No sleeping going on here!

My precious kids, are not sleeping. They won't take naps during the day except in the morning. They fuss and cry starting at about 6pm until after 11pm when we finallly get them to sleep. Only to wake up at different times during the night and sometimes every hour. We are at our wits end. Any suggestions as to why they won't sleep or how to get them to sleep. We can't force them to sleep when they don't want to and driving around in the van is getting old.

 

Swaddle them if you can. It also helps to warm up the room a bit. Throw on a cool mist humidifier. Give them a few minutes before going in, so they can try to get themselves back to sleep.

After all that, let's start with the basics- what are you doing to get them to sleep?

 

Sounds like they're overtired especially when they don't nap in the afternoon and don't want to go down in the evening. Overtired children have more trouble falling and staying asleep. My twins are going down for a nap every 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 hours, that's all they can take (except in the late afternoon they can go 2-3 hours) but then I start their bed time routine at around 5.30 pm and they're in bed between 6-6.30 pm. I highly recommend Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child.

 

I know the babies are overly tired. I want to know how to get them to go to sleep in the first place.

 

We just tried to keep to a schedule. Sometimes they would cry a lot if we put them for a nap time but eventually they would learn to fall asleep on their own. We were pretty strict with a 2 hour feeding schedule also. By 4 months is was 3 and has been ever since. Maybe they are not playing enough after they initially get up. I would try feeding them and then playing for 1 1/2 and then nap. Even if they don't fall asleep (swaddle them), leave them in their cribs for long enough that they are used to the way you have the "schedule". It takes a while but the persistance pays off eventually.

Good luck.

 

I remember when my boys were the same age. We hadn't implemented a napping schedule per se and all heck broke loose for a month or so. BOttom line they were overtired.

If you can start watching for sleepy signs (rubbing eyes, staring off) and get them down within 10 min of those signs you may have an easier time of it...

If memory serves, it's a good 30-45 days before life gets easier (at least it was for my boys)

Good luck.

Teri D

 

Do you try to keep your babies on the same schedule at all? You said that they each wake at all different hours of the night - you might want to try waking the other one up when one gets up to try and get them on the same schedule, it would help tremendously. I've done that from the beginning and now they eat/sleep/nap at the same times. Only one time did I not wake one when the other woke (one went down at 10 and the other not until midnight, then the first woke at 1230 and I didn't want to wake the one I just put down, HUGE MISTAKE they were off schedule and kept me up all night long!). Even if one just went down and then the other wakes up, get the other one up and out of bed, go through the routine of changing the diaper or whatever you do right when they wake up and go through the motions of feeding. Even if the one that you woke up only takes a sip or two and falls back asleep, it still counts and will help you out.

As for myself, I am still trying to figure out naps. They take long early morning naps (about 2-3 hours), then shorter 45-minute or so naps in the afternoon and early evening. They go down between 9-10, wake in about 4 hours to nurse, then back down for about another 4 hours, up to nurse, down for about an hour, and up for the day about 630-730. Mine too are very fussy/colicky at night, although that is starting to ease up a bit, thank God. The crying will drive you insane!

I've learned to read cues as well - we settled into a routine where they wake up from a nap, we check and change diapers and chat on the changing table, then we nurse, then it's activity time on the mat or in a bouncy or something, then when they start crying after awhile I know that they are overstimulated and need quiet time, so then I'll read them a book or cuddle them and chat, and if they are still crying I give them pacis and usually that does the trick, they start getting that sleepy/dopey baby look and I put them in the swings and they nap for awhile. Swings are probably a bad habit for naps but for right now it works and that's all I need to know!

I also used to wait until they were dead asleep at night (initially and after feeding sessions) to put them in their crib but I started gradually putting them down when they are sleepy but not completely down, and it's helping them to fall asleep on their own in their crib instead of needing to be rocked to sleep or held like they did before.

Hope some of this helps!

 

are you rocking them or laying them down (in crib, pnp, bassinett?) tell us a little bit more info.......have you tried the swings or bouncy seats?

 

I'm going to keep an eye on this thread. I posted the almost same thing a few mins ago. I'm going through the same thing w/ my almost 6 wk olds.

 

You name it, we have tried it. We have tried swings, bouncy seats, rocking, car rides, stroller rides, walking, holding in different positions, everything. As soon as I stop or lay them down, they wake up.

 

The 6-11 PM sounds like the evening fussies. Do you try and feed them at 11 and see if that tides them over for a little while?

At that age, sleep was such a hit and miss. It got better at 4 months when we could feed them a bottle and solids before bedtime, that usually helped tide them over until early morning to late morning.

Hang in there