7 Month NOW Having Trouble Falling Asleep and Sleeping Thru the Night.

How long are his naps? What time does he take his nap? Maybe you should a shorter nap, letting him sleep in later. When my daughter cried in her crib I just let her because she eventually realizes it's bedtime and goes to sleep.

I noticed that when my daughter was a baby, if she was working hard to learn something (crawl, walk, etc.) she would have disrupted sleep and seem overly upset. It could be just that he's concentrating on what he's got to learn at this stage of his development and is stressed out by it. It should pass. Take care, C.

As many others have mentioned, it is possible teething issues that is causing the break in the sleep pattern. My twins broke their first tooth on the same day...and the week or so before that happened, they both struggled to sleep through the night. We also had not changed their routine and didn't know what to think. However, after the first tooth erupted, we gave them Tylenol to ease the pain, and it definitely improved their sleeping.

Best of luck!!

~ L.

Dear G.,
All babies and children go through changes in their sleep patterns as they get older. Some will begin to sleep more, some less. At 7 months, it could be any number of things, tummy ache, teething, startling upon waking.
I don't think there is anything wrong with comforting your baby and even letting him fall asleep on your chest. But you should definitely put him back in his own crib afterward if you don't want to create the habit of him sleeping with you. Kids get sick, they get scared. I think reassuring them is a good thing. That reassurance usually goes a long way toward helping them feel safe and be able to get themselves back to sleep if they awake in the night. I was hit by a car at 6 years old and I slept with my parents for a time after getting out of the hospital. I had a big heavy cast, I had to lay flat, and needed help to the bathroom. It wasn't something that turned into a lifelong habit. I was actually happy to be well enough to have my own bed and my pillows back. My sister, who is three years younger, crawled in bed with me all the time. We slept together more than we didn't. But that's a different story.
Rule out tummy aches and teething. See if a night light or gentle music playing helps.
Best of wishes to you!

Sounds like separation anxiety to me. Try doing this during the day... put him in his crib and then come back in 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes and then 10 minutes. Increase this until he falls asleep. this should build his comfort with knowing that you will come back.

I'm convinced that he is teething! Give him some baby Tylenol and if it's really bad perhaps baby Motrin as well. Call your pediatrician for dosage amount. This is the age when most babies are getting their first teeth, which is hard because how are you supposed to know if you can't see any yet. Mine had a really hard time waking up every hour and even half hour at one point. When ever she gets that way, sure enough we soon see some new teeth emerging. Once we discovered this life was much easier for all of us.

He could be developing separation anxiety, or he may be teething.

Teething is not always visible in the beginning stages, but can still be very painful. Check for swelling or redness in the front of his mouth - both top and bottom. He may not notice any pain while he is awake and being distracted. There are no distractions in bed, though.

He is also going through some major developmental milestones that may be disturbing his sleep.

Could be teething pain. You might want to try a dose of Tylenol or Motrin before bedtime to see if it helps. My daughter was a great sleeper unless she was getting a new tooth. We had the most luck with Motrin because it lasts longer and I think is better for inflamation.

You might want to check if he is teething, has gas or he is moving around a lot and he wakes himself up.

Good Luck

My kids are all grown now, but when they were babies, I actually did get up with them if they really started to cry even if it was 2:30. It is difficult because then you yourself are really tired and dragging through the day because of your own lost sleep. However, when my babies werd not yet verbal I thought it was important for them to know that I would come if they "needed me" and would give them the time and attention until they went back to sleep. I would talk to them and explain that they needed to sleep (and I did!) because I felt they were learning to understand language even though they could not talk. Sometimes I did bring them to our bed and let them fall asleep there, but I don't know if that is advised these days.

The main thing is that I always wanted my babies to know that nighttime was time for sleep, but if they needed me, I was always there for them.

Hi there,

I don't have any solutions for you, but we've gone through the same thing. Our little bundle of joy was a great sleeper and now wakes up a few times at night (she's 10 months now). It could just be a development phase, but maybe it's teeth? Our daughter sprouted her first tooth at 7 months.

Hang in there! Hope you are able to get some rest!

H.

When you put him down the first time, is it because he seems tiered or you just want him to go down because its better for your schedule?
I wait for my 10 month old to get tiered before I put her down. Its usually around the same time every night, so its no big deal, but some nights are later than others. If we have visitors, she usually is excited and stays up a bit later. Personally for me I like it when she goes to bed later because it means she wakes up later in the am - which means I can sleep in. So that's what works for us.
Anyway, the reason I say this is because sometimes if you wait until they are tiered, they sleep better. I have personally experienced this with myself and with my daughter as well. If I try to go to sleep before I'm really tiered I end up tossing and turning all night long.
Hope that helps, or someone else does - I feel for you :(

Could he be teething? My son started teething around that age and every time he teethes it totally distrupts his sleep pattern! I would try giving him some tylenol and comforting him when he is screaming because if it is not normal behavior for him, then something is wrong and he wants you to make him feel better! Just my opinion though, I hope it might help a little bit :> I hope that he returns to his normal sleep pattern soon!!!

If its not teething, I agree with the idea it might be a developmental milestone. Is he learning to do something new? Sitting? Crawling? Standing? When they start to learn something new, their mind becomes more active making sleep more difficult. We see this as adults as well, if you go to bed and you start thinking about all the things that are going to happen tomorrow, it can be extremely difficult to sleep, then you wake up thinking about everything that has to be done. Unfortunately, while we can get some warm milk or watch tv to get our minds off of whatever is going on, all a little one can do is cry.

Just something to think about . . .

the book "The Sleepeasy Solution:
The Exhausted Parent’s Guide to Getting Your Child to Sleep—from Birth to Age 5" helped us a lot when our daughter was 9 months old.

One thing they talk about is reassuring the baby verbally only - not touching. Our daughter sleeps perfectly most nights, but does wake up screaming when she is teathing.

Sounds like he read the "How to be a baby manual" Where on page 20 it says, must throw parents curve ball , must not let them think anything is for sure. Oh boy, sleep is such a tricky one when it gets messed with and such a bummer when a great routine stops working. I don't have any idea's but looks like some other moms did. We have only done one thing and it's worked like a charm for our family. I've never been up with a sleepless or crying baby since. Babies sleep with us. I am the most rested mom you could be with a baby. We love it. But it is a very personal choice. Not everyone finds it works. I hope you'll get your routine back . best wishes.

My daughter did the same thing at around 6 months (she's now 10½ mo.) I never did figure out why, it could be separation anxiety; changing sleeping patterns; teething; or a combination of any or all of these. Another idea is that he’s going through a growth spurt and he needs to eat more during the day. Try to see if you can feed him a little more during the day time – it might help.
Also, with my daughter, I tried to be consistent with what we were doing before she started waking up and I tried not to give her exactly what she wanted in the night so I wasn’t “rewarding” her for waking up. It took about 6 weeks, but we are back to sleeping through the night again ever since! :)
Hang in there.

There are so many changes in the last half of the first year, it's very common to see an increase in the baby's sleep needs. I like the way Dr. Sears puts it, he says that babies often need to be parented to sleep. You were so lucky til now that he would fall asleep alone, but now he's starting up a more common pattern and needs more help.

I recommend the book 'The No Cry Sleep Solution' by Elizabeth Pantley. She takes into account both parent's needs and the unavoidable facts about biology that influence infant sleep.

Also, for accurate info about cosleeping that can be very reassuring, check out James McKenna's research - he has studied infant sleep for many years and is the authority on cosleeping. His research findings help clear up a lot of misinformation that is going around. He has a website with lots of info and articles - http://www.nd.edu/~jmckenn1/lab/. You can also find other articles about infant sleep by googling "James McKenna infant".

is your son learning a new skill, like sitting up or crawling or rolling?, sometimes a baby can wake up to try out his new skills or the brain is working through this new skill and wakes up a sleeping baby. He may also be teething and experiencing pain, try some baby tylenol or motrin if he seems to have teething pain. other wise pick him up and be grateful that he falls back to sleep and place him back in his crib, maybe try singing or rubbing his back- it will pass, take naps when possible

Unfortunately, this IS normal. Likely, he is just getting to the age that he understands that you still exist when he can't see you. Before now, going to bed was just a fact. He now sees the choice: Go to bed, or be with Mom and Dad. I know this doesn't really solve your problem, but I hope it reassures you that this isn't a problem you caused or indication that something is wrong with your son. Remember that you don't want to start habbits that you are going to have to break later, so make sure your solutions are something you can live with long-term.

Hi,
It sounds like your little one is teething. I have 2 boys (2)&(4). They both have done that periodically, when ever they were teething. I always put Baby Orejel on there gums on a hard night, an Hylands Teething tablets on the rest of the time. It doesn't magically fix the problem, but it somewhat soothes. Hang in there... in my experience it lasted a couple weeks each time.

It sounds like a new "sleeping stage". this was about the age that both of my boys started the same thing.

It took an "adjusted" routine, and some White Noise in the background to help. Soon, it was back to normal (well, for one of my boys....the other took longer :o)....

Just "listen" to what he needs at bedtime, and you'll figure out what's best for him. I'm sure it's a simple adjustment, and the "need" to have something. He's just more aware of his little life now, and knows that if he needs something, you will get it......

My sister had the same problem, with her son, at exact the same age. They had him in a crib at the foot of their bed. By the time he hit 7mos old, he would start waking up. When he visited Grandma's house....he slept through the night! Come to find out, Grandma had him in the Guest Room with a small fan on to circulate the air. The next day, my sister and her husband moved his crib out of their room and into the playroom.....he slept straight through the first night, and he was 7 mos old! He's now 1 and 1/2 and has been sleeping through the night ever since!

VERY occassionally, it is the simple things :o)

Good luck :o)

I don't have any advice about how to fix this, but at his age separation anxiety may be starting to set in. He is starting to understand that you still exist even when he can't see you, so when he wakes up at night he misses you. I know it's frustrating, but it is a sign that he has become attached to you (in a good way!) and it's a normal part of his development. Our son always cries when he wakes up at night, and I have to rock him back into a deep sleep and then I can lay him back down. I hope you're all sleeping soundly again soon!

How frustrating! Two thoughts come to mind for me. Is it possible he is teething? That wakes them up! You would probably notice increased drool, perhaps some fingers in the mouth, and, depending on how close teeth are to erupting, reddish/dark pink gums. Baby orajel helps, as do baby motrin and tylenol with his pediatrician's okay. My other thought is that perhaps your son is about to hit a developmental milestone (either physical or mental). Rolling over, sitting up, crawling, pulling up, walking, babbling more, talking -- all of these (and more that I'm sure I'm forgetting) can be preceded by temporary sleep disruptions. Growth spurts can also disrupt sleep if your son gets growing pains. Some kids, such as my son, get pretty bad growing pains (we have treated them with Motrin, but you should def check w/ the doc at your son's age before giving any meds). One thing that you appear to have discovered is that later bedtimes do not work. In fact, they will compound the problem. Sleepy kids get rushes of adrenaline that make sleeping even more difficult. You might want to pick up "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby." (I might have reversed the title.) It is written by a doc who heads the sleep clinic at U Chicago. While I feel the author is a bit extreme in one or two cases, I found 95% of the book extremely helpful and informative.

We have had some similar experiences with our 11 month old. He has been sleeping through the night since he was about 8 weeks old as well. He goes down easily, either nurses to sleep or just really sleepy and then falls asleep on his own. We have run into these same problems when my son has either been teething, growing or isn't feeling well. He will have a hard time going down (even if he is really tired) and he wakes up at night. Usually when he wakes up, we go in there and the same thing happens, he falls asleep on our shoulder and then we put him back in his crib. sometimes it takes 2 or 3 times during the course of a night. I would just say it is normal and it is probably a stage he is going through.

Good luck!

Could he be teething? My son is about 14 months and has always been a great sleeper (going down without a fuss, sleeping thru the night) unless he has a tooth coming very soon.. We had the same experience this last week as well and didn't even think about another tooth..Not only was he teething but he had 2 molars come thru which I'm sure is very painful for him.. and now he's right back to sleeping thru the night, in his own crib.. Just bear with it, and don't worry about him getting use to falling asleep on your chest or in your bed for the next few nights (one day your going to wish they would still do that).. remember that our job is to comfort and love them..Cherish the moment and Good luck