My 4 month old daughter has started waking up ALOT (like every hour) during the night. When she does, she starts to whimper which will turn into a cry if don't pop her paci back in her mouth. As soon as the paci is in, she falls right back to sleep. She was such an excellent sleeper until this started a month ago (she slept 10hrs at 5 weeks) and it has progressively gotten worse. My oldest never really liked the paci at this age but when she was 18 months (and attached to it) we were able to easily get rid of it sending it off to the paci fairy --clearly this is totally different situation. I should also mention she still sleeps wrapped up tightly in her miracle blanket.
What would you do?? We haven't ever really let her cry, even for a minute or two, in her crib but I am thinking that may be the route to go. With our oldest we did the Sleep Lady's sleep training program, so I'm not opposed to some tears. Help!!
Oh yeah, and we sleep on a different floor from our baby so it isn't just running across the hall - its up the stairs, up the stairs, open the top of stairs baby gate and run down the hallway into her room :)
I was a paci FREAK when I was a baby! I had 2 older brothers and a mother and a father scrambling for it several times each night. LOL
Just get several so you always have O. handy. I think she's too little to "sleep train" at this point.
The paci elimination was the only thing I did "by the book", I ditched it at 6 mos.
Take the paci away now. It will be so much harder when she is older. Get the book babywise and sleep train her now. she is not too young.
good luck!
A friend just went through this and his pediatrician told him to take the kid's paci away (he is also 4 mos old). I know my mom just bought a ton of pacis and put them in the crib for my sister when she was little and my mother in law would get up every hour to replace my sister-in-law's paci when she was a baby. Depends on what you want to do...but 4 mos is a bit young to expect the baby to find the paci herself. I would probably make your kid quit the paci cold turkey--likely if she really needs a sucker, she will eventually pacify herself with her thumb or fingers (another problem to deal with but not till down the road!).
Best of luck!
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You are sleep training her now - just not to the result you want. You're going to have to teach her that if the pacci falls out it's not your job to get it back into her mouth. I'd suggest letting her cry it out or un-swaddling her so she can pop it back in without you.
try loosening one arm from being wrapped up..so she gets used to being not wrapped up.. is she eating cereal yet.. this may help fill her tummy so that she won't need the paci as much. put her to sleep with a bottle of water.. and no paci.. see how that goes... get her used to not using the paci .. .. my daughter liked hers.. and i weaned her from it..using water ... and giving her cereal at night..
if she can roll over put her on her tummy to sleep it will help her keep the paci in her mouth.
She's too young to sleep train.
im FULLY supportive of not letting her cry, if thats what your heart and your instincts tell you to do! :) :) you go mom!! :) :) thats the best thing; just listen to your heart.
there was recently a blog posted about increasers and releasers. it basically said some babies cry to release stress, and they are asleep like a minute later. these babies we can let fuss for a FEW MINUTES because thats simply what they need. they will fuss and fuss in your arms, but they will go right to sleep in a moment after you lay them down and let them fuss for literally, less than 5 minutes.
other babies are increasers. the more they cry, the more they cry. and the louder they cry. it increases. these are babies that should NOT be left to cry, and do NOT respond well to any methods. just follow your instincts.
i dont know how you are feeding baby, but its likely that shes hungry. ALSO; shes lonely! she misses you at night. dont feel bad if you have to bring her into your room or something. your kid wont be sleeping with you when she graduates, so just calm yourself and figure out what your child needs, and what works best for you. for me, we only have a double wide, but even walking down the hall in the middle of the night was annoying. so our son just slept in the same room as us in his crib until he was almost 3, but now sometimes he does come in and sleep on blankets on the floor. trust me, its only a short period of your and your child's life. and its also much safer; babies who sleep near their parents have a HUGE reduction in the risk of SIDS, simply because of the mutual ability to hear each other.
also remember; babies who wake often have a reduced risk of SIDS as well. ;) simply because they are waking. babies are actually programmed to wake often. its the ones who sleep too deep for too long you have to worry about! !
anyway, try to see if shes hungry. its likely she is, especially at the 4 month and the 6 month mark. babies tummy is the size of her fist, and shes going to double her height and triple her weight in a year! this is (hopefully) the ONLY time in her life this is going to happen, so it requires a lot of feeding! :)
anyway good luck and listen to your instincts, not a book, friend, parent, inlaw or even doctor. you are the mom and you have to parent the way you feel is best for your baby and your family :)
As a mom who just had to take away from her almost 3 year old and would get up in the middle of the night to find it for him...just take away now and let her cry it out. The longer you wait, the harder it is. All kids are different and this one could be a lot more attached than your first.
