I'm stuck. Out of ideas.
However you want to say it.
If you've been reading for more than a few months, you probably remember that my lovely little daughter Hazel has a track record for not exactly being what people would dub "a good sleeper."
In the first weeks of her life, she would only sleep while people were holding her. Setting her down in anything - crib, pack & play, bouncy seat, carseat, boppy pillow - was pretty much a guarantee that she would either (1) wake up immediately or (2) sleep a grand total of up to, but not exceeding, 25 minutes.
As we transitioned to the crib, I tried all kinds of swaddling, wedges, and other props to get her to sleep on her back. No dice. I caved in and we had a happy tummy sleeper for about 6-8 weeks.
Today - my biggest problem - the one that makes me want to pull out my hair just a leetle bit - is that she will not - WILL NOT - go to bed in any fashion without tears (exception = some (not all) middle-of-the-night feedings will result in me laying down a quiet, sleepy baby). And most of the time - it's not little whimpery tears. It's big, crocodile sized tears accompanied by wailing of the intensity that can be heard outside the walls of our home when the windows & doors are closed. There is no escaping these tears. They subside eventually, and she does fall asleep. But oh my, this poor mama is growing so weary of listening to the gut-wrenching sobbing.
I've looked through countless websites. I've read books: The Baby Whisperer, The No-Cry Sleep Solution, Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems, Sleeping through the Night, The Happiest Baby on the Block, and more. Nothing I've tried from any of those books has worked to solve this particular problem (lots of good tips/tricks I've pocketed away for other situations though). We have a bedtime routine, a naptime routine - there is singing of quiet songs, there are prayers, there's soft music, dim lights, a white noise machine (not all at once, obviously, but in some combination at varying times). Still - she cries every. single. time. She's crying before she hits the mattress. I've tried letting her cry, I've gone in at intervals to soothe and rub her back. I've picked her up and tried again. And again.
I know there is nothing new under the sun, and I know this will pass. My only fear is that it might not pass before it kills me.
Does anyone out there have any fabulous secret trick that I may not have tried and that is not easily found in the vast research I've already done? Because I'm ready to listen to almost anything that isn't crying.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
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4 thoughts:
ugh. i feel your pain. i have no advice, just sympathy...asher's in the problem sleeping situation as well. and i too am frazzled. i'll keep you guys in my prayers.
let meredith handle the crying baby at night so you can sleep :)
I'm a far cry from a baby sleep expert, Parker cries at first most of the time when we put her to sleep, but we let her cry it out and the more we've done that the less she cries. Now she pretty much goes to sleep without crying. I know you've tried that, so I don't really have an answer for you, just thought I'd share what we do. I hope she settles down soon for you guys. Take care!
So you're rocking her all the way to sleep, then she wakes up when you stand or something?? When my baby was tiny, he liked me laying with him, then I would get up and put a pillow to his back and he would think it was me...But that was when I was able to leave him unattended on our bed...now we have a big bottle of fruit, oatmeal and milk, rock and sing, and he's out....I hope you find something soon.
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