake. You should have a bed time routine. Have her wind down. Try reading a story. Dim the lights if possible. It will take a few days to get her used to going to bed and going to sleep on her own. You should put her in bed. If she starts crying, wait a few mins. Go in pat her back talk to her and leave. Do this each time, waiting a little longer each time before going in. Do not pick her up. It will be hard at first. You have to be strong. Each night will get easier. You can also try a luliby cd and some sort of lovey. It can be a toy, a binky, a blanky. Just something she really likes and comforts her. My daughter has a small stuffed butterfly she always sleeps with. She only gets it at bed time. Good Luck. It also helps if she is in her own room.

Baby3OnWay - 89 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) wow YES Johnson's bedtime bath is wonderful but you have to remember that babies have growth spurts where they need more food to grow... they are usually around 3 months 6 months... I only breastfed for 6 months so not sure about the other times lol so they need to eat more around these times. I know its hard, my daughter had night and day mixed up for a LONG time. Hang in there, I usually try something new, if it doesn't work I got back to the old routine and try again in another weeks time. Good luck

kayla-love - 89 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) Sounds like shes may be crying more due to the change in food. Some babies don´t like change, but they have to get used to it. She will get used to it as well, in time. The best thing I have learned it that teach your baby how to fall asleep on her own. Get her into a routine of bath, last feed with the lights dim. Put her into her cot whilst alseep and leave the room. She will of course cry but keep going in to check on her, this will make her feel she hasnt been left alone. It will take time to break out of the habit of falling asleep on your breast , but it can be done. Once she knows how to fall asleep on her own she will sleep better during her naps too.

lmo - 89 days ago Rating: 4 (1 votes) i would rock my daughter or give her a cereal bottle

mommy-of-3 - 89 days ago Rating: 5 (1 votes) Hmmm.. it sounds like you are going to have to break this habbit of falling asleep before you "put her to sleep". I used to give my son his night feeding, give him a warm bath, keep the lights dim, and wait until he was "content" but not actually sleeping. Then I layed him down and let him fall asleep on his own. Sure he cried at first but after a while he got used to it and I was able to put him to sleep without all the fussing. It will take some time and getting used to but you can break her of this habbit.

riknlee - 89 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) Hi, again. I do child care and often children come to me who have trouble sleeping. I basically follow what the parents say about their children sleeping but I think the advantage of not being their mum is that I probably let them settle for a little bit longer than mum would - so if they are grizzly yet I know they are ready for sleep then I put them in the cot. One baby 8 months old I wrap up in a snuggle wrap dummy in mouth and he goes off to sleep. Other times if I am following the baby's signs that the mum has given me in regards to tiredness, I will put them down. I think sometimes Mums and dads keep them awake when they are clearly tired and therefore become over tired. My kids however were terrible sleepers and I never put them to bed without them being asleep and they therefore never learnt to get themselves to sleep or resettle when they came out of a sleep pattern (45 minutes). So far as a child care person, I have a good record of getting them to sleep. Maybe also because they are more stimulated and get more tired - I dont know. I hope you work it out. It is worth reading about their sleep cycles and how they resettle themselves after waking up