For the past month or so I can put the babies to bed and they will sleep for a couple of hours then wake up screaming and not wanting to go back to sleep. I have tried pacifiers and patting and all the soothing things and nothing works. So I decided to go ahead and let them cio. Now though when I do that they get so worked up that they throw up and they don't even have to cry more than 2 minutes and somehow they make themselves throw up. How would you handle the night wakings then if they continue to do this. Lately I have been cleaning up the mess and rocking back to sleep, but that makes it a long night for me because they keep wanting to be picked up after this. Or would you clean up the mess put them back in the crib and let it happen again? I'm at a total loss now, I have no clue what to do. Please help, I can't keep going on limited sleep. I have my MIL here helping out again at night because of this so she usually takes care of 1 baby while I do the other.
When it starts to involve throwing up is when I'd have to consult with my pedi. Normally I would say clean it up and put them immediately back in the cribs, but I know that throwing up can lead to dehydration. So if I were you I would call the pedi and either make an appointment or explain the situation to the nurse.
They aren't getting dehydrated when they throw up because they have huge diapers in the morning. Also when they cry they have tears. I'm always making sure that they aren't getting dehydrated after they throw up.
We went through a horrible sleep stage from 9-10.5 months b/c they started waking every hour after being put down to bed asleep (I'd rock them to sleep). I had to resort to CIO with staggered shushing and patting. They never threw-up, though, so it made it much easier to stick with it. I'd call your pedi, too, like Aimee suggested and see what he/she recommends.
I an so sorry that you are going through this. It sounds miserable. I think I would contact my pedi if it involves throwing up. How strange that they are both throwing up. HSHHC makes it sound like throwing up is rare. If they throw up, will they go to sleep shortly after? Could you possibly sneak in their room and clean things up a bit?
I have never had a puker during CIO, so I am not sure what to tell you. You might call the ped for some reassurance. :hug:
I don't think I could continue with CIO if it was making them throw up, but that's me, I hate dealing with puke! I would talk to your ped & see if he/she has any ideas.
I took the babies to the dr. and he couldn't see anything wrong with them for them to be crying out all through the night. He doesn't have any ideas about what to do about the throw up part either. So what do you all think I should do let them cry and throw up and go clean it up and start all over again or just pick them up every time they do this and hope this won't last forever?
I'm going through a similar thing with Jack. He was STTN since about 4 months, but since he started teething he's refusing to go down for the night and waking up several times. I will only do CIO as a last result; he gets *hysterical*, screaming until he's lost his voice, if I try to let him cry. If I bring him into bed with us, he'll sleep fine, but then we get no sleep! I'm going to try the "pick up/put down" method this week and see if it works. I'm hoping that if I'm consistent he'll get the message. I don't want to put my DS through hysterics, and if I were you, I wouldn't want my LO's making themselves sick! I feel your pain, and wish you the best of luck!
we're dealing with this right now with owen. he gets so upset that he vomits. it really became a behavioral cycle thing where he would accelerate and cry harder and harder until we came in, which meant the next time he cried he would accelerate faster to bring us back faster. he was also dealing with some congestion so i think some of that snottiness in his throat tickled his gag reflex while he was crying. i know the conventional wisdom is to clean them up and put them back down and try CIO again but i personally don't feel right doing that. i feel like if he's so upset that he's actually gagging, he's not going to find a way to self-soothe and CIO seems cruel at that point. we're not trying to break a bronco, we're trying to create healthy sleep habits! some babies can't do CIO. we did it with jacob and he's fine. owen can't do it, and we've accepted that as part of his individual personality. for us it started when we tried to transition him from the bouncy chair (for reflux) to the crib and this transition coincided with the onset of separation anxiety. we've made concessions like letting him sleep in the bouncy chair on bad nights because he's more comfortable there. or sitting with him for as long as he needs to settle down completely. we also have started putting both boys down in the same crib because he's more easily comforted if his brother is nearby. we let him have a toy in the crib if he's not drowsy enough to fall asleep right away, too. it seems like an extension of separation anxiety in our case, and may be in yours as well. all i can suggest is that you try to find something to break the association between bedtime and heartbreak. we felt like owen was starting to get tense at the mere sight of the crib because it was the location of the previous night's sorrow. we changed little things in the routine, and we've let him guide us to what's most soothing for him. in our case that's meant throwing most of the conventional wisdom out the window and just finding what works.
I dont have any advice, but I just wanted to say what an extremely well thought out, intelligent post. I think you can apply alot of what is written here to the First Year. Lots of times you have to throw caution to the wind and find out what works for you and your family and go against the grain. Bravo!
