# screaming baby



## amandakc (Oct 24, 2006)

Please help...
our 12 wk. baby keeps waking up from naps/ bedtime after 1 hr. screaming. I have to hold her these days if I put her down she won't sleep longer than 1/2 hr.( for naps) we co sleep at night and she usually sleeps 4-5 hrs at a time. Starting last week she doesn't want to sleep longer than 30 minutes in a nap, untill night. I love holding her and I try to not let her cry but sometimes I cant help it, I can't do anything for her. I've been reading alot of books on sleep and they all are telling me to put her in a crib. At bed time I have to make sure shes asleep or she'll wake up when I put her down, but in general I'm happy at night with her It's just all day that is confusing. Do I need a schedule? more naps? Also how do you convince a baby she can sleep if I put her down????


----------



## sapphire_chan (May 2, 2005)

Will she sleep in a sling? Is she actually tired? Could you put her down for naps when she acts tired instead of to an arbitrary schedule? Maybe half hour naps are all she needs at this point.

Also, if it's only half an hour, why not take the nap with her? It's not like you're getting anything done while you're waiting to see if she's going to wake up screaming.


----------



## amandakc (Oct 24, 2006)

Yes, she will sleep in a front carrier but only if I'm walking or bouncing. Soon as i sit or stop moving she wakes right up. What I've read said that babys needed to sleep longer then half an hour and that a half hour doesn't really count. I'm a first time mom and wanted to know if anyone else has the same problem and what they did to help the little one.


----------



## summerbabe (Nov 12, 2006)

What about a cradle swing? We co-sleep with our son at night. During the day, he would only nap for half hour at a time. I was initially against using a swing...I wanted to wear my baby a lot and viewed swings as mechanical babysitters. My friend's son recently outgrew his, and my friend had to practically force it on me to try it...so I did, and now I find that it is a great tool for napping. I do not use it to entertain him or occupy him when he is awake--just put him in when he is very tired or already asleep. He sleeps 2-3 hours at a time in it. He would never nap that long lying flat.


----------



## WhaleinGaloshes (Oct 9, 2006)

My daughter would wake up after 20 minutes if I put her down at that age (it started pretty young for her.) Honestly, what worked for us was me holding her for her naps until she didn't need it anymore. She did sleep for me while I sat or lay down, though, the walking would have done me in. When I held her she was a great little napper -- three solid naps a day.

There really wasn't anything I tried that convinced her or helped her stay down during the day without a big struggle that I really didn't have the patience or the stomach for. Instead, I mentally viewed her nap times as a break for me and used the time to sleep, read, watch TV, surf the web etc.

Around 6 or 7 months I started testing her every few weeks to see how she took to napping alone...at 10 months she switched all by herself and now naps consistently and easily. She was ready.

4-5 hours at a stretch at night sounds great for a little baby like that. I personally don't worry about letting them fall deeply asleep before putting them down, it won't last forever.


----------



## amandakc (Oct 24, 2006)

Thank you all for the help. Last night was the worst she woke up crying again and nothing I did made her happy, she cried for 20 minutes and then finally stopped. It took forever to get her to sleep again and was so fussy! She woke up everytime I tried to sit down for the next 20 minutes. She finally fell into a deep sleep and we both went to bed exausted! Thankfully it was nice out and she got 2 really good naps in the front carrier as I walked around the neiborhood. Anyone have a good idea for a quiet place to walk around indoors, all afternoon!!! Honestly though I read some posts and I still have it easy, and to all of them they are in my baby sleep soundly prayers.


----------



## WhaleinGaloshes (Oct 9, 2006)

I like your attitude, Amanda; you seem to have a really good handle on the situation. I hope you don't think I'm patronizing you when I say: it really will pass. The inconsolable fussiness/crying will probably pass sooner than the restless, broken sleeping.

The walking sounds tough; I walk my daughter to sleep when she doesn't drift right off (which is not uncommon lately) and just basically go in circles in my bedroom listening to music on my headphones. Some people bounce on a yoga/exercise ball which is something I hadn't heard of when my baby was small but I think she would have like it. Keep trying different things and you'll keep finding stuff that works as she grows and changes.

Keep enjoying your baby, it sounds like you're doing an awesome job.


----------



## loveandkindness (Feb 1, 2005)

Oh, I remember those days!! My DD would only sleep a half hour unless I was holding her. My solution was to hold her while in the rocking chair. The motion helped her sleep about 20 extra minutes so she was less cranky during her awake times. I used the time to doze or read or even talk on the phone. Between nursing and naps I spent a LOT of time in that chair!

I would also suggest you look into the possibility of a dairy allergy. I discovered that this was what was upsetting my DD's poor little tummy and waking her up wanting comfort. I went dairy-free (since she was exclusively BF until 9 months) and it made a HUGE difference in both her napping and night-time sleep. It took about 3 days of no dairy for me to see a difference, and it kept getting better.

Hang in there -- you're doing great!


----------



## Erin M (Nov 6, 2006)

I was having similar trouble with dd's naps a few weeks ago, I started putting her down on her stomach and she stayed asleep much longer. She naps in her carriage in the living room or the moses basket upstairs so I'm watching her but at least I can go to the bathroom without waking her up. Putting her on her side with her back against the side of the basket also seems to work well.


----------



## amandakc (Oct 24, 2006)

Well I thouht I'd read some sleep books and most recomended an early bed time...so we went from 8 to 6:30 and I am trying to get 1 nap in for every 1-2 hrs. she is awake. It's day 4 and I'm seeing improvement! We also have had a warm spell so we spent alot of time outdoors walking. I can put her in the carrier and it's snooze time. I can't sit down when she is in it but I don't have to move. This is cheesy but I read a baby astrology book and it said she needed routine, I think that they were right. Oh she took a nap on her tummy all by herself for 20 min. Babies are great just when they have you on the edge they build you back up!


----------



## dawn1221 (Sep 27, 2006)

what about reflux?

Have you checked to see if she has it? It is possible she does not want to lay down because it is painful. Do you put her down right after a feed? If so, try having her sit upright for 15-20 minutes after eating. It may help.

Otherwise, I took DD to the bathroom and turned on the faucet. It lulled her to sleep within minutes. Keep the light off though.


----------



## Valian (Oct 16, 2005)

Reading your posts my first thought was reflux too. Particularly since its after lying down that it starts.

The inconsolable part of the crying seems like a signal to me that its not just the waking up alone, but that there is physical discomfort underlying the wake up.

We've been through reflux and honestly, after our experiences, even if it turns out to be something totally different for your DD, I would try to rule out physical causes right away.


----------



## USAmma (Nov 29, 2001)

Click on my GERD link in my sig. See if any of that seems to match what you are experiencing with her.

How is she eating?

I had one nasty nurse at the ped's office tell me to let her CIO and asked why she was sleeping in our room and why we were letting her keep us awake at night. Turns out my poor baby was hurting! I'm so glad I didn't listen to that nurse!


----------



## BeanyMama (Jul 25, 2006)

My DS would do that if I had eaten dairy products.


----------



## amandakc (Oct 24, 2006)

Well, I never tought about reflux, or an allergy. I read about the reflux and she has some of the symptoms, but I think mostly she has them when shes already upset? If she isn't sleepy she doesn't have any issues. I am going to try to pay attention to when I feed her etc.... I also don't eat much dary maybe some yogert and cheese, otherwise i eat soy. Hmm, thats very interesting about the reflux, thank you so much. i hope you'r baby gets better soon.


----------



## saraann (Dec 1, 2006)

I think it's normal for lots of babies to only nap for 30 minutes (it sure is hard on us moms though). It'll get better, I promise. My daughter would nap 30 minutes at the most but eventually started sleeping longer, up to two hours, now she's back at 3 30 minute naps a day and seems very well rested. She sleeps 11 hours at night so since she' seems happy, I'm fine with it.
Have you read anything about "aware parenting" it's an offshoot of AP, it has a different view on crying. google it and you can get some info on how to deal with the crying, it may or may not be right for you. It helped me get through some rough times, anyway. good luck!


----------



## amandakc (Oct 24, 2006)

She stopped waling up crying! I checked with my dr. and he doesn't think she has a problem. i'm trying to give her a better schedule, and ware her for naps and every day its getting better. Sometimes she wont eat enough and wake early, or shell pooh and get up. At least i know what shes up for. All the suggestions are great .. thank you.
She sleeps for 5-6 hrs. the first time, then 4, then 2,then 1, i'll pick her up and shell sleep on me from7am till 10-11. How can I get her to sleep longer in the middle of the night.
Oh she falls asleep whithin 10 minutes of walking up.
She is napping so much better now that she'll sleep in a carrier.


----------



## cpop (May 3, 2006)

Are you asking how to get her to sleep more than 6 hours at once, at night?
6 hours and then 4 hours are really long streches of uninterrupted sleep for a 12wk old. Their tummies are really little and they need to eat, so I don't think you will (or should) get her to sleep longer than this. You could try to set things up so neither you nor she really have to wake up all the way to nurse at night, but I think that's about it at this point.
Hang in there, she'll sleep longer when she's ready.


----------



## *guest (Oct 7, 2005)

Your night sleep sounds great. I wouldn't try to mess with it. Although if she's going down at 6:30, that 6 hours ends at midnight, and I'm guessing you go to bed later than 6:30, so you probably only get a few hours, if that, before her first waking. I don't think putting babies to bed later is a huge deal if it means more sleep for you! You may fondly remember the 6 hour stretches when she hits rougher developmental periods, especially around 19 and 26 weeks. 12 weeks is a rough time, btw, there's a developmental leap which messes with sleep, and a notorious physical growth spurt happens around that time. I was so mad at 12 weeks because everyone claimed that's when it got easier, but it didn't! Don't worry, it does in a few more weeks, I swear. Keep up on the naps during the day, and you may be able to push a later bedtime and catch more uninterupted sleep for yourself.

You'll read a lot of sleep books, and many of them are total authoritarian junk. A lot of people also don't realize that all the "advice" is geared towards babies 6 months and up. There really is no rhyme or reason sometimes while you're still in the newborn stage. Some of the popular books are written by men who don't even have children, if that tells you anything. The only book I'd consider taking advice from is No Cry Sleep Solution, have you tried that one? Which ones are you reading? I'm sure people here can tell you if they're useful or not.

As she gets a little older, you might have luck nursing her down in bed and then sneaking away, that's what we do if we're not out and about in the sling.


----------



## amandakc (Oct 24, 2006)

It is so funny the moment I type any reply she stops doing it. Were back to 3 hrs. But she is asleep within 10 minutes... Im still happy. My question was about later at night, when she is only sleeping for an hr. or two. I picked up the no cry sleep solution... and im going to read it when she naps.
I looked it over, and she suggested taching babies to sleep by them selves. I totally get that but i finally have a good routine and she is sleeping well in a sling why do I want to ruin all that I have gained by fussing with her. Any advise wise moms... plan for the future or be happy today

Sorry for the bad spelling and grammer I am typing with 1 hand as she sleeps.


----------

