Has anybody had a baby that is an extremely light sleeper. I feel like I’m about to break :(
My daughter who is one next week wakes up if ANYTHING makes a sound... I’m so frustrated, and just exhausted.
I have t rock her every time she goes to sleep and I literally have bounced laps around my house for 2 hours and 15 minutes several times, on average I rock for about 40 minutes to get her to go to sleep for her day naps which once she’s down she has never napped for more then 25 minutes and only has two naps a day now at her age.
At night time I rock her for about 50 minutes to go to sleep, let her stay asleep in my arms for about 25 mind so she’s in a deeper sleep once I move her thenonce I move her to bed she will be up 30 minutes later and this is when the hell starts.
I’m a single mum of 3, I explain to my older kids (4 &7) that they need to stay quiet while mummy is putting bubba back to sleep but they just ignore me. As soon as I’m in the room rocking her back to sleep they are screaming, fighting, slamming things, and even bring me junk food in to open for them as they know they arnt aloud past a certain time!! So she’s dozing off then she hears one of them and is wide awake, I go out and ask them to please be quiet (practically beg them) start rocking again and they start up again so she’s up again, I beg again please let me put baby to sleep...this happens about 5-6 times before they actually listen and I’ve now been rocking for about 30 mins through this... then I have to rock for about another 39 mins (she closes her eyes then BAM they are wide open again over and over) I’m reduced to silent crying while rocking, finally her bib to sleep, and as soon as I sit with her, EYES OPEN so I’m having to rock while sitting down, again the silent crying starts because I’m in so much pain in my back (I have scoliosis) and I just want her to stay asleep. Once we are all asleep she wakes up for boob through out the night, will have a feed and cry and kick me until I’m standing rocking her again for another 20 or so minutes...
I have tried letting her stay up once she wakes up, she will but will literally scream the hole house down the whole time she is awake... I’m at breaking point. I have no one to give me a break, how did Things get so bad. She is just such a light sleeper, I was doing our usual laps around the house before, she had been asleep for about 5 minutes a floor hoard creaked so softly and bam she’s awake. One of the boys cough in the lounge room and she’s awake, when she was asleep in the room with the door half closed. The car doesn’t put her to sleep, she hates it. Even to go to the shops she screams so hysterically, and just doesn’t fall asleep no matter how tired she is.
Why won’t she sleep? What am I doing wrong?
9 Replies
Have you tried white noise or some soft music in her room to drown out any outside/house noises? That way she can only hear what’s in her room and if she goes to sleep with it on and it stays on, she’ll be used to that sound to keep her asleep.
As for the rocking, when this happened to me, I’d start trying to back off a bit. Instead of sitting for that extra 25 minutes for deep sleep, I’d put down when they fall asleep and stand there with a firm hand on them while they are in bed for 5 or so minutes so they still know I’m there in their light sleep. Persist with that until it’s tackled.
Then start a Little Rock until dozing off, put in bed and firm hand so she knows you’re there. When that’s perfected after a week or two,
Skip the rocking all together and just do the firm hand. (Depending what works, firm hand could be a pat on the bum, back rub, head tickles ect) and then slowly reduce those and start leaving the room when she is dozing off and relaxed.
Hope that helps.
You need white noise. A fan, a radio set to static, an app, I have a heater that you can put on a fan setting and its loud enough that it dulls all the noise, helps me watch netflix at night too.
Or you might have a sensory/highly sensitive/ highly strung child on your hands, in which case it will really come out as she grows up and will explain everything.
Yes, this. My friend had a super sensitive bubba who just would not sleep, poor mum was out of her mind, lo and behold he's diagnosed ASD at age 3.
Try a fan, on the highest setting, you can direct it away from her so she doesn't get cold.
Oh you poor thing. Baby sleep is the worst!
Firstly what state are you in? Depending on which state you are in depends on who can help you. In WA it is Ngala and you can call them up and have day visits or even visits where you stay a week and they help you with your child's sleep issues. I'd call them to help and get on the waitlist.
Would you be open to sleep training? I've done that with my two and it was a lot of crying at first but then it's worked out brilliantly.
It sounds though that as you are rocking your child to sleep they haven't learnt the skill of how to settle themselves. So usually babies (and everyone) have sleep cycles of deep sleep followed by light sleep. So you rock the baby to deep sleep and then put them down however when they go to the light sleep phase the noises wake them and they get a shock that they are not being rocked to sleep as this is what they remember when they first went to sleep. So the basic rule (it sounds easy in theory but so isn't) is that they should fall asleep by them self without any assistance from you.
Music/white noise can help blocking out sound as the other responder advised however it sounds like the underlying issue is more the rocking to sleep.
I had 2 catnappers (now 10 and 6 years) & everything you’ve explained sounds very similar.
The term catnapping is referred to in Tizzie Halls book called Save our Sleep & I bought another article from her website specific to catnapping.
Removing the milk protein casein plus some other adjustments fixed my two.
If you’re breastfeeding, cut out dairy. If bottle fed, try nan ha (it’s 100% whey).
When I cut dairy & wheat out, my daughter finally slept after 2 days during the day for 2.5 hours. Both of my children still can’t handle wheat or regular dairy (they’re ok on A2 milk). Good luck Mumma
Basics I followed for small non sleep terror
- dr to make sure no reflux or health issue
- oesteopath to make sure there is no mis alignment or pinched nerve etc (this seemed to fix our issue)
- sleep clinic, hard with others but worth every effort
Good luck! From one exhausted mummy to another x
Oh mumma I hear you ! I have 2 light sleepers (of 3) ! It’s tricky and you do what you can to try to survive ! It took me two years to figure it out for my youngest , but I had to wean her from breast feeding ! I really should have done it sooner but I was just so tired ! So our first problem of her waking for boobie had to go ! Because it was making it worse ! Within a week of doing that she improved a lot ! I then spoke with my dr and we started her on melatonin ! Best . Thing . Ever . ! Within half an hour of her having it she was asleep without me rocking and killing my self !!! I now sit with her and cuddle but no rocking !
I can get my older two in their beds and sit in their room holding her while they drift off and she will go to sleep !!! AND transfer to bed ! AND instead of waking 30 mins later she STAYS ASLEEP. ! She still stirs easily during the night but doesn’t wake enough for me to rock her . She sleeps in my bed as she wakes to find me but if she reaches out to find me she’s ok and goes off again it’s amazing .
People might tell you to try routines etc but kids like this it doesn’t work for !
My eldest is/was similar and still wakes easily at 7yo but he’s improved heaps over the years and at least stays inhis bed all night - he’s just a very early riser still ( as soon as a smidge if light shows it wakes him ) , we survived him by daddy helping a lot and rocking him all night long too ... I wish I spoke to my dr earlier ... I do think explore all avenues like try an osteopath , check for food intolerances. , maybe even try diffusing relaxing oils in her room
To help settle her ? And consider weaning from night boobie at the very least ! Good luck mumma keep going your doing great and this too shall pass ! REALLY XO