We just transitioned our 5 month old from the cradle in our room to his own room this past weekend. He slept in a Pack & Play for three nights (our daughter was transitioning from crib to bed a the same time) and slept in a crib for the first time last night. The first night he did well - he got up 3 times, but went back to sleep fairly easily each time. He has been sleeping through the night since about 2 1/2 months and no longer needs nighttime feedings. The past 3 nights he has been crying out almost every hour, but will go back to sleep almost instantly when given back his pacifier. He has used a pacifier since birth, but when in the cradle would wake up only occasionally and need it. Some nights he did not wake up at all. Needless to say, I am not getting any sleep with having to get up and trek across the house to give him his pacifier every hour (I usually make my husband get up every third time). I don't want him to cry it out and wake up his older siblings, as they both have school in the mornings. I also don't think he is quite old enough for this approach.
My older 2 both used pacifiers, but never went through this extreme need for the pacifier every hour during the night! I am feeling very desperate for some sleep and am at a loss as to what to do. Has anybody been through this? Have any great advice?
he is probably teething and wants to nurse to relieve the pain
ill be checking out this post to see if there are any good responses. I have a 3 month old now who will be transferring to the crib from the cradle in about a week. (or when dad puts it in his room.). I have a two year old who about your sons age would wake up all the time at night crying for his binky. on top of it, we just moved 2 days ago and he's in his own room now. (takes him a lot longer to go to sleep in the first place now). anyways, it seems to me its an age thing. he's well aware he wants that binky in his mouth, but he's too young to put it in his mouth himself. when he can, though...i'll give you a hint there: stick like 10 binkies in his crib! he will always have on within arms reach and he'll leave you alone so you dont have to go find it for him. also, maybe even at this point...get a binky clip for his shirt. they have short leashes on them, so he wont strangle, dont worry. just long enough to go from top of shirt up to mouth. even at 5 months, maybe keep showing him if he pulls on that string, there is a binky on the other end. eventually he'll get it.the correllation between the binky and transition is that the binky is a soother. when he wakes up, he needs it now cause he doesnt feel as comfortable. i dont know what else to say..i'll be watching your post!
I really think it could be a combination of things. Yes, he could be teething - but if that was the case he would be fussy during the day too. I think the bigger issue is how drastic of a change you are expecting an infant to make. When he was in your room in a cradle - he was in a much smaller bed - he probably physically felt more secure than he does in the new crib which probably seems big and empty feeling to him. Secondly, when he was in your room in a cradle, there were the noises, the smell and the presence of his parents. In his crib, in a separate room there are none of those things - so when he wakes up in the middle of the night - it's big, empty, quiet - no mommy and daddy sounds or smells. Scary. I'd take it slower with him - can one of your sleep in his room for part of the night or one of his siblings or can the crib be in your room for a week or so? It's all in the interest of both of you getting a good nights sleep. The other positive is, they grow up so fast - in the blink of an eye he will be walking and talking and very independent from you.
Oh you poor thing! I have heard that it takes on average 3 days to establish a new routine. Essentially, that is what you are doing. My daughter wouldn't sleep in her crib well until we put a fuzzy blanket under her. It's warmer and more cuddly, and now she sleeps like a champ! Could he be teething? Maybe that is why he is up every hour. You could try giving him Tylenol before he goes to bed and see if that helps. If it does, I would say he's teething and the transition is just a coincidence. Maybe he's too cold in his room by himself. We put a little space heater on the floor in our daughter's room. I know it sounds dangerous, but it has a thermostat on it so it doesn't run all night long, and honestly, a 4 month old is not going to climb out of their crib and play with the heater. So, you could try the heater in his room. I would stay away from feeding him or bringing him back in your room, because you don't want to have to break those habits again later. Hopefully this helps and good luck!
Sounds to me like he's going through some kind of transition with his sleep habits. Our pediatrician had told us this was common even for the best sleepers. Neither of our kids slept through the night until after their first birthdays as they needed nighttime feedings.
I'm not a fan of the CIO method - honestly, I get poor enough sleep that I can't afford to lose more.
Have you tried a bottle/nursing to see if it is an issue with being hungry? Is the room a different temperature that perhaps he's getting cold.
Our son was a thumb sucker as an infant, so we never had to worry about lost pacifiers in the crib. Our daughter is a different story.
My recommendation (until he gets back into a routine) would probably be to bring him back in your room so you can easily tend to whatever the need might be and then transition him back to his crib when that routine is established. That's just my opinion, though.
Good luck!
At the end of 4 months I moved my daughter from the bassinette in our room to her crib. I turned the little night light on and used a sound machine w/ ocean waves on (still use both). I swaddled her still, even though she always made her way out of it through the night. She's also a big binky fan. When she was that little and it was winter, I didn't feel comfortable putting fluffy blankets in there yet, so I turned up the heat in the house. I can't remember when I started giving her a lovey at night (I don't think it was til around 7 mos.), but that helped too. The combination of everything seemed to help her stay asleep so she didn't wake up realizing her pacifier had fallen out.
I am actually having the same problem with my almost 6 mo old. However, she has never used a pacifier and we transitioned her to her crib 2 months ago, so we're pretty sure it's neither of those issues. Like yours, she's been sleeping through the night since about 3 months until the last 3 weeks. That being said, she popped 1 tooth through 2 weeks ago and a second this week. I think we've found our culprit and we started giving Tylenol before bed and rubbing orajel on when she wakes up in the middle of the night. It may not stop the waking completely, but it helps! Can't wait for both teeth to get to the growth point of not hurting anymore. Your baby is just about at the right age for first teeth. You might try some orajel.
For your crib transition, one way to help make it less stressful is to make sure you're following the same routine every night at bedtime so that WHERE the baby is sleeping becomes less important to him. And while I know you aren't a fan of crying-it-out, rather than jumping at the first whimper, you might try giving your son a minute or two to try to put himself back to sleep--unless he's instantly crying insanely. Good luck!
A Halo sleep sack, and I agree with the tylenol. Good luck!
Binky leash like the one poster said. I swear by them! He will eventually learn to put it in his mouth. Maybe swaddle your little guy a bit because the crib is much larger than the cradle.
Try hanging out in the room for a couple of hours to see if there's anything different going on that would wake the baby. But, probably, it is just adjusting to the new environment. This, too, shall pass!
