7 Month Old Won't Sleep!! AHHHHHH!!

Hi Lynda
When my son was a baby I put him on a very full diet and it worked wonders.
And yes the crying method works too it took him 2 wks to settle down I don't remember the name of the writer but it was fabulous and it really worked wonders for us.
As for the diet It was
Honey Nut Cheerios blended to a fine powder and mixed in Ovaltim and I cant remember if it was formula or milk but he had one for Breakfast and bed time when he started eating more solids but before that it was pretty much all he ate and he never had any problems at all and was very healthy.
Good luck
A.

Hello Liz, If your heart finally breaks from not responding to Lynda's cries for you, I recommend reading, "The No Cry Sleep Solution," by Elizabeth Pantley. Another book you might like is "Nighttime Parenting: How to Get Your Baby and Child to Sleep," by Dr. William Sears. Hang in there. This, too, shall pass. ~T.

My first advice is to take a deep breath. It does get easier. My first son, who is now 3 1/2, was a horrible sleeper from day 1. Around 7 or 8 months we tried the crying it out method. At first it was hard. The first night I would let him cry for 5 minutes, then I would go into his room. The next night I increased the time by a few minutes. Each night the amount of time increased. I think within that week, we has sleeping better. He might have woken up once during the night, but would fall right back to sleep. Right now we have a 4 month old son too. He is a much better sleeper, but does wake up around 3:00 and has a hard time falling back to sleep. I live in Castle Rock and am new to the area. I don't know many people here, so if you would like to chat and get to know another mom, I am here. Currently I work from home, but do have lots of free time. If you would like, my email address is ____@____.com.

Massage worked for us. Since I took the class (2months ago) my daughter gets excited when she hears me warm the oil in my hands. Try taking a class, they are inexpensive, and well worth the cash!
My heart goes out to you!

~*Manige*~

I really like Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth.

Liz, have you tried getting in touch with a MOPS group in your area?? I know they've been helpful to many moms, and you and your little one would enjoy it. Just in case you don't know about it, it means Mothers of Preschoolers.
M., a mom of two adult children and three grands...also, a former Mops advisor in Aurora.

I don't have much advice on a baby that wont sleep. My son is slowly getting better. He is now 18 months. I found that if I turn on the fan and the humidifier, it "calms" him down. You could try a white noise cd or get one of those little water falls that are supposed to relieve stress. Does he have a mobile or anything in his crib that might entertain him?

As far as meeting other moms in that area, try meetup.com. Enter stay at home moms and south denver. There is a really neat group of women that are called the South Denver Healthy Moms. I have met some wonderful moms there!

Good luck!

K.
SAHM to a beautiful 17 1/2 month old and expecting another wonderful boy this July!

Yikes. Don't panic. She'll even out, but she needs your help. I found with my twins that making sure they have a set nap schedule during the day helps to regulate how they sleep at night. By seven months I tried having them on a two nap schedule: roughly between 8:30 & 9:00 in the morning to go down for a nap and then between 1 & 1:30 to go for a nap in the afternoon. The morning nap averages 45 minutes to 1 hour now and the afternoon between 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours. Having that schedule in the day really helped them to sleep better at night. I also have a routine both for nap and for night time. At nap time, we always start to wind down in their room. I let them play, we read books, etc., and then I put them in sleep sack, turn on their sound machine, and leave the room. It is always dark when I leave them. When we first started, they definitely put up a fight, but I did let them cry. Ultimately, if they are tired, they sleep, but I also know that getting longer naps is developmental, too.

At night, they eat dinner, play for maybe 30 minutes, take a bath, have quiet time in their room, and then sleep sacks, sound machine, and bed. The bath for us was key. They have a bath every night, and it sort of tells them that this is bed time and that means longer sleep.

Obviously it was not this easy to start, and you have to try different methods, but try to establish a routine that is predictable for your child. It really helps. Also, we have learned to know when the boys need to eat and when they're just waking and need to get themselves back to sleep. My guys are almost 11 months old, and I still feed them once a night, but they have learned to get back to sleep at other times, and they are in bed usually by 7 and sleep until about 6:30 the next morning.

I hope that helps. Remember that every child is different, and what worked for us may not work for you, but remember that you do have to teach your child to sleep. She needs you to help her with that. Good luck.