7 Month Old Is on New Born Sleep Schedule!

My daughter did the same thing. She was a great sleeper until she gained mobility. I was told that because her activity has increased in the day time, it carried over into the night.

Is she getting enough to eat throughout the day? That is very important to sleep as well as what you feed her before bedtime.

I have a 10 mo old, breastfed boy. At around 6 months we ferberized him, it's not as awful or torturous to the baby as it sounds. It only takes about 4 nights, but you will need your husbands help to get it going. I read that after 6 mos breastfed babies shouldn't be waking to eat during the night, after they start solids they should be ok on a 4 hour eating schedule the last feeding being before bed. During his sleep training I made a rule for myself that I would not nurse him before 5am. I still stick to this rule and he goes to bed at 7:30 every night and he wakes up every day between 5-5:40 because he expects to be fed. I bring him to my bed at that point and nurse him. Most days he falls back asleep and we both get more rest until about 7am. He takes a morning nap around 8 or 9 for about 1hr45min he takes his afternoon nap at 3 for about the same time frame. At 7pm I nurse him the last time of the day, we put on his pjs, go into his room and read a couple of stories and I sing him a couple of songs. I put him in his crib awake. Most nights he just lays there and plays with his lovie for a few min and falls asleep, some nights he still cries, but usually falls asleep within 5-10 min. The only time I ever break the routine is if he is sick and could become dehydrated, but when he's better we go back to it.

Hi A., I'm sorry I don't have any advice. I was going to post a very similar question about my 5 month old. His sleeping is out of wack due to teething, but I'm afraid it will turn into what you are dealing with. Curious to see your responses. There has to be a time soon in our lives where we get some sleep! Good luck!

really i just want to let you know that we went through the same thing. our daughter was great until 3 mos. from 3-6 mos she woke up about 3 times a night. from 6-10 mos it was about 5-6 times a night. from 10-12mos, around 2 times a night. all of a sudden, at a year, she started sleeping through the night. the only thing that happened at that time was that i had to quit nursing her b/c of circumstances. i'm not positive this was the reason, but she definitely couldn't sleep without constantly nursing. and she would do a full feeding too! but a baby doesn't have to eat in the night---especially not 2-6 times! she couldn't sleep for more than 1 1/2 hrs at a time. i really think it was habit and then comfort. we tried several things and i'd always decide in defeat that i'd just have to wait it out. we tried letting her cry it out for naps and going to bed and she would scream to the point of making herself have a bowel movement for up to 1hr45min. i figured i couldn't do that in the middle of the night. i thought she was to old and too stubborn and we missed the training period of crying it out. looking back, i think i should have and that would have been the only thing that maybe would have worked. but i can't tell you for sure. i have a 2 mo old and i'm anxious to see if the same thing happens. i'm definitely going to do things different. i know it's soooo hard. i'm glad we're both sah moms...i can't imagine trying to work through all that time! i do think some kids have a hard time staying asleep, but i think there's something to teaching them to go back to sleep on their own. i definitely don't have an answer, just wanted to let you know that you're not the only one! hopefully something changes for you!

I would try to cut out one of those naps in the afternoon. It sounds like she is getting too much sleep during the day so she is not tired at night. Push the first nap a little later in the afternoon and cut out the second nap completely. She will probably sleep a little longer and then be ready for bed a little earilier. She is also possibly going through a growth spurt which will make her hungry more often so that could be throwing things off as well.

Sounds like the 6 mo growth spurt. this too shall pass. Kymberli

My son did not sleep more than 2.5 hrs at a time for the first year. I breast fed him the first 10 months and then moved to formula. He did not have acid reflux and other than a pretty constant runny nose he seemed very healthy. We had him tested for allergies a week after his first birthday and found out he was allergic to milk and eggs. Literally the day we removed milk products from his diet he slept through the night. You may want to remove milk and/or soy products from your diet and see if that helps. I have read that those are the two most common allergies in infants.

Good luck! My husband and I joke that we can't even remember the first year since we got no sleep! I hope it goes better for you!

I have an 8 month old grandson who is also giving his folks fits about sleeping!! About this time in their young lives they really start to pay attention to the world around them. I have noticed that my little fella is really interested in everything in sight...nothing is boring to him!! I am convinced that at this age life is just to darn exciting to waste time sleeping...and you may need to just relax and go with the flow for a while. Remember...'this too shall pass'
R. Ann

It sounds like time to let her cry. This sounds cruel and tough but I know from experience it works. If you know she has a full tummy and all her needs are taken care of let her put herself back to sleep. You do that by letting her cry. Do go into the room and check on her after the first 15 minutes but don't pick her up. Then go another 15 check again and do this three times. If she is still crying go 30 min. It won't hurt her to cry, she will eventually wear herself out. But you have to be strong and patient yourself. It might take as long as a week or two to kick in but she will eventually get the routine and you will have a full nights sleep. Childcare provider and mother of 2, Barb K.

Hi, I was reading through some of the other responses. One or two responses suggested cutting out some of her naps. I would definitely NOT recommend this. A baby this age should still be getting plenty of naps and actually an over-tired baby sleeps worse than a well-rested baby. This seems backwards, but when babies are over tired, and adults too, adrenalin (sp?) kicks in to help them stay awake. Please do not cut her naps back.

As far as advice on what to do, I do like the suggestion on not breast feeding her at night, and maybe not at all if it helps even more. Not sure if you're ready to give that up, but if you are, then this might be a good solution. One mom gave a suggestion of how she gives the last feeding at 7 pm and will not feed again until after 5 am.

Also, this is probably normal, but can be fixed. She probably doesn't need that amount of food throughout the night, but just has gotten used to it. Unless, of course she is underweight but doesn't sound like she is. Babies change their sleeping habits all the time and this one will change too. I know it's hard when you're not getting any sleep though.

Best wishes!

With what I heard and implimented was after 4 months old they no longer need anything at night, so with my daughter I just stopped nursing her at night and she continued to wake up at night for about 1 week, and she would cry for about 5 min and go back to sleep. Do not go in the room. Now then with my son, at 5-6 months, he was just wanting me to rock him every night, nursing was just a bonus, but I wanted him to sleep through the night so I let him cry it out, the 1st night it took 1 1/2 hours, the second night it took 1 hour and the next week he woke up for 5 min, but whimpered not cried. It was the best thing (and worst for me) I could have done. He sleeps 11 hours a night since then!!! Good Luck :)
PS Both of them were swaddled tight which also kept them sleeping longer.

My boy turned eight months old on Sunday the 17th. He has never been a good sleeper. Corbin is also up three to four times a night. I nurse him as well. I'm on the same page as you when you say "the pacifier will not comfort her, I have to nurse her back to sleep." The only suggestions I have; if you just nursed her, see if your husband would be willing to rock her back to sleep. She will not have the urge to nurse when he holds her. She may also be ready for more fruit/veg/cereal. When they reach milestones or develop a healther appetite may be another culprit of not sleeping.
Hang tight....this to shall pass. And, another challenge will present itself.
I'm also a stay at home mom. I have a 4.5 year old daughter as well.

If she is nursing for a full feeding she probably needs to eat. Pay attention to how much she's nursing during the day. She may be too busy playing and forget to eat until night when she suddenly realizes how hungry she is. It is also possible that she's going through a growth spurt or on the verge of some developmental milestone. As for getting back to a 'normal' sleep schedule, you might like some of the ideas in The No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. Remember, this won't last forever. The one thing you can count on a baby to do is change.

Honestly I think that while this is driving you crazy- it's completely normal. He's on the cusp on learning loads of new skills and he can't be bothered to sleep through the night anymore. My cousin's son, who slept through the night at 6 weeks went through a phase where he woke up once a night around 7 months.

My son was awake every hour at that age and he's up 4 times a night at 4 (so I know I have a child that doesn't sleep well.)

I disagree 100% with any CIO at this age since it can cause the child to be more prone to stress later in life (Harvard Study.)

A breastfed baby doesn't overeat so if he's waking up for a full feeding- he's really hungry and he needs to eat.

Most babies change their sleep at 3-4 months because they change so much developmentally. I can tell you what to do theoretically, and it all worked on my first baby (who was not breastfed), but my second (breastfed) defied everything.

A few things in general: a 7p-7a night is best for a baby. Putting her to bed at 9p is probably too late. Short naps (less than 1.5 hours) usually indicate a too long or too short wake time. I would guess too long based on a 9p bedtime. I would start putting her to bed at 7p and making sure she is up long enough during the day to be tired enough to take longer naps. Ideally, babies her age should be up for two hours, nap, up for three hours, nap, up for four hours, with a bedtime between 6-8p. My 7 month old, though, cannot always make the three hours awake before his second nap, and he still sometimes needs a catnap around 3-4 to make it to bedtime. It's getting hard to fit that in, though, so sometimes it's just a grumpy stretch until bedtime.

If they take full feedings at night, sometimes they've just gotten used to getting hungry at night. People differ on the solution to this--some say nurse more often during the day, some say to space nursings only once every four hours to encourage night sleep.

Have you let her cry at all to get back to sleep? Some babies can't learn any other way.

Good luck.