My Daughter Won't Sleep Through the Night

It may be gas, we had an awful time with my second son who is now 6 mos old. He would just scream and flail his arms around. And it was when we would lie him flat on his back. We ended up just switching his formula and it straigtened out within a day and a half thank goodness! I hate the whole "crying it out" thing too. I feel for you! Have you asked her doctor about this yet?

After medical reasons have been ruled out... it could be nothing more than a bit of seperation anxiety. My son went through (and to a lesser degree still is) this in a bad way. He would scream for a total of 1 1/2 hours with me checking on and rocking him every 10-15 minutes.

My Doctor told me it's perfectly normal when they're going through a growth spurt, or about to enter a new developmental phase as well. It will get better, just hang in there... and don't beat yourself up about letting her cry for 10-15 minutes. Sometimes nothing else will work, and in the long run it'll help teach her to put herself to sleep.

J.,
You don't say how old your daughter is, but I remember how my daughter had horrible night terrors that really upset her. She was about 2 when this happened. Perhaps you could look into a pediatric natural remedy to help calm her when she gets like this.
Also T. Berry Brazelton has written a book about sleeping issues in little ones. His approach is a good one I think.
Be careful that you don't become "trained" into sleeping with her as a "peace at all costs measure". This sets you and your husband up for bigger problems in the future.
Best wishes,
J.

It is saft to let her cry herself to sleep. I know its hard as a 1st time mom, but she has to learn to get to sleep without someone holding her. It is also possible that the Tylenol isn't working anymore. I have found that Motrin works a lot better. Seems like she may feel a lil more comfort from mom than dad, but thats normal at her age. Has something in her room changed? Any new detergents or perfumes? Any new cleaners? It maybe something in her room uncomfortable. Or she could be having nightmares. What is her sleeping pattern like at the daycare. Maybe they make her sleep too much and she just isn't tired. Check all that out. If it ust gets worst take her to the doctors. I hope this helps.

I agree with the other postings. My son (who is now 2 1/2) is a great sleeper so when he is not sleeping well it is usually because he is getting sick or has an ear infection. The crying as soon as you lay her down sure sounds like an ear infection to me, it hurts them more when they lay down and that was usually my only indicator when my son has one, he doesn't cry or tug on his ears he just has trouble sleeping and doesn't want to lay down or take a bath because his ears hurt.

Good luck!
L.

my son is 18 months old and went through the same thing. my doctor told me i had to let him cry himself back to sleep. it was the hardest few days in my life, but in the end now he gets put into his crib awake and goes to sleep on his own. i was told this is the time when they are learning to fall asleep on their own and back to sleep since they usually wake up a few times a night at least. i did not give him a bottle or pick him up. it is very hard while going through it but after a couple nights they learn to go to sleep on their own.

Hi my daughtor is 7 months and the crazy thing is she's been doing the same exact things,she will sleep in my arms but the second I put her down she's up and I have to start all over.
Last night I bought that lavendor baby bath and bathed her 20 minutes before bed when I layed her down she was calmer and slept till 8 this morning.I don't know if it was the bath or being overally tired but I FINALLY got some needed sleep. Try the bath it might work for you to. A.

My twin boys are eight months old and recently we've been experiencing a similar problem. We found that switching from Tylenol to Motrin has helped, and we also make sure that the boys are given a little Orajel before we put them down. Also, my one boy has reflux, and he used to wake up screaming and arching his back. He's on a miniscule dose of Zantac and it's really helped.

Another thing that seems to have helped us is we moved the boys' cribs within view of each other. My guys had slept together for five months and when they were separated, they had a lot to say about it. So we moved their cribs so that they could see each other, and that eased some of the crying. We also got them those little lovey blankets and we alternate them each night so they get each other's scent.

The minute you said she wakes up when you lay her down makes me think of ear infection. They don't always have other signs. I would take her to the doctor asap. Good Luck!

i am so sorry ihave no answear for you i am a mother of four and they all slept with me intill they were two years old my choice on there second birthday i take them out to pick out a new big girl bed then they start that day sleeping by there self .maybe your daughter is going thur seperation nine month is right at that age good luck

Hi J. my name is L., I was wondering if you have taken your daughter to the doctor yet? This is the craziest thing and hopefully may not be it but it could be acid reflux disease. My brother has been going through this for about 6 months with his daughter and they are leaning towards acid reflux. They can't lay her down without her screaming and flailing. The only thing I can suggest is take her to the doctors and elevate her crib. I hope this helps.

Hi J.,
If you rule out ear infections or anything else medical she might just be going through a clingy stage. My son will turn one in a week and a half and since about 10 and a half months he has been crying himself to sleep. He also has always been a great sleeper since birth. When this first started happening I thought something was wrong and would always rush into his room. When I realized nothing was wrong and he just wanted me to hold and rock him I stopped going into his room. Now he crys for about 5 minutes when I put him down for bed. I think that we are almost throught this stage because the past week it has only been a whimper when I put him down. If you do decide to let her cry herself to sleep commit to it. If you let her cry for 15 minutes and then go in she will learn that you will go get her. Then the crying will get longer until you get her. I know it is hard to listen to her cry but she has to learn to get herself back to sleep. Good luck.
Chris

I agree that you should see the doctor to rule out medical reason. The ear infection thing sure sounds likely. If it's not an ear infection, or something else medical, then it's time to become baby detective.

First, rule out gas. The way I used to do this is to flex my son's knees to his chest, to help him pass any gas that might be causing him trouble. Works most of the time. I even found it to be far more effective that the gas drops you can give babies.

I'm assuming you would know if the problem is constipation. So I'll bypass that part. But it might be reflux. The way that this is best handled is to elevated the head of the crib a few inches, to help keep acid down in the stomach. This is a method that my son's doctor recommended.

Also, it might just be she's having trouble learning to get back to sleep when she wakes in the night. I'm not sure how you feel about pacifiers, but it might help to keep on in the crib where she might be able to find it to put in her mouth. Also, a softly playing radio can help. Some people even say that it should be tuned to static. The low anount of noise can help soothe a baby that wakes in the night. She might even find a nightlight soothing. That way she can see that she's safe in her own room if she wakes up. As for the crying when you lay her down already asleep, the best method is to try to lay her down still awake, but very sleepy. Another helpful thing would be to hold a recieving blanket next to her body while you cuddle her. Then when you go to lay her down, spread out the recieving blanket first. Some kids wake back up when they feel the cold sheet under them.

Hope one of these ideas helps. Just remember, this too shall pass.

My son was some what similar. He slept thru the night from 2 months old. When we started to have some rough spots, we found for him it was gas almost every time. Even still, and he's almost 2 1/2. Sometimes it's just one night, sometimes it's several during the week, and sometimes we go for weeks without a problem. I give him mylicon when he's gassy and it usually settles him down and gets him back to sleep, but for some reason it doesn't last. About 2 hours later he's up again. I talked to his doctor and he basically told us there wasn't much more we could do, other than really watching his diet (wich is hard because there are so few things he will eat). Otherwise he is healthy and growing like crazy.

My son also feels more consoled by me than my husband for some reason which we cannot figure out, but that's just the way he is for now I guess. One thing that became a strict rule in these situations for us, was not so much to let them cry it out, but to not remove them from the crib unless ABSOLUTELY necessary (your daughter may be a little young yet for this). We made sure he was dry, etc. and then we would sit on the floor by his crib and rub his back or tummy to soothe him. This way, he knew that he wasn't going to get out just by fussing and most of the time he puts himself right back to sleep (unless he's really gassy and that's when we sit & rub him).

Hope you figure out what's causing it for your daughter and hopefully it's a simple fix. Good luck!