Sleeping Through the Night - Atlanta,GA

Hi. I'm also a single mother. My little girl's not old enough for this yet but my Mom swears by it... Try mixing a little baby cereal in w/her milk or formula right before bedtime. This is supposed to "stick to her ribs" and allow for a little heavier sleeping.

E.

When our son did this we tried two things.

We limited his naps during the day. I forget now when we phased out his morning nap, but we also started making sure he took only a 3 hour nap in the afternoon, we woke him up if he tried to go past 3 hours. ( I would rather fight a cranky baby during the day than get no sleep)

Also, this was about the time our son started getting a lot of teeth at once. So once we figured out he was teething for sure we gave Motrin/Tylenol before bed and unless he was really crying out or crying for a long period we let him re-settle himself so it didn't become habit for us to go in and comfort him. Once the babies figure out you'll come in and be with them, they seem to make a habit of it to get some extra lovin' at night, which makes for a really sleepy mommy!

We also read a good book called "Baby Wise". Some of the ideas might not work for you but the basic premise of establishing a schedule really helped us as two first time but working parents.

A friend of mine from Australia also said after I read Baby Wise that the 're-settling' technique is used quite widely in Australia and other places in Europe as well. They actually have nurses who come to your home and teach you and your baby this technique, it's cool what they do other places in the world that we don't do here.

First, I would seriously reconsider any advice to allow her to 'cry it out'. There are numerous articles and studies showing research where babies and toddlers who were forced to cry themselves to sleep suffered from serious mental and emotional issues lasting well into adulthood.

She is still a BABY. She is crying to tell you that something is bothering her. She may be getting ready to reach a new milestone, or cutting teeth, or going through a bout of seperation anxiety. All babies are different, and develop at different stages. At 7 1/2 months it is also very likely that she is going through a growth spurt, which would explain why giving her a bottle seems to help put her back to sleep.

Here are a few techniques that have worked wonders for me and my children when they were at that age:

-- keep lights off. This can stimulate her into full wakefulness. Use a soft nightlight, or a hall light with her door cracked when you go in to her.

-- try to have her in bed a little earlier. Most of the time, if a baby that age is put down past 8:30, they tend to be over-wound, which causes a shallow sleep pattern and easy wakefulness.

-- do not put her to bed on a full stomach -- I don't know of ANYONE that can sleep well if they're full -- maybe give a cracker and drink an hour or so before, make sure she has a clean diaper on, then quiet cuddles/reading will help settle her after.

-- if she seems a bit clingy, or her crying sounds as if she is frightened, as opposed to sleepy/cranky, she may be having nightmares. Cuddle and pacify as needed until she falls back asleep.

-- sometimes during seperation anxiety, putting one of your shirts in the bed with her will help her feel secure enough to self-soothe back to sleep.

-- if she is teething, I suggest using Hyland's brand Teething Tablets. They are all natural homeopathic, and run no risk of injuring her kidneys or overdosage as can happen with un neccessary Tylenol or Motrin usage. Tylenol or Motrin should only be used for fever. Hyland's can be found at most grocery, drug and Wal Mart stores. Look for the pink and blue box. (They make a lot of other great things for 'children's issues' as well)

-- if all else fails, try co-sleeping. Believe me, I wouldn't suggest it if it didn't work. You'll get WAY more sleep, as will she, and you'll build on her security and emotional strength, especially since you spend so much time away from her during the day, between working and school.

Feel free to email me if you need more information.

~S.

Hi B.,

Your daughter may be going through some separation anxiety. I highly recommend the book "The Sleep Lady" by Kim West. It goes through each developmental stages, explains why kids are not sleeping, and suggests schedules and ways to help them sleep better. I used it with my son and also with my daughter who is 6 months.

I have found that 3 naps a day, about 2 hours after they wake up each time, helps tremendously. You may be putting her to bed too late. I have learned that putting to the baby to bed between 7 and 7:30 makes a world of difference.

I hope this helps! I know how valuable sleep is for you and your child!!!

Good luck!!!

Hi B.,
I am a mom of two, a son who is 2 1/2 and a daughter who is almost 9 months.
First of all, don't put cereal in her bottle. She needs to learn the difference in eatting and drinking. The only time our pediatrition ever recommended that was when my daughter was having trouble with reflux. Also, I have read on the parenting websites that if your child does wake up, don't feed them as they will then make that a habit.
At your daughter's age, she may be teething. My daughter and son both would wake in the night when they were teething. Then there are those times when they just wake up. I found the best thing to do is just leave them (if they aren't crying). Also, bedtime for us is around 7pm, so I make sure the kids are fed by 6-6:30. Do you have a night light in her room. I have a couple of toys, a mirrow and glow worm, in my daughter's crib so if she does wake up, she will have something to occupy her until she falls back to sleep. I hope this helps. It is really just trial and error with kids. Good luck.

Hi! My daughter is the same age, and started doing the same thing about a month ago. Very frustrating. The good news is that she stopped on her own about a week ago, and is now sleeping well again. She could be cutting teeth, or going through a growth spurt, or working on some new and exciting skill. Try not to stress about it too much, this too shall pass!

I have a 7 1/2 month old daughter too!! Mine has been sleeping 12 hours STRAIGHT EVERY NIGHT since she was 4 months old... until these past couple of weeks! It's driving me crazy because I was really enjoying sleeping all night!!- haha! Mine just needs to eat a little more! It all started when I started her on cereal. (maybe a coincidense, I don't know!!) Everyone told me that cereal would make her sleep all night... my response was that she did already... well, it had the oppostite effect on mine. I think it's just that the cereal makes them feel fuller, then in the middle of the night they realize that they are still hungry. The way I do with my daughter is that I change her, feed her, burp her, and put her back down (asleep or not) and she will go back to sleep on her own. I was very lucky by getting the advise that I did as far as getting to put herself to sleep. Don't know if this is a problem with you or not, so I won't waste my time typing it... but if you need advise on getting her to fall back asleep on her own, you can email me- ____@____.com

Maybe they are just teething, and need some lovin' when they wake up... who knows?!?

Good Luck!

Aren't they just adorable at this age?!?

B.,
I agree with the other moms' advice. One thing I have to add, though, may be to try putting your daughter down a little earlier. I know it sounds crazy, but when we began putting our 8 month old down earlier, he began sleeping longer. We used to put him down between 8:30 and 9. When we began putting him down at 7:30, he began sleeping all night and sleeping longer in the morning. HTH!

Is she teething? I agree with the other mom about giving motrin for teething (it works better than tylenol). Also, you might have to let her cry it out a little. When she starts crying the first time, go check on her. Wait 10-15 minutes before you check on her again. She will probably cry the whole time. After you check the 2nd time, watit 20-25 minutes before you check on her again. Gradually, make her wait a little longer each time in between checking on her. I have had to let my kids cry it out for an hour or more. They usually fell asleep just when I thought I couldn't take it any longer. It may take a few nights but better 2-3 rough nights than months and years of this, right? Another tio, when you check on her do not pick her up. You can pat her, check her diaper, etc. but keep talking to a minimum and keep the check-in short and sweet. Good luck!!

I used the "cry it out" method with my first child and it worked after 20 minutes for 3 nights in a row. My second child couldn't "cry it out" - he needed comforting and had to be nursed back to sleep. What I ended up doing is nursing until he was drowsy but not asleep. I would then hold him and rock him and sing to him and put him down before he was completely asleep. I would sit in the room with him for a few minutes and start the process over again. Each time I would wait a little bit longer before picking him up and nursing/singing. Sort of like the Ferber/"cry it out" method, but he got used to "Mommy's not leaving you" AND "Mommy's not nursing you back to sleep. You know your child best. My third child goes to sleep so easily, but occasionally she has a tough time. When she needs more cuddling, I make sure that I put her down to sleep before she falls asleep on me. That way, she doesn't depend on me to fall asleep. Good luck.

when my babies were that age , I made sure they were comfy , not hurting , dry , etc..... then I let them cry till they went to sleep , it may take 20 mins or 1/2 hr . but that usually broke them and they'd sleep better than ever ...and you will too ......sometimes it just the mere attention getter thing they have kicking in , but make sure they aren't ill or hurting.... mine usually got over it in a few nites ....my dau's when they had this prob asked me what I'd recommend and I told them what worked for me , they tried it and it worked for them .... and it will cost you a few winks the first few nites , but this too shall pass .....
Pray with yoy child and then put her down and see what happens ...its not easy to do this , but I know it worked for me ...all children are diff ,...try it a few nites and see what happens , if hat doesn't take care of it , then check into more things , like how she does for her sitter etc....
M. B.

make sure she have played out her day. but cearal in her milk so she can be full

Hey B.! I would guess she is probably teething. You may want to try a bit of Motrin before bed and see how she does. I decided to use the Cry It Out (my version) method. My daughter wakes in the middle of the night and after about 3-5 mins will go right back to sleep if I don't go in and get her. At this age, (7months) she really doesn't "need" a middle of the night bottle.

HTH.. please let us know. And feel free to email me sometime. I am also a single mommy that went back to school and worked full time!
K.