7 Months and Still Not Sleeping Through the Night

Hi N.,
I'm on cafemom and the other day i saw a story about this same problem ( a 7 months old not sleeping) and i know this sounds crazy but she said that she was using avocados to help her baby sleep and that it was working lol.
Hope this helps :)
K.

http://www.stayinhomeandlovinit.com/cgi-bin/team.cgi?id=K...

My daughter didn't sleep through the night either until about 7 months old. I never let her cry it out and I would never suggest that, it breaks the parent child bond and teaches small babies that they have to fend for themselves and makes for poor future sleepers. Sleep should be a state entered into peacefully. Try white noise. A noisey air purifier works great. Start her in day-care, the routine will work wonders for her.

sometimes depending on the child it will take time. shoot my oldest is 18 and he doen't sleep theu the night. be patient it will happen. As for the second part i am sorry i can't give advise on that i wish you alot of luck and hope all will work out for all of you.

hello,
what are you feeding your baby? maybe the baby is constipated?? are you feeing the baby fruit? does he sleep a lot during the day?

What is she getting besides baby food? I saw you said she is not breastfeeding anymore, food is not absolute nutrition till they are at least 1, they need formula or breastmilk. If all she is getting is food then you are setting yourself up to deal with some serious allergies, 7 months is WAY to young to wean completely.

Also on the MIL thing, she is not your children's mother and you should just pay her no mind. Tell your hubby these are your kids not her's and if she doesn't like it then she can just butt out, cause it isn't her concern to begin with.

First off, is your MIL a doctor since she seems to "know" exactly how long a pregnancy "should" be? That's why we all see a doctor and not our MIL. You're daughter is probably just going through a HUGE growth spurt! My daughter was born a 36 weeks at 4'15" and seemed to always be hungry. She did not sleep through the night until 6 months and around 7 months (she is now almost 9 months) she went through another growth spurt and was waking up once a night for a bottle. That lasted for a few days. After the growth spurt was over she was in the habit of waking up even though she didn't want a bottle so we did the tough love method and let her cry it out. She would also cry for hours, but only for a few days. I know some people think that it's mean and will ruin the bond, BUT I am as bonded to my daughter (and 2 year old son) as anyone. They will both cuddle with us as soon as they wake up, but they are independent enough to fall asleep on thier own. You need to find what works best for your fammily, not what works for your MIL.

Keep your head up!
A.

Instead of feeding 2 jars of food, you could try baby cereal. It worked with my son. The baby food never seems to stay with him all through the night, so I would mix the baby cereal thick, and feed him until he couldn't eat anymore. I would top that off with a bottle and then lay him down for bed. I could get him to sleep for eight hours (It was such a joy!). Also, your daughter could be going through a growth spurt. Even with feeding my son the cereal and bottle there would always be a few days every month or so that he would still wake up hungry during the night.
As for you MIL, she is not with your family 24/7, so how does she know what is best? You need to tell your husband that he is married to you and not his mother.

I think that you should whatever you feel is best in your heart. She may be going through seperation anxiety. Alot of kids do at that age. She will sleep through the night when she gets ready. For now she needs you. As for your mother in law let her know in a nice way if you can that she raised her children the way she saw fit so now let you raise yours. Good luck.

N. my heart goes out to you because you have several issues. Thats crazy what your mother in law said. It is kinda confusing adding what is 9 months but anyway why is this even being discussed except she's overbearing. Your husband needs to cleave to you. Anyway first find yourself what makes you, you and stand up to the plate. The kids can learn from how others are treating you how to push buttons. You don't want your child crying for hours and you can't let everyone control you. Your child may not be hungry everytime. She's learning how to control her little world. Talk to your pedi on how much she should be eating and get on a schedule and follow thru with it. It maybe she needs more formula maybe with cereal, the babyfood doesnt always fill them and give them what they need. Babys need to get so much sucking in to a certain age. It will be hard at first but the outcome reward will be around the corner. Sleeping thru the night comes at different times for every child. Don't argue with your husband and his mom just find out what works to getting that sleep thru the night. Its more useless energy on you them arguing with you. I hope I don't sound mean but its hard when you have a husband who respects his mom's word and not yours. Win your respect and know what your doing is right and all else will follow. I've been there my ex thinks his mom is the bomb. Thru the divorce I had to find myself all over again and then I won my children's respect because kids learn their respect for you with how you let others treat you. I hope this makes since. With my oldest it was a trial with every stage whether sleeping thru the night, weening her from the breast, then bottle then the pacifier. She is highstrong and still is so with every stage its a challengeits been interesting steering her energies in the right direction. Its paid off, she knows what she wants and goes for it. I'd have to sing her to sleep just about holding her down sometimes it was stress full but I did it all with not killing her spirit and steering her energies to positive things. I know thats a long way off but I remember those trying times when my sister had the perfect baby sleeping thru the night, easy going and never sucked his thumb or passy. They are 19 now and he's still easy going and knows what he wants in life and she's a go getter and will push to the quick to get what she wants and also knows what she wants in life. Ps pray for my nephew he just left to Iraq and my daughter the highstrong she is in college she wants to be a physical therapist.

I dont have any suggestions but just wanted to say i feel for you. my now 4 yr old woke several times a night untill he was 3 and a half. and my 17 mo old wakes sometimes every hour and comes to my bed. I then have to carry him back to his bed when he falls asleep. sometimes I try to head him off when I hear him crying. and of course my 2 mo old still needs to be fed every three to four hrs at night so I'm gettinfg very little sleep but it has been so long since I slpet through the night that I cant even remeber what its like. I wish you good luck, much patience and sanity.

Hi I am still fighting with my 9 month ols, who just starting to sleep from 8pm til 3am, what Worked for us was the radio with a white noise I found it at bed bath and beyond and also plays the rainforest and other natural noise, that helped my baby a lot and also, I know it was a no, no, but I gave him a bottle for a few minutes until he fell sleep in his crib, my mother in law also had a lot to say but you have to do what it works for you and nobody else because after all is your sanity that is in play

You say she's not breastfeeding anymore...is she taking formula now? If not, maybe that's why. I gave my DD formula til she was 1, even though it lessened over time, as I gave her more solids. Maybe try a bottle before bedtime. When it was closer to a year, I was only giving her a bottle in the morning and at night.

Hey N.!
I'm gonna try and help the first part of your question. I'm a SAHM so it dont bother me that my daughter wakes up at night and wants to eat. (We are still breastfeeding) She gets solids once a day. I have heard of a book called "The No-Cry Sleep Solution" I cant remember who the author is but from what I have heard its an Awesome book and really works. So, maybe do a search and see if you can find the author.. Good Luck!! :)
~H.~

On the 7mth old not sleeping throught the night. I can suggest some things that may work. I have a 5 month old weighs 19 pounds, so he loves to eat.

Three things we've done to get him to sleep through the night.
1. Give him a bath each night (bubble) with the lavender bath stuff.
2. Feed him a oatmeal bottle (extra think), or feed him an 8oz. bottle of formula.
3. We put a humidifer (cool Mist) in his room. It clear the air and makes it easier for them to breathe.

I hope this helps.

The matter on the mother in law issue. Well i do understand. My mother in law is awful too and my husbabd and I fight about her too. All you can do is tell your husband that your his wife and mother of your child, he should stick to your side.

If you can not slove this with your husband then go to the source of your promblem, being the mother in law. Tell her what she is doing and make her aware that this does not help matters. She may not relieze what she is doing to you two.

I hope this helps. I wish you the best of luck.

L.

Maybe you are putting her to bed too early. I;m not sure about the 2 jars of baby food, maybe she's getting a tummy ache! I might try putting her to bed maybe an hour before you go to bed; that way you both get to sleep for awhile! Mine never slept through the night at 7 mos. old, so it may just take awhile. And I would ask my husband how long his mother went to medical school and how many babies she's delivered. Does he think every pregnancy book written is wrong too? I would tell him its not her business about how your baby sleeps, it's not your fault, the baby is just still young. He needs to keep his mommy's advice to himself and let you be the good parent you know you are. Good luck!

My doc told me that "sleeping through the night" is really a 6 hour stretch. It is still normal for her to wake up hungry. Every baby is different and my son woke up well into his first year to eat. As far as you getting back to sleep, I am guessing that you might be having trouble clearing your mind. Maybe some soothing music or sounds to help you not think about everything going on? or hot tea?

As for the sleeping throught the night- I can't speak from too much experience because I've been lucky. I will say that we ended up doing the cry it out method to get our daughter to sleep initally because once she could move around she didn't want to settle down and on the few occasions she does get up in the middle of the night I go to her, replace her pacifier and rub her back. I try my best not to pick her up and I don't turn on any lights. If I do pick her up I don't leave her room-this way she knows it's still time to sleep. Definitely ask your Dr. if based on her age/weight she is physcially able to go 6-8 hours without food before you deny it. Also, ask your Dr's opinion- I'll bet he has more medical knowledge combined with experience than your MIL. Which ever method you try be consistent- try it at least a week or two before trying something else. The crying was really hard but it decreased and now sometimes she doesn't cry any when I lay her down AWAKE. I don't feel like our bond is harmed at all.

As far as our issues with your MIL and your husband. You should remind your husband that when he married you he made a choice to spend his life with you and STAND BEHIND YOU. While he should still respect his mother- you and your children should be his priority now. You mother-in-law may never back off- if that is who she is it may not change but if you can get your husband to understand he needs to be on your side then what she says won't matter as much. Remind him also that parenting is a two person job and if his mother is blaming you for your daughter not sleeping then she is also blaming him.

Good luck.