Polydads/moms, Help! My daughter won't go to sleep!

[Mrs. Tuberski]

some babies drink bottles till they are 2 years old i was more wondering if she was 5 months or younger.. but thats ok.. never mind

[OzzyKP]

Originally posted by SlowwHand
"Takes a bottle." I take it she's not a teenager.

*realizes I have nothing to contribute to this thread*

[Winston]

Sure you do. You ought to call attention to how disenfrancised and misunderstood Donegeal's daughter is.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by SlowwHand
"Takes a bottle." I take it she's not a teenager.

Depends.. could be a bottle of Jack Daniels .

[trev]

It is difficult to answer such a question from a distance, but often tucking the bedclothes tightly around her to restrict her movements, but also making sure there are not too many to make her hot (do not know your weather, but understand some of your country is hot just now) will help. A very quiet soothing voice and light, unmoving finger on the cheek can help to comfort the child till she sleeps.
If it is a repetitive problem then you need to look at your daytime routine with her, in particular making sure she has plenty of waketime from 3pm to early evening with activity around her so she is tired before her night sleep and if there seems to be pain maybe check for a medical problem. Good luck with your daughter, and future child, I am a father to 6 children, mostly born about 18 months apart as well as 2 grandchildren and have always actively involved myself in their upbringing and having children close in age is the greates thing for your kids if you have the patience to cope with them. My children now going into adulthood tell me it is great they are so close in age to each other because they are each others best friends.

[aneeshm]

Originally posted by alva
Just give her a large brandy, that should work.

Or it may have the opposite effect . My dad told me a story once of how he gave me brandy to make me go to sleep , and how I got crazy drunk and ran ( or crawled , or whatever it was ) all around the house because of it .

[Ecthy]

Brandy hurts baby's mouth.

[Daz]

Ok dude, here's the deal (its not made up, its from a book).

Let the baby cry for about 5 minutes. After that go check on her, but try not to lift her out of the bed. When she calms down, leave for another 5 minutes. Repeat.

The strategy is that the baby realizes that its useless to cry, as it wont get what it wants (getting out of bed into your hands, preferably), but you're still there for her.

Other things to mind:

Try putting kids to sleep at a fixed time. Kids love order.
DOnt allow them to get too tired, or they will be nervous and you'll have trouble putting them to sleep.
Dont carry them around, put the on the washing machine, drive them around in a car or stuff like that. They'll get used to it and then youre $crewed.
Tell them everybody is asleep; their teddies, sisters/brothers, friends... (they should undestand if >10 months).

Good luck.

[Ecthy]

Daz

[MRT144]

i thought this was about polyamorous moms and dads...i was hoping for tips on the scene

[Japher]

5 minutes? that's way to short

20 minutes is what we do, but we have a video monitor

no way is she colicy if she's 10 months and is just having the problem.

if everything is fine (fed, dry, no fever) and she won't sleep than it's probably separation anxiety.

don't let them eat until they fall asleep
don't rock them to sleep
they must fall asleep on their own, by themselves

though anytime they cry for more than 15-20 mintues something is wrong

maybe she's teething? try some baby tylenol or oragel

[molly bloom]

She hasn't eaten enough lettuce.

Foods such as bread, bagels, and crackers that are high in complex carbohydrates have a mild sleep-enhancing effect because they increase serotonin, a brain neurotransmitter that promotes sleep.

A glass of warm milk with honey is one of the oldest and best remedies for insomnia. Milk contains tryptophan which, when converted to seratonin in the body, induces sleep and prevents waking.

Lettuce has a long-standing reputation for promoting healthy sleep. This is due to an opium-related substance combined with traces of the anticramping agent hyoscyarnin present in lettuce. Lettuce should be an integral part of your evening diet if you are suffering from sleep disorders. The meal should also include legumes, peanuts, nutritional yeast, fish or poultry. These foods contain vitamin B3 (niacin). Niacin is involved in seratonin synthesis and promotes healthy sleep. Mixed with a little lemon juice for flavor, lettuce juice is an effective sleep-inducing drink highly preferable to the synthetic chemical agents in sleeping pills.

http://www.holisticonline.com/remedies/Sleep/sleep_ins_food-and-diet.htm

Failing that, some Lagavullin. For you or her, as the case may be...

[Donegeal]

Wow... thanks for all the advice guys.

I know about the 5 minute thing and the not rocking her or driving her. I don't usually do those things. Its just been the last two nights. I'll give the finger on the cheek thing a try. I hadn't heard that. Hadn't heard the lettuce thing either, but I'm positive that your not susposed to give babies peanuts until much later in life as it is very easy to be deathly allergic to them.

The booze won't help either. I had to work last night.

[MRT144]

oven roasted turkey year round. Im not seeing a downside to this...

[Japher]

turkey should work

we've also tried white noise machines
doesn't work for our mighty might
but
it has worked for my neice