Exhauted HELP....

sometimes at about that age, babies start waking more because they are going through a growth spurt and need extra formula at night or they are learning so many new physical skills like crawling or sitting that they can't relax during the night. I know you don't want to wake your older daughter, but my kids share a room (they are 4 and 2) and when one of them wakes in the middle of the night, the other is so used to it by now that they don't wake up. I would try just waiting a couple minutes before going in to soothe your daughter. My pediatrician suggested this with my first daughter and I ended up doing it with both my girls and it worked great! The first few nights, wait only a minute or two, then go in and do whatever you would normally do to soothe her. After a few nights, increase the time by just another minute. It sounds like a very short amount of time, but when you are laying there hearing her fuss it will seem like forever =) But just giving her a few minutes to see if she can soothe herself will help her learn that important skill. It only took my daughter 2 weeks of slowly increasing the time every few nights and she was falling back to sleep on her own.
Hope this helps and works for you!

She isn't waking up to eat...she more likely misses you. This is the time when they start separation anxiety, so she probably just wants to see your smiling face. I would give her a few minutes to try to put herself back to sleep (I know they share a room, but you would be surprised how much they get used to the noise and it doesn't even wake them). If you do go in there, try not to talk too much to her or make eye contact. Just check her diaper, lay her back down if she is sitting up and leave the room again. They go through phases and this is one of them. Don't make it interesting enough for her to keep waking up. Also, it might help if your hubby goes in instead of you if she isn't quite as attached to him. When you don't show up, she may decide it isn't worth the trouble.

Hi A.. I dont have any words of wisdom.... I have not had a full nights sleep in 7 years.... I fear its motherhood - being exhausted.
Hang in there!
T.

Hello A.,

you got lots of great advice. My addition is that maybe it's time to get some bloodwork done for you. check your vitamin D levels (should be 32 - 100) mine was down to 27 and I was constantly exhausted. now I'm doing much better. if you have nutritional deficiencies, the little sleep you're getting is not helping your body enough. good luck! ~C.~