Sleeping Through the Night... - Akron,OH

I think she may be using you as a pacifier too. If you aren't a CIO fan (I wasn't - but it does work...) you can do other things besides feed her to comfort her. Maybe only feed her once (ease into it) and the other times, give her a pacifier (if she'll take one , my kids never did) or just hold her and sing etc to comfort her. Eventually cut out all feedings and don't pick her up, rather rub her back and sing to her in the crib etc... but don't pick her up. Then leave the room for 5 then 10 then 15 mintues etc at a time to teach her to go to sleep on her own. Hang in there - it will get better : )

I could understand waking a couple times a night for feedings, but 6 or 7? Sounds like you have become the human pacifier :) There is no way she needs to eat THAT often, even through a growth spurt. I am a firm believer in teaching them to self-soothe...AND it's really important for your own sanity that you are getting more than an hour or two of sleep at a time. I don't buy into the whole "mothers have to sacrifice everything and be ran ragged in order to be a good mother"...it's just not true. Babies have needs, yes, and if those needs are met, then they might just be into some bad habits. They have to learn that not every single time they partially wake, do they need mom. There is no way that at 8 months, she NEEDS to eat 6-7 times a night. I know you are exhausted! I think I would cut out some of those feedings and do some sleep training. I hope it gets better for you!

Hi. Our son is 9 monthes and I was getting pretty agitated w/ him waking during the night. Mainly b/c he was using me as a pacifier. So I. Decided one night

Sorry was trying to answer on my phone w/ a babe in my lap. :P
Anyways. I decided one night to nip it in the butt. If he woke I just layed him back down and left him alone. Yes he fussed (about an 1hr the first time) but the other times got shorter and shorter. He slept through the second night. He still have some nights where he wakes but then he's fine when he knows someone is there. Our next thing we had to do is get him to actually go to sleep on his own. Which was a piece of cake. As long as she is getting enough to eat during the day, she should be able to sleep atleast 12 hrs at night. Hope this helps you out.

Babies wake.
It just is.
My kids as babies, woke a ton.
And they grew like weeds, had GINORMOUS appetites, I fed on-demand, and they are very healthy.

Babies also do 'cluster feeding' in which that means they even NEED to feed every.single.hour.

If a baby is not getting intake to keep up with THEM.... and during growth-spurts, they wake.

For the 1st year of life, breastmilk or Formula... is a baby's PRIMARY source of nutrition. NOT solids and NOT other liquids. This is per our Pediatrician, as well.

***DO NOT, replace feedings, with solids.
Do not, give solids before feedings otherwise baby will be too full to nurse.
Solids... does NOT have as much nutrition, as breastmilk or Formula. So do not rely on solids... to fill her up.

**I would also MAKE SURE, that you are producing enough milk?
And that, she is latching on properly?
If not, a baby will not be getting adequate intake.

Your baby is pretty normal.
You are lucky, she likes her bed.

Babies wake.
They wake for a variety of reasons:
developmental
hunger
gas
teething
hitting milestones
changing cognition and motor-skills
separation anxiety
etc.

This is only one phase for a baby. She is only 8 months old.

It won't happen naturally until after 18 months.

She's probably having a growth spurt - which is why she's waking 6-7 times a night.

I seem to feel the need to remind everyone on here... having an infant means - *OH* losing sleep, and that is just ONE of the many changes and sacrifices Mothers and Fathers must deal with for at least a few years.

At this age she doesn't need any food at night, provided she's eating well during the day. Since she's on solids now, she really shouldn't be getting up for food at night - especially 6-7 times - you must be exhausted, ugh! She's likely waking more for comfort, and you are in the habit of comforting her with nursing...and that's what she's expecting too. There will be a few days, maybe even weeks of a transition cutting out the night nursing. I'd use a pacifier or just go to her and pat her back but don't offer food. She should be sleeping about 10-12 hours a night now. It's just a matter of helping her to be able to soothe herself to sleep when she wakes up instead of expecting you to come and nurse her on demand like you would nurse a newborn.

My 2nd baby was like this. She didn't sleep more than 4 hours at a time until she was 9 months old. I thought I was never going to sleep again. We tried literally everything, but I would always resort to feeding her because she was screaming and it was the middle of the night and I just wanted to go back to bed! But what I didn't know was that by feeding her at 1 AM, 3 AM, 5 AM, I was actually just perpetuating this cycle of her waking up and wanting to eat - even though she wasn't really hungry. Against every fiber in my body, we eventually resorted to CIO - it was the only thing that worked. It was about 2 weeks of hellish nights where she'd cry and cry and I would sometimes go in there just to be sure she was ok, but then I'd leave...and then one night she slept all night. And so did my husband and I. I woke up freaked out and thinking the monitor must have broken or something terrible had happened - I checked on her and she was still blissfully sleeping. Starting to catch up on all of that lost sleep. She's almost 2 now and from that time still sleeps all night - about 7 PM to 5:30 or 6 AM. She wakes a time or two at night, but it's only for a minute and then she goes right back to sleep; I hear her but I don't go in there. One thing that was did start to do at that time (9 months old) also was to put her to bed really early, 6:30 PM - we've backed that up to 7 now but that's what she needed then. She also started napping better during the day after that, so she was just sleeping a lot more overall. Good luck, I know how hard it is!

I've never had a baby (after the first 1-2 months) wake up to breast feed more than once a night!!!
My bottle fed baby woke up twice a night
6 or 7! ?! I would guess she is not drinking more than a baby who gets one feeding during the night, just having a little snack each time because that is the habit she is in. You will be a better mom if you get more sleep. She needs to learn to self soothe..... Do not go into her if she is just a fussy not screaming, if at all possible make your husband deal with night wakings for a while.

Both my boys were sleeping 8 to 9 hours at night by 9 to 11 weeks. I am not a demand-feeder, and can not say enough about the Babywise method :)
t

Both mine ebf for 16 and 20 months respectively. After I taught my first to sleep, he would go 10-13 hours a night from 7 months old on. My second was *never* the sleeper my 1st was. She didn't consistently sleep thru the night till she was around a year old.

But now is the time you can begin to better read her cues. Yes, she probably still needs to nurse 1 or 2 times per night but you can learn about infant sleep and help her learn how to sleep better. Babies have to be taught about sleep. They don't automatically know how.

I highly, highly recommend Dr. Sears Baby Sleep Book, The Baby Whisperer and The No-Cry Sleep Solution. These literally saved my sanity with my 1st. Invaluable info, tips and tricks to help you formulate a sleep plan for your daughter. The more you know about infant sleep the better you'll know how to read her and teach her how to sleep.

Also, don't rush in if she's just making a bit of noise. I learned that too with my first. I'd rush in, he'd wake and then want to nurse. I didn't jump up one night when he fussed and he went back to sleep-lesson learned!

My 1st slept thru the night at 2 months (we did CIO with her and it took two nights with 20 min crying the 1st and 5 minutes crying the 2nd) My 2nd slept thru the night at 6 weeks on her own. My 3rd slept thru the night at 5 days on his own and my 4th was 2 weeks on her own. Before they slept thru the night they would eat at 10, I'd lay them down then they'd wake up at 2 to nurse then sleep again till 6. Once they started sleeping thru they would do the 10 oclock feeding and sleep thru till 6 or 7.
I think at this point your baby is getting enough food during the day that you shouldn't feel like you HAVE to feed her at night. If you still WANT to nurse at night but maybe just not at often maybe try a pacifier if you haven't already....? Or just hold her long enough to calm her down then lay her back in her bed. I bet she's only waking that much out of habit at this point.
Good luck! I know it's hard not getting any sleep...I DO NOT do well with no sleep! I think that's why God gave me good sleepers :o)

I am having the same issues with my now 17 month old daughter. She is still nursing, as that is her preference. I tried to wean her, but she wouldn't have it. I talked to her Dr. and he suggested that we keep a routine in place, continue with nursing as long as possible (even though I am getting tired of it) and maybe she is just a strong willed child, but eventually old habits can be changed. I've read "the best of the best" books on sleeping, and they have mixed messages, but go with your heart on what you feel is right for your baby. For mine, she goes down in her crib at 7:30 with no fuss, cuddles her bunny and blanky and goes right to sleep, only to awake (on average) 8-10 times a night, unable to go back to sleep on her own. Some nights are good, and she wakes up, cries a few minutes, then goes back to sleep after a few minutes of "shhh, mommys here and its time for sleeping." Some nights are horrid, like two nights ago when she screamed from 11:30pm- 4:10am. Just keep a constant routine, and hopefully both our babies will eventually learn to sleep through the night. Recomended reading "Sleepless in America", I found this book to be the best one yet. Good luck to us both!

Sorry. I co-slept with my breastfed firstborn. Now I'm dealing with breastfed twins who are seven months old, but they each only wake 2 or three times to nurse at night. Is your daughter actively nursing each time, or perhaps using you as a pacifier. I have learned this go around that I need to pay attention, and if my babies are not actively in a suck-swallow cycle, I need to unlatch them and try something else. Are you opposed to introducing a paci, or will she not take one? At this point, her latch is established, so that's not a worry. Is it possible she's in pain from teething and just looking for comfort? Can hubby take a couple wakings? I find my babies often route to nurse from me because I'm holding them and I smell like food, but if someone else holds them, they are often content to be rocked. Good luck to you.

My two kids were both breastfed. My son slept through the night at 6 weeks and my daughter slept through the night on the first night we brought her home and has stayed that way since and she is now 3.5 yrs old. I used the babywise method. It is a great book in getting you to learn how to schedule your child. It can be a bit extreme but I took the method and applied to how it would work in my life. The basic concept is eat, play,sleep every 3 hrs during the day. So they are not learning to be put to sleep by eating. It does sound like your child may be using you as a human pacifier but you know your child best. Good luck! Hope you get it figured it out soon!

Have you tried a pacifier? I would try sitting next to her (not in bed with her) and patting her or using a pacifier and not picking her up. If you go in and pick her up and feed her, she will get used to it.

Are u doing any bottles (expressed milk). Because the other thing is making sure she gets enough during the day.

Your baby is old enough she shouldn't need to eat during the night. I say get Ferber's book and learn how to let her cry. It was tough for me the first night but after about 2 nights, my son slept through the night without waking up once.

Good luck!