The first five weeks were utter chaos. Lucy would only sleep if either me or Kyle were holding her. As soon as we put her down she would scream like a banshee. No, she didn’t have reflux. No, she wasn’t hungry. No, she didn’t need a diaper change. The temperature of the room was just right, she wasn’t too hot or too cold. We had white noise on. We even had something called a Twilight Ladybug that would project stars onto the ceiling for her to look at! She just wanted her parents. Can I blame her? No, I can’t. If I could, I’d hold her all day long! But, I need sleep too, and I didn’t feel comfortable co-sleeping. Kyle and I took shifts for the first 5 weeks, but that meant we really didn’t get to see each other all that much. Then, I remembered this little contraption I got from our baby shower. The Fisher Price Rock & Play. I read some posts on my birth board about how other babies who hated sleeping alone would actually sleep in this! So, I decided to give it a try.
That Fisher Price Rock & Play was a lifesaver. Lucy actually slept in it! She started sleeping 8-10 hours and her Daddy & I were no longer sleep deprived zombies. If you have a newborn who is having issues sleeping on their own in their crib or pack & play, I definitely suggest looking into this!
Recently, sometime between 3 and 4 months, I started switching Lucy over to her pack & play. I felt that she was getting a little too big for the Rock & Play, even though it has a weight limit of 25 lbs and she’s only around 15. She still gets to nap in there but I want her to have more space to stretch out and be comfy at night! It was a little bit of a transition, I had to “help” her get to sleep more often which was something I never had to do in the Rock & Play.
All good things must come to an end, though, I suppose. Right now, we’re in some sort of MEGA sleep regression. She’s waking up almost every hour at night for her pacifier, and at least once a night she totally freaks out and reverts back to her newborn ways of wanting to be held so she can sleep. Being sleep deprived is part of being a parent, and at least I can say I got 5 awesome months of sleep.
If you have any tips on how I can get my 5 month old to sleep through the night AGAIN, please share!
Lifting Lucy 
That’s so hard, mama. I have a four-month-old and she was terrible at sleeping at the beginning too. Like you said, all things come to an end. She will sleep through the night again, I promise.
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Is your girl your first baby? If she is, and you plan to have a second baby, the second baby may sleep a very DIFFERENT schedule 😛 .
Our daughter was the first baby, and she slept throughout the night when she was two months old. Her brother is a baby right now, and he will not sleep throughout the night. He’s older than 1 and he will get up once during the night. Some nights he will wake twice. But the point is that, techniques and furniture do nothing to change his waking at night 😛 .
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But I made a mistake: Lucy is right now NOT sleeping throughout the night. She changed on you.
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Yes she most certainly did! She sleeps straight through with no interruptions in her Rock & Play, or if she’s being held, but I think she must be going through a growth spurt or something and just doesn’t want to be alone. It’s funny, when she was still a perfect sleeper I always said my next baby will probably actually be hard work because Lucy is so easy! (she is my first)
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No advice, because I’m a sucker and bring baby to bed…but this is why my munchkins still sleep with us, lol. And I’m in no way saying you should do this, if that’s not in your comfort zone.
I’ve heard that Happiest Baby on the Block is a good book for sleep issues. Good luck!
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Thank you! I do take naps with her and have read all about safe co-sleeping but for some reason at night it just makes me nervous. I’ll have to check out that book!
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Grit your teeth and ride it out! Our little one is coming up to 5 months and is just starting to calm down again after weeks of hourly get ups in the night. It’s part of their growth and development. Your little girl is probably having a growth spurt and may want more feeds in the night.
It’s also possible that she’s being clingy because she has developed object permenance, she knows you’ve gone and wants you back! Just carry on trying to put her on her own bed, maybe try a side-sleeper cot. These have the co-sleeping experience but are much safer.
She’ll settle down again soon, all these changes are good because it means baby is learning and developing!
Good luck x
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Thank you for the advice! She’s been in her Pack & Play next to our bed since we put the Rock & Play away for night time sleeping. I’m not ready for her to be in her own room yet, but I definitely think part of it is her just wanting to be close to us.
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