Sleeping Through the Night - Antioch,CA

My daughter woke up and got in bed with us everynight until recently.. I dont know why but she would have to get in bed with us and sometimes i just put her back in bed when she falls back asleep.. Shes 2 1/2 now so i just got used to it after that long.. but now she just sleeps in her room all night

Well, for starters your daughter is still very young. I nursed my son until her was 14 months old, and he would wake up at least 3 times a night even at that age! He will be 2 in two days, and he still wakes up once a night for a sip of milk or water. I have never felt comfortable with letting him cry it out, which is why I can't really complain! I used to be really tired, but as the months went on I just got used to it. They will only be young once!
I just wanted to let you know that you aren't the only one, and that 5 months is certainly not old to be waking up at night! Good luck, and I hope you find something that works for you.

A.,
Something that I did when my daughter was 4 months old was I stopped feeding her in the night, and then to get her to sleep I had to let her cry. It did not take long. I would first go in there and pat her bottom or rub her tummy and say "night, night" and then leave. Then after a few nights I stopped going in there, let her fuss a little, and she eventually got herself back to sleep. She stopped waking up in during the night within about a week.

I know some moms think it is cruel, but trust me it hurts you more than it hurts them. And it often works!

Good luck,
B.

Patience.. some kids don't sleep through the night right away. Mine took over a year..

Honestly, your five month old not sleeping through the night yet really isn't uncommon. Most babies don't sleep through the night until 9 months or more. My sisters son is 15 months and still doesn't sleep through the night. However, my daughter slept through the night at 7 weeks. My son is now four weeks old, so we'll see. I know they say not to, but since your daughter is old enough to hold her head up and probably turn over, try putting her to sleep on her tummy. Also, I don't know if you are feeding her solids yet, but try putting a little rice cereal in her bottle before bed. That helped tremendously for my daughter. The rice helps keep her tummy fuller longer. If all else fails, let her cry it out. Professionals say that it is a good way to get your baby to learn to self soothe. She might just be used to you comforting her every time she cries in the middle of the night. It will probably take a few days of untollerable crying, but it will be worth it in the long run. Just remember that she is safe and in no danger. Try and keep yourself from going to her, except for the occassional peak to make sure she hasn't gotten into a position that she can't get out of. Be strong. Good luck.

Hi A.! I currently have a 5 year old and a 2 1/2 year old.

I was very lucky to have them both sleep throughout the night @ 2-3 mos. old. I truly believed in co-sleeping. I really think that helped my kids sleep through out the night because the warmth of your body kept them nice and cozy. Try It. Who knows? It might work for you. Good Luck!

A.,
My daughter Monet(great name, huh? LOL), is 14 months and she just started sleeping through the night a few of weeks ago. Just like some of the other moms said, we were softies(especially Daddy)and couldn't stand for her to cry so we would go get her. Dad travels for business and during one trip I finally snapped. I was exhausted becasue I was up EVERY night for 1-2 hours trying to get her back to sleep and even after she went back to sleep, I couldn't sleep. One night while dad was gone and after once again spending an hour trying to get her back to sleep, I had finally had it with the middle of the night "I want attention" thing...she wouldn't take a bottle, didn't need changed and was fine as long as you help her but screamed the SECOND you put her in her bed...I just said to her that I was done, she didn't need anything, I was tired and I was going to bed. I quietly said good night to her and told her crying wouldn't help, that she was staying in the bed. I'm not sure how much of what I said she actually understood, but she cried for about 10 minutes after I left her room, then she was quite for about 20 minutes, then she cried for about another 10 minutes and I didn't hear another sound for the rest of the night and she has slept through the night every night since then. We just had to wait it out and let her cry a bit(which is very hard) and she had to realize that we weren't going to run to her when nothing was wrong with her...you can tell from the cry if they really need you or not.
Good luck!

A.,

All i can say is that my son had the worst colic at that age and never slept. I was at the pharmacy one day and he was crying and i looked like a mess from no sleep and this nice lady came up to me and said honey you look like you need a break, i began to tell her that i was there to fill a prescription from his pediatrician to put this kid night night...lol I just couldn't do it...I was sleep deprived to the max..So anyway she told me to go out and get the book called "The happiest baby on the block" Well because i was desperate, I did exactly that the next day. I read that whol book fast and soon started to follow what they told me to a tee and my God it worked..That lady was really a angel in disguise from up above. Hope it works for you honey..My guy is now almost 4 and has been a sleeper ever since.

You can call me if you need any advise ###-###-####-
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I also have a 14 yr old daughter

A.

Okay I have a three month old as of today, and since he was four weeks old, I've been lucky that he only woke up once at five am for a feeding... He used to wake up to nurse about two am... but once he hit six weeks, I let him cry thru that feeding, and believe me, I know it sounds SO mean, but it lasts about two nights, and then he'll sleep all night, now it only took one night of him crying for two minutes, and all I did was just pat his back, soothe him and not feed him, cuz he eats alot, and he was back to sleep... he now sleeps (12 weeks today) and has slept thru the night from the time he was six weeks from 8 or 9 pm, to 730 am.. sometimes if he's having a growth spurt he WILL wake up and of course I"ll give him a bottle, but he usually has his biggest bottle at bedtime, a bath, and then he knows it's bedtime.. a schedule and sticking to it makes a content baby, I believe that a happy and soothed baby knows the rules... the baby does not make the rules.. now while I know mom's will hate me for saying it, it DOES work for me.. and if for example it didn't work for me, like if he constantly cried for more than two nights ( someone told me to try it, so that's how I knew it worked), if he hadn't made it, I probably wouldn't have a baby that slept thru the night, cuz I'd have given in. Sometimes all she needs is just a binky, or maybe one of those little nightlight thingies that play music and it puts her back to sleep.. and a few pats on the back... Believe me, it's hard.... with me being deaf I guess I have it easy cuz I dont have to hear the heartbreaking cry of a baby who wants to be held, but it certainly worked, and I've got a great, happy healthy and FAT baby by the way... *chuckle* he wakes up in a great mood, hungry as a cow, and scarfs it down, then is a wonderful baby all day and is ready for his schedule.. he LOVES his schedule.. so maybe try that for a few nights? I know a few moms SWEAR by the letting them cry for a few nights on their own for at least ten minutes... remember, your baby won't die.. but she'll learn to comfort herself.. she's at the age where she's still got needs, but if she's not eating a full bottle, she is just wanting attention and when mommy's tired, all you can give her is a few pats and that should be good enough... try it.. let's see how it works.. I bet , I'm gonna get a WHOLE bunch of women who hate me for this now... so I apologize in advance to women who are offended by this, but it worked wonders for all three of my babies..
S.

Dear A.,

Well, you are just going to have to spend some time teaching Aila Monet how to comfort herself. She will need to be comforted, then allowed to cry. Not an easy ordeal for either of you. But, necessary. She may cry a long time and then throw up, but you need to clean her up, and sip of water and lay back down, do not pick her up and walk around comforting, or she will 'win' and it will be repeated over and over until you let her learn that she needs to stay in bed and sleep or just lay quietly at night. She can learn this just as easily as she can learn to wake up several times during the night. Babies are very smart.
No kidding, C. N.

A.,

While it's true that being tired doesn't make life easy, there really isn't a *good* way to force a child to sleep through the night. And 5 months old is VERY young to expect such a thing. A baby has an internal clock which regulates their wake and sleep patterns. Trying to force more formula into her to get her to sleep longer is never the answer. An infants stomach isn't much larger than a walnut, so half an ounce sounds about right. The only answer would be to let her cry it out and fall back to sleep in famished exhaustion. Is that really what any mother wants for a beautiful child?

The average age that any of my 5 children slept through the night is about 18 months old. Some children will start sleeping through before that and some later. One day you will look back and not even rememeber her waking up. It doesn't help right now and it certainly doesn't feel like it will ever happen, but I promise, this is a phase, relatively short, that will pass. It's just one of the harder phases of choosing to have children. One day you will have more time than you've ever wanted to sleep.

Try to embrace this time as a special stage of her life. They grow up so very fast and we are left wondering where the time went. My oldest is 16 and I can't even fathom where the last 16 years disappeared to. Soon he will leave my home and here I will sit, wishing back all the days and nights that I just wanted some alone time. Now I try to cherish every moment, every phase, no matter how physiologically tough it may be one me, knowing that in the blink of an eye, they will be off leading their own lives.