I just have to add something here...my parents used to let me cry myself to sleep (as mentioned above) and as I said, it made me feel horrible. Well, a few years ago, I had to have my gall bladder removed. My son was about a year and a half old and my mom came for the first few days I was home to help me with my son. Well, a lot of good that did...she left him in is port-a-crib the day I came home screaming his head off while she had her back turned to him trying to watch her soap opera. I came hobbling downstairs to see what was wrong and she said to me, "Don't pick him up, he has to learn that this is time to sleep! He'll stop crying in a few minutes." So, I picked him up (against doctors rules) and brought him up to bed with me. How mean.

I guess my point it that letting your kids cuddle up with you isn't a bad thing. Still, once in a while, my son will ask me to lay down with him when he goes to sleep. I always tell him that I need to take care of a few things around the house and I'll be right back. If he's still awake, I'll lay down with him, but that he should try to fall asleep on his own. He's 5 (6 in december). I always check on him in about 10 mins...9 times out of 10 he's out and I don't lay down with him, but that 1 time out of 10, he's so happy to have me lay down with him, he curls up and practically purrs, I bury my nose in his hair and pull him in tight and we both LOVE it. You know, they're only little for a split second in time and then they're TEENAGERS!! Then, every time you hug and kiss them, they look at you as if you're mental. I'm taking every opportunity I can to cuddle with my son now while he's young. I'm thinking how cool it will be to have a son that's a teenager and still wants to hug and kiss mom. My daughter still likes to, but she has to act as though she doesn't. Of course, I'm sure my days of laying down with my son are numbered...I'm not a weirdo...but I'll take all I can get while I can still get it.

Just 2 more cents...I'm still leaning more toward Great Big MOnster Momma. I like cuddling with my kids...it takes a much stronger person to do it Eviesmommy's way than I am. I'm too much of a whimp. It's not that I don't agree with eviesmommy, I just don't have it in me...

The whole sleep issue can be so emotional, personal, and heated. It really tests us as mom's. My son has never been a good sleeper, and I literally wanted to throw myself off a cliff during the almost 3 years of being sleep deprived, and failed attempts. What I came to realize is that it is all so individual and what works for one family is not what may work for another. If we as moms are doing what in our hearts we feel is best for our little ones then we are on the right path. And, goodness, as moms we need eachother now more then ever, support for one's own choices is a beautiful thing. Finally he sleeps! Still in our room, at 4, but by god he sleeps!

HappyHouseWife: I would definitely take her into to see her pediatrician. The only way I knew if either of my kids had an ear infection (or any infection) is that they would wake up during the night. They would stop crying when I picked them up and held them because it lessened the pressure in the ears. During the day, they never acted like anything bothered them but then they wouldn't sleep at night.
It could be developmental too but it doesn't hurt to see the doctor.
just my 2 cents :D

Alot of babies have sleep disturbances when they are mastering a new skill. Has your daughter recently begun to pull herself up or is she teetering on the brink of her first steps? If that's the case, then it will definitely pass (which is small comfort in the midst of the sleepless nights!). In the meantime, I don't think there's any harm whatsoever in giving her the comfort she obviously needs. If she is in the process of learning something new, then she needs reassurance even more from you than ever. I can't remember if you said whether she goes back to sleep after you cuddle her or not? If she does, great! If not, maybe try what someone else suggested about sitting by her bed in a darkened, quiet room. Sleep is important but we all know having children is not about convenience! Eventually, it will work itself out.

Best of luck whatever you decide. And warm hugs of support and complete understanding while you're doing it!

EZMoney, I too have always had her crib in my room. It makes me sleep better to know she's there.. I'm sure it helps for her to look over and see me if she happens to wake up at night.

She woke up this morning at 2AM!! She cried, and I talked to her just to let her know I was there. She didn't stop at my voice. So, I got up and fed her a bottle and turned on a fan (the box fans that are a bit noisy. I thought it just might've been too quiet for her. -and she fell back to sleep for the rest of the night! :?:

I'm thinking (and I don't know for sure just yet) that perhaps I should try changing her daytime routine and letting her take 2 short naps instead of just one long nap. OR possibly it MIGHT be because I rearranged the furniture in the bedroom, and maybe she can tell it's "different".
Then again, it may be a phase.
So, by process of elimination-I'm going to keep trying to find what's wrong.
I know she's not sick or anything like that. Thank goodness! :)

I really appreciate all of your replies. I definitely agree that what works for one child may not work on another and only a mother knows what her baby needs. In some cases, letting them cry is good, but for me, I think my daughter is just too young to "cry it out". Maybe when she's older and can understand things better it would be alright for me to do so, but I'll see when/if that time comes.

I'm guilty of letting my little one take naps with me. But, she never cries at bedtime to sleep with me. She loves her bed! I think she understands things a lot more than I give her credit for! ha ha :queen:

Thanks again to all of you! :grouphug: Aren't these smilies the cutest?!

Mummy Tummy, as a matter of fact, she IS starting to pull up and take a few "cruses" around the furniture (holding on). It's possible that she is going through some milestones and needs that extra safety net. I'll keep that in mind. (..and use it as an excuse to give her lots of extra encouragement and hugs).

Just my 2 cents. I too am a pedi ER nurse, and I would encourage you to at least speak with your pediatrician before co-sleeping. The evidence isn't conclusive that it is safe or that it isn't safe. However, working in a pedi ER, the 6am ambulance call is NOTORIOUS for being a dead baby who was asleep in bed with parents. I will be the first to admit that my son slept with me for the first 2 years of his life. However, seeing as many absolutely devasted parents and tragic endings as I have now, it won't happen with any future babies. The American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend co-sleeping. Here's some links:

http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/gen...osleeping.html
http://aappolicy.aappublications.org...cs%3B105/3/650

Of course, you're her mommy and it's your decision to make, just make sure it's a well informed one. Do see your doc and rule out any physical causes to her distress. As Evie's mommy said, this is sometimes just something they go through developmentally and if that's the case all you can do is be there for her and love her through it. Could also be an ear infection, gas, lactose intolerance (if you've already changed her to cow's milk) or a hair tourniquet (where a little piece of hair gets wrapped around a toe or finger strangulating it and causing pain). In any case, get her checked out and let us know. :)

Just wanted to clarify too that napping with an almost one year old and co-sleeping with an infant are very different things. I would definitely nap with my one year old without worry.

I'm not surprised at all! My daughter did the same thing. She just wanted to practice all the time. *yawwwwn*:hug: 11 months is such a great age. Of course, I say that about all the stages and ages they go through but there's something so bittersweet about watching your baby get mobile and become a toddler. *sigh*

I think I got less sleep the nights I let my infant sleep with me than just getting up to go to her. I was paranoid about rolling over on her or that my husband would do it. I think I tried it out of deperation a few different times with the same sleepless results and ended up just sitting up with her when she needed me.

And since we're on the subject, please, please, please never put an infant to sleep on a sofa (just a general warning and not intended for anyone in particular)! Y'all might be saying "well duh" but it is even more dangerous than sharing a bed and I was surprised at the amount of people who just did it as a matter if course. The slippery couch cushions and the dips and folds make it a deathtrap for babies.

She woke up again last night about 3:30. So now, I'm SO sleepy! She's napping now, I should be too. :)
She always eats well about 30 minutes before bedtime. BUT, she seems to just want a bottle. The last 2 nights, she cries until I get her a bottle and put her in her bed. I don't like putting her to bed with a bottle, but it seems like that she's either hungry or just needs at "pacifier"-type thing... I don't know. I hate putting her to bed with a bottle, but it seems like, that's just what she wants. *sigh*

I'm sorry you're sleepy. :hug: I so feel for you, my baby didn't sleep through until 18 months and there were definitely those nights when I didn't know if I could make it. Just make sure if you give her a bottle it's just water so that the sugar in the breast milk/formula doesn't rot her teeth. Good luck! :)

I neglected to stress in my previous post that I have never actually SLEPT with either of my sons in my bed. I don't trust myself or my DH not to turn over, thrash, or elbow the baby while in a sound sleep. I occassionally bring him to bed, put him to sleep, and the MOVE him to his bed. I have NEVER been comfortable enough to actually get sleep. To make the co-sleeping subject even more profound in my opinion, the day after my 2nd son was born, while in the Hosp. a new born baby boy was smothered by his mother only three rooms down from me. Words can not express.......

Um, you mean that actually stops??!! Just kidding, trying to lighten up some! LOL!
My boy went through that phase, sometimes I got up with him(if it was a full out wail) sometimes he would just complain for a few minutes and go back to sleep on his own.
Whatever you decide to do is absolutly right for you and your child.
I also used to take him to my bed, BUT I put him back when he was asleep.I tend to be a huge bed hog and I didn't want to accidently bop him in the noggin with my elbow or something like that!
Now he is 3 and we have plenty cuddle time together, and we love every second of it!

Stevie - this is totally not related to your post, though I agree - your baby is soooooo cute in that costume!!! Makes me miss those days so much! :)