My Baby Won't Sleep!!!

I'm going to have to go with the teeth answer, too. My son was the same way when he was teething. He also didn't eat much. Try some Tylenol or Motrin.

K.,

Are you nursing? My son went through this same thing and it took a long time for me to realize that my supply had dipped very low and he was actually hungry at night. I'm not sure why my milk supply went down because I was nursing him frequently during the day too but it definitely had. I had the same thing happen to a friend of mine so you may want to see if it's a hunger issue. If not, I would check with your doctor. If she used to sleep well and is now having such an issue with it, I have to believe it's something physical and not behaviorial. Maybe it's even an ear infection or something along those lines. Good luck!

My baby stopped sleeping through the night at 6 months, it was really frustrating! It was due to teething, and she continued to wake up about 2-3 times a night til 1 year... So, as far as ideas of what to do, does she use a pacifier? sometimes those comfort them. When she wakes up, wait 5 minutes before going into her room, try to console her without picking her up, maybe just rub her back, or stroke her forehead, I would turn on some soft music, it made for good "white noise", I have a little night light in my daughter's room, I don't know if that would make a difference, but anything is worth a shot! If you do hold her, change her diaper and lay her right back down, maybe give her a little toy to hold onto (a safe one obviously). I heard that you shouldn't let the baby cry for more than about 45min-hour, because if they're still crying after that amount of time, they must need something, and are more than just tired. I always gave my baby an 8 oz bottle of formula to put her to sleep, and even now, she's almost 16 months, and I still give her that milk right before bed. So, hope there's something helpful in all of that!!

I assume you are feeding her baby food. Give her a bowl of oatmeal or rice cereal with her before bed bottle. My daughter would wake up hungry at night and that helped her, the cereal sticks with them longer than the formula or breast milk. Get her a sound machine, my neice has one that plays everything from nature sounds to the sounds of a mothers womb. It also has a lighted clock on it that acts as a night light so she shouldn't be so frightened when she wakes up.

Have you tried co-sleeping? I know a lot of people disapprove of this, but it is great. There are many experts as well who strongly agree it is a great way to show affection, and it builds excellent self- esteem. My son slept by my side from the first day he was born. He has always slept through the night (except the very beginning) and we all wake up refreshed. Also, don't buy into the "they'll never sleep in their own bed" thing. My son is 2 1/2 and has his own bed in his own room. He chose to sleep there, although he still climbs in with us from time to time, when given the choice he will useally chose his own bed. If you are worried about intimacy issues with bed sharing, you just have to get creative and find other places to be with your partner. If this is something you may consider and want some info. first, visit Dr. Sears website or type attatchment parenting, or co-sleeping in your search. Good luck.

My daughter was waking up a lot around that age as well. It tappered off to being 1 to 2 times a night around 9 or 10 months. Then when she turned a year, she just slept through the night. I didn't like the cry it out method, so I didn't use that, and she has been sleeping through the night just on her own terms for the last month.

We had the same issue at 6 months. She was teething and nursing alot and we kept trying to put her in her crib (in our room) at night. It all stopped when we pulled her into bed with us. We took down the crib last night and she's not 9 months old yet. She sleeps like a dream at night now from 9 pm to 7:30 or 8 am in our bed. I guess it makes sense, if she's scared, being right next to me would help that. I can see how they would have anxiety, since most of us grown ups don't even like to sleep alone. Once I started to try to think like her, things got a lot easier! It's got to be hard to be a baby! Good luck!

I know at six months many babies have a growth spurt and go through many changes. Like you suggested, separation anxiety could be one of them. Basically they are realizing more, like that you are not there at night and they want someone there. My son is 12 months now and it seemed after six months it was almost like starting over in someways. It seemed to take a long time to get back to what seemed normal. He kind of went up and down until about 10 months. Then things seemed to even out again. But even now there will be rough nights, but not like then. We had rough months then! I know there were times where I fed him because it seemed like maybe he was hungry. But when I was convinced his growth spurt was over, we had to do some crying out, otherwise he just would not go back to sleep no matter what we did. It seemed he needed to learn to back to sleep on his own, again. Also, it could be teething or sickness. My son would get very angry when he was teething and would wake up. then we would comfort him the best we could, sometimes a pacifier would help him. I know we did take him to the doctor because I was worried something else was wrong because he was such a good sleeper. Even though there wasn't anything else wrong, I think it is good to take them in if there are big changes just in case. But in the end I think it is something we just needed to work through.

I can relate! I have a 14 month old son, who was sleeping from 8 p.m. to 6:30 A.M every night since he was about 9 months old. Lately, he has been waking up at 1:30 every morning, and then again at about 3:00. We have a regular bedtime routine, he still has a sippy of milk before bed along with a bedtime story. I still rock him, but my husband lays him down and he'll go write to sleep either way. I noticed he has two bumps where his molars are coming in, but he also has battled ear infections this past winter. He hasn't had an infection since February, but he still has a little fluid in his ears (not infected). I have taken him to a chiropractor, in which they say not to get tubes put in, and that he'll eventually grow out of it when he is done teething. His primary doctor recommends that I get tubes for him if he still has fluid by the end of summer. My husband and I really do not want to have him get tubes. But back on the sleep subject...I am unsure if he is waking up because of teeth, ears, or maybe even separation anxiety. I do not work during summer and am home with him, so maybe that is causing him to become more attached. I don't know. I would appreciate any advice as well.

My son did the same thing at 8 mos. I thought I was going to lose my mind. :) Then, I read "The Happiest Baby on the Block"- there is a chapter that talks about sleeping and it worked WONDERS. It shows you how to teach your child that you are there but you are NOT picking him/her up. It took like 2-3 rought nights and after that, we had no more issues.

K.,

I feel for you. I remember how our son didn't want to sleep anymore when he turned seven months old. What worked for us was either my husband or I would lay/sleep on the floor until our son fell asleep. We had a rocky time with sleep until he started walking, but it did get better. Sometimes when they get overtired they resist sleep and it can be a hard cycle to break. It'll probably just be a phase she'll grow out of. Good luck.

-Jo

A few things to think about...

Is she teething? My son is 7 months (just turned) and has been up every two hours for the last few weeks, and a new tooth just popped out on his lower gum.

Is she working on a new skill? Between 6 and 8 months she could be working on a few things.. sitting, crawling, even standing. Yesterday my husband went into our sons room and there was the baby, sitting up in his crib. Now, everytime he wakes up he is trying to push himself into a sitting position. This keeps him from going back to sleep too along with the teething.

One sleep method I like is the No Cry Sleep Solution. If she is going through separation anxiety, some of her ideas might help you...

Good luck!
J. SAHM to 7 month old Joey and 27 month old Charlie

I am going to have to vote for the teeth here too...

even though you may not see them they are coming...try some night time teething gel...OR Tylenol... (i don't know if you can use both, I have never tried...someone else might know that answer)

when the teeth come in everyone gets upset sleeping schedules...

we are lucky enough to go through the eye teeth and the 1st year molers! yes, 4 painful ones at once..........