7 Month Old Still Not Sleeping

Are you doing any solids yet? Rice cereal or something? Maybe he needs something more sustaining in his belly. It's amazing what just a few tablespoons will do!

In my opinion, at 7 months, anything longer than 10 minutes is too long to "cry it out." I think at that age they really may need something. He may actually be HUNGRY at night and that would not be unusual. Babies are all different and there is no way for a book or "they" to decide that at x months they don't need food, or cuddles, or whatever.

My son is 20 months old and just started sleeping through the night 2 months ago. I probably could have forced it on him sooner, but I'm not that kind of mom. One night, her just slept through and has done it ever since. I believe babies do things when they're ready and to force them to do it earlier is a little cruel.

M.,

I was in the same boat as you a few weeks ago, where my nine month old would wake during the night. When she was brought into our bed she would pass out in seconds. If put back in the crib she would cry. This continued for so long and we were so sleep deprived that my husband and I knew we needed a plan. We set aside four consecutive nights to work on the problem. We placed our daughter in the crib the first night and let her scream until she fell asleep. It took one hour and we never picked her up. The second night we put her to bed at the same time and she cried for twenty minutes. With each night the crying became less and after a week she was out within minutes of being placed in the crib. We are not sleep deprived anymore and if she wakes up in the middle of the night we don't get her out of the crib, we rub her back and she eventually falls back to sleep. The only way we solved the problem was to be consistent and stick with the same routine night after night. I hope this advice helps you. Good luck!

Hi M.,

I agree that he may not be getting enough to eat during the day. My now almost 9-month old daughter used to wake up a few hours after I put her down for bed for one more bottle, and then would sleep for the rest of the night, but once I added an extra bottle during the day, she stopped waking.

Also, I agree that he probably just needs you right now during the night. If I remember correctly, 7 months is when they can be going through separation anxiety, so he may just miss you and either 1) want to see you for reassurance and/or 2) want to be close to you (i.e. sleep with you in bed). The latter is what one of my close friends is going through with her 7-month old. She starts off in the crib, but then is moved to their bed where she sleeps for the rest of the night. She used to sleep full-time in her crib.

Even though it is tiring, my philosophy, instead of crying it out, was to just roll with it. If he was sleeping in his crib before, eventually, God willing, he'll grow out of needing you during the night and then you can try moving him back to his crib full-time.

One other thing to think about is how your son falls asleep as maybe he is also just having trouble putting himself back to sleep? Definitely try a pacifier, if you're comfortable with that, or teach him to suck his hands maybe? Also a lovey, music, white noise (like a fan) or something that soothes him can be helpful.

I pray that it becomes easier for you. Good luck!

I used a book called The Baby Whisperer to establish a routine. The problem is whenever you cave into him you prove to him that all of his screaming and crying paid off and it reinforces the behavior. Cancel the bottle and do not waiver (I know its hard) he is smart and will figure it out eventually. But surviving 4 days-2 weeks of pissed off baby is better than this going on indefinitely, the same is true for the am--it may be that he wakes up later, but not now...if you are okay with him in your bed then fine but don't start the precedent unless you want him to think it is routine.

Good luck and get that book from the library, its a sanity saver. Nat

Yes he absolutely does still need to eat at night. Most kids don't faze out a night-time bottle or breastfeed until about 12 months. If hes waking up, and hungry, FEED HIM. Its that simple. Listen to what your baby is telling you, not what books and schedules tell you.
And I LOVE Gretas article about CIO. Its so harmful to children, and there are so many other options. Please dont allow your child to CIO.

My kids did not sleep through the night until like 2. I cannot let them screem to sleep. I tried with my first she screemed for like 10 min and woulr then throw up!! What are you supposed to do clean them up and then put them back in their. Her crib would be covered it was a HUGE process. I would only let them cry for 15 min. If they do not settle down then it is up to you what to do next. I cannot let them cry all night it breaks my heart they just want Mama or Dada! I believe they have no clue if you are coming back. Many people are much stronger willed than me. It is tough when they do not sleep through the night, but i found it worth it to just hold them. It feels like eternity when it is going on and you are waking up all night but next thing you know they are 5 and fine. I have three 5,3,1. The 5 and 3 year old sleep through the night but the baby still gets up. I just deal with it, i am sure many people will respond apposing my opinion but that is Ok. The GREAT thing is it is your baby and you ultimately get to make the decision.

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Here's my advice: think about what is going to be best for you and your husband, and then find a way to help that happen. I've read the other posts, and certainly everyone has an opinion about the best way to parent. But just as every baby is different, every adult is too. If you are feeling like you can barely hold it together during the day because of sleep deprivation, then you aren't being the best mom that you can be regardless of how well you feel you're meeting your babies needs at night.

So, figure out how comfortable you are with the Ferber method, and if you're okay with some crying, I'd get the book and go that route. If you feel he's too young, or you don't like the crying, commit to just feeding him in the middle of the night and figure out how to make that work (trade off nights with your husband, for instance).

My feeling is that the middle of the night feeding and the early morning wake ups are two different issues that need to be addressed independently. I personally would keep up the night feeding and just stop bringing him into your bed in the morning, and if he's up for the day, he's up for the day. But if it's the middle of the night feeding that's killing you, try to up his food consumption during the day and then cut that one (my personal feeling is that he's probably too young for that, but I don't know how big your son is, what the dr. thinks about his weight, etc.).

Anyway, whatever you decide to do, commit to it, and he'll be fine. After all you love him tons, right? So that's the most important thing.

You're the mom and ultimately you know what your own baby needs. So even if you read it in a book, or were told by your doctor, throw out the 'supposed to' and go with what your baby is telling you. If he is waking up and acting hungry, and drinking his bottle, well he's hungry! Some babies don't sleep through the night until they are way older.

Personally I think he is too young for the cry it out method. You can try comforting him without picking him up, and then staying in the room until he is settled down. It's tough at first, but if you are consistent it does work. The next night, comfort him then stand further away, so that over the course of several days you are eventually outside the bedroom door.

Does he fall asleep soon after starting his middle of the night bottle? You could try over several nights lessening the amount of his bottle, 4 oz, then 3, then 2, then 1, and then try a pacifier?

A couple of things. First, it may be that your baby really does need his bottle in the middle of the night if he's not getting enough during the day. And once at night isn't that bad compared to what lots of babies do at that age. Nevertheless, it makes for an exhausted Mom. I also loved the Baby Whisperer book which talked about how all the eating, sleeping and activity throughout the day impact on night sleep. The auther (tracy hogg) also suggests "tanking up" before bed ie giving several feedings close together in the hrs immediately preceding bed. The one other thing she suggests and i thought was a life saver was the "dreamfeed". After you tank him up and get him to bed, say around 8 or whatever, you go in right before YOU are going to bed (in my case that was around 11) and give him the 4 oz without waking him. Believe it or not it can be done, I would literally pick up my daughter, nurse her, put her back in the crib all without waking her. The author also does not believe in crying it out and gives suggestions for how to respond without "giving in".

I agree if the early morning snuggle works there's nothing wrong with it unless you don't want to do it.

Best of luck to you, it sounds like you are doing a great job. Also, have you introduced solid foods? Once he's getting more of that it might help him be full and sleep as well.

He could be thirsty not necessarily hungry when he wakes up at night. Have you tried substituting water in his bottle or to wean that bottle out you can make that bottle w/ less and less formula scoops and more and more water until its mostly water eewwww and he will probably give it up on his own that way. My 28 month old has always been ready for the day at 5 am so I have no advice for you there some kids just wake up earlier then others and if him cuddling w/ you puts him back so sleep I say there's nothing wrong w/ that.

It honestly does sound like he's hungry. My son is 8 months old and has an 8 oz bottle before bed and sleeps 12 hours at night. I think I heard somewhere that if babies have enough to eat during the day and get enough sleep with naps during the, then they sleep better at night. I don't know what feeding schedule you are on, but what we do is alternate between bottle and solid food all day, so his schedule is something like wake up, bottle, play, breakfast (solids), play, nap, bottle, play, lunch (solids), play, nap, bottle, play, dinner (solids), play, bedtime routine, bottle bed. Maybe your son just needs to eat more during the day? You said he only eats a 4 oz bottle at a time? Have you tried fast flow nipples or anything like that, so he might eat a little more? Every baby is different and he'll sleep through the night when he is ready. The most important thing is that your baby knows that if he needs you, you will come and be with him and it sounds like he does know that, so you are doing the best thing you can for him.

This is a huge topic! My 2 year old still doesn't sleep through the night. Not all kids are the same, perhaps your little one needs a little somthing in the middle of the night.
As far as the co-sleeping - now is the time to put an end to that! My 1st child was in our bed until he was 4. Needless to say that the 2nd and 3rd children never saw the likes of our bed.
Good luck. You'll get there. You're not alone.

Your story is all too familiar! My son was exactly the same way. Try as I might he would not sleep through the night and naps were no easier. I tried everything that our doctor, books and other moms suggested. Nothing helped! Absolutely nothing. Other than our sleep issues though, he's always been a healthy and happy baby. In my case all that helped was routine and time. It wasn't until he was 11 months old that he slept for 3 hours at night without being desperate for a feed. Then it became 4 hours and so on. About the same time he started going down easier for longer and more restful naps. He's 16 months old now and he still wakes up for a feed at about 5:30 am. But then he'll go back down and sleep until after 7.
One thing that did help was my husband started getting up every other time that he carried on at night. We realized that if I went in he could smell my milk from the door and wouldn't go down without a feed. If my husband couldn't get him to settle he would finally take him out of his crib and walk with him. He'd also try giving him water (or a bottle). Which more often than not he'd just refuse anyway. It took awhile but it helped our son realize that feeding wasn't the only way to get back to sleep. Oh! And try to never let him fall asleep on the breast otherwise the same problem occurs.
My point is that you're not alone and it will get better. Give your little one the care and attention that he needs, keep trying out different ways to help him sleep and (just as importantly) take care of yourself!! I was in a constant sleep deprived haze for the first year of my son's life. It was no fun but I made it through. As everyone says: nap whenever he naps!

There are 2 methods for "crying it out" and I used one with each daughter. The first is cold turkey, where you simply do not go in at the 2 PM feeding. My daughter cried for 4 hours straight for 4 nights in a row!! But, heavenly, from the 5th night on she simply slept through for 10-12 hours. With my second daughter I used the Ferber method, he supports the periodic check and reassurance of the child, to let them know that you're there for them http://www.amazon.com/Solve-Your-Childs-Sleep-Problems/dp.... The details are in the book and need to be followed i.e. don't pick the child up or you have to start from day 1. This took about 2-3 weeks to get the 2nd daughter to sleep about 10 hours straight. Neither method is without crying. Ferber also talks about reducing food intake at night slowly since an active tummy keeps kids awake. There is no hard evidence that letting your child cry-it-out causes long-term problems (unless you're ignoring real medical problems) but there is evidence that a child's sleep deprivation leads to impaired cognitive development. My kids are 12 and 9 now, and my feeling with every milestone test of my parenting abilities was that "if I cannot win when they are this small, I am doomed when they are teenagers". Good luck and be strong.

I have an 11 1/2 mo. old who doesn't sleep through the night...and though he may not need the food, he needs the comfort. Your little guy is a person with needs. What we have done, so that everyone can get as much sleep as possible is to take one side off his crib and securely attach the three sided crib with the open side on my side of the bed. When he wakes, we nurse until he falls asleep and then I slide him back into the crib. I wake up a bit, but not enough to feel like I've lost a lot of sleep. I hope this helps and you find a way for all to get some sleep. I suggest the Dr. Sears The Sleep Book.

Respond to your little person when they try to communicate. This teaches them that they can depend on you and trust that your will take care of them and that they can feel safe. There is harm in letting your baby cry for extended periods. Sure letting them cry it out may make them stop trying to communicate their needs to you, teach them that you will not respond to their needs, teach them that they are helpless and to give up trying, but is that what you really want? To teach your child to not seek help when upset??????? Controlled crying causes emotional damage and physiological damage.

‘Controlled Crying’ Technique May Harm Infants
Posted by: Dr. Mercola
October 22 2003

Australian health professionals have raised concerns that controlled crying, also known as controlled comforting and sleep training, may have a negative impact on the emotional and psychological health of infants. Controlled crying involves leaving a crying baby for increasing periods of times before coming to comfort them in an attempt to teach them to put themselves to sleep and not cry out during the night.

The researchers say that it is normal for babies and young children to not sleep through the night, and their crying is a sign of distress. Although controlled crying may teach children to stop crying, it may also teach them not to seek help when they are upset.

and from

http://74.125.93.132/search?q=cache:-ptG5GY-I8AJ:www.tala...

For young infants, extinction induced
crying is physiologically stressful.
• Crying increases heart rate and blood pressure,
reduces blood oxygenation, and propels the release
of cortisol. Prolonged crying amplifies these effects24.
• Animal studies have shown that extinction itself
is particularly stressful—producing rapid, dramatic,
and persistent increases in cortisol2

Physiological stress levels may remain
high after the infant has stopped crying.
• Animal studies of extinction found that, though
behavior appeared to adapt, physiology did not.
In one study, infant rats ceased calling for their
absent mothers; however, their physiological
arousal remained high26.
• The dissociation of observed behavior from
adrenocortical activation makes it difficult to
determine the absence of physiological stress simply
by observing that the infant has fallen asleep27.
• Further, it is unknown how the presence of
increased cortisol levels affects the brain-building
processes that occur during sleep.

Be nice to your child. Listen, respond, help.

love