6 Months Old Son Still Not Sleeping

We coslept and it made a huge difference

Edited: cry it out did not work my youngest would cry all night he made a very smooth transition to his own bed at age 3 no crying much less stressful and traumatic then cry it out.

When he did that 4 hr stretch was he mostly breastfeeding you say you do mostly formula maybe the formula does not agree with him. Or maybe silent reflux???

I just wanted to offer my support, because I am in the same boat you are. My dd is 6 mo old, and still gets up 2-3 times a night to eat (she is breastfed). She, like your son, also sometimes wakes up in the early morning hours (3, 4, 5) and doesn't want to go back to sleep. It's exhausting, isn't it? Like you, I do not want to leave her to cry (she really seems hungry when she wakes up). I don't think you should let anyone pressure you into letting her cry-I know some people have success with it, but if it's not for you, it's not for you. I've actually been reading that the CIO method can lead to worse sleep in the long run, because you end up later with toddlers/children who view bed and night as a scary/lonely place to be, rather than a happy and comfortable place. Anyway, we saw the pediatrician this morning, and she suggested moving to solids 3 times a day to see if that makes a difference, and giving her more solids in the evening. I am trying avacado, which she loves, and which is pretty calorie-dense. Best wishes to you-if you find the magic trick, let me know! :)

Both of my kids would never sleep through the night as babies. It does not seem to happen in our family till about age 2. I have read it all and tried it all. Yes, even CIO did not work one bit - although it did get our son to sleep longer at a time. I truly believe it is a personality thing and for some kids there is not much you can do. They will do it when they are able to and perhaps for your son it is not possible yet.

Has your child been checked for reflux?

Some symptoms: does he wake up crying? does he arch his back when he cries? when he won't go back to sleep, is it because he's upset or he just wants to play? Does he like to 'snack' with his bottle (drink just a few ounces more often instead of having just a few bigger meals)? Does he sometimes cry at night like he is hurting, but tylenol and mylicon don't help?

My baby had reflux, and it was at its worse from 6-8 months. He woke every 2 hours crying. Sometimes he would calm down a little when he had milk (from me or formula from a bottle) because it would soothe his heartburn. But within a few hours, it would wake him again. Other times, it would hurt enough that he couldn't go back to sleep at all. Once I got him on a reflux med that worked and was at the right dose, within a few days he went from waking every 2 hours to sleeping two 4-5hour stretches, which I could deal with.

If you think there is any chance he has it (any of these symptoms sound familiar), you can easily check using an antacid under the direction of your pediatrician for appropriate doses, etc. (And please notice that I did NOT include spitting up as a symptom. Some babies with reflux spit up, but many do not, you can google silent reflux for info.)

I know that CIO works for some people, but if your baby is crying like he's hurting, please try looking at reflux as a possible cause.

good luck

I have to agree with CIO. It really won't be as bad as you imagine. If you do it right and stick to it, it only takes 2-3 days. My suggestion if you do want to try it is that you occupy yourself with something for the 5 minutes when you are out of the room. I went on the computer and looked up the People Magazine site. My daughter only cried for a total of 12 minutes the first night and 3 minutes the second. The third night there was no crying. It was like a miricle. The best part was that my pediatrician spelled out exactly what do do and I followed it to the T. I loved him for suggesting something that I would have never done on my own. If you are unsure, call the doctor and see how he/she feels about it. It will put you at ease.

I hate to tell you this, but some babies are just not programmed to sleep through the night... for a LONG time! My son didn't sleep through the night until he was almost 3 YEARS old - and I tried CIO for three WEEKS straight, very consistently... he was just telling me that he NEEDED to be close to me to sleep. My daughter slept through the night at 6 weeks old until 6 months old. Then she achieved object permanence - this is probably what is happening with your son. This means that even though you leave the room, they now know that you still exist and are out there somewhere without them! This is not what they want, obviously. They want to be with you, or you with them, at all times :) So if you've ruled out health issues, and you know he is eating enough during the day, you have two choices. 1. Let him cry it out and see if it works or 2. Bring him to bed with you and hope he sleeps better feeling safe by your side - but realize that co-sleeping really will go on until you break the cycle/habit. My son was in his own bed in my room from 2-3yrs, the went to his own room with gentle prodding at 3yrs old. My daughter has been back and forth due to several moves, several bed changes (crib/toddler/full size/our bed), and different living situations - but has always had a parent sleeping with her for half the night. In this case we know we have created the situation and are totally ok with it (my husband is gone for 6 months anyway, why not sleep with the baby?). You have to decide what you are ok with, what you want for your family and do it - and you can always change your mind - this is not a life or death situation... just find a way to get sleep!

Mamma, Congratulations for not leting your baby cry it out! So much better for your sanity, and the absolute best for your baby's mental and physical health.

All babies are different, and what works for one may not work for any others.

He may have a problem with the formula.

Once awake in the early AM, that may be HIS time. You would do better to move to a different time zone, in his book.

My baby didn't sleep through the night in anyone else's book for 2.5 years. That being said, we coslept with our second from night one, and he slept SO much better!

I think I posted most of the contraindications for bedsharing in another post, so look my answers up (today's in fact, I think!) but contact La Leche League for a really comprehensive list.

All babies are different. What works for some will be viewed as torture by others, and vice versa.

Let go of your frustration, get sleep at different times, and enjoy your baby. he will be this size only once. That is the best and only true advice I can really give.

And congratulations on nursing your baby for a full 6 months! So many doctors are not current in their reading that the AMA advocates a full year - the WHO advocates weaning some time after TWO full years. (Why is that? Big pharma wants to sell you formula that's why? why? nothing to do with third world countries' water supplies - SWEDEN is not a third world country!)

pat onthe back to you for not letting your baby cry. I love to read that every time,
Good luck,
M.

Have you tried crying it out yet? I know you didn't want to before, I remembered your 4 month old question, but it really can work.

My daughter woke between 8-12 times per night for a YEAR. It was awful, awful, awful, but it finally got better.

I have to disagree with one response. You can't just make a decision based on your parenting philosophy and just stick with it. As parents, we need to adjust our parenting frequently to do the best for our kids. You have to do what works for you and your child as an individual on, sometimes, a day to day basis. Kids don't always thrive in the mold that we as parents set for them, and we need to be aware of our children's needs.

I am not anti CIO in a scaled down version, but it did NOT work for our daughter. Hang in there! You will know what is right for you, and hopefully, you will all be getting some rest soon!

I have to agree with the others, some babies just don't sleep thru the night! My 16 month old still wakes frequently throughout the night. I stopped feeding her the nighttime bottle around 6 months old though and had to make her CIO. It was 3 nights of torture but then she was fine and stopped waking for it. Now, she's waking up due to teething issues and before she got the tubes put in, she was waking because of the pain from all of her ear infections. It never ends! All I can say is just do whatever you have to do in order to get sleep. Co-sleeping or feeding the nighttime bottle is perfectly acceptable in my opinion! Sleep deprivation is NO joke!

Oh man oh man I feel for you. I was in the same boat, posted the same question on this site and got 38 different responses. People made me feel bad for considering CIO even though I was pretty against it at the time, and others made me feel dumb for co-sleeping. I then became pregnant when my 1st was 6 months and I just had to get some sleep. I hired sleep consultants, knowing that it would probably involve some crying. I wanted to know that if there was crying, that it would work as quickly as possible so I enlisted help out of sheer desperation. And it did. In one night, she went from being up 4x/night and not napping, to sleeping 13 hours every night and napping 2x/day. I know you're against CIO and I get that, but if you knew that it would work quickly if done right (there was WAY less crying that I expected), you might consider it. She learned ability to get herself to sleep and it was the best gift. And I used those same techniques (though I admit I am far less strict) with my 10 month and I got him sleeping 12 hrs/ night by the time he was 7 months old. I did it more gradually with him, starting at 6 months, the perfect age to get him to sleep through the night. Yes, all babies are different, but it sounds like you're going to have to take some steps to change this pattern. I am not saying that you should blindly do this, but maybe start to consider what has legitimately worked for moms of good sleepers. I also look back and realize that the moms who made me feel badly for even considering CIO (which I still totally understand) also seemed to have kids that were not sleeping very well. Whatever works best for you but I have been on the side of both camps and wanted to share what eventually worked for us.

If you let him CIO, he will sleep. If you don't, he will not sleep.
This is just one of those times you need to make a decision and stick to it that is based on your parenting philosophy.

my baby is 6 month and same problem he never sleep more than two hours either day or night he wake up nurse and give me hard time to go back sleep he love to wake up around midnight and start to need to play have fun and never back to sleep untill 4 or 5 am this drive me to be so nervous and too tierd and start to be depressed and at day I had to do all the staff and take care of my husband and him i rarely sleep and rest and no one to help I feel so awful

I've been there and feel for you. My son didn't fully sleep longer than four hour stretches until he was 13 months old. Is your son teething? That could be the culprit. Or it could be sleep regression which is a fancy way of saying that he has a lot of stuff going on right now such as teething or brain/body development that won't let him sleep. It will pass like everything else, but in the meantime continue to have a routine. Hang in there.

Have you tried a white noise machine? My son was 10 months before he slept through the night. I feel your pain! I think the white noise machine helped though. Also, how is his nap schedule during the day?

Have you tried to give him cereal right before you put him to bed. It sounds like he maybe hungry when he wakes up. We are 8 months old, but have been on solids for the last 5 months. We do solids 3-4 times a day along with a bottle. We also do snack bottles as necessary during the day. I would def. try to make sure his belly is as full as it can be before putting him to bed.

Will he sleep in the car or a swing? I ask because, our first baby slept so well and was a textbook baby... then came baby #2!! He was the exact opposite! He was (and is still at 2.5yo) not a great sleeper. We tried a variety of things to get through the nights. He used to sleep well in the swing, vibrating bouncy chair and the car.

We'd sometimes let him stay in the swing through the night (of course we'd turn off the swinging sometime in the wee hours). Even to this day, he will fall right to sleep in the car, but will not take a nap to save his life. At night, we rub his back and keep everything very calm.

Aside from the obvious things: hunger, gas, diaper, tags itching them, being cold/hot, illness, etc... it may just be your baby's personality. To this day, our son is NOT a great sleeper. He will sleep through the night (starting at about 11mo--ugh), but will awake at the slightest disruption. We always keep a small fan on med-high in his room, which help to drown out noises. Another thing, he keeps is eyes slightly open when he sleeps (I know, creepy), so keeping his room dark is key.

Try reading "The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night" and "On Becoming Baby Wise: Giving Your Infant the Gift of Nighttime Sleep." I also really liked all the "Baby Whisperer" books. They all provide great insights and tips.

Good luck!

I know you say you have asked this question 3 times and things have gotten worse. You also said you don't want to let him cry it out... but by 6 months, a baby doesn't need to get up to eat, they are getting up out of habit or waking because of natural sleep rythyms and can't get back to sleep on their own. My kids were really good sleepers from the start, but there were occasions when I did let them cry it out.... and it worked. My kids are fine.... happy, loving, social, well ajusted kids who sleep well! When done correctly, crying it out works within a couple of nights and you will all be better off in the long run with a good nights sleep. I say if all else has failed, you might want to consider this route. I know a lot of people who have done it, and nobody I know has regretted it.