Join our Tinyhood sleep consultant, Arielle Driscoll, for a one hour live Q&A. Arielle will be here to answer all of your questions about naps, night wakings, and more!
What's the easiest way to get rid of the dummy/pacifier?
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Arielle D.
Hi Sarah, |
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Arielle D.
Hi Sarah - I hope the tips I shared will help your baby drop the pacifier! I am one of Tinyhood's sleep consultants and Tinyhood has a service where we can continue messaging privately for only $15. Let me know if you are interested! |
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Sarah Hi Arielle yes I have subscribed to the service . I |
Hi! My 10 month old had slept through the night wonderfully up until 8 months. Now she's been getting up at least once a night and sometimes more when a tooth is coming in. Do we need to re-sleep train her? We had done so at 5 months and it worked great. We just worry that she's in pain (Tylenol and Motrin have not helped at all) and that sometimes she's hungry if she didn't eat as well during the day (due to pain potentially?). I worry that if we sleep train again we will just regress every time a tooth comes in. She's EBF and I do nurse her back to sleep when she wakes up at night. TIA!
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Arielle D.
Hi Jenna, |
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Arielle D.
Hi Jenna - I hope the tips I shared will help your baby get a better night's rest! I am one of Tinyhood's sleep consultants and Tinyhood has a service where we can continue messaging privately for only $15. Let me know if you are interested! |
My 16month old has started waking up screaming - last night it was at 12:00. After letting her cry for 8min which did not seem to be decreasing, we tried going in and rocking her (until about 12:30), but when we put her down she started crying again. She then cried off and on until 1. Then woke up again at 2, cried for 15min, fell asleep. Woke at 4, cried 5 min, woke at 5am and would not go back to sleep. She goes to bed at 8pm with a bottle immediately before, cries for less than 10 min and then used to sleep to 5:45/6am. Other nights she has woken up at 4 screaming and won't go back to sleep either with or without a bottle. Any advice on what I can do to encourage her to not wake or up or go back to sleep on her own. She is waking the whole household. Thanks.
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Arielle D.
Hi Caroline, |
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Caroline 3 nights so far. She is exhausted in the morning and then does two naps 45min, 1-1/2h (she was transitioning to 1, but not all the way there yet). |
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Arielle D.
Ok - I would take her to the doctor. I suspect an ear infection. https://www.drgreene.com/qa-articles/detecting-ear-infection/ |
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Arielle D.
Hi Caroline - I hope the tips I shared will help your baby get a better night's rest! Were you able to get her in to the doctor? I am one of Tinyhood's sleep consultants and Tinyhood has a service where we can continue messaging privately for only $15. Let me know if you are interested! |
Our 2-year-old twins have never been good sleepers, but for the past couple of weeks they've been waking several times a night and have terrible difficulty getting back to sleep. We have a fan running in the room for white noise, put a nightlight in, go in to reassure them, but they still won't fall back to sleep unless we sit within their line of sight. They also kick of blankets and scream until we tuck them back in, and do so multiple times. We're sort of at a loss and would love to hear any thoughts or suggestions you may have. Thank you!
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Arielle D.
Hi Emily, |
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Emily They usually nap for 1.5 to 2 hours, starting between 10 and 11. They are early risers, too, and are usually up around 5. We sleep trained when they were 9 months, but hadn't considered doing so again. |
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Arielle D.
What time do they go to bed? |
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Emily We aim to get them in bed by 7:30, though they have been fighting sleep until anywhere from 8:00 to 9:00. As a result, they've been super cranky and little zombies, which is hard to see. |
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Arielle D.
Ok, bedtime is too late. If they are napping so early in the day, I'd aim to get them down for bed around 6:30. This will help prevent them from becoming overtired by bedtime. I would recommend removing the nightlight unless you feel they are fearful of the dark. I would also recommend considering a sleep training method for them as it's clear that they are dependent on you to assist them in falling asleep/back to sleep. |
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Emily Thank you, Arielle! We'll give it a shot. |
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Arielle D.
Let me know how it goes! |
Hello - my daughter just turned 5 months and her schedule is allllllll over the place. I think this is because a) she wakes up anywhere between 6:30 and 7:30am, b) I nurse her on demand...every 2-2.5 hours usually vs shooting for every 3 like I did with her big brother, c) I haven't quite figured out her right bedtime yet...thought it was 6pm but she fights / fusses a lot so have been trying for 7, which she sometimes pushes to 7:30.
At night she sleeps anywhere from 11-13 hours, with one feeding in the 3-5am range. She takes 3-4 naps a day but the timing / length of each varies a lot based on when she wakes up and how long the first two are, usually around 3 hours of total daytime sleep. Basically we just aim to get her down before she is overtired but there's no regularity around when that happens!
I remember my son went from 4 catnaps to 2 long naps (at 8:30/9am and 12/1pm) at 6 months so wondering if / how we can start moving her in that direction...
Thanks,
Divya
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Arielle D.
Hi Divya, |
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Divya Thanks, that's really helpful! One clarification: does that mean I should wake her up for the day by 7 even if she would otherwise also until 7:15/7:30? |
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Divya Otherwise sleep until 7:15/7:30, sorry! She's usually my "alarm clock" since my son (usually) doesn't wake up until after 7:30. |
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Divya Sorry, a second clarification - would you say we should risk letting her get a bit overtired to "make" this schedule? As expected, she goes down easier when we pre-empt the overtiredness...though her being overtired doesn't seem to impact the length of the nap (unlike my son who would sleep LESS the more overtired he got). Thank you! |
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Arielle D.
Yes, I would wake her by 7. Yes, I would massage her toward that schedule even if it means she might be entering the OT zone. If she's wildly exhausted and can't stay awake, obviously put her down. The schedule should be your goal, but obviously reading her signs is also important! |
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Divya Got it - thanks so much! We'll try that starting tomorrow morning 🤞🏽 |
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Arielle D.
Great! Let me know how it goes. :) |
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Arielle D.
Hi Divya - I hope the tips I shared will help your baby get a better night's rest! I am one of Tinyhood's sleep consultants and Tinyhood has a service where we can continue messaging privately for only $15. Let me know if you are interested! |
We have been doing sleep training for my 6.5 month old son for several weeks now. He's much better at falling asleep on his own but still wakes a lot at night - 3-5 times. Bedtime is 6:30/7 depending on how tired he is - sometimes we just can't get to 7. I'm feeding around 12/1, around 3 and sometimes again at 5 and/or 6 if he wakes then. He tends to wake many times in the early morning hours. Should I let him cry longer when he wakes? Is it not a good strategy to feed him around 5/6 when he wakes then? I find that if I feed at every wake after 5 (usually once or twice) I can get him to sleep until 6:30 or 7.
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Arielle D.
Hi Cara, |
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Cara First nap around 2 hrs after waking, subsequent after about 2.5 hrs wake time. Bed time I aim for 2 hrs after last nap. Naps can be anywhere from 30 mins to 1.5 hrs. Usually at least one long nap per day. |
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Arielle D.
Is there any regularity as far as which nap is longer? |
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Cara He's really small, only 15 lbs 3 oz at the 6 month check up. He never cries for hunger, only around sleep. As for which nap is longer it's pretty random. There already has been so much crying I'm finding the nap training difficult. |
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Arielle D.
Are you nursing or bottle feeding? |
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Cara Nursing exclusively |
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Arielle D.
And how many times does he nurse during the day? |
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Cara Many - I'm not sure, I don't count. Maybe 10 times or more. I'm not sure if it's better to nurse more often or to wait longer between feeds to ensure he gets the hindmilk? |
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Arielle D.
Have you considered chatting with one of our lactation consultants? |
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Cara No I'll do that |
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Arielle D.
Yes, I would do that. He could be waking out of hunger OR he could be waking because he has a nurse-to-sleep association. I would definitely recommend checking in with a lactation consultant first. :) |
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Cara He definitely has that and we are trying to break it. |
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Arielle D.
Ok. I would still speak with the lactation consultant about how frequently to feed. :) |
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Arielle D.
Hi Cara - I hope the tips I shared will help your baby get a better night's rest! I am one of Tinyhood's sleep consultants and Tinyhood has a service where we can continue messaging privately for only $15. Let me know if you are interested! |
My little has teeth 5-7 cutting through right now and she just started daycare this week so I have been hesitant to sleep train her. However, we desperately need more sleep so I would like to come up with a plan to carry out next week after she's gotten used to her new daily routine. We started co-sleeping about a month ago because she would wake up often (usually crying/screaming really loudly) and I got into a bad habit of nursing her. She is an awesome daytime napper and will go right down in her crib while drowsy (still takes 3 naps), but just wants to be cuddled with me at night. She has been getting up every 90 minutes to 2.5 hours a night so I'm exhausted and at my wits end. Should I work on one thing first or just jump in and go full force with the Ferber method? Thank you!
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Arielle D.
Hi Cindy, |
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Arielle D.
Hi Cindy - I hope the tips I shared will help your baby get a better night's rest! I am one of Tinyhood's sleep consultants and Tinyhood has a service where we can continue messaging privately for only $15. Let me know if you are interested! |
Hi Arielle!
I have an almost 18 mo old girl. We've sleep trained her 2-3 times. She's never consistently been a good sleeper. For the past 4-6 weeks, she's fighting bed time and instead of falling asleep by 7:30, its more like 8:30/9. Her wake up time hasn't shifted-- she usually wakes up between 6:30-7AM. Also, due to illnesses, she won't fall asleep unless she's laying down with one of us. We can then transfer her into her crib, but she will wake up around 1/1:30AM in which we just give in and pull her into her the daybed or guest bed for the rest of the night. I've refused to let her sleep in our bed.
She goes to daycare and consistently naps for about 2 hours. We've been on the go for the past couple of weekends so she's been taking her nap in car rides. Else, I can usually get her to fall asleep fairly easily (holding her) and can transfer into her crib and nap for 2-2.5 hrs.
I've been hesistant on re-sleep training her because to be honest, I have no idea when/if she's actually tired. Also, her cries are MUCH louder :-( My husband wants to just let her sleep in the daybed moving forward (she knows how to get out of the daybed safely). I feel like it is too early to move her out of her crib.
I am currently about 16 wks pregnant and I need her to sleep again, preferably by 7:30/8PM so I can get my rest!
Any advice??
Thanks in advance!!
Jenny
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Arielle D.
Hi Jenny, |
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Jenny Usually between 12-2 at daycare. On weekends, if we're out and about, sometimes from 1-3ish. Nap starts no earlier than 11:30. |
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Arielle D.
Ok, I think she's going to bed too late. I'd try getting her down for bed around 4/4.5 hours after she wakes from her nap - so during daycare days, that would mean having her asleep by 6:30 at the latest. It sounds as though she is overtired by bedtime, which causes the fighting of bedtime. I would also definitely choose a training method to help her fall asleep independently again. If she already knew how to do so previously, it shouldn't be too hard to get her back on track. It will just take consistency! |
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Arielle D.
Hi Jenny - I hope the tips I shared will help your toddler get a better night's rest! I am one of Tinyhood's sleep consultants and Tinyhood has a service where we can continue messaging privately for only $15. Let me know if you are interested! |
Hi Arielle,
Baby is 4.5 months and still naps only for 30 min, always while breastfeeding and no matter what I do ( hold his hand, tap on the back /tummy), still doesn't go beyond 30min. So I have to put him back to sleep every 2 hours.
In the night he normally wakes up 2-3 times a night.
Thanks
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Arielle D.
Hi Cristina, |
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Cristina Hi, |
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Arielle D.
Ok, so his bedtime is likely far too late. At 4.5 months, I'd be aiming for a schedule like the following: |
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Cristina I tried putting him down at 7 rather than 8 and he spent 2 hours nursing and fussing before he fell asleep. |
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Arielle D.
7 is still probably too late. His third nap should end no later than 5 p.m., which would put bedtime around 6:30. This would mean you'd aim to have him ASLEEP by 6:30, so your routine would begin earlier. |
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Arielle D.
Hi Cristina - I hope the tips I shared will help your baby get a better night's rest! I am one of Tinyhood's sleep consultants and Tinyhood has a service where we can continue messaging privately for only $15. Let me know if you are interested! |
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Cristina Hi. Yes, please Tell Me how can I do that. Thanks |
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Arielle D.
Hi Cristina! You can go to tinyhood.com/subscribe :) |
Hello! I am having the nighttime screaming issue as well with my 11month old, this last week he has been waking anywhere between 11pm and 1am and screaming the house down. I offer him water thinking he might be thirsty which he takes but then continues to scream for anything up to an hour!! He is still in our bedroom, but only until we move which is a little over a week!!! He also wakes super early around 5:30am, if there is anything we can do about this?! We put him down at 6:30pm and he's usually asleep by 7pm with no interventions. He takes 2 good naps 1 hour to 2 hours & falls asleep independently. Is this just a phase or product of us all sleeping in the same bedroom?? Also now he is older and used to us being there should I stagger/slowly introduce his sleeping alone in his own room or for all of our sanity put him right in there on night one??
Thanks in advance,
Vicky
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Arielle D.
Hi Vicky, |
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Victoria Thanks so much, to make matters more complicated we travel 2 days after we move so I'm thinking we leave putting him in there until we get back. We are happy to do CIO just wanted to be reasonable to him too so a few days of acclamation before pulling the plug sounds good to me. Thanks again |
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Arielle D.
Smart plan. I'm here if you need me after the move! |
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Arielle D.
Hi Victoria - I hope the tips I shared will help your baby get a better night's rest! I am one of Tinyhood's sleep consultants and Tinyhood has a service where we can continue messaging privately for only $15. Let me know if you are interested! |
I have a couple questions!
1. I am struggling to get my daughter to sleep in her crib. I have twins 5 months (about 4 adjusted). My son does fine at night in it, but for her I brought her Rock n' playin....
2. Naps! I am having such a hard time putting them down. Do you just put them down and let them cry?
3. I was given the Merlin Suits, wondering if they are worth using!
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Arielle D.
Hi Andrea, |
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Andrea Lucy does, Liam not so much. I secretly just tested it out on a nap and he has never slept longer! But I totally understand what you are saying. I have read so many sleep training books. Was settling on the Sleep Easy method, they are all kind of the same but I think I am ready. I cave a lot as with twins there is always one that goes down easy and the other not so I just want a moment....but short term pain for the long term :) |
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Andrea Liam can often put himself to sleep. I am trying to work on the 1.5 wake schedule. So they get up around 7, first nap 8:30, etc. until I start bedtime routines at 6:30 and they are usually in bed at 7. Thatbeing said the naps have been really inconsistent and if I am getting an hour I am lucky and sometimes the third nap wont happen for one of them :( |
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Arielle D.
Yes, with twins you definitely need to keep them on a synched schedule. If one wakes, it's best to wake the other within 15 minutes to keep them on a similar schedule. And yes! There is always one baby that fights sleep more than the other. And I have to tell you, in boy/girl twins, it is SO frequently the GIRL who is the fighter! ;) |
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Arielle D.
Hi Andrea - I hope the tips I shared will help your babies get a better night's rest! I am one of Tinyhood's sleep consultants and Tinyhood has a service where we can continue messaging privately for only $15. Let me know if you are interested! |
Hi Arielle! Could you please share a sleep schedule guideline for a 9 month old? Our little one would happily stay up later, but currently sleeps from 8:45p-6a, with 1.5 hour naps at 8a and 1p. We're wondering if she's not getting enough sleep? How could we help her sleep more? For the past few nights she's been sitting up in her crib and crying to let us know she's not ready to turn in for the night...
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Arielle D.
Hi Olga! |
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Olga That does make sense! On average, how long should it take to transition to a new sleep schedule? Any suggestions for helping her "stay up" until her first nap during this time? And tips for adjusting to the earlier bedtime? Many thanks! |
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Arielle D.
Typically, children take to it pretty quickly! I would work on moving the nap a little bit later by 15 minutes every other day until you get to 9/9:30ish. As for bedtime, in my opinion, there's no reason to slowly back that up especially if she's partying in her crib at that time. I would just go ahead and move it right away! |
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Arielle D.
Hi Olga - I hope the tips I shared will help your baby get a better night's rest! I am one of Tinyhood's sleep consultants and Tinyhood has a service where we can continue messaging privately for only $15. Let me know if you are interested! |
My baby boy is 11.5 months. In the past month, he has finally started to sleep 11 hour stretches at night (hallelujah!), and he takes 2 naps a day totaling 2.5-3 hours. Most nights, starting at 2 or 3 am, our baby will cry out every 30-40 minutes. Usually it's just 1-3 cries until he finds a pacifier (we have at least 6 in his crib) and settles back to sleep. Even though he wakes up appearing energetic and happy, I am concerned that this brief interruptions are impeding the restorative sleep we want for him. Is this normal behavior for a baby his age or is there anything that we should be concerned about? If so, is there anything we can do to help him?
Thank you for answering questions!
Devon
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Arielle D.
Hi Devon, |
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Devon It has been going on for a while now (close to 2 months). I nursed our baby at least once per night until he was 9 months old. Starting at 9 months, we weaned him off all night nursing, and the consistent short-lived cries started then. Last night, he cried out at around 9:30 pm (just 2-3 cries) and the was quiet until 6:15 am. Last week, he also had short cries about 40 minutes into his 80 minute naps, but usually he cries out just in the last third of the night. |
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Arielle D.
I don't find this concerning at all. He could even be dreaming. The sleep that happens during the second part of the night is the lightest, so it's possible he's just shifting into the next sleep cycle and is likely not even fully awake. As long as he isn't seemingly tired during the day, I don't think it's anything to worry about and I would recommend turning the sound off on the monitor. ;) |
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Devon Thanks for your opinion, Arielle. Turning off the monitor would probably help me get a better night sleep! |
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Arielle D.
Of course! And yes - I had to do that myself. Babies are LOUD sleepers and I am a LIGHT sleeper. Plus, you know, mom ears are bionic. ;) |
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Arielle D.
Hi Devon - I hope the tips I shared will help your baby get a better night's rest! I am one of Tinyhood's sleep consultants and Tinyhood has a service where we can continue messaging privately for only $15. Let me know if you are interested! |
Hi I have a 7.5 month old who was sleeping through mostly through the night up until 3 weeks ago. She has started crawling last week, is chatting up a storm and trying to stand/walk already. I think she's just busting through milestone after milestone and it is messing with her sleep.
I'm very strict as far as following the same bedtime routine every night. We eat dinner, do bath time, then lights out book and nursing. I put her down to sleep in her crib awake and she often goes to bed. This is at around 7pm. She has been waking consistently at around 11 and is super hungry. She eats and typically falls back asleep now until 4 then eats again for 4-5 min and falls back asleep until 6-7.
The last few days she's been waking up more and is wide awake. Last night she was wired at 11-1 and after trying cry it out for an hour I gave in and let her play for an hour. She slept til 6. Only got 9 hours last night.
Nap wise I consistently give her a nap in her crib 1-2 hours after she wakes for the day. This nap varies in length but is typically an hour long. Today it was 20 min.
She naps 1-2 more times during the day for 20-40 min. She has no teeth yet but has been showing signs of teething since she was 3 months old. I just honestly have no clue anymore about what to do.
Is this just what some kids do? we are currently away on vacaction right now as well. We have been gone since last week and return Saturday. Do you think it's just vacation related?
Thanks. Sorry for sounding so desperate. Sleep deprivation in full effect!
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Arielle D.
Hi Kiera, |
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Kiera Thanks Arielle- |
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Arielle D.
If you're on vacation, I would wait until you return! |
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Arielle D.
Hi Kiera - I hope the tips I shared will help your baby get a better night's rest! I am one of Tinyhood's sleep consultants and Tinyhood has a service where we can continue messaging privately for only $15. Let me know if you are interested! |
Our 19 mo old has never been a good sleeper. She is now able to climb out of her crib with ease. We used to let her cry herself to sleep for about 10 min, but that is now not possible because she climbs out as soon as she is put into the crib. If we put her back in, she climbs out immediately again. My husband now lies in an adult bed with her until she goes to sleep, but this is a time consuming process with a lot of crying. She is a late sleeper -- bedtime around 9 pm, wakes up about 7:30-8 am. She also wakes up in the middle of the night (now multiple times) and is currently sleeping in an adult bed with a mattress low to the floor. One of us has to go in to make sure she stays in bed and doesn't climb out since she would climb out of the crib in the middle of the night, too. She needs to be sleep trained again but not sure how to do this without a crib
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Arielle D.
Hi Tina, |
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Arielle D.
Hi Tina - I hope the tips I shared will help your toddler get a better night's rest! I am one of Tinyhood's sleep consultants and Tinyhood has a service where we can continue messaging privately for only $15. Let me know if you are interested! |
My 7 month old has been waking up most nights between 4:30-5:30 AM crying and will only go back to sleep once he is fed (he usually sleeps until 7 AM after his "snack"). During the day he naps from 9:00-10:30 AM, 12:30-2:00 PM, and 4:00-4:30 PM and bedtime is between 6:15-7:00 PM depending on his mood. We put him in the crib awake for every nap/bedtime and he is usually pretty good about getting himself back to sleep if he wakes up in the middle of the night, but I have tried waiting him out (up to 2 hours) and he absolutely refuses to go back to sleep at that time until he eats. Is this early morning snack just something that I am going to have to live with or is there a way that I can modify his sleep schedule?
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Arielle D.
Has he always woken at that time? And does he fall back to sleep easily afterward? Is he bottle fed or nursed? How many times a day is he nursing/how many ounces of formula is he getting during the day? |
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Brittania He doesn't always wake up at that time but I would say that 80% of the time he does, it is the feeding that I can't manage to get rid of because I usually end up caving assuming that he is hungry after sleeping for 10-11 hours. |
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Arielle D.
Ok - it's possible that it's time to cut out the third nap, though my feeling is that he may actually still be hungry at that hour. Some babies are! If he consistently falls back asleep easily after the feed, I would honestly keep it for now. In another month or so, I would then consider dropping it. His schedule is fantastic at this point. |
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Brittania Yes, after I feed him in the morning and put him in the crib he usually rolls back over and falls quickly asleep until 7 AM. I will keep it for now and see if he drops it on his own next month, fingers crossed! Thank you so much for your help! How do I know when it is time to drop the third nap and should I change the other two nap times to adjust to the longer awake time in the evening? |
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Arielle D.
Given that he seems to be doing great with this schedule, then I would stick with it until he's not! Typically when it's time to drop a nap, he will fight that third nap or skip it. He may also begin to have night wakings or stop falling back asleep after that early feed. You can find me here if any of these things begin to occur and I can help you through that transition when it's time. :) |
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Brittania Thank you so much for everything! |
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Arielle D.
You're very welcome! I'm happy to help! |
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Arielle D.
Hi Brittania - I hope the tips I shared will help your baby get a better night's rest! I am one of Tinyhood's sleep consultants and Tinyhood has a service where we can continue messaging privately for only $15. Let me know if you are interested! |
Hi Arielle,
My almost 4 month old was sleeping 10 hours a night without waking up. Recently he has been waking up twice at night and I have been bringing him into bed with me feeding him and then putting him back in his bassinet. I don't necessarily think he is hungry all the time, but it seems to be the easiest and fastest way to put him back to sleep. Any advice on how I can get him sleeping through the night again? He typically falls asleep at 8 PM, and I put him down drowsy but awake and his first wake up is at 1pm.
Thanks!
Liz
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Arielle D.
Hi Liz, |
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Elizabeth Sure. He usually wakes around 630/7am and takes his first nap about 1.5 hours after that. Then usually sleeps every 2 hours or so. He is a major cat napper so I usually wear him in the Bjorn and when he's in that, he sleeps 2 from 1-2 hours. |
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Elizabeth I would love a suggested schedule as well if you have any ideas! We sort of wing it.... |
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Arielle D.
Hi Elizabeth, |