New Grandma/Mom needs help!!!! Ages & Stages

nanakate · 04-02-12, 02:25 PM

Two months ago, my husband and I got custody of his now 8 month old grand-daughter. My children are older (the youngest is 8) so we have had quite the adjustment from being part time grandparents to essentially full time parents to an 8 month old! We have worked very hard at putting her on a schedule, and getting her to where she should be developmentally. She is finally sitting up and eating baby foods (just puree for now) and is doing so much better!!
Our biggest problems is that she has yet to sleep through the night. She cries every time she loses her pacifier but as soon as we put it back in her mouth, she falls right back asleep. This happens anywhere from 2-10 times a night. We are both exhausted and fed up and desperate to find a solution! My children never had pacifiers so I am clueless. (another possible problem? is that she is in the playpen in our room for now)
Has anyone experienced this? Do we take it away and let her cry? or is there a better solution?? We have tried showing her how to grab it but her fine motor skills aren't good enough to do that either!!! Any ideas??

**Chickie** · 04-06-12, 10:22 PM

That is a tough call given the situation. I think that only you will know what the right answer is for your granddaughter. Letting a baby cry works wonders for some and for others it just brings on more stress at bedtime.

I do hope that you find an answer that works for all of you. In the meantime I think that you two should take shifts sleeping in another room so that each of you gets at least a few good hours every night.

paxtonsmomma · 08-17-12, 01:05 AM

If you ween her off the pacifier then she probably wont need it at night either.