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Exhausted and Confused?   Yes! I need help and more sleep.
Exhausted and Confused?   Yes! I need help and more sleep.
Exhausted and Confused?   Yes! I need help and more sleep.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Holly says

    Hey guys! Just visited this site to recheck my process of sleep training, as I have a 27 month old son who has recently regressed. We just got back from South Korea for summer vacation and WOOOOOO talk about sleep regression! We do Ferberize, and in the past, that has worked just fine, but this summer, things are going wonky…. he goes down for bed around 7, but has started waking up at an unknown time in the morning. Unknown, because he won’t make noise to ask us to get him out of the crib. He waits until one of us wakes up around 9 in the morning and then cheerfully wreaks havoc all morning until I decide to put him down for a nap (I try to put him down between 11-12, my husband seems to think we should wait until 2!!!). Right now, I hear him in his room, making noise and not sleeping. What do?! Keep his normal nap schedule despite his wake up time? Adjust his nap? Is melatonin reasonable for naps and not just jet lag nights? I could really use some advice.

    • Danielle says

      Hi Holly,
      Thank you for visiting The Baby Sleep Site! I’m sorry to hear you’re struggling with the transition back home. Assuming you’re in the US, it may take a good couple of weeks for your son to adjust to the time difference 100%, so the best thing you can do is keep him on schedule as best you can. He may also be dealing with a regression or a true change in sleep needs at this age – we have more info on 2 year-old sleep in this article here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/toddlers/5-things-about-2-year-old-toddler-sleep-2/
      If you do continue to have trouble, our sleep consultants work with families transitioning time zones all the time, and would love to help. Good luck!

  2. Lola says

    Hello. I just read your article and I already use of of the sleep training PU/PD method for my 10 weeks old baby.

    I started this method at 8 weeks. And started him on a nap routine at 6 weeks.

    Some days it works a treat and he goes to sleep. On some days it could go on for 30 minutes just trying to settle him. He gets upset, but not that bad that works up to hysteria, hence why I am still sticking with it.

    I look out for his cues, so at the first sign of grizzling, I put on the white noise, close the curtain and then hold him for a bit whilst singing a lullaby. I try not to do that for more than 3/5 minutes.

    And also noticed that sometimes he starts sucking on my shirt, (I top up feed him at least 10 minutes before nap to make sure he is full) bit he keeps so I feed him, once he closes his eyes, I call his name, to wake him and tell him it’s nap time and then hour him to bed, so he is aware of what I am doing. He then goes to sleep.

    Is there any reason why it works fast on some days and why it doesn’t work on other days.

    P.s.he seems to fightthe 3rd nap on some days and other days, just go down to sleep.

    PP.S I make sure he doesn’t close his eyes whilst carrying him during the PU/PD

    • Janelle Reid says

      Hi @Lola, thanks for your comment! It sounds like you have done a lot of research on sleep and that you are working hard to get your son into a nice routine. 🙂 Great job! Keep up the consistency and hang in there on the bad days. Some babies do take longer (4-6 months) to get into a real schedule so it is totally normal for some fighting to happen some days. Here is a link to a sample schedule for a newborn (and we also have them from 3 months and up so you can check those out as he grows) so you can make sure he’s getting the adequate amount of sleep in a 24 hour period, even if he doesn’t cooperate with your schedule 100% of the time: https://www.babysleepsite.com/schedules/newborn-sleep-feeding-schedule/
      I hope this helps!

  3. Stephanie says

    Hi!
    We have had major sleep problems with both of our children. Our 9 month old daughter wakes every 15-20 minutes all night, every night. Our son( who is now 10), had the same sleep problems. We tried so many sleep training books, I felt as if we were trying a new method every 2 weeks. We even hired a sleep training consultant, which still did not help a bit. We finally took him for sleep latency testing, he was diagnosed with a type of RSD. I’m wondering if our daughter perhaps has the same problem? We weren’t able to have our son tested until18 months. I’m so sleep deprived I’m not able to even drive any longer.

    • Janelle Reid says

      Hi @Stephanie, I am so sorry you are going through this again! As we are not medical professionals I cannot say for sure what is going on, but perhaps it would be worth a visit to your child’s doctor to see what they think? Maybe there are tests they could do now to give you an answer so you do not have to wait another 9 months of this before you can do the test your son had. If you decide to go the sleep consultant route again, we are here and would love to walk alongside of you every step of the way if you’ll have us. If you have questions about it, please feel free to contact us directly at [email protected]
      Hang in there! I hope you get answers soon.

  4. Lindsey McCanty says

    Hi there! I have an almost 6 month old who is a terrible sleeper! Was occasionally down to waking 2 times per night but is now up close to 4 times. She isn’t overly hungry as over the course of the night she maybe drinks 6 oz and that is in probably 2 oz increments. We are exhausted and need help!

    • Janelle Reid says

      Hi @Lindsey McCanty, thank you for writing to us. I am so sorry that you’ve been struggling with your daughter’s frequent night wakings. We would love to help! First off, if you haven’t yet we have a free guide available to sign up to receive with tips for sleeping through the night: https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-sleep-through-night-free-ebook/
      If you would like more specific help for your situation, I think you would really benefit from working with one of our sleep consultants that can create a specific plan for your daughter based on her age, temperament, and your parenting philosophy. This is a great way to get specified help you need without reading a bunch of books and trying to guess what will work for your baby, because all babies are so different! If you are interested, you can view our packages here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-toddler-sleep-consulting-services/ or contact us directly here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/contact and we can help you select the package that will be best for your situation.
      Hang in there and thank you for using the Baby Sleep Site as a resource for sleep help!

  5. Janna says

    I have an 11 month old who started sleeping through the night just before he was 7 weeks old. He has always slept 10-12 hours a night until recently. He is now waking 2-3 times per night (sometimes more). On one of the wake ups he refuses to go back to sleep and will stay up for 2 + hours. He has also started wanting (demanding) a night bottle. We have always rocked to sleep and don’t have an issue getting him to sleep initially. What can we do to get him back to sleeping through the night? Also, he takes 2 one hour naps during the day.

    • Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site says

      Hi @Janna – Thank you for writing to us. I’m sorry to hear about your sleep troubles. I can understand how difficult those night wakings can be, especially for a couple of hours each night! There could be many causes of the night wakings, and without a full sleep history and a Sleep Consultant taking an in – depth look, we would not be able to diagnose why he is waking so much lately!
      Our recommended schedule may help if you want to take a peek at things you may be able to adjust:
      https://www.babysleepsite.com/schedules/11-month-old-schedule/
      Hopefully things will improve soon and he will be sleeping well once again! If you do find that you would like one on one help, please contact us!
      Hang in there!

  6. Anna Powell says

    My little one is 7 months old and doesn’t sleep through the night. I’m working on separating feeding from bedtime. She goes down to bed at night “drowsy but awake” and has no issues falling asleep, but she wakes at least 1x, if not, 2x, and then up early after that and can’t get back to sleep unless we feed her. We’ve tried a variety of things but usually given in because going in and consoling her only seems to make her more upset. She is growing fine and healthy weight so I know she doesn’t have to eat 1-2 times per night and should be able to make a 10-12 hour stretch. She sleeps roughly 3 hours per day napping and goes to bed between 7-7:30 each night.

    • Danielle says

      Hi Anna,
      Thanks so much for visiting The Baby Sleep Site! I’m sorry to hear you’re having some trouble with night sleep. It can be very normal for a 7 month-old to need to eat 1-2 times per night, especially if her daytime schedule is such that she’s not getting enough opportunities to eat. We have more information about average nighttime feedings and night weaning here, which I hope will help: https://www.babysleepsite.com/sleep-training/baby-night-feedings-age-chart/
      Please let us know if you have any questions!

  7. Kristine Golden says

    Hello! My 18 month old twins had been amazing sleepers. They still sleep 12 hours a night but recently, they’ve been only taking a 60 min nap! And they wake up crying which is not typical of them at all. I have no idea what to do! I need my long naps back:-(

    • Neosha says

      @Kristine – Thank you for reading and for sharing with us. 18-months can definitely be an age where sleep can change suddenly and throw you for a loop! The good news is this can be developmental and a phase (so temporary) if they were previously good sleepers. Read more here about the 18-month sleep regression – https://www.babysleepsite.com/sleep-regression-2/18-month-old-toddler-sleep-regression-10-tips/ Hang in there, and let us know if we can be of any help!

  8. Ginger says

    I used the HWL method by Susan Urban and it saved us as parents! If I remember correctly it took us less than 4 days to sleep train our son and he wasn’t the easiest case 🙂 We’ve followed Urban’s guide entitled How to teach a baby to fall asleep alone so anybody who need help with sleep training – I recommend it

    • Janelle Reid says

      @Ginger, thanks for sharing your experience with us!

    • Dona says

      I had to come here to declare my love for this guide! It worked, and I’m so thankful 🙂

      • Neosha says

        @Dona – I’m so glad you found this helpful! We’re thankful for you, too! 🙂

    • Alice says

      Best ITEM I have ever purchased. My son is sleep trained and sleeps 11 hours and wakes up cheerful and ready to play. I am so glad I bought and read this book.

      • Lisa says

        Same thing! We even reach 12 hours again! And the sleeptraining with with guide was like 3 nights or so… Susan is my master!

  9. Jessica says

    Hello!
    My daughter is 4 months old and I think I have messed up her sleep terribly and don’t know where to start! She’s on a flexible (some days unpredictable schedule) of taking 2-3 short naps 30 minutes-1 hour. Until about 2 weeks ago she was on a completely predictable 3 hour eat play sleep cycle. Now she has to be held or nap in her swing. At night is even worse she was sleeping decent 4-5 hour stretches until about 2 weeks ago now she’s waking ever hour to 2 hours. She can’t self soothe at all has to be completely rocked or nursed to sleep at night and if you wake her up when you lay her down in her crib you have to start all over again! We did stop swaddling this week but that actually seemed to cut down on the crying. We do a bedtime routine with her but it’s about useless because she falls asleep at varing times after that usually at least 45 minutes. She gets tons of interaction throughout the day because I’m a stay at home mom. She’s exclusively breastfeed doesn’t take a bottle. She is sensitive to being overstimulated.so I’m careful to watch for sleep cues and start the rocking/nursing right away. As long as I catch her before she’s upset she will usually go to sleep without much fuss. I should say too that she was colicky and a tough newborn so we just did whatever we could to get us any sleep at all but now we are in a mess. Please help!

    • Janelle Reid says

      @Jessica, thank you for writing to us! I am sorry to hear you are struggling with your daughter’s sleep, but I can assure you this is normal and can certainly be resolved. This age is almost a guaranteed spot for trouble sleep (for the majority of babies) as they hit a sleep regression at this point. Your daughter’s sleep as permanently changed to be more like ours, so now as she transitions sleep cycles, she is waking up and needs help going back to sleep. Here is an article about the 4 month sleep regression: https://www.babysleepsite.com/how-we-sleep/4-month-old-sleep-regression/
      It is possible that she also has some sleep associations that are contributing to the wake up situation, and this is the perfect age to begin weaning her from those associations – you have not messed her up terribly by meeting her needs as a newborn! She needed that. 🙂 Here is an article explaining sleep associations and her dependency on you: https://www.babysleepsite.com/sleep-training/sleep-association/
      Lastly, here is a 4 month sample schedule to give you an idea of what her schedule should look like (it may vary slightly of course): https://www.babysleepsite.com/schedules/4-month-old-schedule/
      I would suggest slowly trying to wean her from any sleep associations starting with one area of sleep (naps or night) – I personally have found night time to be easiest for my children and begin putting her to bed drowsy but awake! If she gets upset, that’s where the above article can come in handy – make a plan for how you will handle any wake ups and be sure to stay consistent for a few days as it can take time for her to figure it out. Hang in there!

  10. Preksha says

    Just two days back I had messaged my baby’s sleep schedule and said now he transitioned from rocking to sleeping on her own. She’s almost 5 months old and suddenly became a pain in the butt for the last two days. She refused to take naps, nothing seems to work to put her to sleep. She took two naps yesterday and the data before and refused to go to bed until 8. She was trying to sleep alternating between playing fussing and cryin for 3 hours at least each day. I basically went from her third nap time to past bed time trying to put her to sleep.

    She’s been awake for 3-4 hours between naps and until two days back slept within 1;15-1:30 minutes by the clock.

    What the hell went wrong? What do I do? Is she too young for controlled crying? She cried like I’ve smacked her so hard.

    I want to stress that I’d easily gotten her to sleep on the bed alone and now it’s all gone.

    • Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site says

      Hi @ Preksha –
      Thanks for visiting! I am sorry that sleep has suddenly gone wrong! Because it was sudden, you may want to double check with your baby’s Doctor, before you start/re-start with any sleep training. Ruling out any medical/health issues will help you feel better about moving forward with making changes. The 4-5 month mark can be a really difficult one for many babies, so you are NOT alone!! Here is our article that specifically addresses this 4 month sleep change:
      https://www.babysleepsite.com/how-we-sleep/4-month-old-sleep-regression/
      Some babies have not mastered putting themselves to sleep and back to sleep on their own by this age, and are not proficient at self soothing. If you think she is good at self soothing, and you are interested in controlled crying, you can try leaving her and checking in intervals, but you may want to keep those intervals short, especially at first. If things do not smooth out soon, please consider getting some kind and caring one-on-one help with an expert sleep consultant. If you would like additional support, please take a peek at our offerings here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/services
      Good luck and hang in there!