Need Opinions-please Help

I used the BabyWise method and it worked great for me. She's old enough and big enough to sleep through the night! You don't mention what time you're putting her down for bed, but it should be early, like 7pm or even earlier if you can. Believe it or not, she'll sleep better and longer if you do.

Also I found that having a very consistent meal schedule throughout the day helped a lot. Also - surprise - don't nurse her to sleep. If you do, you run the risk that she'll fall asleep before she is really full (so she'll wake up earlier than you want), and worse, she won't learn how to fall asleep by herself. Put her down before she is exhausted, and when she is content but awake. She will learn how to fall asleep on her own (it may take 30+ minutes some nights and that's ok!). Once she has mastered the skill of falling asleep by herself, she will be able to put herself back to sleep in the middle of the night too.

Don't rush to get her if you hear her in the middle of the night. Give her a minute or two - she may settle herself back down. If she is crying a little, she may be crying in her sleep - it will not hurt to let her work it out on her own.

Let her keep the binkie. My youngest had hers until she was 2 and it was not a big deal to break her of it. (She didn't even cry!)

Lastly, if you have not spoken with your doctor about the depression, please do. If you're not on medication, consider it. I suffered terrible PPD with my first child, and was amazed at the huge difference a little Zoloft made. (It is safe while nursing.) Best of luck to you!!

A.:

4 & 1/2 is just too soon to start weaning her from the binkie. Don't worry as long as you start weaning her around 9 months she will be done by a year. It worked with my 5 year old when he was 9 months old. We had seen too many 4-5 year olds with pacis and that was NOT ok so we wanted to wean him early.

Another strategy that we used for middle of the night changing was to speak in soft tones and change him if we had to by night light because the bright lights were less jarring to him. Frankly, we pretty much stopped changing him at night unless it was poop which was not that often.

Hope it helps!

N.

Hi A.,
My daughter is 10 months old and is slowly breaking the pacifier on her own. Per "Happiest Baby on the Block" you might need to swaddle until 8 or 10 months. Don't quote me on that, my book is packed or I would give you exactly what he says. I think she will work things out as she gets older and I would feed her if she's waking up at night to eat. But I am the type of parent that could not do the cry it out thing. I notice that my little one gets super crankey what she has some major development like rolling over; crawling; walking or some new sound or even a tooth. But once it happens, life is good again. She wakes up like 1-2 times per night for a bottle which takes about 15 minutes for her to eat and it's back to sleep so it's not too bad. It is my opinion that you should feed her, swaddle her and let her do whatever with that pacifier if that is what makes her happy.
H.

A.,
I wouldn't worry about the pacifier just yet. She's only 4 and 1/2 months old. My daughter was waking up about every 2 hours still at that age. If you choose to let her cry it out, read a book about it. From what I understand there is more to it then just letting her cry, depending on which book you read. I think we stopped changing her diaper at that age too.
Best of luck!

Your daughter should be able to go 10+ hours without eating. I think changing her diaper in the middle of the nights just wakes her up more. Unless she has a Bowel movement, I wouldn't change her diaper until morning. I would definitely let your daughter have the binkie every night, because it soothes them to sleep and decreases the risk for SIDS. The more your daughter sleeps at night the better naps she will take also. She should be taking about My daughter is 15 months old and I plan to get rid of the binkie by 18 months. She only uses it for naps and at night and she has been a great sleeper since she was born.

She is only 4 1/2 months old!! Do what ever you need to do to get her sleep. As far as the pacifer i love them. not only does it help JAmes sleep but it keeps him from putting things into his month when are not a home and he comes across well anything. The fact that she is even sleeping through the night a few night is amazeing. She can yet regulate her sleep on her own. Wait until she is at least 6 months old.
A.

I read Babywise and Happiest Baby On the Block. I used the Happiest baby method. I felt I could not let an infant cry it out. I also read the more we hold them as infants the less they cry as toddlers...and I think any baby under 1 is too young to understand why you aren't picking them up.
I would keep swaddling her, and don't worry about "breaking" a habit, she will outgrow it. Dr. Karp said some babies need swaddling longer than the average. My son outgrew swaddling at the end of his 3 months, and it was wishy-washy. Some nights he needed it and some he didn't, so it wasn't like a clear sign of "hey no more please!" He used white noise up just a few weeks ago (he is 5 mo), but now he sleeps without it.
I am using the binki similar to you, trying to get them back to sleep. After they are asleep a few minutes (and you can really tell they are out) I pull the paci out. I don't let him sleep with it, I guess so he doesn't get used to that feeling in his mouth.
I think you should try to skip the feeding at night. Maybe she doesn't need it. Try patting or rubbing her back to get her back to sleep. As for the changing, I change him right in bed while he is sleepy. My son also hates waking at night and will cry, in fact in the morning if he is still tired he will fight to stay asleep instead of doing a BM and cry!!!

As for you, Make time for yourself. A happy mommy = a happy baby. Ever notice that when you are having a bad day or are cranky they are too? Even if it is a 8 minute bubble bath or sitting on the couch with a cup of tea and your fav magazine you deserve that time. Don't discount the neighborhood tween, she/he can come over and play with your kids (sort of bbysit) while you relax.
Remember that the sleep deprivation is temporary. And you can do it. (I know I need to hear that sometimes). You can do it, and you know what is best for your babies. Trust your gut and listen to your inner voice.
Good luck. Oh and if you haven't check out babycenter.com.

She is still VERY little. Definitely too little to just let her cry. Also too little to worry about the binkie. Give her what she needs to keep her happy. Perhaps she's getting a tooth? Try a little tylenol or motrin before bed to see if it helps. Is she having gas or constipation? Try massaging her tummy to see if that might be it. I would soothe her and nurse her, this too shall pass.