Schedules for Infant

He should be in bed by eight (studies show the best bed time for kids under 5 is between 6:30 and 8). Eat dinner with him when you get home or shortly after and then start his bedtime routine by 7:30 or 7:45.
I've never let my older son cry-it-out and he sleeps from 7:30 to 8 or later most nights. I'd guess it's teether. Get some teething tablets or drops and give them to him when he wakes up. It should pass.

LaDreka,

I am also a full-time working mom of a 7 month old boy. We are very "go-with-the-flow" kind of parents and do not have a very strict schedule of feeding or napping. I guess you could say we've let him naturally fall into a pattern and dictate his own schedule. So the times I list here are approximate and may vary an hour or so either way.
I leave at 7:30AM and don't get home until almost 6 so he spends the day with Dad & Grammie. In the morning he is at home with Dad and eats one bottle of breast milk and some breakfast. He is off to Grammie's by noon and either first eats lunch & a bottle of breast milk then naps, or vice versa. He has a bottle of fruit juice and a snack in the afternoon and I pick him up by 5:30. Then I bfeed him and he gets solids at 7PM. Sometimes, not so much lately, he still wants to nurse, cluster feed, all evening because he misses me and it is comforting. We have a bath and go to bed around 10PM.
We have noticed too that he wakes up grunting or screaming, eyes closed, several times a night. It's driving my husband crazy! We are co sleeping now but want to start him in his own bed soon. I will just try to sooth him with patting and comforting words, a pacifier, or bfeeding him. He has been a pretty needy boy, wanting to nurse every couple of hours all night long! This has been this way since the beginning so I am used to it. Now he is starting to only suck for a few seconds then spits it out, turns away, and is out. He only nursed once all night last night! But still woke up crying - the usual methods of comfort did not work - so I held him and sat him up and talked to him for little bit until he calmed down. I think it might have been a nightmare.
So my advice is to go with the flow, let him tell you what he needs and wants and just try to do the best that you can to make him a happy and healthy boy.

What time is bedtime?
I always feed my children (I was a working mom) their dinner bottle/food no later than 7 and bedtime was no later than 10.
Might give this a try.
P. R

It's common for babies to start waking at night around 7-8 months. It usually lasts a couple weeks and then they go back to sleeping through the night like normal. It can be a combination of things... hungry due to growth spurt, learning a new skill or the beginning of separation anxiety. My older kids all did this and it lasted 2-3 weeks each time. My youngest just got over this 'phase'.

My 8 month old has the following schedule... dinner (at table with the family) around 5:30-6pm then upstairs for bedtime around 7:30. She's the last of the kids to be put to bed (she just plays on the floor while we get the other kids to bed). So around 8pm she nurses for about 10 minutes and then she's in bed. She falls asleep rather quickly and is sleeping by 8:30pm. She wakes up around 7am and I she nurses for about 15 minutes sometime between waking up and 7:45... it varies because I'm also busy trying to get my oldest out the door to the school bus by 7:30. She'll sit at the table and eat breakfast (oatmeal, fruit) with me and my 2 year old around 8am. Lunch is at noon, naps are 10am-11:30am and 1:30pm-3:30pm and she nurses for about 15 minutes before the naps and when she wakes up from her nap.

Hi LaDreka,

Sounds like there may be some factors here casuing the awakening. I can tell you one thing, my daughter used to wake up in the middle of the night and we'd go in to give her the paci. Just like you describe.
Guess what, she's 21 months now and she still wakes up twice a nigh crying for daddy to come lay her down again.

When my son started doing this, we did not go back in and he learned to go back to sleep on his own and never ever unless he's sick very congested does he wake up in the middle of the night and if he does he doesn't cry so we wouldn't know.

We have decided to let my dd cry and sometimes we give in bc she screams so loud we're afraid she'll wake her little brother who is 9 months, almost 10.

We also feed him one bottle before bedtime around 8 or 8:30 and he sleeps until 7 or 7:30am.

I don't think it is hunger. He's getting conditioned to you going in and if you don't mind, fine but it does get old being awakened in the middle of the night for almost 2 yrs now with our daughter ;)

Hi LaDreka!
I also have a 7 month old and it sounds like your schedule is close to ours! I usually give her solids about 7 and a last bottle about 8:30. She goes down at 9 and gets up around 8 the next morning. HOWEVER, she went through a phase a few weeks ago where she woke up about 3-4 times a night, let out a cry and would go back to sleep as soon as her paci was in. It only lasted about a week so we just passed it off as she wasn't feeling the well. We still aren't sure. Good luck!
A.

I have a 7 1/2 old daughter who started doing the same thing. I talked to a couple of other moms about it and they said it might be a seperation anxiety type thing. Your son just needs to know that you are there when he wakes up and as soon as you give him the pacifier, he knows you are there and he goes back to sleep. My daughter did this for about 3 weeks. Not sleeping through the night can also be a symptom of an ear infection.

My daughter takes her last bottle at 8pm and is asleep between 8:30 and 9:00 every night. She wakes up around 6:30 every morning. She takes 2 naps during the day which each last 1.2 to 2 hours.

Hopes this helps some. Take care.

S.

Hey,

This schedule is currently working for my 7 month old, not sure how long it will last.

7:00am-Bottle 8oz
9:30- Breakfast fruit and ceral
1:30-Lunch Fruit, Veg 5-6 oz bottle
between 5:30 and 6- Dinner Meat, Veg and sometime fruit and juice
between 7:30 and 8:00 bedtime bottle
8:00 bedtime
I also work full time and am not at home till around 5:30. So I know how frustrating it can be. Good Luck

20 month old girl, soon to be 21. I'm a SAHM.

Around 8 am she wakes I feed her, change her then it's play time till about 11am. The it's nap time. 1pm is lunch, more playtime, outside time about 3pm she naps again (sometimes, not always)'til about 5pm when Dad comes home. 6pm is dinner, 7:30pm is bath time and she's in bed by 8pm. Bath time and bed time varies sometimes depending on her behavior. She's been pretty much on this schedule since the beginning. There are some variations sometimes, but that pretty much it.

Hello LaDreka! I also have a 7 month old. I can't promise you my schedule is what's best but it works great for us:

10:00: Wake up & take bottle
~play~
1:30pm: Eat jar of food (veggies) & take bottle
~nap~
~play~
5:30: Eat jar of food w/ meat in it & take bottle
~play~
7:30: Usually takes another quick nap
9:30: Eat jar of food w/ meat in it & take bottle
~play~
10:45: Wind down & start rocking baby to sleep
11:00pm: She's out. We put her to bed for the night.

That's roughly what our daily schedule looks like. I hope it helps.
A.

It is normal for babies at that age to wake in the night. This can be for different reasons. Sometimes, they are hungry. Giving them the paci will calm them down enough to go back to sleep, but sometimes, it's best to just feed them again. Or, it could be teething. It can also be them growing. There can be several different things.

I don't want to sound critical of others, but babies stop crying sometimes because they realize that nobody is going to come for them. Babies don't understand that what they are doing is 'wrong' and that we still love them even though we aren't picking them up. That's not to say that I don't let my little ones cry occasionally if I am busy or just need a break for a minute.

In any case, there can be several things going on in your little one. I would consider trying to feed him if he wakes up, but that's just me.

God bless,
A.

Hi LaDreka~ I have a 7 month old as well and he is an excellent sleeper. I feed him jar foods around 5:30, then give him a bottle before bedtime, which is 7:30. He sleeps through the night and usually wakes up around 7 a.m. when we are headed out the door to the sitter. You could feed him something when you get home, then give him a bottle right before bed. Good luck.

Hello, It sounds like we have a similar schedule. I work until 5:00 as well and it is usually 5:30 when I get home. We feed our 7 month old a jar of vegetables at 5:30 along with 4 oz of formula. He is usually up until 8:00 and we give him a 6 oz bottle before putting him down for the night. He sleeps until 6:00am when I wake him up and we feed him a 6 oz bottle. He will then sit on my bed and play while I get ready for work and then we leave at 7:30 to head to the sitters. He then has a jar of fruit at 10:00 along with a 4 oz bottle and then a 6 oz bottle at 2:00.

There have been a few nights recently where he will wake up and cry for a couple minutes. I don't get up, I wait to see if he stops crying and he usually does after a couple minutes. The one time I did check on him he was still sound asleep. I wondered if it was just a dream.

Good luck to you and I hope this information helps!

Hi! I read a ton of books when I was pregnant about parenting. I wanted more than opinions about sleep preferences and schedules. I wanted research. So, I read a TON and the book that struck me the most was written by a sleep doctor in chicago who studied children's sleep needs/habits. HEALTHY SLEEP HABITS, HAPPY BABY. I'm not a fan of 'cry it out' but I'm not a fan of 'feed the kid all day, wake up all day, have the kid run your life' either.

My baby is one now and at 7 months old, she started her bedtime rountine at 6:30 (I'm a full time mom, so she's with daddy all day and gives bottles of breastmilk to her when i'm at work). I got home at 5:30, at dinner (nursed her first then let her eat table food with us or baby food), bath at 6:30 then change clothes, nurse again just to make sure and bed. She woke around 5 hours after her last feeding (so midnight) and again about 5 hours later (4 or 5) and then slept til 7am. Up for milk and play til 9, down for nap til 10:30 or 11. up til 1pm then nap til 3, I think she even took one more nap at some point for about 45 minutes and then dropped it around 7 or 8 months. I hope this helps! Research shows it's not food.
Now, the teething thing or sick always messed Noelle up for a few weeks, then she got used to me visiting and I had to get her back on track... :) Dont give up!

Could he be cutting teeth? Some kids start cutting teeth right around that age. Try giving him a dose of baby motrin before he goes to bed, you can get the dosing right off the label. Also put some nighttime baby oragel on his gums. It could also be separation anxiety and thats normal forbabies that age. I let my kids cry it out starting at 9 months, and they both sleep thru the night! As for schedules, let your baby take the lead, if you can. I know its hard with work. Good luck!!!