Nighttime Sleeping

My daughter is the same way, so was my son. My son didn't start truly sleeping through the night until he was 14 months old. My daughter is now 6 months and still get up usually 1 to 2 times a night. I know it is frustrating but in the scheme of things it won't last forever and it will only be a short time. I always tell myself I should enjoy this time with her b/c soon she will be grown up (this is hard when you are always so tired)! :) I know this isn't helpful but I thought it would help to know you aren't the only one going through this!!! Hang in there, he'll be sleeping before you know it and these sleepless nights will be just a memory!!

My daughter did the same thing. no matter what I did it didn't help her sleeping and we always stuck to a pretty tight schedule. I just had to tough it out. Shes one and still wakes up one time a night.

Try cutting out one of his daytime naps or shortening his nap times from 1.5-2 hrs to 1-1.5 hrs and don't let him nap late in the day or it will be hard to get him to bed early. Maybe he is sleeping to much during the day and isn't tired enough at night. I know that there are guidelines for how many hours of sleep a child needs for his/her age but these are just guide lines, every child is different. My son only took one nap a day for about 1-2 hrs. from the age of 6 months to 18 months and he slept all through the night only waking one time during the night to nurse then went right back to sleep. I put him to bed at 8pm and he usual woke up to nurse at about 2 am then slept until between 7-9 am. He stop taking naps completely on his own at about 18 months but sleeps a full 12-14 hours every night :). He is now 3 and is ready for bed every night at 8pm, which is the time I have put him to bed since he was about 6 months old!

S., my daughter did similar things and I use to cringe when people would tell me their child was already sleeping through the night. We tried everything from diet changes to what she was wearing to bed. Nothing really made any difference. It wasn't until she was about 10 months old that she finally started sleeping through the night. All kids are different and our pediatrician basically told us to just stick it out. One thing you may consider that I wish we would've had when she was younger was a video monitor. We didn't get one when we originally registered because they seemed a little too extravagant and unnecessary but I actually think that I was getting up prematurely when I'd hear her and that many times she may have been just making sound in her sleep. I say this now because we ended up getting a used one on Craig's list and it was quite educational to see exactly what she does when she's asleep. This has really helped us to hold back from running in her room the second she sounds like she was awake or needed us.

5 1/2 months is too young for a breastfed baby to be sleeping through the night consistently, although there are people who will disagree. One of the things I loved about breastfeeding is how easy it was for night time feedings! I had baby sleep right beside me, so all I had to do was position him and go back to sleep. No getting up out of bed was even necessary! I loved it and now with my four children grown with children of their own, I wish I could have one of them beside me again.

Stop going to get him.

Our son slept in a bassinet in our room until 4 months old. His dr said he should be sleeping through the night but he was waking at least 2-3 times to feed. She told me to move him into his own room and DONT GO GET HIM when he wakes. I hated her all the way home from that appointment!! But now I love her! She was right! If I didnt go get him, he would fall right back to sleep in about 5 minutes (10 mins tops). He wasnt hungry - just woke up and needed to go back to sleep. But he needed to learn to do it himself. He has been sleeping through the night ever since!

Now if only I could get him to sleep past 6:15am!

You may be expecting way too much. None of my kids slept through the night that early. There schedules change quite often as well. It changes when they are teething and maybe when they are having a growth spurt. Just give it time cause he's still really little.

Hang in there, S.! I PROMISE it will get better soon. In my experience, the most important milestone in a child's life is not when they learn to walk or talk or ride a bike. It's when they learn to find the pacifier on their own at night and put it back in their mouth. My kids are toddlers now, and I can't quite remember when they actually hit this all important (and sanity saving) milestone...but your little man should be due soon.

Here's a couple of tips to help speed him along:

-Buy the kind of pacifiers that don't have an "up" or "down" side. It takes a little longer for them to master the whole "this side up" concept so the universal ones should speed things up. It will also make it easier for him to pop it in while he's still half asleep and not really able to concentrate. Wal-mart sells silicone Winnie the Pooh pacifiers that my kids loved.

-When you find a pacifier that you like, buy several of them.

-Each night, put one pacifier in his mouth and put two extras on either side of his head, towards the corner of the crib (hopefully you have a bumper to keep them from falling out.)Ideally, you'd like them to be right in front of his face if he rolls over to the side, but anywhere is fine as long as it's within his reach. No matter what, though...be sure to put the pacifiers in the SAME PLACE each night.

After a while, he'll figure out where to look for his pacifier when he wants it. And suddenly, koo-koo-katchoo for you! No more nightly wakings to plug him up again.

Good luck!

-S.

P.S. You mentioned wrapping him in his blanket at night. If you mean that you are still swaddling him (and there's NOTHING wrong with that) then it might make it harder for him to reach for his pacifiers.

Hi S.,

Your son id old enough that you can give him a small amount of baby cereal at night before bed. It usually helps keep them full longer and allows them to get a longer time to sleep. I did this with all of my children and it worked wonders.

D.

I cant wait until you get some responses. My son will be 5 months in about two weeks and just recently started waking in the middle night. He actually will scream until we feed him though. He does this two to three times now. I am pretty tired!!! I increased food today so we will see if that helps tonight.

Hi S.,

Boy can I relate! My youngest is now almost 8 mos... 2 months ago he was doing exactly what you describe. I never knew how long he would sleep and I felt like a zombie most of the time from lack of solid sleep myself. At his 6-mo check up I asked the doctor for advice, and he said by 6 mos, most breast fed babies are able to sleep through the night. He said if I kept getting up with him - whether to nurse or just comfort - he would learn that waking up gets positive feedback and so would keep doing it. I remembered waiting until closer to a year to try to break my older son of this habit (and it was miserable!), and so decided to act earlier this time. The first night, he cried off and on for about an hour, which was really hard, but the second night he cried much less, and after only 2-3 nights he was sleeping most of the night. Now he is in a great routine of nursing around 8:30 or 9pm and then sleeping until about 5:30am. Then I bring him into bed with me to nurse while I relax until it's time to get up. I feel so much better getting that uninterrupted sleep! I'm really glad I didn't wait this time, because it was MUCH harder with an older baby. Good luck to you!

-S.

Yep, that's breastfeeding and the age, for sure. What I found helped me a ton was just having my babies sleep with me or immediately next to the bed so I could just roll over and nurse them and go back to sleep. It didn't cut down on the number of times they nursed, of course, but it sure helped me to rest better and sleep more. I found that once I got up and became fully conscious and walked around I couldn't get back to sleep for hours. If I could just roll over in a semi-conscious state and nurse at the same time, we often both fell asleep in the process.

To alleviate the danger of in bed sleeping with you infant, I would suggest using the Snuggle Nest. Here's a link:http://www.snugglenest.com/

It provides a safe barrier around your baby so they can sleep in your bed but so that you don't accidentally roll on them or cover them in some way. Still, I never had extra blankets or pillows around them, and I also put them in a zip on blanket, like a little fleece dress closed at the bottom that they wear rather than a regular blanket that could "travel" up on their head while they sleep. Here's a link: http://www.babyslumber.com/safety-blanket.html

There are also many basinettes or cribs that you can safely put right next to your bed so they are still right next to you but not in your bed. There are many different kinds, but this is just an example: http://www.armsreach.com/

You can also just put the crib immediately next to your bed. You just need to make sure there's at least a bit of a barrier between the crib and your bed, like don't put the crib rail down so far that it is totally level with the bed so your baby can't accidentally fall between the crib and the bed. My friend's niece invented a great product to keep your baby and their blanket in place in their crib. Here's a link:
http://www.sleeparoo.com/

Those are my suggestions. I know many people are against in bed sleeping for your baby, but there are ways to do it to keep them safe. I'm on number six (soon) and they've all survived, to there is a way to do it safely. I always wished I could be one of these moms who just went to their baby in the night and could come back to bed and fall back to sleep, but I just can't, so I had to find some other solution, because my lack of sleep was wreaking havoc in my family and my health.

I hope these suggestions help you. As wilth all things baby, they pass soon, and you will sleep agin someday, I promise! :) Best wishes to you!

Oh my! I can relate! I had 4 kids and they were all different! First of all, be sure to keep his schedule the same each day. When he eats, naps and bed time. That way it is predictable for him. I would also take away his 40 minute catnap in the late afternoon. All four of mine took a morning nap and afternoon nap at that age. I think their bedtime was around 7pm. Make sure he is playing also. One of my children was quiet and reserved and she wouldn't sleep for naptimes. Stopped taking naps at 12 months...UGH! Anyway, you'll want to be sure he is tired enough to sleep through the night. Stay consistent and he will eventually follow suit. Hang in there and Good luck!

I think that this sounds perfectly "normal." I put that word in quotes because I think every baby/toddler/child is different. If this behavior is really troubling you and you need to end his sleep waking, some people might suggest doing sleep training, where you let him cry for 10 minutes, then come in and tell him you love him, rub his tummy, etc - but DON'T TAKE HIM OUT OF THE CRIB. Then you progress to 15 minutes, come back in...then 20 min, etc. The first night he might cry for a couples of hours but typically, after a few nights, your baby will be sleeping through the night. I have a 22 month old son and we NEVER let him cry it out. We always came to him, fed him, held him, etc. He didn't truly sleep though the night with consistency until well after 12 months, although he stopped eating in the night maybe around 9 months. Once he did start sleeping through the night, he went through periods where he would wake up for the day at 5am, etc. I'd say the past 6 months has been great: going to sleep at 7-8pm and waking up at 6-7:15 am. Do whatever you feel will work best for you and your family. GOOD LUCK!

I feel for you. My son woke every hour and a half, 24-seven, until he was over 9 months. I was a zombie. I tried to entertain once, managed to cook the main dish, then fell over asleep in my plate in the middle of entertainig my guests. You might wish to up the feedings at night
-one probably isn't enough, and he's waking hungry. That may lower the number of wakings. It sounds like you have a wonderful boy there!

Lord have mercy girl! I hope you get help quick! I have 2 kids and both slept 12 hours straight within the first week of birth. I know, I am the very rare, very lucky mom! My suggestion would be to cut out the late afternoon cat nap. Keep him very active late afternoon til bed time, very stimulated and feed him heavy so he has a full tummy at bed time. And maybe see if you can move bed time later, like 9 or 10. I hope you get some good suggestions that will work for you! I can't imagine not getting sleep! Good luck to you!

The solid food thing is a myth. It's actually developmental. If he's developmentally there, it will help, if not, it won't do any good. Can you cut out his late afternoon nap, so he takes two naps? Also, that's pretty young to expect to sleep through the night for a breast-fed baby. What about putting him in a pack and play in your room so you don't have to get up when he needs food? Just keep feeding him, he'll get there when he is ready.

I would also highly highly recommend the No Cry SLeep Solution by Elizabeth Pantly. She has some awesome ideas that can help you a lot. I love the book.

http://www.kathydettwyler.org/detsleepthrough.html
http://www.askdrsears.com/splash-newsletter-specialoffer_...
http://www.llli.org/NB/NBSepOct05p204a.html

I have a one yr old who is an inconsistant night sleeper. I also find that I am not a steady thinker when I am awaken out of deep sleep. I used to get up with him when he cried, but at about 6 mos old, it dawned on me that he was starting to manipulate me into coming to get him, and I was physically and mentally crashing from interrupted sleep. I do get him a bottle and snuggle him if I'm ALREADY awake at midnight, or if he's sick. But, i am finding that leaving him alone to work it out and soothe himself is proving more and more beneficial for us both... no matter how many times he wakes. It's been hard to fight my natural instinct to go get him. Moms innately think something is "wrong" when their babies cry, but that's not usually the case... it's just their natural reaction to waking pre-maturely (and we love to be needed, so we react!). As I have been more diligent to let my baby work himself back to sleep, now he is waking less and on the nights he does still wake a lot, he actually wears himself out and sleeps in 2 hrs longer in the morning--so it has its benefits (for you and the baby as they need to rest more after waking so much). If you don't get up in the first place and get your blood pumping or let your baby see you, you'll both have an easier time getting back to sleep too. It's hard, but your napping schedule during the day is great--the nightime will improve too if you're willing to give your baby some confidence that he will be able to work it out without your physical presence--that does NOT mean that you are not with them comforting them. You're just in the next room rebuilding your strength to be a good mom the next day... don't be fooled by mom's that say letting your child work it out alone is cruel... Good luck.

Dear S.,

Bless your heart how tired you are!! I nearly died of exhaustion with my 2nd son (I'm going on 4 boys now!) who would only sleep if he was nursing. I co-slept with him out of desperation, but I'm telling you...it was NOT a good solution for me OR him. When he was 10 months old I was introduced to a book called "Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems" by Dr. Richard Ferber. This book saved my life. (LITERALLY!) Once I understood sleep patterns and everything that makes us sleep well (or not!), I was able to help train my son to sleep through the night, and it only took 2 nights. By the 3rd night he went to bed wide awake, fell asleep on his own without a tear, and did not wake up until morning. I used the Ferber method on my 3rd son who is now 4 years old and he has been the best sleeper EVER!! Now that number 4 is on the way...you better beleive that I'll be doing it again. According to Dr. Ferber (who is a pediatric sleep specialist!) babies should be able to sleep through the night by THREE MONTHS OLD (unless there are obvious health concerns or problems). I know there are some moms out there who are SHUTTERING at that fact and would dispute it to the end of time, but I guarantee they haven't read this book and educated themselves on the art of sleeping. Because believe me...it is an art. We can teach it to our children, or make them completely dependent on us forever. My niece is almost 12 years old and she STILL sleeps with her mom, so no one can tell me that co-sleeping is a good idea. That poor little girl cannot survive without her mom in bed with her. Anyway, co-sleeping may work for some people, but I am definitely not one of them.

I didn't mean to get so long winded, but I'm so passionate about sleeping and helping our children become independent, I cannot rave enough about this book.

Good luck, and I hope you find something that helps you.

A.
(SAHM of 3 wonderful boys who I breast fed for 13-18 months EACH and are champs at sleeping! And we have another boy on the way! yay!)

The naps are age appropriate, and I believe the waking up at night is as well. Please be aware that the idea of a baby sleeping through the night (esp alone) is a rather modern one, not much connected with the reality that human babies are. If it were really natural for babies to sleep all night (or even close to that) would there be all these "how to get your baby to sleep" books around?
I co-slept, and have experienced less night waking. I guess you might try to put some clothing of yours (well worn) in the crib to see if you can fool your babe into sensing you are there.
On re-reading your post...are you trying to withdraw the night feed??? I would not...babies triple their birth weight in the first months, and about 6 months start solid food. This is the typical pattern for all mammals. Triple birth weight...begin trying solids.
A baby's and toddler's stomach is only about as big as their fist...quite small, so there is only so much it can do to quell hunger for hours on end.