Sleep!
Printed From: OHbaby!
Category: Have A Baby?
Forum Name: First baby? Second or more?
Forum Description: Want help? Need support? Want tips? Men and women share advice and tips in this supportive community
URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=8059
Printed Date: 01 October 2025 at 6:29pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.05 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Sleep!
Posted By: pepsi
Subject: Sleep!
Date Posted: 06 June 2007 at 3:07pm
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Alyssa is now a little over 10 months old and not sleeping through the night. She used to sleep through no problems up until daylight savings, but since then I haven't been able to sort things out and she wakes once or twice every night. I have been reading the sleep store tips and they look quite good but I was just wondering what you ladies think...
Currently Alyssa goes to bed around 7pm or a little earlier and usually this is without any fuss. The problem is that she wakes anywhere from 2am-5am and lately it has been closer to the 2am side which is pretty stink. When she wakes she appears quite hungry, so I feed her and she goes back to sleep usually within 1/2 an hour and depending on what time she wakes the first time, she will either wake again at 5am or sleep until 7-8am. I don't generally go to her immediately in the hope she will self settle, but she doesn't most of the time. What I'm wondering is: Are dreamfeeds only for much younger babies or has anyone tried this with a baby Alyssa's age? Do you think the fact that she still won't eat lumpy foods could be contributing to the feeling of hunger? She eats 3 meals a day but they are still pretty much a thicker puree at most. I assume if she was eating thicker meals that the food would sit in her tummy longer and make her sleep better. Of course, the problem is she just won't eat them.. |
Replies:
Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 06 June 2007 at 3:19pm
| DH was recommended a book called "Save Our Sleep: A parents guide towards happy, sleeping babies from birth to two years" by Tizzie Hall. It's got tons of tips in there for every kind of baby and sleeping habit according to DH (he's reading it because my preggy brain will forget it all). Might be worth a read. |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 06 June 2007 at 4:30pm
| What hungry signs is she showing when she first wakes in the middle of the night? As for solids, I don't think the consistency would be a problem, maybe if she wasn't getting enough - but if I recall correctly she is a bit of a picky eater anyway? Ummm... not sure what else to suggest, how long have you just left her / "ignored" her for in hoping that she self settles? I also seem to remember you saying that she won't fall for the old 'water instead of milk' trick, but if you haven't tried it maybe give that a go... I'm pretty useless really as Erin normally sleeps through, and only wakes if it is something like teething bothering her. Good luck ! |
Posted By: FionaS
Date Posted: 06 June 2007 at 5:18pm
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We introduced a dreamfeed around 7mths. We didn't do one when she was younger as she would wake. My girl is breastfed but I knew I couldn't lift her out of her bed without waking her so I decided to use formula for the dreamfeed. I simply propped her with my arm and gave her the bottle. The first night I did it she slept through. I did it for 2 weeks (she slept through every night) and then stopped it and she has continued to sleep through for the past 2 months. I personally think that sleeping through those early hours is a habit / rhythm that they need to get into (they go through a lot of light / dream sleep during those hours). I think most people would feel hungry if they woke at that time, especially if they are used to eatin something but that doesn't mean they really need to eat in the night.
I would suggest you try a dreamfeed and see how you go. It could be that having a tummy of warm milk at 10pm will get her through until her body get's used to transitioning through the sleep cycles at night. Make sure you do it around 10 (or approx 3 hours after she goes down) so that she is in deep sleep. Our girl tended to open her eyes but I don't think she actually woke, it was more of a reflex thing. Feel free to PM me if you'd like more info but in short...yes, trying a dreamfeed may be a really good idea. All the best :) ------------- Mummy to Gabrielle and Ashley |
Posted By: MyMinis
Date Posted: 06 June 2007 at 5:29pm
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we gave haleigh water and that was it if she woke up.
then id leave her and shut her door again. hows the temp of the room? that could be whats waking ehr?? maybe use a sleeping bag/ grobag type thing, we did and it was a life saver. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
http://tweetytweety85.bebo.com - bebo |
Posted By: pepsi
Date Posted: 06 June 2007 at 7:23pm
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The only reason I wondered about the consistancy of the food is probably from watching "the truth about food" show that was on recently. They say soup is digested faster than a solid meal so more efficient etc etc...so I take that to mean her "soupy" like meals don't tend to sit in her belly for as long as a proper meal would..
Well I definitely think I'll give the dreamfeed a go tonight..The only thing I'm worried about is the burping afterwards as she will be impossible to burp if she is asleep?! Will see how it goes.. I originally thought it could be the temp drop in the mornings, but I think I have that sorted with the heater in there and it's quite a comfortable warmth. Also, she has a sleeping bag thingy as she is prone to kicking off her blankets and she doesn't seem to kick them off when she's wearing it. |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 06 June 2007 at 7:42pm
| Sorry if this seems rude or anything, but do you still have to burp Alyssa? Erin has burped on her own for a while now, all I usually have to do is sit her up and out it comes. |
Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 06 June 2007 at 7:48pm
My delightful children burp on their own - and bring up half a feed all down my back as I'm carrying them to bed  The joys of refluxers!
I'm still dreamfeeding the gremlins, they *might* sleep thru without it, but I'm not game enough to try. I think Fiona is right about it being a rythym thing too coz often I hear one or other of them wake and chatter on the monitor at around 4am when Willie gets up, but they never cry and eventually resettle. The odd night they do wake and cry I give them water like Haleighsmum, they tend to look at me like "WTF?" and then I put them back in the cots. I could count on one hand the number of times I've had to do that tho. I reckon this is my reward for being up 2 hourly 24 hours a day for the first 12 weeks... Good luck with the dream feed tonight Pepsi! -------------  Maya Grace (28/02/03)
 (02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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Posted By: FionaS
Date Posted: 06 June 2007 at 8:02pm
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I imagine she would be able to bring up her own wind during her sleep pretty well. Keep in mind that if she is asleep the feed will be a very relaxed one so she is even less likely to need to burp :) ------------- Mummy to Gabrielle and Ashley |
Posted By: pepsi
Date Posted: 06 June 2007 at 8:35pm
Unfortunately yes, I still do have to burp her after a bedtime and any night feeds. She definitely can burp on her own when she's sitting up and crawling around during the day etc, but in the evenings if I don't burp her properly before putting her down to bed she will wake up crying around 1/2 an hour of going to sleep. I usually know the wind is there too cause it has a real obvious hollow bubble sound that sits in her tummy. On most occassions the burp comes out easily but often it can take a bit more working out! Most people have told me she shouldn't need burping at this age but we both suffer if I don't
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ErinsMama wrote:Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 06 June 2007 at 9:48pm
Fair enough then 
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Posted By: pepsi
Date Posted: 07 June 2007 at 9:11am
| Bummer, looks like the dream feed didn't work for us as she still got up at 2am and wouldn't sleep until she got milk (so I guess that means she isn't really hungry when she wakes?).. She also got up at around 5:30am then back to sleep until 8:30am... I know it's my own fault for letter this habit form but I just have to get it sorted before I go back to work in mid-July otherwise I'll be stuffed! |
Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 07 June 2007 at 10:12am
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Bugger it! Sounds like you have a real little monkey there Pepsi!
We has sleep issues with Maya around 10 months or so and the only thing that worked for us was leaving her to cry it out. She slept thru again within 3 nights, but it was really, really tough and involved listening to her scream in fury for more than two hours the first night  ------------- Maya Grace (28/02/03)
(02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 07 June 2007 at 10:13am
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Oh, just had another thought, have you tried emailing Louise at The Sleep Store? She gave me some great advice to get the gremlins sleeping better when they were smaller. ------------- Maya Grace (28/02/03)
(02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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Posted By: Bizzy
Date Posted: 07 June 2007 at 10:26am
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i saw the sleep store at the p&c child last year and they recommended a babyok for toby - he was a chronic waker up in the middle of the night boy and even after i stopped feeding him at 11mths old still woke. he slpt thru the first night we used the babyok.
my other suggestion would be to try giving water at 2 am when she wakes...that never worked for toby tho. |
Posted By: FionaS
Date Posted: 07 June 2007 at 10:31am
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Sorry to hear that. I'd personally think she is old enough to go without a feed at night so as you need sleep, I'd suggest getting tough. There are several methods you can try - Cry it out, controlled crying or no cry (where they do cry but not alone, you stay with them) and various in betweens. The best thing would be to pick how you'd like to do it and be very consistent. Do not offer milk. You may have a few sleepless nights (usually between 2 and 14 nights) but you will get there if you are consistent. Feel free to PM me to discuss more or email Louise at the Sleep Store. ------------- Mummy to Gabrielle and Ashley |
Posted By: Bizzy
Date Posted: 07 June 2007 at 10:55am
i disagree slightly in that crying doesnt have to be only way to go. you might be better in the long run trying to figure out why the waking...if it is milk then give water perhaps (break the cycle) ...if it is because there is a drop in temp at that time try an extra blanket before you go to bed... or once i remember setting my alarm clock to just before toby was waking and going in his room to shush him at the first whimper... so possibly going in as soon as you hear a noise and shushing and rubbing or patting their back . i know with toby if he got a chance to fully wake up and stand up in his cot he was much harder to get back down. so yeah anyway it doesnt have to involve letting bub cry/scream for hours if you dont want it to. |
Posted By: FionaS
Date Posted: 07 June 2007 at 11:00am
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Oh your totally right Gandt...we managed to do it without any crying BUT for a lot of babies they do cry, even if only a little bit until they get used to the new way of doing things. Sorry - it is soooooooo hard to explain every option without going on and on :)
Waking around the same time could well be habitual although definately a good idea to check temperature etc. ------------- Mummy to Gabrielle and Ashley |
Posted By: pepsi
Date Posted: 07 June 2007 at 7:35pm
Ummm..so what's a babyok? |
Posted By: pepsi
Date Posted: 07 June 2007 at 7:40pm
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Early on when Alyssa used to sleep through I had actually let her cry it out and it only took a few nights to get her used to going back to sleep. However, this time around when I tried the same thing I found she just wouldn't have a bar of it and wouldn't stop crying. Have also tried just going in and patting her instead of nursing but she tends to cry louder once she knows I'm in the room.
I agree she shouldn't need the night feeds anymore..I might try the water suggestion only because I haven't done that before.. As for temperature, I received my new grobag egg today and have already been surprised at how much warmer it is in her room than I had been thinking! The egg was orange (warm) and usually I would put the heater on low, but now that I know it's already warm enough I have left it off. Will check later tonight and see if it changes colour
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Posted By: Bizzy
Date Posted: 07 June 2007 at 7:54pm
a babyok is a sleep sack that is attached to the sheet so that toby could sit up, roll over onto his side and back again but not stand up. the lady at the sleep store said that maybe he was waking (perhaps cold?) and jumping up and waking himself up even more... quite often i would find him standing up in his cot crying. 
thats interesting about the temperature - i was debating getting an egg and now you've made me think i should... |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 07 June 2007 at 9:12pm
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I want an egg. I would love to know what temp it is in Tyrell's room. I am sorry I can not offer any advise. We have just been through over 3 weeks of hell with Tyrell getting up for more than an hour each night. (average 3 hours) Good luck, I hear great things about the sleep store, I think they may even have a shop....? |