8 Mo Old Not Sleeping Well

What I did when I wanted to extinguish some feedings at night is had my husband(when he was home) get up with her and hold her so she wouldn't smell me and wnat me. Even when he wasnt there, I still got up with her, didn't feed her and put her back to sleep. In a few days, she stopped getting up at that time. Then, later on, if she woke up in between 11 and 1 or 2 am, and she cried for less than 5 minutes, I would leave her there. Again, after while, she would extinguish the feeding needs on her own. I generally put her down at 7pm, feed at 11(which was extinguished after a while) at 2am (this too was let go around 10 or so months) and up at 5 or 6 am. Gradually she would sleep until 7 or so at around 12 months. Hope that helps a little...
A.

I breast fed my son until he went from my breast to a cup. I found to feed him some rice cereal with some of my breaset milk would make him sleep all night. He wasn't getting enough to eat, so try this, and see if this would help,ok?

First let me say I know you must be really tired, things will get better. I am not an expert but any stretch of the imagination, I have had my own sleep issues with my son but I would like to recommend a book to you (I know a book - that is funny since you probably have no time to do anything especially read) it is by Elizabeth Pantley - the no cry sleep solution. I read it and implemented some of her suggestions and found it to be rather helpful. She is very kind in her writing and not judgemental. You many want to give it a try.

I was just reading on a yahoo group list I belong to about how food sensitivities can effect sleep, just like you are describing. You can do a simple saliva test to figure it all out. For more info go to yahoo groups and look up the APVirginia group, then look through the archives for the info. Some of the women describe how their lives were completely changed by figuring out their babes were sensitive to things like dairy or sugar cane. Good luck to you, sleep deprivation is NO FUN!

S.

Hi C., I'm sorry to hear you're so drained. It seems like there are as many approaches to sleep as there are families! So, I want to chime in with a bit of different advice here. I'm not a fan of 'crying it out' at all. I think it's too hard on everyone in the house. BUT crying in your arms is not the same as crying alone in a bed while you suffer in the hallway. Also, letting your baby cry some in her sleep is not the same as letting her cry while she's wide awake in the dark. I would follow the advice of other moms here and get your daughter checked for an ear infection, etc., to make sure there's not a medical reason for her waking. If she's all clear, the waking is a pattern she needs your help to change.

Here's what worked for me, when my baby was rousing and I was nursing him even though he wasn't hungry. The first night, I picked him up and held him (bounced and rocked) but didn't nurse him, because I noticed that he wasn't rooting around. I figured I would wait to feed him until he asked to nurse. He cried for a while, but then went back to sleep. Then he slept for a long while. The next night I only held him for about five minutes before he went back down (we did that a couple times during the night). His sleeping improved much faster than I had thought it would.

Now, my baby is a BIG boy, and so he's been slower on some of the physical developments - he's only just getting to rolling onto his side at six months. He also prefers to fall asleep on his side, so if he rouses from sleep and he's on his back, he has needed help rolling back over. We try to catch him before he's fully awake, so we don't have to pick him up. He goes in his crib when he's almost alseep (usually around 7:15pm), and it usually takes us a few sleep cycles through the evening for him to stop rousing, but by 10:30 or so we've helped him roll for the last time and he sleeps until 2:30 or so when I nurse him, and then he sleeps from 2:45 until 6:15 or 6:30. Now that he's getting better at rolling over on his own, we're having to go in to him less during the evening.

If you want to chat more off-list, I'd be happy to. send me a note and we can exchange contact info. Just know that it WILL get better, and hang in there!

Best book ever: Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy child by Marc Weissbluth. It changed our lives in regards to sleep!!

When my daughter was a baby her pediatrician gave me the best advice. My daughter was about 3 or 4 months old at the time. She told me to put every light in the house on so that it was bright and during that time (a few hours before bedtime) I was to play with her and stimulate her. She told me to move her legs around, play with her hands, make faces, etc... Then about an hour before I was to go to bed I was to quiet my voice a little and darken the home a little and give her a bath, feed her as much as she would eat and put her down while she was awake. Now comes the hard part. Put in your ipod earphones and let her cry. It's fine to go to the doorway of her room and reassure her, but know that babies learn to manipulate very quickly. Nursing her, and putting her into bed with you and rocking her are nice, but be prepared for this to turn into a habit every night. All of my friends did one of these methods and had to keep doing it until they turned 3. When babies cry in the night and parents respond with stimulus or affection (totally normal, by the way), the baby learns that crying brings pleasant consequences. Of course, if she's hurt it's a different story. We had a video monitor to help us to see her when she fussed or cried. If she started to cry because she wanted affection we waited until the morning to hold her. . And I promise you she slept all through the night right away. Make sure that when you put her down, you put yourself down. I think sometimes parents put babies to bed way too early. So if you can, put her down a little before your bed time. What good is a mom to her family if she's sleep deprived? It's terrible I know. You are an amazing woman to have 2 children and a full time job and you still have an ounce of energy to log onto mamasource.

My youngest child, Ashley, used to wake up after we put her in her crib for the night. I think she too would wake up and cry because she was all by herself. My husband would go in and let her hold his fingers and she would rub them and feel better knowing that someone was with her. Now that Ashley is 6 years old (turning 7 next month), she still loves to rub someone's fingers when she is going to bed or she does it when she gets tired. It's funny how that used to soothe her as a baby and now it's carried over.

You already have some great advice with the previous responses but I just wanted to say your doing a great job and I have a 8month daughter as well who wakes about 2 times every night still so I sympathize with you. Questions: What is she eating throughout the day? How much solid food is she eating? How does she nap throughout the day? I notice when my daughter eats really well and gets good naps during the day she seems to sleep better at night. Because your daughter has been waking like this for so long, I definately agree with the other moms who said you need to break a habit for her. Waking every hour should not be happening unless there is some kind of medical issue. Using the crying out method worked for me at about 3-4 months and I was soooooooooo relieved once I did this. It was really hard for a couple of days but I was happier and so was she!! Just think if you do it now she won't be screaming Mama later when you HAVE to break the habit. I hope this helps!!

i had a similar thing occur and I just thought "it was just how it'd suppose to be"... my son would wake at odd hours just screaming(arching his back and kicking). I was told he was just "fussy" but I just couldn't buy it. We thought "gas" behavioral etc... nothing worked. After several months of no sleep and like you trying everything I could then I placed a towel under his mattress just enough to raise it a little under his head and he slept for almost 6hrs straight ( he was 10months at this point & we had been dealing with this since 3or 4mnths) I called the docs the very next day and said I think my son has acid reflux... and sure enough that was it. It was a mild enough case as to not be obvious but enough to keep him up all night. Within 2 weeks on the meds and having the bed just a little raised he was finally sleeping through the night. It took 3 months total and now he's off meds and the bed is back to normal and thankfully so are we(as normal as you can get:)
I am not saying this is what your little one has but it's good to share this just in case this fits you. Good luck ..I hope sleep is in your future!
g

Well i think you need to let her cry it out. She has learned that when she cries you come running. So the only thing you can do is either continue what you are doing or let her cry and figure out you aren't going to come when she wants every time. If you know she's not sick, hungry and her diaper is clean than you need to just leave. Every 15 min or so come in and rub her back and talk to her softly but DO NOT PICK HER UP and DO NOT NURSE HER. That is what she is looking for. Unless you plan on doing this getting up every hour thing for ever this is the only way.

My daughter did the same thing, would wake every hour or two, and we tried everything. What worked was putting her on her tummy. She started her hour waking at around 4 months and after about a month of trying everything we propped her on her side to try sleeping that way and she rolled on her tummy and slept 5 hours. She has been a pretty good sleeper ever since! Her doctor said it was fine once she was able to roll over herself so we weren't too concerned. I think some people are just tummy sleepers.

Good luck!

My son starting do this when he started teething. He is now 20 months and still does not sleep through the night, but reduced the number or wakings since he weaned. She is probably waking and nursing for comfort. We just took our son into bed with us. If you are going to bring her into bed with you, you need to not give her attention. Just wrap your arm around her and lay down and go back to sleep. There were many nights that I was asleep before my son. He still woke to nurse, but once he latched on, I would go back to sleep. Whatever you decide to do, it has to be something that you are comfortable doing. There were times I thought my son would never wean and then one day he just stopped asking.

You are right to think that your daughter is definitely not getting the sleep she needs. Just a couple of non judgmental suggestions that might help get you part way.

Are you putting her to bed too late? Its best at this age to put them to bed between 6:30 and 7:30 - any later and the body produces endorphins(sp?) that make it even harder for the baby to sleep.

Try moving the nursing to the beginning of the night time routine so that it becomes totally disassociated with sleep.

I would not nurse your daughter at night anymore - at 8 months she does not need it. It is purely for comfort and it prevents anyone else from being able to help you deal with this sleep problem.

Always try to wait at least 10 minutes to see if she puts herself back to sleep. You may be able to eliminate a few of these wakings by seeing which ones she really needs you for and which she can put herself to sleep for.

If you don't want to let her cry it out, you can go be with her and slowly wean her. First stop talking to her or being fun in any way. Rock her but don't nurse her, then hold her but don't rock her, then leave her in her crib but caress her, next just hold your hand still on so she knows you are there, then just be close so she knows you are there. At some point she will stop getting what she wants from you and will learn how to put herself to sleep.

When my daughter was 5 1/2 months old and not sleeping throught the night, my pediatrician told me that it wasn't because she was hungry, but because she liked the snuggle time. I don't know if you are bottle feeding at all, but here is wha the pediatrician told me to do: Give her a bottle when she woke up, starting with four ounces of formula, decreasing it by an ounce each night, then switching to water, decreasing by an ounce each night. She was sleeping through the night within a week. Good luck!

M. M

Try this book its has alot of good information. Elizabeth Pantley "Author of The No-Cry Sleep Solution". She says that due to their sleep cycle they are apt to wake up every hour. SHe needs to learn new ways to fall alseep. Try rocking her. THe book is good I read it in two nights. My daughter is 1 and still has problems but had started sleeping longer 9-12 and then every two hours still working on helping her to fall back to sleep.

Hi there. A lot of docs say don't feed babies until a year old, but I always fed mine very early. They are now 27 and 25 and it didn't hurt them...lol. My daughter did this same thing with her girls. Mix a small amount of baby cereal with her milk. Spoon feed or put it in a bottle. Feed about a hour before bedtime. This will work! Good luck!
D.

Insomnia, The baby has insominia. Check with your doctor.also check for ADHA kids have that,have insomnia as well.I used to have to ride my baby in a car or push his stroller at night around the block a few times before he would fall asleep. When i went to the doctors, He looked at me crazy when i told him he wouldnt sleep. I knew it wasnt normal the hours he kept and the age he was at the time. I have 6 kids so i know it wasnt right.Dont let them doctors BLOW U OFF either.

Did your child start waking up about every hour when you went back to work?

My daughter did. It is called reverse cycling.

I brought my daughter into the bed with us and it made the problem manageable (formerly she had been in a bassinet in the same room). Just rolling over and not having to get up, let me be functional the next day.

For what it is worth, my daughter is now 16 months and still has some bad nights, but her sleeping improved around 13 months.

HI C.,

The baby could be over fed. Does she burp well?

Contact the La Leche League and see what other breast fed mothers do:

www.lllusa.org/VA/WebTidewaterVA

Good Luck. Hope this helps. D.

I agree with some of the other moms. She is not waking because she is hungry, she is waking out of habit, and knowing you will come in a soothe her. If you've introduced the bottle then I would use the bottle to decrease the amount of formula each night. 4oz, 2oz, then just water. I did this with my daughter and it worked great. They realize that it's not worth getting up for water. And if you haven't introduced the bottle yet, then whenever she wakes up, go in and tell her it's ok, rub her back--do not pick her up or nurse her---then leave. She will cry and it will be hard, but it will work. We did the 10 min. rule. It was to hard to wait 15 min. for me. But if you're consistent it should work. The first couple of nights will be hard and long, but again if you're consistent it shouldn't take more then 3-4 nights.
Good luck.

Is she truly hungry? I would try giving her some cereal right before bed & you can still nurse also that way her belly is good & full. I also agree with another mom who said something about a white noise machine. We run my daughters humidifier year round because of the noise. We tried to stop it & she had a hard time going to sleep. I know some adults that use fans because they still need the white noise. I can't sleep unless I can hear the hum of the baby monitor. Hope fully you will be able to get your little princess to sleep better soon.

With our baby we tried a wide variety of methods without much success - he would have lots of trouble going down and wake up frequently. Finally I decided that it was less gentle to go through the fussing every night than to get it over with and do a crying method. That worked and the amazing part is how peacefully he sleeps for the rest of the night. It takes a few nights and you have to be very decided - wear some headphones. Plus, now he's teething and so we are off the go to sleep yourself method... However, I still stand by the thought that it is gentler in the long run on everyone not to have a sleep struggle all the time and rather have a couple spectacular ones and then much more peace. Hard choice - I know!

Hi C.!! I see that you all ready have some great advice, but I wanted to add something a little different. I have a son who is now 15 months old and still not consistently sleeping through the night. For him it's a tummy and feeding issue. But he did the same thing once- waking up every hour and I remember how tired I was too. Anyway, that was the only thing he did different at the time. It ended up that he had an ear infection. I had always heard that babies would be super upset or cry whenever they laid down. I never thought that his waking at night was a clue to an ear infection- especially since he showed no other symptoms and still took his regular naps without crying. Just a thought. Hope it all works out for you!! Good luck!!

Try a white noise CD, or a white noise machine.

Many babies take longer to 'sleep through the night' and need comforting because they haven't learned to self-soothe.

See if you can get her to cling on to a little soft animal with blanket thingy, perhaps when you are feeding her or just cuddling. Start using it every time you rock her back to sleep.

Check out the No Cry Sleep Solution at your library. Good stuff.

Perhaps add something to the routine to make it a little longer, maybe a book?