2:47 a.m.
We were doing so well.
Ladybug was going to bed at 7:30 every evening, she was sleeping through the night, she was taking her mid-morning nap every day like clockwork.
And then it all went out the window. And when I say “all,” I mean “all.”
A few months ago, Ladybug started waking up an hour or two earlier than usual. Then she started postponing – and then skipping – her morning naps. That was followed by a refusal to go to bed at night. Next came the 2:47 a.m. bottle feedings. I’m not kidding; it’s like she has an alarm clock set to that time.
The latter is what’s bothering me the most, primarily because I can’t figure out the cause or the solution. Sure, I had lots of theories on the subject. I thought maybe she wasn’t eating enough solid food during the day so I started giving her less bottles and more food. Didn’t work.
Then I tried stuffing her with rice cereal just before bedtime. No change.
We moved her bedtime to an even later hour, hoping fatigue would keep her sleeping through the night. That only worked to push the middle-of-the-night cries for a bottle to a later hour.
Now we’re giving her a bottle of formula right before bedtime and leaving a sippy cup of water in the crib. But so far it’s only served to create 2:47 a.m. sheet and pajama changes … right before another bottle.
So I’m stumped. If you’ve dealt with this or have some suggestion that I’m overlooking, post it under the comments below. Everyone in our house will thank you for it.
Ladybug was going to bed at 7:30 every evening, she was sleeping through the night, she was taking her mid-morning nap every day like clockwork.
And then it all went out the window. And when I say “all,” I mean “all.”
A few months ago, Ladybug started waking up an hour or two earlier than usual. Then she started postponing – and then skipping – her morning naps. That was followed by a refusal to go to bed at night. Next came the 2:47 a.m. bottle feedings. I’m not kidding; it’s like she has an alarm clock set to that time.
The latter is what’s bothering me the most, primarily because I can’t figure out the cause or the solution. Sure, I had lots of theories on the subject. I thought maybe she wasn’t eating enough solid food during the day so I started giving her less bottles and more food. Didn’t work.
Then I tried stuffing her with rice cereal just before bedtime. No change.
We moved her bedtime to an even later hour, hoping fatigue would keep her sleeping through the night. That only worked to push the middle-of-the-night cries for a bottle to a later hour.
Now we’re giving her a bottle of formula right before bedtime and leaving a sippy cup of water in the crib. But so far it’s only served to create 2:47 a.m. sheet and pajama changes … right before another bottle.
So I’m stumped. If you’ve dealt with this or have some suggestion that I’m overlooking, post it under the comments below. Everyone in our house will thank you for it.
posted by Michelle Mahfoufi at 4:21 PM
Michelle recently gave up her career to be a full-time stay-at-home mom to a toddler. At least that's the plan ....
10 Comments:
First, I have to ask why is your little girl still on formula? Have you thought about giving her whole milk instead? Second, does she have all of her teeth? My little girl is 15 months old and has been sleeping threw the night since about 6-8 months. The only time she doesn't sleep threw the night is when she is teething. Right now she is getting her molars and it has been hard. She does go to sleep at 8:00 every night which she has been doing since she was an infant. I really don't have any answers to your request, but I will say it will pass. One night you will awake at 2:47 and realize you miss those nights when she needed you. I know I will.
She's on formula at the pediatrician's suggestion that she drink it until she's two. She drinks it to supplement what she's eating during the day. As for teething, the last of her teeth are coming in now. Up until this spate started a few months ago, she had been regularly sleeping through the night for more than a year. Of course there were some nights that were bumpy, but nothing to the extent of what we're dealing with now. Now it's every single night. When you combine that with her overall refusal to sleep, it can make for some rather challenging days at times.
try some distraction music- or in my case, a stereo that is on repeat with a lullaby cd inserted, AND a television set at the other end of the room with the cartoon network or noggin on it (noggin is 24 hrs now)- it SOUNDS awful (& is annoying thru the baby monitor) til ya realize that it drowns out ANY sort of outside noise or lack of noise that may alert your child to something changing in the house- dinner cooking, parents bedtime, noisy neighbors-dogs barking- anything-
then, if they DO wake up, you have the added interest of what's on tv to amuse them & often times lull them back to sleep (in mine's case sometimes BORE them back to sleep if its not on the right channel!)..
it also helps in the mornings if one of mine should wake up much earlier than the rest- they will just hang out, play with their bed-toys & watch their tv & be happy for a bit-
i know folks like to limit tv exposure- but when its sleep involved, sometimes you have to give in a little bit- when she gets past the teething problem, then you can work on the time spent watching tv!!!!
just a thought!
~mimi
Michelle,
I assume she's a picky eater, or doesn't eat much. If not, it baffles me as to why he would have you keep her on formula for that long. I was able to take my boys off formula at 10 months, but they were eating full feedings of table food. They both got their teeth very early. Anyway, if she needs the formula, you might want to switch it to a sippy cup. When you hand her the sippy cup of formula at night, she probably won't want it, then she'll stop waking up at night to get it. Make sense?
I am responding to your moving the bedtime later to try to help her sleep. You might want to consider an earlier bedtime instead. I am a mother of four, ages 10, 6, 4 and 3, and I have found that the later the bedtime the earlier mine get up. If my youngest goes to bed any later than 8pm she wakes up during the night and very early (before 5am) the next morning. Good Luck!
sorry, no solution for you, just something to make you feel a bit better (hopefully):
my 19mth old son has NEVER slept through the night, I still have to breastfeed him every 2~3 hrs through the night now.
He was napping regularly & going to bed at 7:30pm for the past 1month, I was soooooo happy. Then last week he fell sick: I woke him up ONCE at abt 4am then to give him fever medicine. Since then, even though he's recovered now, he's still waking up at 4am every night. By the time I get him back to sleep it's 5 am & I myself will be wide awake.......me also looking for solution to my problem!
Hui2 -- Oh boy; I'm cringing thinking about your situation. And to think I'm complaining. Isn't it funny how those fevers can just mess everything up? Ladybug slept through the night for the first time the night before her three-month immunizations. Of course she got a fever right after her shots, and it took months to get her sleeping through the night again. I hope you get some sleep soon!
vulnadia -- i never thought of the tv idea, but we've been using the music distraction ever since she was born. i put her favorite cd on repeat, and it plays all night. it hasn't been helping lately though. on really "bad" nights when Ladybug won't sleep, I turn on a small lamp and give her her favorite board books. When she eventually falls asleep, I'll sometimes just leave them in the corner of her crib in case she wakes up with the sun. That way she can just entertain herself.
Melissa -- It's only been in the last few months that Ladybug finally started getting a full mouth of teeth. She's a very picky eater and, unless she's really hungry, won't eat but a few bites at the table. The formula helps round out her diet. We use sippy cups during the day for smoothies, water and juice but she's very picky with those too -- she'll only take a few sips here and there. For some reason she just loves her bottle of formula.
Anonymous -- I've noticed that, too, with the later bedtimes. You'd think that getting into bed around midnight (as was the case when we flew to see family a few months back) would make them sleep later, but Ladybug was up at the crack of dawn. It's the same each time she gets into bed past 9 p.m. Needless to say, we've scratched that experiment.
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