Are there any natural sleep aids for babies???

[blessedby3]

Our DD is getting ready to turn one year and we have yet to get a full nights sleep. She started with reflux at 2 weeks and that seemed to keep her up at night waking and crying off and on. She is on Previcid and Zantac and that seems to help, but she is now cutting 4 teeth on top and her gums are terribly swollen and I know she wakes in pain from that sometimes. I believe that after waking constantly for so long that she is now in the habit of waking at night. Some nights are worse than others and she gets totally awake, other nights she is more crying out and sitting up with her eyes closed and crying, but not getting fully awake. DH and I are just so exhausted. I didnt know if they make any type of sleep aid for babies that is safe or if anyone has any suggestions as to what we can do. Im not the cry it out type, especially if I know she could be hurting from her teeth or reflux. We also have 2 other kids in the house who would be kept up if we let her cry for too long. Any suggestions would be appreciated. We are barely functioning at this point

 

[Camno's Mama]

I've never heard of any kind of sleep aid, but I just wanted to say that I know how it feels. My oldest was like that, and it made me feel really crazy when we had another baby. It will get better.

You may have read it, but I really liked the No Cry Sleep Solution. I also read some of the articles by Jodi Mindell. It helped.

And I became quite comfortable with letting him sleep in my bed if it meant getting some sleep.

Good luck. Take some time for yourself...your husband as well. Maybe go spend the night somewhere else so that you will get a full night's sleep.

 

[lisadr]

I was wondering, did you discuss this with your Ped. ? Only because maybe she should be checked for an underlying problems.

Having gotten that off my chest, I can sympathize with the no sleeping habit. My DD(now 7) stopped taking naps at 8 months. She also would stay up for hours at night and get a quick recharge or 6 hrs or so and be up and ready to go. Then she would spend the whole day all 8 cylinders firing! I was a zombie for quite awhile. I did get into the habit of bathing her in a warm Johnstons bed time bath, then I would massage her with the lotion, then into her dimly lit room and I would sing to her (badly-it's a wonder she didn't cry when I sang ) and rub her belly. This would help her and she would actually go to and stay asleep.

BUT in saying that I was only getting about 8hrs out of her that way. I spoke to my doc and he said that she was growing and developing fine (100 + percentile in height,90 percentile in weight, ahead of the curve as far as speech and such) so don't worry -she's just that type of kid Easy for him to say-he was sleeping at night

In the end I just rode it out. She is 7 now and still a ball of fire, but at least I get a full 10-11 hours of sleep out of her. If your doctor says she is healthy I would try some different routines to override the bad cycle she is in now, but I don't think there are any natural sleep aids out there for babies.

Good Luck!

 

[Miss LD]

Have you tried the Hyland's Teething Tablets? We alternate between those and the Camilia (liquid) but both were recommended by our pediatrician.
When DS was teething we gave him the teething tablets and Motrin. The combo didn't exactly knock him out but it did help him to sleep.
Our naturopath recommended them and you can get them at Whole Foods (in our area). Lots of people I know use them.

 

[Elmo888]

Here are a few ideas...
I would talk to your ped, as the other poster suggested.
I would give her ibuprofen (Motrin) before bed time if you suspect teething.
I wouldn't take her out of her crib when she wakes up. I would just go in her room and soothe her (talking or patting her back) until she calms down, relaxes, and is still. I wouldn't soothe her until she is asleep.
Get a sound machine!!! The white noise is great. I started it during the day to block out the sound of other kids in the house during naptime, but now it is just soothing for DD3. I found one for $20 or $25 at Bed Bath and Beyond.
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=13630208
And, as DH pointed out to me, you can pack it in her suitcase when she goes off to college (ie, you aren't giving her a sleep crutch that relies on you).

If she can self soothe, get herself back to sleep and not become fully awake, maybe she can break the habit.

ETA: And then, I would go buy the two top rated books about infant sleeping (not newborns) on amazon.com. (That's what I tend to do, and your ped might even recommend a book.)

Good luck (I can't even imagine)!

 

[Eeyore's Wife]

My thoughts and prayers are with you! My biological son didn't sleep more than 2 hours at a stretch. He didn't nap, and I was so exhausted that I thought I might fall asleep at the wheel and kill us all. So, here are a few tips.

If your daughter liked her swing, which she has outgrown by now given her age, then you might LOVE the lullabub. It makes your child's bed jiggle and helps to keep them asleep. I found a link at http://search.ebay.com/lullabub_W0QQfnuZ0QQfsooZ2QQfsopZ32QQrprZ300QQxpufuZx

If the tooth pain is waking her in the night, and your pediatrician agrees, give her motrin before bed. It has eight hour dosing, so unlike tylenol, which wears off after four hours, you might be able to get a full night's sleep.

My kids always sleep better when they are nice and tired. I really liked Mommy and Me swim classes because it was good exercise for both of us, and it got them nice and tired.

I loved Mother's Day Out, because that was the day I napped. Most of the other moms shopped, ate out, visited the doctor, but I SLEPT. It was the best money we ever spent while the kids were small.

My son is now a teen, and he still gets FAR LESS sleep than other kids. My teen daughter could sleep until dinner if we allowed it, but my son still goes to bed late and gets up by 5 or 6 in the morning. He gets so much done and is an incredible young man, full of energy and love. He is intelligent and "on the go" and I wouldn't trade him for anything, but it was really nice when he stopped wanting ME to be his comfort in the middle of the night.

Even though he never became a great sleeper, we were able to get him to sleep for four hours at a stretch during the toddler years. It wasn't great, but it was a lot better.

You have all our Dis hugs and support.

--Eeyore's Wife

 

[katied]

DS, for many reasons, did not fully sleep through the night until over 1 year. What finally did it, consistently, was taking away the bottle. When I was nursing, I would alway nurse him back to sleep at night. Then, starting at about 11 months, he gave up nursing and we switched to the bottle - he still woke up at least once every night (sometimes 2 - 3 times). Starting at about 15 months, we fully switched to sippy/straw cups. It was 2 - 3 very hard nights, but then, he just would sleep all night.

Not sure if this would work for you, but it was great for us. I know the other choice is to just put water in the bottle, but for us, this made DS irrate. He really wanted his bottle of milk - giving him water in a bottle was just a tease. He was not so attached to milk in the sippy. If he did wake up, we did offer the sippy of milk, but no bottle. That did the trick for us, but not sure if it would help for you.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

The PP's have some great ideas. Talk to your pediatrician. If you are sure teething is an issue, then give a dose of Motrin before bed.

If she was having trouble falling asleep, I'd recommend using a lavender scented baby lotion to give her a baby massage before bed. That would help relax her and get her to fall alseep. But that doesn't seem to be your issue, it's more about her waking in the night. Does your DD have a lovey that she takes to bed with her? I found that can help significantly with teaching a child to soothe themselves to sleep. She needs to learn how to fall back asleep in the middle of the night without having you there to help her. A white noise machine, as a PP mentioned, also would help with that.

I know older children with sleep issues can be helped with a melatonin supplement, but I don't believe that is recommended for infants. Again, I recommend you discuss this with your pediatrician and maybe he/she will have a recommendation for you.

 

[bumbershoot]

Homeopathy like the Hyland's teething tablets, or even single remedies like chamomile, are lovely. If you can get your hands on a nice simple homeopathy book to really hone in on what she needs, it's even better.

But hey, when you look at biology rather than what the sleep trained babies do, sleeping fully through the night happens far more often as kids approach 3. It's not entirely natural, unless you have a baby for whom it happens totally naturally, for babies to sleep all the way through. So I'm glad you haven't been totally forcing it, and you have realized that there are reasons.

One we we helped ourselves (and DS) was to have a family bed. Mucho easier than having to get up and go elsewhere to get the bebe, in our opinions. We could barely find the bathroom some nights, let alone another room. And I'm pretty much blind in the normal dark (meaning dark with ambient light from moon and streetlights) thanks to dumb old Lasik surgery, so finding a crib would have been very difficult for me. Therefore baby was right there, and could be comforted without getting up (unless he needed walking or changing).

But if you're not doing that now it might not work to start all of a sudden...not sure on that.

Teething is rotten for some babies! My guy not only had massive pain, but he ran crazy fevers during teething. When he was cutting his canines, if I recall the teeth correctly, he had 104 fevers each night for 3 nights! While we were on vacation! At my childfree brother's place! augh. But I knew it was teething so we'd get up, take a tepid bath to cool him down, get dried and dressed and back to sleep, then sleep until his temperature rising would wake me up again for another bath. And in the daytimes he was totally fine! Anyway, that's just to explain that teething can be brutal for some babies. My guy would also work on 4 at a time, like your girl, so it would go on and on and on, then they would pop through one at a time, so it was just forever.

If she's still dealing with the reflux, do you have her mattress raised? Have you have her reflux reevaluated recently? Maybe there's been a change.

OK well those are my ideas.

 

[blessedby3]

Thanks for all the replies. We do sleep with her, because as bumbershoot stated it is much easier for her to be right beside me to tend to her than to get up multiple times during the night to get to her. All of our other kids slept with us and we never had these issues with the other 3. We have tried the motrin and also some benedryl for the runny nose as per the pediatrician. We havent had the reflux reevaulated recently although she goes for her 1yr checkup in a few weeks and I was going to ask about that again then. We were propping her and keeping her raised for the reflux, especially early on, but she is more mobile now and harder to keep raised. At this point, though, I think the reflux is not so much the issue as the teeth and the bad habit her body is in of waking up. I have also tried the teething tablets without noticing any difference. Maybe I will combine that with the motrin and see if it makes a difference. She doesnt have a lovey- Ive tried- but does have a paci. I nursed her till she was 4 mos and she went on a nursing strike and had to switch over to formula as she screamed and cried when I tried to nurse her. We went from regular milk based formula to gentle, then soy and finally hypoallergenic which seems to be the best. Im not sure how she will do when the ped switches her to milk soon. She doesnt take a bottle during the night- hasnt for many months now. We dont offer her a bottle during the night as I dont feel she is actually hungry and I dont want to start another bad habit. My ped and I have discussed her not sleeping on several occasions, but he was chalking it up to the reflux. She is perfectly healthy although on the small side. She is under 10% for height and weight. She doesnt nap well either and I do rock her to sleep, but when I put her down she sleeps 40 mins max and sometimes not that. She wakes up screaming and shaking like she is scared and is so unnerved that she will not lay back down on her own to go to sleep. Maybe I will check into the No Cry Sleep Soultion Book. I really appreciate everyones prayers and suggestions. Ill take anymore anyone has to offer. I was so hoping there was a magic cure for sleeping...

 

[LadyShea]

DS, for many reasons, did not fully sleep through the night until over 1 year. What finally did it, consistently, was taking away the bottle.

Yep. One thing I wished we had done differently was taking away the night bottle earlier, at about 1 year. We didn't do it until 21 months (and actually at WDW he chewed all his nipples and we decided not to buy more!) and he slept through the night from the first night without the bottle.

Prior to that he would wake up at least twice a night...for 21 months!

 

[crisi]

Keep in mind all kids are different. My son was a fantastic co-sleeper - my daughter kept everyone - including herself - up when she shared a bed with us (still does and she is nine now - she needs her own bed - hopefully, she'll figure it out before she gets married). Life got a lot better when she started using her own bed.

I'd be hesitant to give a small child anything that hasn't been throughly tested on children. Although Benedryl isn't seen as addictive, a friend of mine works with addiction and has seen benedryl addiction issues. Don't build a dependance (for yourself or the baby). Watch dosage and half-lives - liver damage is a serious risk with painkillers. All of this stuff is fine and recommended by a lot of doctors - in moderation. Talk to her doctor - but if the lack of sleep is impacting your health, talk to your doctor as well. Your husband and you may need to take shifts until the teeth finish cutting.

We've had fair luck with valarian for our daughter - but she was MUCH older when we started giving it to her.

 

[Miss LD]

Thanks for all the replies. We do sleep with her, because as bumbershoot stated it is much easier for her to be right beside me to tend to her than to get up multiple times during the night to get to her. All of our other kids slept with us and we never had these issues with the other 3. We have tried the motrin and also some benedryl for the runny nose as per the pediatrician. We havent had the reflux reevaulated recently although she goes for her 1yr checkup in a few weeks and I was going to ask about that again then. We were propping her and keeping her raised for the reflux, especially early on, but she is more mobile now and harder to keep raised. At this point, though, I think the reflux is not so much the issue as the teeth and the bad habit her body is in of waking up. I have also tried the teething tablets without noticing any difference. Maybe I will combine that with the motrin and see if it makes a difference. She doesnt have a lovey- Ive tried- but does have a paci. I nursed her till she was 4 mos and she went on a nursing strike and had to switch over to formula as she screamed and cried when I tried to nurse her. We went from regular milk based formula to gentle, then soy and finally hypoallergenic which seems to be the best. Im not sure how she will do when the ped switches her to milk soon. She doesnt take a bottle during the night- hasnt for many months now. We dont offer her a bottle during the night as I dont feel she is actually hungry and I dont want to start another bad habit. My ped and I have discussed her not sleeping on several occasions, but he was chalking it up to the reflux. She is perfectly healthy although on the small side. She is under 10% for height and weight. She doesnt nap well either and I do rock her to sleep, but when I put her down she sleeps 40 mins max and sometimes not that. She wakes up screaming and shaking like she is scared and is so unnerved that she will not lay back down on her own to go to sleep. Maybe I will check into the No Cry Sleep Soultion Book. I really appreciate everyones prayers and suggestions. Ill take anymore anyone has to offer. I was so hoping there was a magic cure for sleeping...

I totally get where you're coming from. This was DS for probably the first 18 months of his life. We tried letting him sleep with us, a crib, etc etc.
I read a million different sleep books and tried many things. But, he just didn't sleep.
He's 4 now and bedtime can be a struggle for him still. He's just NOT tired. It used to drive me nuts when people would say that it was me or my parenting or not having the right routine etc.
Really, I think routines are wonderful and we follow one, but DS just requires less sleep.
The good news is that DS stopped waking in the night and actually does go to sleep. It all started to happen around 15-18 months. It was a wonderful wonderful thing.
One thing that has worked for us is going to an osteopath. A friend of mine goes to a chiropractor. It may be worth it to consider that option. Our osteopath told us that sometimes children can't completely settle because they aren't comfortable.
I'm really into naturpathic stuff - but if you're thinking about any of it, it may be worth finding a pediatric specialist. We do that for everything (and it's not more money, just sometimes a longer drive) and I feel more comfortable about it.

 

[perkinsrose]

This book has alot of good info--can find older editions at many libraries.

http://www.amazon.com/Solve-Your-Ch...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220884488&sr=8-1

 

[Jenvenza]

I feel your pain! Our daughter is almost 13 months and is teething again and not sleeping through the night anymore. She used to, but as soon as she started teething, that was the end of that. We also co-sleep. I wish I could give you some advice, but we are in the same boat. I just keep thinking - it wont last forever! Good luck!

 

[Girly_Qs]

We're big fans of the Hyland's Teething Tablets too, if you're confident that's what it is. We also have had very good luck with Hyland's Calms Forte for Kids. We do also use a white noise machine.

Good luck - it's amazing what a difference sleep makes (and how little you truly realize it until it's gone!)!

 

[LadyShea]

Another thing that made a difference for us was figuring out what his own schedule was. We had been "forcing" him down around 8-9 with a bottle. Once we took the bottle away we found he goes to sleep naturally closer to 10:30.

 

[Relish]

Ds sounds a lot like your daughter. Reflux pain, teething, sensitive sleeper, around 3% to 7% for weight, etc. We coslept and nursed and our baseline was that Ds would wake up after any 30 minutes of sleep (like clockwork) if he was alone. That's where we started after finally getting pain under control, etc.

Ds started, all on his own, sleeping very long (8-9 hours out of 11 total) streches just after he turned 2. By around 18mo he would wake but not be immediately freaked out/scared and I could say, "time for sleeping, go back to sleep" and pat his back and he'd fall back to sleep or let me know he was actually hungry. Around 15-16mo he started to make it past the 2 hour mark early in the night but woke up a lot in the early morning.

I know other people do with sucess, but I didn't want to take away nighttime nursing/bottle because I wanted him to get what calories he needed. We did try to give him a higher fat snack before bed (cheese, nuts, avocado) rather than just fruit or empty carbs (crackers, O's). Finding the right white noise machine helped a lot too. Some of them I think made things worse.

Honestly, the biggest difference was him growing and maturing biologically. It sounds strange, I know, but I could literally see the difference when he first could sleep through a wake-up (eyes fluttering, opening, falling back to sleep) and when he could sleep through being touched or moved, through a cough or sneeze. Now, at 2.5 he is doing great and can sleep through a lot more noise/movement, etc.

The road was long with him but I am very glad we stayed the course we chose. He doesn't fight bedtime or nap at all, it is a smooth and easy process with total cooperation from him. He's happy to go to sleep since he feels comfortable.

 

[sashagiselle]

For my girls. I've used chamomile tea with a little honey, I got the ok from their pediatrian to do this since my oldest was 3 months, its a natural sedative and for my girls its worked wonders.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

For my girls. I've used chamomile tea with a little honey, I got the ok from their pediatrian to do this since my oldest was 3 months, its a natural sedative and for my girls its worked wonders.

I'm glad you checked with your ped but honey is not reccomended for small children as they can become very sick from it. Honestly OP I think you just have to ride it out a bit. I know that's not what you were looking to hear but kids go through all sorts of spurts. Good luck.