Happy baby who sleeps very little
Q: I have a 7 month old baby girl. She is a very happy and content baby and my family doesn’t believe us when we say she actually does cry. My problem is she has only ever slept through once when she was a month old. Our first child slept through from 3 months so this is a shock to the system. She hardly sleeps during the day too at daycare. I think her longest nap has been 2 hours. But she’s still full of smiles even though she must be exhausted. She cries when I put her down in the evening but recently I decided to let her cry for a few minutes and she fell asleep on her own but she only sleeps for about 20 minutes. At night she is determined not to go to sleep so I lie with her till she’s almost asleep and then put her in her cot and she’ll sleep for about an hour (from 9 – 10pm). She then wakes crying and arching her back, kicking and thrashing so I pick her up and give her a cuddle and her dummy. Immediately after I’ve picked her up she’s smiling and chatting but putting her down again she cries. She can still see me as the camp cot is next to my bed. This goes on almost every hour and both my husband and I are tired in the morning. I breastfeed her at about 10pm and 5am in the morning, thereafter she has formula and baby food. Is there something I’m missing? Any advice is welcome.
A: Firstly, I would like you to take your daughter to the Doctor for a full medical check up to make sure that she has not got fluid in her ears, or is ill in any way. She may be hungry, so please follow the dietary guidelines as laid out in Baby Sense (chapter 6 – 9 months), where the importance of solid food, especially protein and carbohydrates is discussed. Be sure that once she is on this diet, she will definitely not be hungry in the night , and will not need the 10 pm breast feed at all. Speak to your Clinic Sister or Pharmacist about a good iron supplement to start her on. Babies her age need iron supplementation, especially is she is not having formula milk. I would also suggest that you move her into her own room, or at least away from your bed. I think that you are disturbing her as much as she is disturbing you! Please follow the sleep routine as laid out in Baby Sense, that is early to bed ( 9pm is far too late). Aim for bedtime between 6 & 7 pm. That would mean dinner about 5 pm, the bath, then quiet time (please, no stimulation at this time), then last breast feed, then into bed. The more tired she is, the more she will fight sleep. (see sleep chapter in Baby Sense). Ask the day care to limit her awake time to 2 hours (max) between sleeps during the day, and to put her down into her cot even if she does not look tired. Very often if you wait until your baby is showing signs of tiredness, it is already too late, and they resist sleep. It is important that you commence with some controlled crying behaviour and sleep modification – follow the steps in Baby Sense (sleep chapter) – please follow the guidelines where you leave her for short periods of time (leave the room).