I have a 16 week old adorable little boy. He has been basically sleeping through the night for the past month now, but I do get have to give him his binky quite a few times during the night. I know he is not hungry, because he would not be OK with just getting his binky. I put him down to sleep between 8 and 9 and he sleeps until around 7. There are some night he wakes up constantly. I know he is tired still because he falls back asleep, but how do I get him to stay asleep instead of waking up constantly through the night??
Some people may or may not agree with this...but I ended up putting atleast 4 binky's in the crib. Whenever my daughter would roll, reach ect...she was bound to find one. It worked for us??
my first daughter slept through the night at 7 weeks. My second daughter did not sleep through the night until 9 months. Some babies have a higher metabolism and therefore require calories on a consistent basis. Go ahead and feed the baby when he wakes up at night. He is falling asleep because he is tired, but he is waking up because he is hungry. The binky calms him and the sucking fools his brain into thinking he is eating. You all might get more rest if you fill up his tummy. Exhausting sure, but once he is eating a good diet of solid food, around 9 months, he'll begin sleeping through the night. Maybe sooner.
Hey K.
I had the same problem with my twins. They are now 15mths and finally sleeping through the night!!! It took me a year to get them to do it. Through trial and error, I found that the more I wear them out during the day, the more they sleep at night. We had to go to one nap a day and tons of playing. Now, with a 3 1/2 mth I am not sure what kind of physical activities you can do to wear him out...but maybe some type of stimulation an hour or so before bed?? I hope you don't have to fight this as long as I did!! Good luck.
M.
K.,
At 16 weeks, he could absolutely be hungry; don't expect him to sleep through the night just b/c that's what "the books" say. Babies (and toddlers) are constantly going through changes, both mental and physical, and the best thing you can do for your son right now is respond promptly to his cries because he needs you. He may be waking due to teething, growth spurt, b/c he's scared and needs his mama! Sorry to disagree with the other advice but ignoring you childs cries is the last thing I would (instinctually) do. We in the US are so quick to put our children in another room away from his family and expect him to be alright. Just as our children need our constant attention during the ady, they need us just as much in the night. Check out Dr. Sears site and read what he has to say about nightime parenting.
Warmly,
C.
My 20 month old also sleeps with a binky. Most times she sleeps through the night and sometimes she wakes up looking for her binky. As soon as I find it for her she goes right back to sleep. Half the time if I just wait a few minutes she'll find it on her own. It's just one of those things we have learned to live with. The good thing is that they go back to sleep right away. Honestly, I think it's comfort thing. They need to know we are still there if they do wake up. I find she sleeps better if she gets to bed as soon as she's tired (even if it's an hour or so early), and if she has the fan or some "white noise" on.
3 things.
#1 Keep him on a schedule (nap him during the day)(one long nap 1 1/2hrs.+ or 2 short naps at least 30min. each). I noticed with my 2 boys that even if they were well behaved when they skipped a nap they woke up more frequently throughout the night.
#2 Don't get him into the habit of counting on you for binky retrieval. The more you do it the more you'll HAVE to do it. Let him self soothe as hard as it may seem. I learned the hard way with my first son and trust me I learned from my mistakes. lol
#3 You can also try a glow-in-the-dark binky. Believe it or not it may help him develope his motor skills by giving him the patience to reach for his own binky that he can actually see. (If you choose this one make sure you buy a few and keep them under a light sorce to give them maximum charge.)
CONGRATS, GOOD LUCK, & TAKE CARE!
Hi K.,
Do you rush right in when you hear him start to cry? The only reason is, we have a 7 month old and she'll wake up a few times, crying but we give her a minute before we rush up to her room. 9 times out of 10 she's still sleeping but is crying in her sleep and she'll fall back asleep. Let him self sooth if you can and if you know forsure he's not up and hungry.
Have you checked his diaper, he could be wet,or he could be cold-if he kicked off his blankets, or maybe he had a dream and just needs to know mommy is there. Is he in your room still? I do think it is still normal for a 3 1/2 month old to not be sleeping through the night, though, he's still pretty young. If you think it could be from hunger, you could give him a little cereal before bed. I always enjoyed the middle-of-the-night snuggle,though, when the house was quiet.
He's young, I know, but he's just going to have to start learning self-soothing. When he wakes up in the night, he'll have to learn to fall back to sleep on his own. With my daughter, because finding one lone pacifier might be a challenge, I kept several of them in one specific corner of her crib. That way, if she woke up and wanted her paci, she could easily get one. Hope that helps.
