Almost Four Month Old and Sleep Issues

I have learned that eventually they will get on a good schedule and everything will be great! My daughter is 15 months old. It took her 8 months to get into a good sleeping pattern. Now she goes to bed around 7:30 and awakes at about 6:30. But even still, she may wake up in the middle of the night for some reason once in a while! Hang in there. It only gets easier.

Well my son had the same problem of waking up hungry and he goes to bed every night with the same routine at 8:00. Then at 12:00 am he wakes hungry and at 6:00 am but sleeps in to 9:00. He has been this way since he was 3 months old. He is now 16 months old and he is still doing it. I think some babies are just hungry. Stick to the *;00 and it will all work out and someday it will get better or so I am told.

Hi!

My son is 14 months old now and I went thru the exact same thing! Get the book called "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child". My son did the same thing, waking more when i put him down earlier. He is just adjusting but babies need 12 hrs or so so just wait him out and he will go back to sleeping thru the night, then dropping his feeding. Doing the bedtime routine is crucial too... bath, bottle, book, lights dimmed, etc... It works! Good luck!

C. (jonah, 14 mos)

Don't fix what works. Your baby sounds like a great sleeper. Why put better stock in what books and other people tell you than in your child's own internal clock and logic- which has her going to bed slightly later but beautifully sleeping through the night?
Her schedule will adjust with time as she ages. My child daughter used to sleep around the same schedule at 4 months but sometime later just started falling asleep between 8-9 from which shedoesn't waver...

Hi J.. Why do you "need" to put her to bed early? You have a 4 month old who is sleeping 8 or 9 hours through the night. 8 years ago, when my son was a baby, I'd have paid good money for that. A baby this age should be getting about 14 hours of sleep in 24 hours, if her night time sleep and daytime naps come close to that, there is no problem. It's just a societal thing that babies ought not to be up past 8pm. Babies don't need to go to bed that early if it's going to mean that they wake up in the middle of the night to eat when you need to go to work. If she's napping enough and not overtired, there is no problem. It's not like when people talk about their 4 year old staying up til 10pm, waking by 7:00 and not taking naps - that is a child who is going to bed too late and not getting enough sleep. You baby does not have sleep issues.

hi J.,

i kept my daughter up late for her last feeding for awhile, too. i figured if i was sleeping for 4-5 hours, i wanted it between 12 and 5am, not 8pm and 1am.

anyway, as she slept for longer periods (and she will, i promise), i would move her back by only 30 minutes at a time each week. this way, it wasn't noticeable to her. going right from 11:00 to 8:00 is a huge transition. eventually she started dictating an earlier bedtime by showing us the 'i'm tired' signs earlier. if you do that between now and april, you can have her going to bed ~7 or 8. i would also monitor her wake-up time and go by that so that she was used to getting up at the same time, which made for an easier transition back to work. she is now 18months and has been consistently sleeping 11 hours for almost a year now. i went back to work when she was 8 1/2 months.

i equate it to time zones and jetlag. if you travel from here to california, it will take you a couple days to adjust to the 3 hour difference, but... if you go from here to chicago you don't notice the hour difference. then a week later you go to (whatever states are in the next one), you won't notice the hour. and then to california a week later, it will be a much smoother transition.

hope this helps. it worked for us.

I have an 11 1/2 month old and we ran the gamut on all sleep issues. Around 4 months is the first of several "sleep regressions". The baby is becoming more aware of her surroundings and also changing and developing so its harder for her to sleep. I was also putting my 4 month old down to bed late but was told to start putting her down around 7pm and I have been ever since. While it sounds counterintuitive to put them down so early, it worked from day one. She woke up a few times to nurse/eat during the night (probably twice) but for the most part she slept. Then you can start the day with a nap schedule of 2/3/4. Put them down 2 hours after waking for the first nap, 3 hours after waking and 4 hours after waking. Or, every 2-3 hours if she's tired. Good luck!

I went through the exact same thing with my son when he was this age (he's now 20 months). What worked for me was to establish a feeding and sleeping schedule and stick to it each and every day. Although your daughter might resist a little at first, in a couple of days she'll be on board. Plus, if you're going back to work you really need her to be more "scheduled".

What really helped me do this was I read Dr. Ferber's book on the Ferber method. I used this method to handle the repeated nighttime waking and it worked like a charm in only two days. Once my son started sleeping through the night he started eating better during the day (i.e. more ounces per feeding) and no longer looked to eat a night. (And remember once she is 4 months you'll most likely start feeding her baby cereal twice a day which will help her be more satisfied) There was also the added benefit of that once I did it my son even started napping better.

I know the Ferber method has gotten a bad rap, that's why I suggest reading the book. You really understand more about how baby's sleep and why it's necessary to teach them to be good sleepers. I know the idea of letting your baby cry seems harsh, but its not because you do go in and reassure them in increasing intervals until they fall back asleep. And in my experience the crying espisodes only lasted about 20 minutes or so and decrease from the first time on because they "get the picture".

Once you get her sleeping through the night (from 8 pm) the rest of your schedule will just seem to naturally fall in place. And believe you me, everyone will be much happier.

Good Luck!

I don't think the 11-7 is a bad thing at all. So you get up once at 4. It's better than 3 times. The baby will sleep more as she gets older and is able to eat more. If you are breast feeding this is quite normal. Mine usually started sleeping longer as they got closer to 6 months, and started eating cereal and being more active during the day..

Buy the book - How to Solve your Child's Sleep Problems by Richard Ferber. It helped me and both of mine - 3 1/2 and 19 months - go in their bed/crib and go to sleep on their own - it's a dream!!!!! Good Luck to you

If 10pm - 7am works for you -- then stick with it. She's a great sleeper! My son was going to bed late (around 9:30 / 10) and I was afraid to try to move it earlier because I would rather have him sleep until 6 / 6:30 then going to bed earlier and waking up earlier (for my selfish reasons!) On his own he started going to bed earlier ... it was gradual, about 1/2 hour at a time over a number of weeks. It started around 3 1/2 months when I went back to work.

Two things that helped me were, first, waking him up if he was still sleeping around 6:30 / 7 (when I needed to get him up to go to daycare) and keeping this schedule on the weekends even though I would have loved to sleep in. Second, I made his 7pm feeding the last feeding instead of trying to squeeze in the 10pm feeding. We got him ready for bed, etc., earlier and it all fell into place -- again, it was gradual. Now at 6 months he sleeps from 8:30 - 6:30 / 7. I think since she is doing so well already, you won't have to try any "methods" of sleep training just yet.

Good luck!!

As a mother of 3 boys (now 14, 12 and 6) I used the Ferber Method...if I remember correctly it is Richard Ferber. You can get one of his books and put it to work, but the third night for each one, honestly just as the book says, it worked! It was tough but it paid off when everyone slept thru the fourth night!

good luck!!! :)

I have an almost 5 month old, and she did the samething for about 2 weeks, I am not sure if it was a growth spurt, or teething. We were putting her down at 9-10 as well, and she was sleeping until 5-6. I stay at home, so that didn't bother me. Then she started waking at 1 and 5 as well, I tried a little of everything, pacifier, calming her, picking her up to see if it was a burp. Then sometimes I had to feed her. We are back on a little schedule now, but does wake about 4 or 5 to get a bottle. I think they are all different and no set schedule yet. She has gone to bed at 9 and awaken at 6, with no wakes in the night, other times we have been up 2-3 times. Two things we are doing that may help is don't go right in, wait as long as you can. They may go right back to sleep, only get them when there crying. Another thing we have just been trying is to go to be a few minutes earlier each night. She is now going to bed at 8:30 and gets up for bottle, down again at 9:30 and hopefully not up again until 5-6. Give it some time, and try to sleep when they do. Keep trying, something will click there. Good luck, we are in the same boat. What ever you decide be consistant.

its too early to put her on a schedule...wait a couple more months...babies will still wake a few times a nught to feed...respond to her and tend to her needs...wait till at least 6 months for the "ferber method"...defininty try to get her to bed earlier, just start a routine eveyr day and stick to it. waking twice a night to eat is not unreasonable at this stage of the game. Book - healthy sleep habits, happy child is a good book...Good luck!

My baby didn't fall into a set schedule until probably about 4 1/2 months, but I always put her to bed at the same time with the same routine. I credit that to her always being able to sleep through the night. One thing I had read about with the feeding is start to ween her. If you are breast feeding for a half hour each feeding at night, slowly cut it down by five or ten minutes each few days, eventually she will not be hungry. If you are bottle feeding just cut down how much you give her. What helped with me is that I knew I wanted to feed my daughter at 7am when I knew she would wake up. If she woke up at 4 or 5 I wouldn't feed her b/c it was too close to her mornign feeding time. I would just rock her back to sleep. She stopped waking up all together after about two weeks. It is worth a try. "they" say that after about three months babies don't really need that middle of the night feeding, and it is okay to let them cry for a little (but that is hard for some people). Good luck!

Honestly, I think it's pretty normal for a baby this age not to be on a schedule yet. Both my kids (now a 9-month-old girl and a 5-year-old boy) weren't on much of a schedule then--it'll get much better in a few months.

I wouldn't worry too much about the late bedtime: as long as she has opportunities to nap during the day, she'll make sure she gets enough sleep. I find a late bedtime right now is nice for my daughter because I get a chance to play with her after work.

But establishing a bedtime routine and looking at where her natural naps and bedtime seem to fall will help--a lot of babies nap two hours after they get up, about three hours after that, and then are ready for bed about four hours later.

Hi J.. I have a 6 month old little girl and I am now just getting her into a really good sleep routine. I found that at 4 months old it was still a bit of a struggle to structure a sleep routine. Remember though, that by putting her to bed at 11pm, the last feeding was much later. Now your baby is going to bed earlier, is fed earlier in the evening, and it is normal that she may need one or two night feedings. I found that "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weissbluth, M.D. had very helpful advice on developing a sleep routine that really works!

Good luck!
A.

Just read all of the responses above.
I read Dr. Weissbluth's book (Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child). According to the book:

- Try to get the bedtime a bit earlier by doing it a few minutes each day.
- The part of the brain that puts a child to sleep is different than the part of the brain that wakes them up. So, if you put them earlier to bed, they will still wake up at the same time.
- Babies should have a period of wakefulness no longer than 2 hrs (this is just an average). Put them to nap before they get overly tired.
- At this stage she should be napping 3 times a day.

Good luck!
I hope this helps!

Don't worry about what everyone says. Each baby is a little different, and you have to do what works best for you.

If you want to get her to bed earlier, try putting her down 15 minutes earlier for a few nights, then 15 minutes earlier than that for a few nights, etc. so she can adjust herself gradually.

My 4 month old was doing 9:30-7 and then I tried to switch her to going down at 7pm, and she would wake up at 4am. I made the adjustment gradually over a few weeks and now she sleeps 7-6:30. Sometimes she will wake up fussing a little at 4am, but if I let her go for 3-4 minutes, she will go back to sleep.

Keep in mind that your daughter may wake up for feedings during growth spurts!

Hi,

I hate to say this but it took my daughter at least 6 months until she got on a "schedule". My pediatricain told me that this was totally normal as every baby is different. It sounds like her "schedule" before was just fine, not sure why someone would tell you it was not good. Sometimes you have to go with your gut and not so much with what other people say (even doctors don't know your child the way you do. I am a first time mom too (15 month old) and in the beginning everyone drove me nuts with what she "should be doing by now". If what you were doing before worked for you then stick with it. At 6 months, they do not need the bottle during the night and it seems once you hit that point and stop getting up to give it to them they really start sleeping good. Good luck! M.

My daughter is now 14 months, but I remember when she was 3 or 4 months wanting so badly to put her on a schedule. She too would go to bed late about 11 and wake up about 7ish. Honestly, every baby is different so anyone who says you can get them on a reliable schedule that early on is exaggerating their perfect mother skills. I have asked that question to plenty of moms and most agree a real schedule doesn't exist until after a year old. Keep doing what you are doing, but believe me you will have nights where she will go to sleep at 8 and wake up at 7am and then you will have nights where she won't go to sleep at all (wait until the teething stage!!!!) The best thing for you to do is be patient and nap when you can! You'll be fine!

Stick to the bed time that you want, babies are adaptable. She sounds like she has not learned day and night yet. Earlier bed time give you time at the end of the day to take care of you and your marriage. The baby will learn to sleep all night, especially if you don't make any of the after bed time feedings "social". Minimal lights and no talking. Next, try waiting for the second or third cry before you act, to see if she will settle back down without you going to her.
Pacifiers are great too because she may just need to suck, not eat
Remember you set the schedule, it's OK to put the baby in bed awake. Then she can learn the" life skill" of how to fall asleep.

Your daughter was sleeping from 10/11pm to 7 am with only one (sometimes) feeding in the middle?? AWESOME! GOOD JOB!! WAY TO GO!!! I hope you know that everything you have been doing is right. My daughter is 13 months old. When I think back to what she was doing at 4 months, I'm honestly jealous of what you have. Your daughter will create her schedule with you. It takes time and consistency. If you want to move her bedtime earlier, I have to ask, why? Is it because you want to grow the amount of hours she is sleeping at night? Or is the goal to not have any feedings at night? There are many books out there about how to help your child sleep through the night, but I highly recommend listening to your child. Obviously the original bedtime routine worked for her (down at 10pm up at 7am), why change that?

Yes, early bedtimes are crucial for a child's development, but at 4 months old not necessary. Your baby will eventually change her routine in the coming months and you will find that her daytime naps will lessen and her bedtime will gradually get earlier.

My advice would be to keep your 10 to 7 schedule. That's is working for you both. And when she gets a little older, maybe around 1 year, you will be able to get her to bed at a good time, like 7:00. By then she may be only taking 1 long nap & one short nap in the day but you will have early evenings to yourself as well as 12 hours of healthy peaceful sleep for her.

Your daughter needs 14-15 hours of sleep, including naps. From approx. 9 months on children do require at least 10-14 hours of sleep to help build their immune system, let the growth hormones do their job, & build their brains.

You are doing a great job. Keep it up!

A.

We used a book by Suzy Giordano, "Twelve Hours' Sleep by Twelve Weeks Old," with our son and it's working well. He's now about 11 weeks and eats four times during the day like clockwork (8 am, noon, 4pm, and 8pm). We put him to bed after his 8 pm feeding and he doesn't eat again until 8 am the next morning. Sometimes he goes all night without even waking up until around 7 or 7:30 (at which point we get him up, change him, and otherwise distract him until his 8 am feeding), and sometimes he still wakes up once at 5 or 6 am to be changed but goes back to sleep. We've been sleep training since he was about 4 weeks and it will be harder for you to start at 4 months but definitely not impossible -- the book talks about that. Good luck!

If you want her to go to bed earlier and sleep better, you need to look at her overall sleep patterns. I hate the word schedule but you could begin trying to set a routine in place. Babies her age usually take three naps a day and stay awake for no more than two hours at a time. My kids would get up at 7-7:30am and then nap around 9-9:30am for about 1-1/2 hours. Then they'd nap again around 1pm for about 2 hours or so. Then around 5pm they would take their catnap- lasting under a hour so they would be ready to go to bed earlier. I always put them to bed around 8pm. Then, around 11-11:30pm, I would go in and gently pick them up and feed them in their sleep - a "dream feed." They would always feed eagerly and really never woke up. Don't spend time- just feed and leave. This way, your baby will make it to the early morning hours. At 4 months, my daughter would make it to 5-6am but my son would need a feeding around 4 something. I believe that this dream feed helps them learn to sleep because they are not hungry and they don't even remember that you did it. Around 7-8 months, when they are sleeping through til 7am from the dream feed time (that's 8pm-7am or more with just the dream feed) then you simply make it earlier and earlier and keep giving less and less until they no longer do the dream feed. This is what worked for us - hopefully it will work for you.

Your baby's sleep schedule will probably change several times in the next two years. Before Ferberizing, I would recommend the No Cry Sleep Solution book by Elizabeth Pantley. In the end you have to do what works best for you. Pantley's book suggests very gentle methods for getting your child to sleep and also gives great advice on setting up a sleep routine. One thing I learned with my son is that the earlier I put him to bed, the longer he slept. That still holds true as he approaches 5 years old.

Best of luck.

Talk to your doctor about starting to feed her cereal. She may need more substance to keep her staisfied.

Hi J.,
It sounds like your daughter is sleeping beautifully! My daughter is also just under 4 months. She goes down at 7:00, wakes for a feeding somewhere between 3 and 5 am and then is up between 7 and 7:30. Occasionally she wakes up at 1 or 2 as well. My husband and I feel very blessed to have such a great sleeper, especially since we found out that "sleeping through the night" means 5 to 6 hours.

What I've noticed is that she seems to want to feed nonstop from about 5pm on. I think she's powering up for the night! Making sure your baby has a full tummy at bedtime might help to avoid the 1am feeding, but you should expect one before 7am.

I'd stick to what works. She will eventually go to bed earlier and earlier when her stomach can hold more and be satisfied longer. It will fall into place by Apr. if you start ,say, 15 minutes earlier each night. She's sleeping great now, so why mess with it? She's napping, I'm sure, and sleeping 9 hrs straight. Congratulations!

J., If her going to bed at 10pm is not a problem for you, then why does she need to go to bed earlier? Especially if she only wakes once during that time and takes naps during the day? It sounds like she was on a pretty good schedule for your potential return to work, although she might be in a different spot by then anyway. I have two older children who were born with my own "night owlishness" and they stayed up late as well. A later bedtime was an added benefit because their dad gets home late many evenings so if they were in bed at 8pm, he wouldn't get to see them. If you are still worried that she should be in bed sooner, try shortening or eliminating the last nap of the day and see if she's tired sooner. One caveat, you may end up with a really cranky kid at 6pm, also known as the withching hour :)

I had almost the exact same issues when my son was that age, he would go to bed around 10:30, wake up at 6:30 and if I tried to get him to bed before that, he would wake up several times like multiple 3 hour naps. I just found that over the next couple of months he gradually wanted and was able to sleep for longer periods of time. By month 5 he would go to bed at 9:30, by month 6, it was 9:00, now he is about to turn 9 months and he is asleep by or before 8:30 and sleeps until 7:30 pretty consistently and almost never wakes up in the night. He pretty much drove the timeline, I just tried to keep a very consistent schedule.

I also made sure that he had a pretty big bottle right before going to bed.

The one thing that I also (quite recently) learned was to make sure to put him to sleep in his crib BEFORE he is fully asleep. For awhile he would get up about an hour after going to bed or right after being put down and cry forever becasue he could not sleep without being rocked and held. He trained me and we had to break the habit which took a few days.

I am also work full time (went back after 12 weeks) and it was very important to make sure that he was on a good sleep schedule, becasue then I slept too :)

The best schedule that worked for me was a four hour schedule - feeding at 8,12,4,8,etc. I used to give my daughter a bath at 7:30, feed her at 8 and then put her to bed. I know it is hard when they are so young, but eventually it will work out. Try to stick to it as best you can. Good luck!

J.,

You will learn quickly that everybody thinks you need to do things their way whether it be doctors, authors, or just parents and nonparents in general. You will also learn to trust yourself, know that each child is different, and that unless your child is out of control which I would NOT call not going to bed before 10 at this age, she will be ok. :)

My third son turned 6 months old today and still doesn't go down until 10 or 11 and only gets up once. I was talking to a friend who also has three boys and she laughed and said she used to just tell the doctors they put themselves to bed because she didn't want to hear the script. None of our older boys (5 of them) have a problem going to bed or staying asleep now that they are older. In fact that's what all my friends have done and none have a problem with their children.

Sometimes I think parents and doctors do things to make them easier for themselves but they are only little for so long! If she were older like a year, I could see it but I don't know a single infant who went to sleep before 10 most nights.

You say you want her on a schedule and it sounds like she already is on one that works well for her. You having to get up once a night vs. 3 times sounds better for you as well!

My feeling is if you are ok and she's ok, do what you two are comfortable with. I will say the nights my son falls asleep by 8 or 8:30 he is up at 10:30 for a feeding!

BTW, she is too young for food...saw another poster's message about that. Starting solids too young can increase chances of asthma, allergies and eczema.

I wish you the best.

Hugs,
L.

You are so lucky to have a four-month-old who sleeps through the night!!!! I had the same quandery you do. If i put my kids to bed before ten, they would be wide awake at three a.m.! To top it off, they dropped their naps at a year. I could get them to take a nap, but then they would not go down for the night till after midnight. AND they did not sleep through the night.

She seems to be on a schedule already. Everyone is different, so if it is working for your family, then go with it and don't worry.

Hi J.-
I am in the same boat as you- same exact age, but baby boy, and I was thrilled thinking we were getting through the night with him going to sleep around 10/11 and waking up at 7. Over the past few weeks, that has changed, and he has been waking up around 4 or 5am for a feeding and goes right back to sleep until around 8:30. What I tried, and may help you, is giving him a bath around 8:30/9pm (whatever fits into your schedule) and then feeding him after a bit of playtime/drying off, cooing. After that feeding, he usually starts getting sleepy within a half-hour or so, and I put him down while drowsy (or sometimes he'll just fall asleep on me) and he's out until around 6, sometimes, 7. I have read/heard at this time, that babies will regress right before they're about to make a developmental leap, so perhaps that is where you are as well and she'll "stabilize" soon. Looks like you're on the right track though, but I really feel your pain! :) Hope that is somewhat helpful and good luck!!

Hi I have a 3 kids, ages 4, 2 and 5 months. All of mine have been pretty good with schedules, with the last being the worst (probably because he never gets a proper nap as I have to run the others to preschool etc.). With all of them I have tried to get 4 or 5 good feeds in between 7am and 10.30pm, so approx 3.5 to 4 hours apart. And I try to let them sleep only about 4 hours during the day. I would put my baby down to sleep at 7pm and then wake him at 10.30 and feed him, then he usually only woke once at about 2am. I pahsed out the middle of the night feed by feeding him less and less gradually until he no longer woke ( plus I would let him cry at least 15 mins before going to get him as he often went back to sleep on his own. Then I phased out the 10.30 feed when I thought he was ready for it. Now he sleeps 7pm until 6.30am without waking or feeding.

I can relate to your circumstances, but where the books, talk about a schedule to eat and sleep, you need not worry.
All babies are different, my second girl (now four years old) would go to sleep 8 and wake every hour on the hour, sometimes she would need a feed others not. Inspite of my many attempts to get her sleeping for longer periods and going to bed at 9 hoping she would sleep throughout the night, this never worked. She continued until 3 1/2 yrs old to get up on the hour, sometimes she would sleep for as long as 2 hour periods, most 3 hours continuously. I have learnt to adjust and she is doing fine. Continue to be patient, it will all work out and she will be fine also.

I have to agree with the Ferber method....I was having the same problem at the same age so I asked my pediatrician what to do and he had me read Ferbers book. Like Joy, it worked by night 3 and he has slept through the night ever since. It is a bit painful but if you can make it hrough, I think it could be worth it for you. It may help if yo write down everything she does on a daily basis to see how the timing is working. Good luck

One thing that is true about children no matter what age is that a permanent change in schedule will not happen overnight. A little (okay, a lot) of patience and consistency is all you need. I started my daughter on a sleep schedule at 4 months (I was in a mommy's group from my hospital and almost all the other moms were doing the same thing at this age if not a bit sooner).

You are absolutely on the right track with the routine of bath, reading, and feeding. I did this too starting at 7pm and had my daughter down by 7:45 every night. I would then go back in at 10:30 and give her a last night feeding. It seems counterintuitive to wake a sleeping baby to eat, but she never really fully came awake and she always went right back to sleep.

Up til the 4th month, she had been used to waking up at 1am and again at 3 or 4am for feedings. Her doc said that most babies by 4 months (unless they were premature, etc). can sleep for 7-8 hours without feeding. However, at first your baby will definitely still wake up at 1 and 3 etc. looking to be fed. I skipped the 1am feeding and let her cry, as difficult as that was, I knew she was okay and it was better for her in the long run (a well-rested baby is extremely important and effects everything else in her life). After about a 3 or 4 days, she stopped waking up for the 1am feeding. Next I cut out the 3 or 4 am feeding the same way. Before she was 5 months, my daughter was going down by 7:30ish every night, feeding at 10:30, and sleeping until 7am. At 7 months I stopped the 10:30pm feeding the same way and within a week she was sleeping 7:30pm-7am and she still does this now at 16 months. However, there are still those off nights where she will sometimes wake up at 1am or whatever but it's usually about teething, etc.

Good luck with whatever method you choose and hopefully you AND your baby will be well on your way to some peaceful nights.

If it's any help, I'll share my experience -- with the warning that I have no useful info, but that for us, it turned out that there was hope (because feeling hopeless was really awful).

Our little guy slept through the night from months 2-3, then woke every 1 1/2 hours for 4 months (and napped exactly 24 minutes twice a day). I was going through job interviews at that time and it was really hard. No, that's an understatement. I was going nuts from sleep deprivation and frustration.

Eventually, I let him cry it out -- got an iPod and put the headphones in, soothing him for 30 seconds after each song. The first night, he cried 45 minutes and woke as usual all night. The second night, he cried 15 minutes and woke once less. After a week, I had a night when I woke up terrified because it had been 10 hours and I hadn't heard a peep.

Part of it might have been me going to work and getting that external schedule in place -- and daycare gave a lot of stimulation (both coincided with the crying it out). But my main reason for responding isn't to give you an answer (who can predict kids? they're unique!) but to give you a little perspective, as our guy did grow to be a great sleeper. Whatever's happening now, it isn't a life sentence.

May you have peace!

We didn't push my DD on a sched. until six months or so. If must do it earlier just remember consistency is key. It may take you another month of trying the same thing everyday before is goes smoothly.