Sleeping Issues

I've been very lucky in that both girls are terrific sleepers. We rarely have any issues with them.

Lately, however, Izzie has been hysterically crying when I put her down for the night and then again after a few hours in bed. I am assuming she's having nightmares. A month ago she was attacked by a dog and since then she's been fearful and clingy. She's been better with the fearfulness and clinginess since we got back to the UK but she's also started the bad sleeping. I also think she's a bit sleep deprived with jet lag.

Any advice on how to handle this? She calms down when I go in there to comfort her but gets very upset when I leave again. She'll cry for a few more minutes but then she'll calm herself. I just hate hearing it. She's hysterical like I've never seen her before and she calls out to me. Plus poor Abby keeps getting woken up and sometimes joins in on the crying.

I know its hard with the two, but have you tried controlled crying? I know, its not for everyone, but if you think she is just crying for the sake of crying you might just want to leave her crying. You say its only for a few minutes and then she goes to sleep, she might just be crying to relieve some stress or it might help her go back to sleep. My other suggestion is to have your partner go in, my daughter is 22 months old and she is a crappy sleeper, but its even worse if I go in...so my husband goes in and that really works for her. If I go in, she wants to come in to bed with me blah blah blah...its a nightmare!

I am so sorry that she had such a terrible experience with the dog! And jetlag is a b*tch! I hope my advice can help, sometimes babies are the strangest creatures!

I'd agree with Racheee. Sometimes the hardes part is for you to have to hear her cry. The good news is that she IS settling herself so I'd be very careful not to mess with that.

Have you tried a CD or something of soothing music or one of those ceiling lights to give her something to get lulled by? My guys still love their whale music and they both have flashlights now that they can use them. I had a light mobile from the UK that had a remote on it so I could turn it on again without entering their room.

Hugs, I know it's hard - and WTF with the dog??? How awful!

We are big on the controlled crying. Normally that's what I would do but her crying is so intense that I feel the need to go in. We also have the Babysoothe CD which we use. As they've been having problems with the jet lag, that's practically on the whole night.

My other suggestion is to have your partner go in, my daughter is 22 months old and she is a crappy sleeper, but its even worse if I go in...so my husband goes in and that really works for her. If I go in, she wants to come in to bed with me blah blah blah...its a nightmare!

Tell me about it! My two are the same but with both of us. If they see that one of us is up, they go mental. We're even sneaky with the CD. We have a remote for the player and we just put the remote around the corner of the door to turn it on.

Hugs, I know it's hard - and WTF with the dog??? How awful!

Yeah, my parents dog got offended that she grabbed his toy. Got a good swipe out of her cheek and a bite into her arm. Thankfully all parties were fully vaccinated and she only required a little paper stitch on the cheek. The effect on her emotionally has been the worst result.

I'm hoping this will pass. She's up at the moment but she hasn't cried. She's just chatting away to herself. That's an improvement!

Thanks ladies.

Thats so freaking scary! My son hates dogs simply because a teensy tiny little puppy jumped on him when he was 3...I hope she gets over her fear!

Did you watch Sharon Horgan's How to be a good mother on Channel 4? Watch it on the catchup TV if you can, crazy American ladies eating placentas and Sharon Horgan says the best thing every about Motherhood...she says (basically)

The maternal bond is there to trick you into loving something that shits on you and punches you in the tits.

Thats for me, is motherhood!!! Good luck!

The maternal bond is there to trick you into loving something that shits on you and punches you in the tits.

Thats for me, is motherhood!!! Good luck!

Love it!  I'd correct it though--punching in the tits doesn't phase me, it's when they bite hard that I have to fight the urge to chuck them across the room. 

Just an update: The problems seemed to have been a phase because we now have sleeping babies all throughout the night. Hooray.

Just an update: The problems seemed to have been a phase because we now have sleeping babies all throughout the night. Hooray.

Hooray Hooray! Now if only someone can come and tell Imogen how to sleep all night, I would be as happy as you!