My 6Month Old Won't Sleep.. I'm Exhausted!

I have 2 boys. I know it's hard but the cryout method worked for me. My ped gave me the advice. She said by the 3rd night they will get the hang of putting themselves to sleep. It worked for me and I sleep great! She said if I didn't kick the habit then, that I would have to put up with it for a long, long time!

A.,
I was not crazy about the crying method either. But- my son woke up six to seven times a night till he was eight months-old. So, we "modified" the crying method. We would only go five minutes every time before we comforted him. Within three nights, he slept thru the night. Also, it took between 20-25 minutes each night before he went back to sleep. I couldn't do it, so my husband did (while I sat and cried.) Good luck!

Six months is still pretty young and his little tummy just may not be able to go much more than that. Is he still nursing a lot during the day? If he's cut back b/c he's distracted by the world around him, encourage more daytime nursing so that he'll not need so much of his nutrition at night.

If you are not a fan of crying it out, which I am also not, try Elizabeth Pantley's book, The No-Cry Sleep Solution. If you can't find it, contact me and I'll help. This book saved me with my older baby! She has lots of tactics in there and you can pick and choose what will work for your family. It'll get better. Good luck!

I may have a couple ideas...First have you considered Incorporating formula into Grayson's diet, if you have not already? If you have not this may be something you are not ready to do yet, but I found for myself it gave me a break and it fulfilled my childs appetite. When I was breastfeeding she was not getting enough milk/substance, therefore not sleeping as well. So I would do a trade off between the 2 formula at night breast mil during the day. I never actualy feed my daughter rice cereal meals, however I would add a scoop or two to her bottles which also seemed to help.

Second: There is a lavender sleepy time bathwash and Lotion that are amazing...Sometime they even put me to sleep.

Last: My daughter really loves massage. I would bath her at night, before "bedtime" and when applying lotion give a massage on the legs and feet. The feet is a good way to relax a child (I am a student Massage Therapist) rubbing your thumb along the center of the foot. They also like to have there back rubbed.

I think that is all I have at the moment...Hopefully I have provided a new method. Good luck...Let me know how things Progress.

-A.

Hi my name is Gina , and I have a 6 month old too, actually he will be 6 months on Oct 10th. I also nurse and my son sleeps all night long sometimes too long. My son's pedeatrician recomended a bottle of formula before bedtime because it is more filling than breastmilk. I actually thought I was running out of milk at the end of the night and that's why started to give my baby some formula. But I found that he got fuller with the formula and gave me a break to make more milk for the next day and ever since about 2 months old he has been sleeping through the night and in his own room/crib. I dont believe in the cry it out method either, I think it's like not paying any attention to a helpless little baby when all they need is attention, especially at this age. I hope I helped a little.

A.
My 9 month old has always been a fantastic sleeper. For this reason I was exhausted and going crazy when he started waking up throughout the night when he was around 4 months old. There are several conclusions that I came to: one was that he was teething, during the day there are plenty distractions to keep his little mind off the pain but at night none at all. A second conclusion, came to after the fact, was that he was going through a growth spurt as well as learning to crawl. He would focus all of his energy during the day on learning his new skill and it was hard for his little system to wind down come bed time. He would also demand a bottle at least once during the night which I attributed to the signifigant growth mentally and physically that he experienced. A few things that I found helped: Rice cereal in his formula givin in a bottle with a large holed nipple. Chammomile tea prior to his dinner which helped him relax and unwind. A bath immediately before bed. And when times were dire he was given Infant Motrin rather than tylenol because it is longer lasting. Hope any of this helps. Hang in there!

At about 6 months of age, babies go through yet another growth spurt. He may need more nourishment during this growth spurt. Also, how does he nap? Do you keep him awake to try to tire him out? I was having trouble with my 5 month old staying asleep. One woman told me the more a baby sleeps, the more a baby will sleep. I started letting my son choose when and how long he napped, and we're doing much better at night time!

Hi A.,
Unfortunately, when you nurse and co-sleep this will be a habbit until he is weaned. I went through 3 kids the same way. I also did not stop nursing until each of them was after 2. Even at 2 and tummy full of food they still nurse quite frequently at night. It is not about the food when you co-sleep and nurse. They just want their mommy. After my first, I figured out how to plug the baby in and still sleep. Basically, turn to your side and baby on his side as well. He then can nurse and you will be sleeping with your arms up over his head. I've done this with 3 kids and have slept in the mean time. Babies usually falls right back to sleep as soon as after a few minutes of nursing. I know this lifestyle is not for everyone but after going through it I would not change it for the world. It is over so quick. Good luck.

My daughter, now six months, did the same thing and I was against letting her cry too but desparate for something to change. I was close to losing my mind! After our visit with our pediatrician at six months, she advised that our daughter no longer needs feedings and is capable of sleeping through the night and that we must let her cry. It was not an easy task but 3 days after we started, she is able to sleep from 8pm until 5am. It has been almost 2 weeks that we've tried this. Not all nights are perfect, but our daughter is able to fall asleep sometimes after 5 or 10 minutes of crying, plus I am getting more sleep which recharges my energy! I hope this helps. Best of luck to you!

We have been using the cry it out method with our son, and he's now sleeping in his crib from about 8P-3A before waking to nurse. Then he sleeps until about 7:15A. However, my friend has just started a different method that also makes sense to me. Her son also gets up about every 2-3 hours to nurse. She is setting her alarm for about 15 minutes from when she expects her son to wake, and waking him up then. Once he's used to her waking him up for feeding, she'll start making the times in between her alarm longer, stretching out his sleep periods. She just started this method last week, so I don't have results for you, but it certainly seems to make sense.

Hi A..

Yeah i wasnt too crazy about that crying out thing either, I just could never do it. but anyways. have you started feeding rice cereal? I started my son on rice cereal around that age and it seems to fill him up better to where he slept all night. I also cut down his naps during the day and tried to play more with him to make him tired.or maybe a bath with the lavender/chamomile bath before bedtime. I hope everything works out for you.

I had the same problem with my daughter who is now 6 years old and i realized she wasnt getting full enough at night and she was genuinely hungry. I started her on a light cereal and formula mixture. I know you are breast feeding so it is a different situation but it worked because she was awake from hungry not fussiness.I just added a table spoon or so of cereal to a bottle a small bottle and she started to sleep through the night.

My son didnt sleep through the night until he was about 8 months. We co- slept as well. I tried everything b/c the though of having him cry it out was horrifying to me. My son would wake up every 2-3 hours to eat when he really didnt need to. I exhausting old wives tale remedies, such as camomile tea with corn syrup before bed, (stupid!), feeding him extra before bed...and so on. I tried so many things...everything....before i just gave up and put him in his crib and let him cry it out. It took 4-5 days and it was horrible! BUT...it worked!! My son was happier in the day and not so cranky. I got to sleep a whole night for the first time in 8 months. It felt like a miracle. My son is now 2 and never wakes up unless hes had a bad dream.

I know how horrible it sounds to let your little angel cry it out, but it works and they'll be ok. They'll probably cry for almost a hour the first night. BUT IT WILL GET BETTER. Good luck with it and whatever u try. :}

A.,
There is a great book you can buy or get at the library called "The No Cry Sleep Solution". I highly recommend it and know several other moms who love it as well!
Good luck,
M.

I as well have a 6 month old, I was having a similar problem and I gave her the pacifier. I know a lot of people are not big fans of the pacifier but it has worked well with me.
I also remember when my oldest son was teething around that age and having trouble sleeping I use to give him humprey pills( they are dissolvable teething tablets available over the counter) that worked for him.
*~A.~*

My son is about the same age and went through something similar. Is Grayson on food yet? Gavin(my son) started doing this right before I started him on food. So, I think he was just too hungry. Then, for about two weeks after we started the food, he still woke up, but everyone I spoke to said that his body needed a little time to adjust. Now, he's back to sleeping from about 8:30/9:00- at least 5 or 6. It's worth a try...

My son too. He was sleeping about 5 hrs, then we had to go off to take a trip when he was 4 months old. He's now 6 months & is waking me up every 1-1/2 to 2 hrs. He doesn't want to feed tho - he suckles for about 5 minutes & goes back to sleep. So, feeding him cereal before bed has not helped. I'm not crazy about the cry-it-out method, but I finally got desperate enough to try it with my daughter at 10 months old & it only took 3 nights before she wasn't waking me to feed. I was told that by 6 months old, they should be able to go 8 hrs without eating - that at that point it's more HABIT for them to wake up. I feel your pain. If my son doesn't start sleeping longer here pretty soon, I'm gonna have to resort to that for him too.

A friend of mine told me about this book called On becoming Baby wise. In a nut shell they suggest that you try to keep your baby awake for as long as you can after each feeding during the day, and it will help keep them sleeping longer during the night. It worked for me, and the hard part was trying to keep my daughter awake after eating. Also when I first started that when she would wake up I would only feed her once during the night.
Good luck!

My daughter doesn't sleep well either. My doctor says that is normal.Granted she is 2 months younger than your son but what I find helps her is rubbing her back after I lay her down.That what she knows I am still there then she closes her eyes and sleeps twice as long as when i don't rub her.An now she doesn't need it everytime.

C. R

Hi A.,
Sorry to hear about your little guys trouble. I am an Infant Massage Instructor and have learned through training and through my clients needs that giving your baby daily Infant Massages will help him sleep better and establish better sleep/wake patterns, it also helps with digestion which will help him get more nutrients out of what he is eating so he can go longer between eating. The Cry it out method is not recommended because this is the time in his life when he needs to build a trusting relationship with his parents and needs to know you will be there when he needs you.
Good luck, you can check out the Touch Research Institute of Florida for Info on the effects of Infant Massage. http://www6.miami.edu/touch-research/

Good Luck
K. F.

We had a similiar problem when we co-slept and what worked for us (miraculously well) was to put our baby in her own crib in her own room. I think we were waking each other up at night, and the only way my daughter knew how to get back to sleep was by breast feeding. I was very anxious about sleeping so far away (in the next room) from my baby, but it was a marriage saver, and the baby began to get much better sleep.
I am a strong believer in one thing at a time, so I still breast fed her completely to sleep and then set her gently down in her crib, which alleviated the dreaded "cry it out" for a time. I would do the same if she woke up at night. With in a week she was sleeping through the night.
I hope you get some good sleep soon!
~K.

At about his age (5 1/2 months actually), I was having the same prob with my son. Once I stopped co-sleeping and switched him to his crib he only got up one to two times a night. I missed sleeping with him, but loved getting sleep! He is 7 months old now, and consistently makes it till about 3/4am before waking up to nurse.

My daughter is 10 months old and I breastfed until she was 8 months old. She was also a co-sleeper. The only thing that I can suggest that worked for me at sometimes but not all is to feed him some rice cereal and give a bath with the lavender bath wash before his night-time feeding. When he falls asleep put him in the crib in the room with you, and see what happens! Good luck :)

Grayson may be going through a growth spurt and also may be ready for solids (cereal, fruits and veggies). I would continue to breastfeed and respond to Grayson's needs. Re: co-sleeping, that is perfectly fine if you want to continue to co-sleep. When you are breastfeeding, it is okay to fall asleep with Grayson, don't try to stay awake - it is counter productive to what your hormones are dictating. Breastfeeding is calming and will cause you to doze off - also, try to sleep when Grayson sleeps if that is possible. If you have questions re: introduction to solids - please feel free to call me.

NO NEED TO SUPPLEMENT WITH FORMULA

L.

Mother to Danielle, 8 yrs and Brett, 5 1/2 yrs

L. Kandell, MS, RD, IBCLC
Registered Dietitian/Pediatric Specialist
International Board Certified Lactation Consultant
AFFILIATED NUTRITION CONSULTANTS, LLC
Scottsdale, AZ 85258
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Hi A., Have you tried giving him some baby cereal mixed with breast milk at dinner time (make sure it is more liquid than cereal!)? When he goes to bed, the last feeding should be enough to pacify him...My grandson is 8 mos, and it seemed to work for him sleeping longer between feedings...The baby cereal expands in the tummy and makes him feel fuller.
C. (mom of 3, grandma of 2)

A.,

My son Sebastian had the same problem. When my mom was her she would feed him a little bit of cereal. It seemed to work. I don't like the cry out method eigher,but unless you want him to sleep with you all the time, I would try to get him out of your bed. I know my son had night terrors and I still have a hard time getting him out of my bed. He is 4 years old.
Good luck
Jennie

I am very much the opposite of the other responders... I co-sleep with my 10 month old son and he wakes to eat every 2-4 hours. It doesn't bother me b/c I just go back to sleep. I figure he's only little this once and I have no intention of letting him CYO.