HELP! Sleeping Issues with Triplets

Is it possible she is teething? I know my son had trouble sleeping at that age due to teething. Just a thought.

S.,
The only thing I can think of is to set up a portable crib in another room and let her figure out how to get back to sleep. I would just make some rules for you and hubby about how often you go in there so it doesn't encourage her. If you don't have an extra bed room, think of another space like an office or a storage room or closet, that is just big enough to accommodate one of those port-a-cribs, that is all you need. Good luck and may you soon have a restful sleep. I also would suggest going to sleep earlier yourself, and taking a nap in the day can help if you can get one.
E.

Both my girls, 3-1/2 and 20 months slept in a bouncy chair for over two months at a time when they were between the ages of 6-9 months. My husband and I took turns sleeping on the couch, while the baby was in the bouncy chair next to us. They eventually grew comfortable again to sleep in there own beds.

Great book: "Good Night, Sleep Tight" by Kim West and Joanne Kenen (you also might poke around the associated web site at www.sleeplady.com). Another great sleep book is "The No-Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley.

You don't need to 'let' your babies cry it out. You can nurture them at night, too, and help them learn how to get themselves back to sleep. I had struggled with my first son's sleep habits (I'd accidentally trained him to nurse all night long... oops!) but that first book helped us get sorted out in just a couple of weeks, and all of a sudden he was sleeping like a champ! :) It won't change overnight but the efforts will be richly rewarded.

Best of luck!

Put her in a separate crib in a separate room and try the cry it out thing within your comfort level. If she was sleeping at 6 months, she knows how to do it and she may be just testing you now.

I don't have multiples, but I do have kids that are really close in age. I would move her bed to a seperate room and see if that works. My oldest daughter was impossible to sleep with. She started out as such a light sleeper, I would turn over and she would wake up, even though she was in her bassinet on the other side of the room. Once I put her in her own room, she was sleeping much much better.

Some kids just need their space. I would try putting Kaitlyn in a room by herself and see what happens.

Well I don't have triplets so I can't even imagine what that is like. But I do know what it's like to have many sleepless nights. All babies are different so for her is sounds like she likes you guys to get her in the middle of the night. I would put her crib in a different room for a while and see if that helps. Both my girls went through a stage around that age where if we went out of town and had to share a room with us they wouldn't sleep. So you might not even have to let her cry it out she just might her own space. If you don't have an extra bedroom put her in the laundry room, bath room etc. Just somewhere where she is alone. And if she does wake up let her fuss for a few minutes she might just give up and then go to sleep. Good luck.

This might be a milestone sleep interruption. I'm sure that they will all do it at one point or another. You may need to try to let her cry it out (if that is something you would do if her sisters weren't there), as they will all need to learn how to sleep with each other and sleep through their various issues.

Hi S.,

Congratulations and way to go for having triplets! You must be super-mom! They must be 3x as much work, but triple the fun and love, right?

Well, my advice is to try letting her cry it out for one or two nights. We have a 2 bedroom house and two kids, so they share a room. Our daughter has learned to sleep through everything since we brought her brother home from the hospital. He went through a time when he would scream when he would see his bed (at about 9 1/2 mos) and cry for about 15 minutes after we would put him down to sleep at night. Come to find out, he had begun teething. After I figured it out, I would give him some Tylenol before he went to bed, and if he woke up in the middle of the night, I'd go in and give him some more Tylenol, give him a kiss and tell him I love him, and put him back down. Most of the time he would cry for a few minutes and then fall asleep again. Our little girl would sleep right through it.

Every child is different and every situation is different, so go with your mommy instinct. Good luck and congratulations again!

Shellie

This might sound crazy to most moms out there, but I am a strong believer in taking babies to the chiropractor.

I am a mom of an almost 6 year-old boy and 3 year-old twins. My oldest started not sleeping through the night and actually we could only lay him on one side for him to stay asleep. I was at my doctor visit and she took my son and laid him down on the floor on a blanket. She said look how he would roll only to one side where he should just stretch out and so she gave us a name of a baby chiropractor and told us to go there. Within 3 visits he was sleeping perfect again. Since then after I had the twins I took them in as soon as they were old enough.

Another thing we had to do with my oldest was to give him an extra bottle of milk before bed. When he went through growth spurts he would also wake up in the middle of the night. Once I started giving him a bottle of milk before bed he would sleep through the night. Even to this day if he is going through a growth spurt if I don't give him a glass of milk before bed he will wake up in the middle of the night crying.