please sleep baby!

[laura]

I hate to say it... but all of mine didn't sleep for four hours at a stretch for months. dude is almost two and still doesn't sleep through the night! I remember feeling a little crazy, but I did have all of them propped in the co-sleeper and stayed in my pjs and learned that light twilight sleep thing where I napped when they did and didn't fully wake up while taking care of them at night.

Occasionally, I'd insist my dh pull a weekend so I could catch up. I'd say- if she's content in her bed and awake- but not fussing you should not feel badly about napping. You can't enrich them at that age- she knows you're near, her needs have been cared for, too much stimulation for them isn't good for 'em any way. Hang in there!

[joker]

She does sleep alot during the day, and people have told me to keep her awake more, but how the heck am I supposed to keep her awake? I also swaddle her below the armpits like you said, but it doesn't make a difference. She's eating about 2oz every three hours and sleeps in the bassinet in our room at night. When she is awake, she pretty much wants to be held if it is at night and if you put her down she starts crying. I try giving her the paci, but she can't really hold on to it for more than few minutes at a time, so I have to constantly replace it if I don't want to pick her up.

[crystalw]

hmmm... im not sure.. but i swaddle jack with his arms out and get it really tight underneath his arms. In fact you aren't supposed to have any blankets above their armpits during sleep.. how bout during the day? is she sleeping all day? how much are you feeding her? does she sleep with you or in a cradle or in a crib? is she crying while she is awake?

[joker]

I have to get this girl to sleep more than an hour or two at a time at night. The swaddle doesn't work because she prefers her arms to be free.

Last night she was wide awake from 1:30am-3:30am. Then slept until 7:30am when I finally woke her up to eat. I am sure she would have slept longer if I had let her. The four hour stretch was great, but I wish it would be from 1:30-5:30 or 6am instead because it just feels like I haven't gotten any sleep the other way. Plus, I can barely keep my eyes open while she is wide awake. Other than that four hours last night, she has been going about two hours then waking up and it's not out of hunger. Am I expecting too much here?