I Need Sleep

There is a wonderful book called Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child. You can get it at Target or any book store. It really helped my daughter to sleep through the night now we are still working on taking naps. Best of luck, I know it can be frustrating.

It could be that he gets hungery and when he wakes up and you give him milk its just enough to let him go back to sleep but not enough to keep him asleep. You should try giving him some heavy solid food before bedtime and see if that works. Hope it helps

Having the same problem with my 6 1/2 mo! He just started this when the teething and solid foods started. Maybe something in his diet is bothering him or could just be teething. Sometimes when they are learning a new skill they have a hard time sleeping, like crawling or walking. My older son didn't sleep through the night once until about his first birthday, hang in there. Don't nurse him everytime he wakes up, try rocking and singing to him first. The comfort of being suggles against your chest and hearing your voice while rocking is sometimes all they need. Read Dr Sears's website about crying it out. Crying is their way of letting you know what they want and ignoring just makes them feel worse. I tried a couple times with my older son and he would get worked up to the point of throwing up after 10 minutes. Now he sleeps really well most of the time at 3. In fact he gets more sleep than most kids his age, when he stays in bed. It gets better!

Every baby is different, and they will sleep through the night when they are ready. This really sounds like a phase. THey usually up their night wakings right before they get a tooth, or are hitting a major developmental milestone. Just remember, your child needs you. They are only small for a short amount of time!

And I should add that even babies who "sleep through the night" don't! They wake up the exact same number of times! They just don't request parental assistance, which is the only difference. When you let a baby CIO, the reason they don't cry, is because they think no one will respond to them, and no one is there for them. They really don't "learn" anything. This isn't a good thing when they are learning that the world is a trusting place.

Good resources on sleep:
www.askdrsears.com
The Sleep Book by Dr. Sears
The No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantly
Sweet Dreams: A Pediarican's Secrets for Your Child's Good NIght Sleep by Paul Fleiss
Christian Parenting By Dr. Sears

Try giving your son some milk with baby's rice cereal in it. I did this for both my kids WAY before they started solid foods. It helped them have a full stomach and sleep longer!!

Is your son getting ready to walk? Maybe that's why he's waking so often. I think I spend 99% of my time thinking about my daughter's sleep - it's crazy how much energy goes into it! My daughter is 7.5 mo old and recently went through a really bad phase - all I wanted was to sleep and she had something else in mind.

Like previous posts though, I have a hard time letting my daughter cry b/c she gets hysterical - I know she needs me now.

I hope it gets easier for you. You are not alone!!

Hi A.,

Have you tried keeping him awake while feeding by not wrapping him in a blanket and making him all cozy? When I was breastfeeding, my daughter would do the same thing. The pediatrician told me to do this and it worked. Also, if that does not work, try letting him sleep next to you, and when he wakes he will be right there to nurse so that you won't need to get up. I did that for awhile as well. Sleep is very important in maintaining ones sanity. Hope this works for you.

Happy New Year!
C.

Hi!
My child has slept through the night since about two months! We'd have to wake her to feed her. I used and adhered to the book babywise. My pediatrician thought it was too strict. I didn't follow to a tee but it has some good basic information about schedules.

Good luck. I think some of this depends on the child but you could try the book.

Deb

Hi A.,
My now 19 month old son was like that! I thought I would lose my mind when he wouldn't "cry it out" back to sleep. I finally came up with a solution. I set feeding times when he would be allowed to nurse. For example, 2 times a night to start. First feeding would be at midnight, second feeding at 4. If he woke up at 11:30 to nurse, he'd have to wait until midnight until I'd go to him. If he woke up at 12:30, he could nurse right away. After a few nights, he got used to this schedule and didn't wake up before his allowed feeding times. After a while we cut it down to just one feeding and by the time he was 11 months old, he slept through on his own and has been doingit ever since. I liked that he wasn't really crying it out (which he wouldn't do anyway) and it felt like a reasonable compromise. I hope this helps you and wish you many, many restful nights of sleep in the future!

J.

I just discovered that my 11 month old will sleep through the night if she goes down for the night after 9:00 pm. Don't know what your schedule is but I hope that helps.

Do you always go in or do you have your husband go in? I nursed at night until my baby was 9 months old, when the pediatrician finally convinced my husband that she didn't need to nurse at night.

The first night, she got up 2 or 3 times. He went in, changed her diaper, rocked her a little and put her back down. She fussed a little, but went back to sleep. The second night, she slept through.

She does occasionally get up now, mostly because she has a wet diaper, but I never nursed her at night again. Having my husband go in really helped.

I feel your pain A.. I am a single mom of a 12 month old boy who still doesn't sleep through the night. He will wake up between 1 and 4 times a night. It seems that just when I fall asleep he wakes up. I tried the whole crying thing also. The trick to that: listen to what type of cry it is. If my son sounds miserable then I know he won't go back to sleep because he usually needs food or a diaper change. But if the cry sounds lonely or stubborn, I let him cry. If the cry changes to extreme upset, go get him. Sometimes he goes back to sleep and sometimes he just wants Mommy. Advise my doctor told me..pick which battles you want to fight. If you need sleep like I do then getting your son, putting him in bed with you and going to sleep with him in your arms...may give you some sanity. It does for me.

I was reading this book "The Baby Whisper" and the author suggested using a pacifier instead of letting him cry himself back to sleep as it appears that your son really just wants to suckle. He should spit the pacifier out once he falls asleep.

My daughter did the same thing at your son's age, but my doctor believed I had trained her to wake up and feed that often and that at 9 months she really did not need to feed throughout the night. You may also try to do some cluster feedings prior to bedtime to fill his little tummy.

All babies are different... I know it is hard, but far too soon he will be too old to need you for comfort, so it is a bit easier if you try to look at it that way!! My son had severe stomach issues- in and out of hospitals etc for the first year of his life. Needless to say he didn't sleep. However- he is now almost 3 and STILL wakes up every once in a while overnight- a few nights a week actually. It is so rough and I completely know the feeling, but the more he knows you are there for him if he needs something, the more secure and comfortable he will feel and it will be easier for him to go back to sleep and eventually to feel secure enough to just sleep through the night! My son still sleeps with us, and now when he wakes up he says "Mommy, can I hold you?" and I cuddle him up close to me and he goes right back to sleep! Is your husband around? Or any close friends or family? Maybe you could have someone else take care of him for one night a week or something so that you can get some good sleep! (PS- I am assuming you have tried all the sleep through the night tips, if not then write back and let me know and I will give ya some... I tried it ALL!!!!!! ha ha ha!) Good Luck!!

Try feeding him a bowl of rice cereal before he goes to bed. Also, I never let my kids cry. I would immediately get up and feed them and go right back to sleep. The whole crying thing adds more awake time to the whole evening. I hate letting babies cry, so I just responded when they needed something and would go right back to bed myself. He will outgrow waking up eventually.

Once he has doubled his birth weight, he is ready to gradually skip one feeding after the other and should be sleeping from 7p to 7a by 7-8 weeks unless there are some medical issues. It may be helpful to not use a baby monitor, as they exagerate the sounds. Be sure he has his own room, and just leave his door open a crack as well as yours, so you only hear him at night when he is serious. He doesn't really need to get up, and you are obviously giving him a lot of attention during the day, so he doesn't need the attention. Boys are real hangers-on. They love their comfort!! If you are able to-- close both your door and his door and allow him to cry it out. Be sure that he is getting plenty of food during the day--try keeping track of how much. It takes three short days to change a baby's habits, and giving your child the gift of sound sleep is the best gift you can give him, as you will see when he is in Kindergarten and can focus. Actually giving your baby's Mom the gift of 7-8 hours of sleep is the best gift you can give your little boy! It also makes them feel independent and raises confidence when they can self-soothe. Sometimes loving our children means making hard choices and sticking to them. I promise you that you will be amazed at how easy this is once you make up your mind. You will see him happier during the day also.
Also, If babies don't get enough sleep during the day, they will not sleep well at night. Perhaps your holidays were busy with lots of company and he got off his schedule.

Part of mommyhood. My son didn't sleep through the night 100% until he was 11 months. He could be teething, and you are right to try and get him to fall back to sleep by himself but he may just need comfort. Do not nurse him every time as he will use you as a human pacifier. Let him snuggle up and rock him if he seems super fussy however, just don't nurse him every time he wakes either. That will throw him way off. Teething starts under the gumline long before you can see things and can cause sleep disturbances. He will give you that sleep soon enough, promise. Then it is the toddler struggle of trying to get them to ever sleep in, so it just trades off! :)
Good luck!