Hi everyone,
My 5 1/2 mo. old had colic from 2 1/2 to 4 months. She would nap in swing during day, but from 5-11 at night she would cry and nothing worked. Then magically she started going to bed early and now sleeps great at night from about 6:30-4 or 5 am, and wakes up to eat, and then sleeps again til about 7:30. The problem is now she has outgrown the swing for naps (she is a big 5 month old) and refuses to nap more than 30 or 40 min in her crib. On occassion she will nap an hour, and I have tried EVERYTHING- the No Cry Nap Solution, making crib more comfy, white noise machine, rocking her and then putting her down, nursing her etc.. Now she will fall asleep on me but will not stay asleep once I put her in crib. I am at my wits end. I love having her sleep so well at night, but it makes it impossible during the day- and because she had colic, she can't CIO- I've tried- she just will scream at the top of her lungs the whole time. I read in Healthy Sleep Habits that post-colicky babies can't cry it out because they literally won't stop crying anyway.
Am desperate for advice, does anyone have any? Has this happened to anyone else? I need at least ONE good nap during the day to shower and try to do other stuff. Will she just outgrow this?
Just wanted to update in case other people stumbled across this with the same issue. She finally outgrew it around 6 months- I think developmentally and a combination of me putting her down for naps around the same time and same way each day. It's still not perfect, but she has been taking long naps in her crib now- about 2 hours or longer sometimes, and seems to have consolidated herself to two long naps a day. I guess the key to babies is that everything always changes- even when it seems like it won't!
Give your baby babies magic tea and he'll sleep through the night. The tea is a healthy natural formula to cope with newborn's tummy troubles.
My son had the same sleep problem when he was your daughter's age. He would sleep great in his crib at night and then only wanted the swing or to be held during his naps. I don't have great advice of how to "fix" it. I just kept trying the crib and he eventually outgrew it. Good luck! Hopefully, she will outgrow it soon.
She will definitely outgrow it, but of course you want relief in the mean time. My son was such a pain in the butt when it came to naps and sleeping. For awhile, I would lie down in my bed and nurse him to sleep. Then I would slowly roll away. Just a thought! Just to let you know, I stunk at putting my kids in cribs. I ditched the crib as soon as possible and put them in a bed. We all sleep better!
My daughter (who is now two) was colicky until about 5 months of age. She also loved her swing and bouncer but didn't like her crib. I had her sleep on a bed and she slept better. If you're afraid that she'll fall off, try having her sleep on just a mattress on the floor. For some reason, my daughter never did like the crib; in fact, she transitioned to a toddler bed before she was 16 months old. Hope this helps.
If she doesn' get herself to sleep-she won't stay asleep. I know this sounds harsh-but try to focus on an awake baby that is safely playing somewhere while you are running around getting stuff done-she can be on her playmat while you throw in the laundry, or load the dishwasher-put her in the stroller and wheel her into the bathroom while you take a bath-it is hard, I had five children 7 years and under!
my last one was this way for a few months. he outgrew it when he started consolidating his naps into 3 or 2 around 6 months as i recall. it seemed he knew how much he needed to sleep at one time:) also making the transfer while they're sleeping can be brutal. so with my 3rd we got rid of the crib and fenced in a bed on the floor. now i can nurse him in his bed and sleep in there too (it has seriously changed my life). just a thought. i know this phase of their little lives can seem like an eternity (especially after surviving colic), but "this too shall pass". good luck to you!
Chiropractic care will help your child with the colic and sleep.
Feel free to contact me if you want a referral to a chiropractor in McLean that specializes in children.
L.
