Ferberizing???

This definitely sounds like it's a teething or developmental issue. Both my boys went through phases of waking through the night. It would last for a short time and then they would go back to sleeping more peacefully. I was not comfortable to do the self soothing methods until my boys were closer to 2-3 years old, so I think the idea of the soothing aquarium for his crib would probably work wonderfully. For me, my boys were both tummy sleepers, so I would just go in and gently rub their backs. I related more to the co-parenting methods and there were many nights that they would just be pulled into bed with us. That doesn't work for everyone, but we got plenty of sleep, and my boys always woke up happy.

hi i know listening to them cry can be very hard but if you stick with it it will usually work, only do a little at a time then get longer and longer you have to stick with and give it a couple weeks, of course if you stick with it and no change you can try staying in the room like sitting in a chair not talking to him and wait till he falls asleep and then try staying shorter times and get closer to the door thats what i did and it worked. good luck
C. married and mom of 5yo and 3yo.

I just heard Dr Ferber on the radio a couple weeks ago and even HE doesn't Ferberize anymore. At 7 months, I'm guessing his wakefulness may have something to do with teething.
If it is teething, I highly suggest Camilia, a homeopathic remedy which is recommended by all the pediatricians around here.
OR..the weather has just changed dramatically, is his room warm enough? You could try sleepsacks, they make them for bigger babies.
My advice is to look into WHY you think he might be waking and try and find the cause rather than just treat the symptom!
A

We used Ferber method for both of our kids. It was terrible with my son-- 10 nights of agony for him, husband and me, but then it worked. I was dreading doing it again when my daughter kept waking up at night, but it only took a 2 nights with her. Give it a try, and stick with it for at least a week (or 10 days maybe?). Give the book a read, too. Hopefully, it will work quickly for you.

I think if you keep things quiet and sleepylike. He will pass through this time and sleep again at night. So if you want to rock him back to sleep, fine, but I would go lay down with him either in his room or yours. He may need to just get up and go potty or get a drink. I don't know if your house is like mine, but the air gets pretty dry at night when the wood stove is going. But most importantly just listen to your instincts that are telling you that you don't want to let him cry it out. He's crying for a reason and that's his only way of getting your attention right now.

Hi S.-

I did the cry it out technique with my two kids (3yrs & 16mos) and they are both now very good sleepers. They have to learn to soothe themselves back to sleep.

I tried the rocking thing with my 3yr old (back when she was 12mos) and then she couldn't fall alseep without it. So then I just said I can't do this every single night anymore so I decided to let her cry it out for about a week and then she would just go to sleep on her own after that.

Good luck with whatever sleep technique you try.....

First I would ask when is his last feeding. Our 7 mo sleeps like an angel, only if we feed him his dinner around 6:30. Any sooner, and he is up all night, and I end up having to make an extra bottle around 11PM.
My guess is that he has hit a developmental spurt. Each stage where baby learns new things can up their anxiety and make sleep very difficult. Good luck!

Hi S.,

Just to reiterate, Dr. Ferber doesn't even believe in cry it out any longer. Leaving a child alone and crying only destroys their trust in you. Crying is their way of communicating and what's the point if you leave them alone and don't answer their calls.

Also, study after study (even Dr. Ferber admits this) has shown that children left to cry it out will eventually have worse sleep problems, such as persistent waking, stalling at bedtime, nightmares, etc. It is not natural for a child to sleep through the night without ever waking until 2-3 years, because they are undergoing so many developmental achievements not to mention teething. Hope this helps.

hi S.,
my husband and i ran into the same problem when my son was 5 months old. the doctor told us to try the ferber method and we did. it was tough for the 1st night...but it worked for us!! it only took us one night...ya know going in every 5 minutes but now he is on a great schedule and when he goes to bed..he goes right to sleep. you need to do what is right for your child..this method didnt work for my daughter whom is 5 now. good luck!!

Hello, I am a mother of 2 boys 1 and 6. I use to rock my first son to sleep until he was about 8 months, it was exausting.

I let him cry every night for about a week in a half, I stopped rocking him. I went in the room every 10 minutes to make sure he was o.k. had his binky and blanket until finally he would fall asleep. Usually it would take him about 45 min. to fall asleep. This was not fun , but it worked. Just when I was ready to give up.. one night I put him down placed his binky and blanket walked out the room and that was it.. he did't cry and slept.

Now with my little one I did the same. I give him his last bottle of the day make sure he is comfy, shut off the lights and like magic.. they are both down for the night and I have time to myserlf.

never did that with any of my kids it just seems kinda mean to me..best is to check to see if wet,teething or just cranky best bet is the lighted aqauarium as mentioned above always calmed my kids down the light & music gl

HI S.!

I have to tell you, I ferberized both my boys and I would do it again. That being said, I know that it doesn't work for everybody. You might try just rubbing your son's back or tummy instead of picking him up. Or just don't rush right to him when he cries, see if he will start to calm himself down in a few minutes and if that doesn't work, then go in and try something else. If he is teething, a little tylenol before bed never hurts! Good luck!

S.,
I'M SORRY TO TELL YOU BUT MY SON DID THE SAME THING AND HE'S TWO NOW AND SOMETIMES HE STILL WAKES IN THE NIGHT. IT'S NORMAL BUT IT REALLY STINKS
A.

S.,

Babies around 7 or 8 months do this a lot. I bet your son either just started crawling, or will very very soon. That's when separation anxiety sets in. Your little man has learned that you two are separate beings and can leave the other at will. It freaks them out. If you havent started to see it during the day, you will soon. All of a sudden, he'll start crying when you leave the room, shying away from being held by others, etc.

How you want to handle this anxiety at night is up to you. He is old enough to learn to soothe himself. The nervous system isn't mature enough to do this before 4 months or so, so he's capable. On the other hand, some look at cry it out methods at this age as confirming the child's fear that he's on his own in that crib. It really comesdown to your own philosophy. Have you tried giving him a comfort object? A t-shirt that smells like you, or a lovey? My son got through this stage with his aquarium soother. When he woke up, he'd hit the button and the lights and music would come on. It would knock him right back out most nights.

You can try ferberizibg if you believe in it, but keep in mind that it doesn't work for every child, a point Dr. Ferber stresses if you read the book, but no one talks much about. If it doesn't work for you, then there are other options.

Hi S.,
We also rocked our son to sleep. The Ferber method is just a more violent way of changing your baby's routine. I read The No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley and we used those techniques to change our son's sleep routine. It does take a little longer then Ferber, but, as the title implies, there's no crying involved. Good luck.

K.