Hi - My little girl is about 8 months now and has a terrible time sleeping at night. We do a bedtime routine every night, which includes a bath, lotion, story, bottle then bed. For the most part she goes down without a problem. I wait until she is in a deep sleep (limp-limb). But she is up at 12, 3, 6. At 12 I usually change her quick and give her a bottle and lay her with me. But she squirms and tosses her head back and forth almost every hour. I sing to her, rub her tummy, pick her up, cuddle her. I am now at a loss at what to do. I know she has a tooth coming in and give her motrin or tylenol but it doesn't seem to have an effect on her. And she has been doing this for weeks. She doesn't use a binky either. She just knaws on it when I give it to her or spits it out. I also tried the waterfall mobile and putting a fan in the room but still no luck. Her dad and I are against letting her CIO but I am beginning to get desperate.....

Having a bedtime routine is a great start, but waiting for her to be totally asleep before you put her in the crib might be where the problem lies. You are helping her fall asleep where as she needs to teach herself HOW to fall asleep. When she is waking up every couple of hours crying probably goes along with her sleep cycles. She wakes up, doesn't know how to put herself back to sleep and ends up crying for help. It certainly is heart renching isn't it?
A couple of things that worked for us is starting this all at nap time when you aren't at your wits end. I would put the kids in their crib right around when I would normally have them down for their nap. I would stay in there with the door open and put away laundry making minimal contact with them. As long as I was in their sight they wouldn't cry. I would walk out for a couple of seconds and come right back. They started feeling comfortable and content and before you knew it, I would look over and they would be asleep. I would close the door and celebrate. We carried it over at night and it worked.

Give this a shot. I did CIO with my first when he was 15 months because he had Roto Virus and had to sleep with us for awhile. It was tough be we had to do it becaue of his age and he had a set bedtime routine before all that. That bout only took 3 nights, but also worked.
Good luck. I hope some of this is helpful:angel:

I'm sure the teeth are probably the reason for the constant wake ups. When my daughter was that exact same age, she woke up all night long for over one month - all due to teeth. Crying it out didn't work because it only upset her more because there was a reason for her waking up. Like you, the tylenol and motrin didn't seem to have much success. I thought I was going to lose my ever-lovin' mind, but once the teeth came in, she was fantastic and got into a really great sleeping pattern.

Hang in there - it WILL definitely get better. :)

Hi - Last night was a bit better. We gave her a full dose of motrin at bathtime and then read her some stories and let her sit with us for a while. When she seemed to get tired I gave her a bottle in her papasan seat and she fell asleep, then I moved her to the crib. She woke up around midnight fussing quite a bit so I picked her up and moved her with me. I sang to her and rubbed her belly and she fell back asleep. She did that a few more times but fell right back asleep. I think part of it is that she is a noisy sleeper. She thrashes and mumbles to herself. During the day she is so active, almost hyperactive. She has been since she was born!
But last night was better and I didn't have to give her any bottles, which is huge because I had been giving her atleast 2 a night for a while. (sigh) It's funny how when your sleep deprived everything else takes a backseat to getting a little more sleep!

Thats great BC!! My little one slept from 8-4 last night (her first 8 hr block) and I am still on cloud nine. Im hoping to eliminate her middle of the night bottle one day soon....if I can just get her to push the 3/4 am deeding to a 6am feeding, life will be GREEEAT! LOL

what time are you putting her to bed, and how many naps does she get during the day??? a lot of times baby can't settle into a good night's rest because she is over tired and her body just can't relax. from what you described, with her being a "noisy sleeper" it could be that she isn't getting enough rest for her little body (probably due to the frequent waking.... sounds like a viscious cycle!). do you have any white noise going in her room? if not, i highly recommend getting something! they sell white noise machines everywhere now for about $25.

have you tried teething tablets for her teeth? i give them at the same time i give motrin and they work wonders! teething tablets give immediate short term relief, while motrin takes awhile to kick in and then works longer.... i always gave my little ones motrin and teething tablets about an hour before bedtime, and then again if they woke in the night (when it was time for another dose) and it really improved their sleep!

Hi again - We're back to the 1 am bottle again. I tried to soothe her back to sleep but she wasn't havin it. Then she woke up a few more times and I had to hold her and sing to her...I run the humidifier in the room and that makes noise. She just seems so restless. We try to give her naps during the day but they never last for more than 30-45 minutes. She likes to sleep slightly elevated, when she is flat on her back it seems to bother her. I only gave her half a dose of motrin last night. How do you know how much and when to give it? Her latest tooth isn't all the way through yet, does it hurt them even after it breaks through????

How much motrin or tylenol goes by how much they weigh. I would check with your doctor and see what they recommend (they should give you that info right over the phone). For my daughter, I can tell when a tooth is coming in because the whining and crying starts - at that point I give her the tylenol (or motrin, depending) usually only at night unless she seems uncomfortable during the day and then I will give it to her then as well. This only last for a few days and then she's ok. Once the tooth pops through they feel MUCH better. Your little one may be starting to get another tooth as well. Also, I would rub the baby oragel on her gums after giving her the tylenol because that would work until the pain reliever kicked in.

I use to worry about giving the tylenol (or motrin) because some people told me it was a bad thing but then quickly realized that even though the child may get it for a few days in a row, it's only for a short time while the tooth is coming in so I was totally fine with that. Whatever makes them comfortable.

Good luck...and hang in there, that stinkin' tooth will hopefully be in soon!!:)

I think she also enjoys all the attention she is getting when she wakes at night. I would make it more matter of fact. Pick up, stand by crib, shh shh and rock for a few minutes, set back into crib etc... I would not change her, feed her, or bring her into your bed if you are looking to get her to sleep in her crib on her own. I also agree with the PPer who said that she prob. does not know how to put herself to sleep. I did the same thing with teaching mine to go to sleep on their own. Hang in the room at naptime until they doze off on their own. At night do the routine and get her drowsy, but lay her down awake. My 10 month DD talks to herself for a few minutes before falling asleep. ;) Sleep issues suck :D