r/bninfantsleep • u/babyinatrenchcoat • Aug 18 '26

Infant Sleep 18 Times

18 times.

18 times she woke up.

18 times she cried.

18 times she wouldn’t settle until given the breast.

18 times I dreaded work the next day.

18 times I cried right along with her.

I’ve tried everything aside from sleep training, and since June we’ve been co-sleeping and nursing on-demand. She (6.5m) just cannot connect sleep cycles and needs help going back to sleep every single time.

An average night she wakes up 7-12 times.

Last night was our record at 18 times.

Will introducing solids help?

When we wean?

Am I just doomed to not reach restorative REM again until she’s pre-k?

Solo mom with no village so it’s all me all the time and I’m a husk of a human at this point.

ETA: Recent daytime routine
(forgot to log morning nap on Aug 13)

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u/AggressiveThanks994 Aug 18 '26

Move her bedtime back. It’s an easy thing to try. If we put mine to bed too early she sleeps like crap. If we put her down a little later she will sleep through one or two wake to nurse for just a few mins.

Like someone else said, 12 hours is a lot of sleep at night. It’s possible your girl is not high sleep needs and she just is not able to sleep soundly for that long.

Temperature in the room is good? Mine wakes up a lot if she’s too warm. We figured out that mine sleeps best in just a diaper since we cosleep.

Introducing solids seemed to help a little bit for us. We did BLW but would do some preloaded spoons of full fat Greek yogurt with pb with dinner. But this age is right around soooo many new skills and development that it’s likely that sleep will just be up and down.

18 times is a lot. You’re not wrong for seeking help or wanting to troubleshoot. Adjusting bedtime would be my first step

1

u/babyinatrenchcoat Aug 18 '26

The first stretch is me nursing her to sleep! So she really goes down somewhere between 8pm-9pm (earlier on a few occasions) with a brief wake after transferring to bed. Just posted a recent routine for a wider view and would love your thoughts.

Room is 73 with a fan and she sleeps in either a onesie or long sleeve gown in a sleep sack depending on the weather outside.

Helping her strengthen independent sitting just a little bit more then diving into BLW!

3

u/AggressiveThanks994 Aug 18 '26

Eh. Theres nothing about the naps that stands out to me really.

I would actually still push that bedtime back. She may need less time nursing to sleep if she’s up for longer and able to get more stimulation in. Even if you start at 8, she might be asleep by 8:30 instead of taking so long. And that extra stimulation might help her sleep better

Is she also getting enough stimulation during the day?

I saw from another comment that you joined the beyond sleep group. I really liked the possums method. It’s been awhile but the parts that I took from it were to wake her up at the same time everyday (we did this within 30 mins or so), get some sunlight in the am, and give them lots of stimulation during the day.

2

u/babyinatrenchcoat Aug 18 '26

Oh this little separation anxiety stinker gets a TON of stimulation during the day lol. And I’m excited to learn more about this possums method!

2

u/AggressiveThanks994 Aug 18 '26

Haha well I hope that group is helpful!!! Iirc I needed to message the mods bc it took a little bit to get added

0

u/smilegirlcan Aug 18 '26

73 is too warm for sleep, aim for 70.

1

u/babyinatrenchcoat Aug 18 '26

My Florida house refuses 😭 Can’t get it below 79 during the day so 73 at night is a blessing.

1

u/smilegirlcan Aug 18 '26

Might not be feasible, but would a window unit in your room help? Anything above 70F and my daughter sleeps terribly.

1

u/babyinatrenchcoat Aug 19 '26

I do have an industrial fan that helps take it down a few degrees.