Sleeping Through the Night - Haverhill, MA

S.,
It's likely that your little one is beginning teething. Remember, babies weren't really made to sleep all night yet. Once you think he's got it, he'll go back again and be waking up again. It may take some time, but going in and doing what you've been doing, pacifier, etc, could help him through it, and if you add orajel or Tylenol for teething pain, he may sleep more. You'll be tired, for sure, but unless you want him in your bed, you'll have to stick with it. (Of course, there is NOTHING wrong with sleeping with your baby if you all sleep well! Think about it- do you like to sleep alone? Your baby is small, and needs you, day and night. It's ok to respond to his needs.) Also, taking the pacifier away, if he uses to soothe himself, could set you up with other issues. Let him keep it- he's too young to be expected to regulate himself. Some babies have a strong NEED to suck. Right now, there is no difference in what your baby NEEDS and what he WANTS. He is not being manipulative when he cries for you, he is simply crying for you to fix what's wrong. As for food, the AAP now recommends waiting for at least 6 months before introducting solids because of the rapid increase in food allergies. If he seems satisfied with formula/breastmilk, don't push it. It's nutritionally complete for a year. Most 4 month-olds are not physically ready to handle solids anyway. If you feel he's ready, avoid putting cereal in a bottle- he could choke. If you want more info, you could try www.askdrsears.com for more on sleep, attachment, development, and such.

HI S., we went through the same thing with our Daughter, she's now 16 mths. I even went to the extent of putting a inflatabed in her room and slept in that with her so my husband could sleep, bad, very bad. Talk to your Ped. 1st, it could be teething and you might be able to give him some tylentol before bed, ask doc 1st though. 2nd, you might have to just do what I was told to do, let him cry it out, heart wrenching and unbearable, I know, but better for him. He needs to learn to soothe himself back to sleep. Doctors say that it is ok to let a baby cry for over an hour, obviously they either are men (sorry guys but true, it's a Mother emotional thing) or they don't have any kids. My husband consoled me while I had my pillow jammed in my ears and cryed myself. But it worked. Every once in a while she wakes up but she's getting her molars in, ouch, so I have to give her more medicine. We were sick and slept together on the couch recently but she's back into her own routine again now that we're better. Good luck, Honey, do it now especially since you have another one on the way, God love you. At that point your son will be forced to soothe himself on his own, you'll be so busy with the new baby. Stay strong, you can do it. If I could anyone can, believe me when I say this. : )

One other idea to try - try putting him in a Baby sac over his pjs. They sell them at Babies R Us. My daughter liked the way they made her feel all snug (like they were in the womb) and it is a great way to keep them warm without using blankets. My daughter is 17 months old and I still use them to keep her warm at night.

Hi S.,

Sounds as though you might want to feed him a little more than you are currently doing so for supper. I assume you have already begun giving baby food (sweet potatoes, green beans, bananas, etc...) Once he has a full meal and bottle, he might give you a better nights sleep with a full tummy. I care for a 4 month old now and the parent had a similar issue. I suggested to begin giving her a larger amount of food (if she was willing to eat it..and she was) plus a bottle, play for a bit, give her a warm bath and put down to bed. She is now sleeping through out the night (waking once for another bottle on very rare occasions)...her thumb sooths her just fine as well, as she is also a thumb sucker.. I can't emphasize enough to you, that placing the child in bed with you is a bad habit you are getting your child into. If you think you are having problems now...putting the child in bed with you will only compound the problems...I would really reccommend keeping the child in his own bed because he WILL take over yours. You are now giving him another safety and security measure that he will begin looking for and expect each night if you don't stop this now! Good luck and I hope my advice helped.

N.

I think you should stop changing his diaper in the middle of the night. By doing that you are really waking him up. Babies will wake up throughout the night and they need to learn to fall back asleep on their own. Have you tried the Fisher Price Ocean Aquariam that straps to the crib. We use that with my son and it sooths him to sleep. I know it is hard but try letting him cry himself back to sleep. Personally, I was never able to do this. Is your baby on solids yet? We started at 4 months and they might fill his belly where he is tired and starts sleeping through the night again. Also, like a lot of people said, he could be teething. Some start earlier than others. My son is 7 and a half months old and already has 6 teeth. I also found that my son went through a couple of nights waking up and than at about 4 and a half months old he started rolling. They say that when they are about to accomplish a milestone it can throw their sleeping habits off. If it is teething, infant tylenol should help. Don't give infant motrin though until 6 months and check with your doctor first. Good luck!

He might be teething. The same thing happened to my son at that age.
Have your tried letting him cry it out? I was so hesitant to do it, but I am so glad that I did. It's hard for the parents, but definitely works if it's something you're willing to try. You could also try giving him motrin before he goes to be to ease the pain of the teething.

Hi S....

Here's a few tips of things to consider:

1. What time is the baby's last nap before bedtime? Maybe you should try to keep the baby up for a longer period before bed so that he is exhausted and can't help but sleep longer! It's not easy but sometimes that works.

2. Are you still breastfeeding? I know your son is a little young for this and I know that since my daughter (almost 7) was a baby pediatrician's ideas about feeding have changed a lot. My mother had nine kids and by the time my daughter was about your son's age, my mother was feeding her mashed up solid foods. Nothing serious, more like hot cereals, mashed potatoes, things that are easy to digest (and of course with no seasonings) and my daughter did so well. She was a big baby (8 lbs. 14 oz. about a month early; though not as big as some of the babies you hear about nowadays). When we were in the hospital right after her birth, she would go through those 2 oz bottles of formula so quickly that the nursing staff thought I was stealing them (yes, I know, RIDICULOUS! I was like, um, check the trash Miss Nurse, the empty containers are right there!). If you are still breastfeeding, you can try to switch to formula. If he's already on formula, consider putting a little baby cereal in it only in his bottle before bed. The added nutrients in formula and the cereal add weight and make the baby more full, therefore they sleep longer. I say ideas have changed among pediatricians because my friend has a daughter who is almost 3 and when she was 7 or 8 months (and having trouble sleeping at night), her pediatrician said no to cereal. I was shocked because my daughter's pediatrician was all for it. I'm sure there are many situations that pediatricians disagree on, but this seems to be one that keeps coming up.

Hope this helps!

you can try taking the pacifier away.. he may be waking because he loses it.. cold turkey is the best, but do it on a weekend because it will be hard..

you can scale down the Ferber method too.. but he's still very young, I think that he could be teething and that's what is waking him up. try not to put him in your bed, it's hard to break that habit.

when he wakes up, just cover him and walk out, don't look him in the eye or talk to him, just do what you have to and get out quick. don't pick himup, but rub his back for a minute to calm him then leave. good luck

hi S., i know how tough night waking can be especially since you are pregnant agian. One thing i would recomend is not changing his diaper over night, you may be inadvertently waking him too much each time, also he may be going through a growth spurt, and is unable to make it throught without eating, try adding at least an ounce to each feeding during the day and see if that helps. i agree that if he has learned a new skill that he may be waking to practice it. the pacifier falling out may also be the problem, many pedis reccomend trying to take the pacifier away at this age....although my son still has his. remeber those math problems when you were a kid guess and check i think unfortunately that mey be what you are going through!

Hi S., Congratulations on the pregnancy, wow, god bless you! I have a five month old and cannot imagine going through it again. I think the sleeping situation is just a phase and what we did to ease our son back into his crib (in order to stay asleep) was let him sleep in a pack and play next to your bed rather than in the bed which they seem to prefer. My personal feeling is babies will not have their routine of sleeping through the night until they are at least a year old even if they did it for you temporarily. Good luck to you!

My son was the same way and we said "good bye" to the pacifier!! He taught himself how to go back to sleep on his own and to use his thumb. I put him to bed and down for naps while he's awake and do the same routine each time, put on some quiet music and leave the room. He has been doing this for about a month now. I'd say give it a try if it seems like it will work with your family. You have to be tough the first few times but I was sooooo proud of him and myself after he finally learned :-)

good luck
S.

Hi hun, it could just be a phase... when they start learning new things, they want to wake up or they even wake b/c they miss you. Lack of sleep is hard on parents and even though my son was a good sleeper at that age too, he went through that phase too.. so we did end up bringing him in bed with us. He sleeps from 8p-7a give or take, and we r all much more rested. We do have to transition him into sleeping in his crib, but i dont regret doing that, i love him being close by and i love the sleep. What i noticed that helps my son sleep through the night, is a warm bath with lavender sleepy time soap and lotion and then a warm bottle and low-key activities and dim lights. Most of time time he crawls up to me and lays his head on my chest and falls asleep just like that on his own!! good luck and whatever u choose to do, its your family and as long as u and your husband make a mutual choice thats right for ur family - go with ur instincts!! Love, K.