My son is 7 months old, he sort of has a sleep schedule but its not precise. he falls asleep and wakes up for the most part around or at the sametime everyday he fights sleep until he cant take it anymore. He also does NOT sleep completely though the night. He wakes up alot sometimes crying from bad dreams(im so curious to what they dream about as babies) other times he just wakes up for no reason.
1. HOW DO I GET HIM ON A SLEEP SCHEDULE?
2. HOW DO I GET HIM TO SLEEP COMPLETELY THROUGH THE NIGHTS? ***most important***
3. HOW DO I STOP NIGHT TERRORS? hes had them since he was a month old
He nurses not just to eat but also for comfort and soothing. when he wakes up with the night terrors the only way for me to get him calm is to nurse him for a few minutes until he calms down i put his paci back in his mouth and lay him down and he sleeps until the next time he wakes which he normally wakes up between 12 & 1am to nurse and 5am but will go back to sleep both times, he actually wakes up for the day at 8am every morning. naps around 1230-1pm and lately by 730-8pm he's tired and ready for bed. that doesnt garantee he stays asleep though.
As I've read your responses I've realized he's not having night terrors. I understand he wakes up to eat Since he is nursing but that doesn't explain all the other random times he wakes up sporadically crying. He woke up last night crying and screaming wouldn't open his eyes and wouldn't wake up when i tried to wake him. *sigh* idk what it is or what to do.
Most don't do sleep through the night until they are much older. They are hungry since they are growing so much that first year. You are probably just going to have to be patient and work through this. He is hungry and needs to be fed.
Just waking up crying isn't night terrors. Night terrors are usually for older children and you can't really console them. The children have a sense of panic, can thrash about, etc. Sounds like he is just hungry. Nursing babies are more apt to wake up during the night as it is easier to digest breast milk. My son nursed and he only slept through the night a couple of times before he was a year old. Some children just aren't good sleepers. I'd also suggest doing a complete nursing session the first time he wakes up and see if that will help him sleep in longer stretches. Good luck.
Hi K..
Best book -- Elizabeth Pantley's "No Cry Sleep Solution" -- She also has a website...and she answers questions :) if you write her.
http://www.pantley.com/elizabeth/
Good Luck.
jilly
Just a comment - nightmares and night terrors are very different - as different as a little sniffy cold is from an influenza infection. My younger daughter had night terrors and they involved screaming and screaming and screaming and trauma.... and you cannot comfort them while it is going on. She had a lot of severe problems from severe nightmares as well, and would thrash and cry out in her sleep for hours - but not at 7 months.
However, I DO AGREE that good sleep is CRITICAL to our children's health, and that daughter also did not sleep well at 7 months, either!! I WISH I'd known at the time that she was having issues with what **I** was eating (I was breast-feeding and she has problems with foods). She is now getting her master's degree in Dietetics (nutrition).
How exactly do you know that he wakes from night terrors and not just that he is hungry? You say he has had them (night terrors, where he wakes up crying) since he was a month old? ALL babies wake up crying b/c they are hungry at 1 month old...sure there are a few out there who sleep through the night from day 1 (my oldest nephew was *that* kid) but for the most part ALL babies wake up crying to eat or get their diapers changed.
Might I suggest feeding him the first time he wakes from these 'night terrors' and then maybe he wont be so apt to wake up to be fed at 12-1am? Might be worth a shot since you say that you only nurse him for a minute and then give him his binky the first time?!
Also, is he eating cereal and some solids yet? He can do that at this age...that might help him sleep through the night.
He's most likely hungry.
I would try & feed him each time he wakes up & cries.
Probably not bad dreams or night terrors at this age.
Ask his pediatrician if maybe your breastmilk needs to be supplemented.
He may be too young for baby cereal so ask your ped.
Most babies won't sleep through the night at this time. Too young. Small
tummies that get hungry. He will most likely get up every 3 hours to eat.
Boys seem to be harder to get to sleep through the night than girls.
Hang in there . It takes awhile. Rest when your baby rests.
Figure out what time you want him to wake up in the morning, subtract his daytime nap time from 14 hours, the amount of sleep a 7 month old usually requires, which should be around 3 hours total in 2 naps.
http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-much-sleep-does-your-chil...
This would give you an 11 hour block of time he should be sleeping at night. So, if you want him to wake at 7 am he should go to bed at 8 pm.
Establish a bedtime routine for him, where it is a quiet relaxing time, no loud TV, music or other noise, no roughhousing or tickling. Put on some soft music, use a dimmer to dim the lights while you bathe, gently massage him with bedtime lotion, diaper, dress him in pj's, and read him a story or two. Keep your voice in about a whisper, speak s l o w l y so everything has a soothing, relaxing effect. Feed him as you read to him and cuddle him, a full tummy will help him to sleep. Depending on how long your bedtime routine takes count back from bedtime to determine the time you begin it, it shouldn't take more than 30 to 45 minutes or so.
Put him down slightly awake to sleep in a darkened (shade or blinds) room, with some sort of white noise (a box fan turned away from him is good.) Pat him and say "shhhhh" softly for a minute or so if he stirs, but don't pick him up, you want him to learn self-soothing techniques. Walk out of the room quietly and close the door. If he fusses or cries wait a few minutes before you go in, to give him the opportunity to self-soothe himself to sleep. When you go in don't turn on the lights, or let a lot of light in from the doorway or speak loudly, use your "bedtime" whisper and speak soothingly, but do not pick him up. Tell him you love him, it's time to sleep, say "shhhhh" again and pat him a minute or so and then leave again. If you need to change him do it right there in his crib, no extra lights, just a nightlight, and do it as quickly as possible to cause him as little distraction as possible. If you need to feed him at some point during the night until he's sleeping though the night do it in his room, in the near-dark, with whispers, and place him back in bed as at bedtime.
If he's waking up to eat throughout the night here's some info on night weaning, which by 4 - 6 months most babies are usually ready to do since they're getting enough calories during the day:
http://www.babycenter.com/0_baby-sleep-training-night-wea...
It will take some time to get him into his routine, but once you start don't deviate, routine will help him to learn what is expected when he is put to bed, for him to sleep. Use the same techniques for naps as well, the darkened room, the white noise, and allowing him to self-soothe.
