My 4 1/2 month old son has been sleeping through the night since 10 weeks old. He sometimes wakes up around 2am lately, and he did that about 2 months ago and I upped his oz thinking he was hungry and that seemed to work. But also, when he woke up 2 months ago, he WAS hungry and you could tell. But now he just wakes up, and I can usually go in and give him his pacifier and he stops crying instantly and usually will go back to sleep, but then he might wake up again 10-15 min later and I go and give him the pacifier again, he goes right back to sleep. Sometimes we might do this 5 times until he really falls back to sleep for a few hours. I don't think he is hungry since he does usually go right back to sleep. When he was waking up hungry, it was a completely different cry and you just knew he was ready to eat. I have tried waiting about 5 minutes before going in to see if he would soothe himeself back to sleep, but after the 5 min or so, I go and put the pacifier back in so I can go back to sleep too. Am I doing this wrong? I've toyed with the idea that he may be teething because his hands are ALWAYS in his mouth and he's been drooling (which he's never done before). I'm sure there are others who have had this happen, so any advice you have would be great!
Also, he has been sleeping since day 1 on a sleep positioner that puts him at a slight incline. He really is too big for it now and I want to transition his so he is just sleeping on his mattress. I tried once about a month ago, and he was waking up all night long! I put the thing back for the moment until my Husband and I were ready to up and down all night again, then he got sick so we left it alone because the incline actually helped him with his congestion. Anyway, we are ready to try again. Any suggestions on making this an easier transition? Thanks ladies!!
Sounds like he's teething -- the drooling is a dead give-away..... Sometimes loose stools and/or fever will accompany teething.
What a good baby, though, if all you need to do is give him a pacifier to quiet him.
Is he a day-care baby? If so, they are pretty good at training and conditioning a child not to expect too much pampering.
My 4 1/2 old son does the same thing. I think he is teething also because he does the same things. We just started him on cereral and he seems to get super hungery late at night. Were going to start giving him baby food now too and hopefully that will solve the trick. Our son never liked the pacifier. When he did finally get ahold of it he would end up spitting it out and that woke him up. I read to help prevent SIDS use a pacifier. That might be whats wakeing him up hes dozing off and looses grip of the thing and it wakes him up. Try some music in his room. Our son just a couple of weeks ago has moved from his reclining chair for babys to his crib. The first few nights were kinda bad where he woke up several times for feedings. But now he sleeps threw in his crib. He might be wanting a teething ring or try some baby teething relief. I also put my hand on him and make calming shushing sounds that seems to help with nap time and he falls asleep. If he is wimpering/fussing I turn his mobile on and he drifts back to sleep. We have a remote with it so he never sees me becaues if he sees me its all over. I watch him closley I am not ignoring his wimpering. I would also check with your doctor about letting him sleep on his belly. My son hates it and it truly scares me to let him sleep like this. Good luck and God bless.
It does sound like he is teething. The first time he wakes if he has been drooling and biting his hands during the day try Gentle Naturals Homeopathic Teething Drops. The bottle has Winnie-the-Pooh and friends on the cover. It is safe for 4 months plus and it has very mild natural ingredients such as chamomile in it. It will help soothe him and modify the pain. It is safe to give every 2 hours I think. If that doesn't work, try one dose of tylenol and see if it helps. We would only use medical pain killers at night and only after the baby woke from pain.
The other thing that works well for pacifier babies as they get older is to slip extra pacifiers on the arms and legs of a stuffed toy so there are spares in case they fall out of the crib. I know your son is a little young for that yet, but it may help as he gets older if you are still having to binky him multiple times a night.
You can't spoil an infant by holding and snuggling them. They need that reassurance. Try baby Oragel for teething.
I used to rock my daughter back to sleep , when she just wouldn't sleep . Sometimes they just need that tender touch of one of thier parent's . Baby's need alot of love . Also have you tryed rubbing his back and singinging a sweet song to him ? My daughter used to like James Taylor's version of You've got a friend . Also I would make up sweet song's to sing when she was little . Good luck , I know he will be ok ! G.
Our daughter did the same. Slept through the night for the most part from 8 weeks. At about 3 or 4 months she suddenly wasn't. She would cry, I would give her her pacifier, and she would go back to sleep. But it happened more and more frequently through the night. We decided we weren't helping her. So we started letting her cry, which is what we also did with naps. We wanted her to learn to fall asleep on her own. The first night we let her cry about 20 minutes and then gave her her pacifier. (It's really good to have a set time. You know you get to go to them within a certain number of minutes.) Same the next night. The next night she stopped crying before the 20 minutes were up...and without the pacifier. It wasn't like she never cried in the night again, but for the most part she didn't. She's nearly 8 months now and finds her pacifier on her own in the night. Hope this helps!
I don't know what to tell you about the waking, except that he has to learn to soothe himself back to sleep. My girlfriend did the "wake up and give the pacifyer" thing till her daughter was over a year old...she was miserable!
As for the incline, try putting blocks under one end of the crib to incline it. Do not try to prop the actual mattress, because the mattress could shift and trap your baby. See if that helps him to sleep better too.
Good luck.
My little man did that for a while too. He has since figured out how to put the pacifier back in his mouth by himself.
We tried just letting him cry himself back to sleep and break the need for the pacifier but ended up getting up and putting it back in. At the time it seemed like it would go on forever and we would never get sleep again but now I can't remember how long it lasted.
As far as the incline, I don't know of any other way than just removing it. It might actually help him learn to search for the pacifier himself with a little more freedom.
Well, I hope this at least comforted you knowing that it will stop. I don't know if I actually helped with any advice.
Good luck to you!
Before I even read the part about teething, I was thinking it! Those darn things take WEEKS to surface and they seem tobe very othersome at night! He could do this for a while before something breaks through. Don't rule out a growth spurt although you did say he was not crying out in hunger. Try a little water to fill his tummy.... it might do the trick!
Even though my babies aren't babies any more, I still remember nights just like you described. And teething is what came to my mind. There are alot of things you can do for him. you can use the baby numbing jells and the pain relieving drops for when it gets bad but there are other things you can do also. This is something that will help with the drooling that he will be doing. But it is best done when he gets older or when you can be right there with him and help him hold it. My grandmother actually told me to do this with my oldest who is now 16 yrs old. She told me to take a good clean wash cloth get it wet (make sure to wring it out good) and place it in the freezer for about an hour. It serves two purposes. One is for the coldness to sooth his gums and the other is to help absorb the drooling. Of course due to sanitary reasons, you wouldn't want to let him suck on this for a continued amount of time only for just a small amount of time.
Hi S.,
After reading through your question, you mention that you are wanting to let him self soothe, but when you keep puting the pacifier in his mouth, he is never gettting the chance to self soothe. I would recommend a book, "The Secrets of the Baby Whisperer." by Tracy Hogg. This book has helped me so much being a first time mother myself. In the book she outlines situations exactly like the one you are experiencing, and gives great advice on how to overcome. I would highly recommend this read,
Thanks,
A.
Sounds like teething. And 4 1/2 months is about the time when my daughter's first tooth came in. Call you pediatrician and ask fora thumbs up on giving some infant tylonal. I never used the drops or numbing creams for her teething, because its just more stuff (chemicals) for them to ingest. With tylonal, you know exactly how much the baby has been given during a certian time period.
What are you and your husband doing when you get home from work? Are you constantly holding the baby? He might be spoiled.
It does sound like your son might be teething. The first time he wakes up, try teething gel. If it is teeth, this should help. We tried this with my son and it worked, As he got closer to the teeth breaking through, we started teething gel and Tylenol. The gel to do the instant numbing and the Tylenol for longer results.
S.,
if you think he his teething ,have you ever heard of teething bicguts they are a small pill in the baby theath section they work GREAT ,,,,if you think its congestion maybe you need to take him to the DR .no ?? is a dumb one one the DR can help and give advice
good luck lasnette
First, get rid of the pacifier. You are already experiencing the problems it poses--falling out and baby can't find it. Secondly, consider not using a pacifier at all. There are concerns now about the silicone and health risks for babies. I have three children and never used one--it can be done. Also, letting your baby "soothe" himself back to sleep is a misnomer. It is actually "not responding to your baby". Try putting your son on him tummy. If he can roll over to his tummy by himself, then he can do this anyway. (If he can't yet, he will be able to very soon.) I am not sure what solid foods you have tried...A book I absolutely love and still use is Super Baby Food. Even if you don't make all of your own baby food, it is a wonderful resource. The bibliography is extensive. The author, Ruth Yaron, has done a tremendous amount of research. Some good first foods for your son are banana, sweet potato, porridge, avacado. Good Luck!
