Sleep probs--anyone tried No Cry Sleep Solution??

Schnoogly wrote: I just got it in the mail a few days ago (Elizabeth Pantley's book) and it has some good ideas. Iain is one of those high need Hold-Me-All-The-Time types and sleep has always been an issue. Up till now I have done whatever he wanted to keep him calm because of his heart issues. But I really think he's old enough now (3.5 months) that we can start to improve our sleep problems. He has gotten a lot better with sitting in the swing or bouncy seat while awake but still only sleeps on me or next to me in our bed. This is getting a little old!! He doesn't nap very long during the day, our schedule looks like this:

7am awake, nurse
7-9 am "morning happy time" (he's very happy in the morning, watches me eat breakfast, etc.)
9-9:30ish nap either in swing (my one non-holding nap of the day) or in my arms
9:30 nurse
9:45-11:00 walk around to look at stuff, perhaps play on the floor if he's willing
11:00-noon cranky, tired, won't sleep. Carry him around, bounce on the exercise ball, etc.
noon-1:00 nurse to sleep in our bed, occasionally I can leave him for 20-30 minutes.
1:30-3:00 more carrying around in the sling. Sometimes we go for a walk or just go outside to look at the trees and traffic
3:00-3:30 bath time (in preparation for evening super cranky time)
3:30 nurse and sometimes bottle (I have low milk supply from our medical issues, less milk by end of day)
3:30-4:30 tired, won't sleep, more carrying, bouncing, etc.
4:30-5:00 naps in my arms
5:00 wakes up super cranky
5:00-7:00 eats some, screams a lot. Finally dad comes home around 6 and takes over, phew!! I go to sleep.
between 7-8 finally falls asleep in dad's arms
9-10 wakes to eat (bottle) and falls asleep on dad again
between 11-midnight dad brings him to bed, I nurse, he falls right to sleep
up at 2,4,6am to nurse

Phew!!!! I spend about 80% of my day trying to get him to sleep. I am hoping that once he adjusts after surgery he will start to sleep better (it was hard for him to breathe before) and he will take naps easier, preferably in our bed (I protect the edges so he can't fall out)

Please tell me this gets better!!!!! Pantley suggests an early bedtime, but he already falls asleep around 7-8pm for the night, just not in bed. The daytime naps are what he really has trouble with. I could live with all the night waking if he would just take normal naps during the day. He is so excited by the world around him that he refuses to fall asleep. He is only taking brief catnaps of around 30 minutes during the day--he must need more sleep than that! I know I do.

Steph

momofajcl replied: It gets better, Steph! Believe me Hang in there! I haven't read the book you are talking about so I don't have any advice on what the book tells you. What does Iain's dr. say about these sleep issues? Nicholas went for a long stretch where he would only sleep on me in my bed or on the rocker or recliner chair (which I loved but it got to the point where I didn't get a break like what you are going thru). But one day something changed and he started to prefer to take his naps and sleep at night in his crib. Now he won't sleep anywhere else in the house! LOL! Does Iain like to play in his crib at all? That is how I introduced it to Nicholas. I'd put him in his crib and play with him with his toys when he was the happiest (morning for my guy too). Then it got to the point where I could leave him in his crib for a few minutes (to go to the bathroom or dry my hair) alone with out him freaking out. Now, he will play for about 1/2 hour in the mornings before I have to get up and get him. I can also put him in there after I shower (he's in his bouncy seat in the bathroom with me during my shower these days) so I can dry my hair, put on my makeup and get dressed before he gets tired of playing in his crib. LOL! Anyway...I'm starting to babble here! Good luck, keep us posted and hang in there!

MommyToAshley replied: We have good days and bad days here. At around 3 months, Ashley started to sleep 6 and 7 hours at a time, but it didn't last long. I think the worst period was around 4 months -- she was getting up every hour it seemed. Now, we have some days where she gets up 3 times a night and other days where she sleeps 9+ hours. We have a loose schedule, but I did notice that when she naps good during the day, she sleeps better at night. Her bedtime was between 7 and 8 pm. I tried the recommendation of putting her to bed earlier, like around 6:30. That made things worse for us. So, I give her a 1/2 hour nap at 6pm and put her to bed around 9ish. She sleeps better when she gets that nap at 6pm. She sleeps best the second half of the morning and will sleep until around 9:30 am. She must just be a night owl like her Daddy. So, I guess all babies are different!

I don't think I have been much help to you ... I mostly rambled. But,I wanted to let you know that you are not alone and it does get better!

P.S. What an adorable picture!!!!!

Schnoogly replied: Well, he normally gets changed in his crib. It's a glorified changing table. He has an infant stim mobile there that he LOVES--changes are much better since we got it. He will stare at it for a while (10 minutes) but then it seems like he gets too stimulated and he starts wailing. He's not at the point where he can grab things yet, so he's not really into toys. He prefers to look at windows and bright objects and such. The nights are off and on--occasionally he will sleep for 5-6 hours but this is rare. Before his surgery we weren't supposed to let him go more than 3 hours without eating (his heart shunt could close if he got dehydrated) so that prevented any sleeping through the night. We didn't have to wake him very often after he was about a month old though.

The book does say that babies sleep better at night if they nap well during the day. I have also found this to be true--he will sleep better (less constant fussing) if he gets at least one 1-2 hour nap during the day. All his doctors have said is that heart babies have trouble sleeping and that it wasn't unusual for him to be both clingy and have trouble staying asleep. (He sleeps on his side, always has, easiest for him to breathe that way--HATES being on his back) and that it would take him a while after surgery to get back to normal. I just don't think "normal" is working for us either!!!

Thanks for your support--I am hoping it will get better once he settles down. I'm trying to make a sort of schedule where I try to get him to nap in our bed at least a couple times a day. That' s what the book recommends--just keep trying and sooner or later you'll see results. He seems to sleep fine there at night so he's used to sleeping there. (He's on me in the sling right now though)

Steph

MommyToAshley replied: One thing I noticed in your schedule is the first nap. Again, all babies are different, but Ashley needs a nap about an hour after she gets up. So, she gets up, nurses, gets changed, plays for a few minutes, and then goes back to sleep. On the days that she doesn't get this early nap, it is harder to get her to take her other naps on schedule. At 3 months, she would nap about every 2-2.5 hours. (Now she takes 2 naps that are about 45 mintues)

But again, I may not be the best person for advice, we have only had limited success.

ediep replied: I have read this book and I really loved it!!! I also loved The secrets of the baby whisperer by tracy Hogg. The two authors are silimar. I personally agree with the fact that if Jason naps during the day, he sleeps better at night. I didn't even attempt to change any night time sleep problems until he stopped waking to eat during the night. That was at about 4 or 4 1/2 months. Now Jason is teething and he sometimes wakes with pain from that. The only advice that I have since I am also a new mom is routine, routine, routine!!!! Jason gets a dinner at 6:30 or 7, then quiet play, then bath at 7:30, then bottle and sleep at 8pm. We use the same lullaby cd every night and always get that last bottle in his room with dim lights. He expects it and seems to fall asleep very well because of the routine. My mil babysat one night and I told her about the routine and she said as soon as he heared the music he calmed down and looked for the bottle.
HTH
good luck! It will get better

Schnoogly replied: You may be right about that early nap...the napping/going to sleep without lots of walking degenerates as the day goes on. Maybe if I try to put him down sooner for the first one the rest will be better. Some days we don't get out of bed at 7, we nurse, play a little in bed, then go back to sleep. If I remember right those days are a little better--I'll try that for sure. Sometimes he just doesn't want to go back to sleep though--like this morning!! Two hours is definitely the max time he can be awake without total chaos though. I noticed that the length of nap time completely equals the amount of "happy" time after he wakes up. 20 minute nap=20 minutes of happy time, then about 1.5 hours of cranky. Waaahh!

I agree about routine--he's so unpredictable it's hard to establish any kind of schedule, but I think if I start doing the same thing with him every morning at least we can work up to a routine from the mornings on. I definitely won't worry about nights until he is able to not eat every 2-3 hours. (But some nights he's up every half hour from 2am on.) I really just want to get the naps under control!

I have also heard good things about the baby whisperer, but heard it might be too rigid esp. for breastfed babies. What I like about pantley's book is that you can establish your own plan based on your baby and your sleep *wish list*!!

Steph

Roxworld replied:

Aw, Steph...I feel for ya. I'm going through kind of the same thing....so i'm reading right along with you. Hugs!

ediep replied: Steph, you are right about the baby whisperer book being kind of rigid, but she does have some good points. If you don't want to go out and buy the book try her website. She has some good nap ideas.

Good luck!

MommyToAshley replied: What's the web site? I am open to ideas for naptime. I did a search but just found places that sell the book.

TIA!

ediep replied: www.babywhisperer.com

MommyToAshley replied: Thanks...gonna check it out!

Schnoogly replied: OMG!! He's been sleeping in our bed--ALONE--since noon (and it's 1 now). Per the baby whisperer's instructions I stayed for 20 minutes next to him. He started to wake up about 20 after he went to sleep and I snuggled him back to sleep the way I do at night and it worked!!!!! Hooray!!!! I get to eat my lunch in peace

Steph

ediep replied: great work Steph!!
ps- I love the new pic!!! SOOOOO CUTE!!!

MommyToAshley replied:
Yeah Iaian! Way to go.

Oops, I had better not bounce too loud, don't wanna wake him up!