16 week baby won't sleep!

Submitted by Littlemisssunshine on Sun, 02/24/2013 - 00:46

I'm at the end of my tether with my 16 week old baby who has suddenly stopped sleeping at night. She used to go down around 9-10 pm without too much fuss and sleep for 5-6 hours. The last few days she is really crying before eventually dropping off, but a few minutes after I put her down she wakes up crying. This pattern continues throughout the night and she will only sleep if held. I have tried to hold her for varying lengths of time before putting her down, given her Calpol, given her extra feeds and have tilted the cot mattress in case of reflux, all without any success. I have always struggled to get her to nap in the day unless we are in the car or out for a walk.

I really don't know what else to try, please help.

‹ 6month old won't settle at bedtime and then waking every 2hours overnight 3month old sleeping issues ›

Hello,Thank you for your

Submitted by Juliet on Fri, 03/15/2013 - 22:55.

Hello,
Thank you for your post.It sounds as though something is upsetting your baby particularily if she was previously good at settling in the evening. If a baby drops of but wakes frequently it can be discomfort such as wind or teething pain.
If she is not suffering with teething or illness one of the reasons for the crying at bedtime could be that she is just over tired and may be ready at this age to go to bed earlier - have you thought about trying an earlier bedtime such as 8pm. Do a bedtime routine lasting around 30-45 minutes as this will help to relax and prepare her for bed and see if that helps. Also try and ensure that she is going into the cot awake and self settling as this will help with night wakings.
Naps can be trickier and quiet often it is getting the timings right. At this age she may only be able to go 1.5-2 hrs between naps - look for signs of starting to get tired before she is over tired and then it will be easier to settle her in the cot. Having a  5 minute settling down routine also helps. Remember not all the naps need to be in the cot as it does tie you down but as long as one is in the cot this helps when she is older and she just has one long nap.
Hope that helps a little and good luck.
Best wishes
Juliet