Baby Not Sleeping!!!!

I just broke my son of his middle of the night waking habit. I,too, just weaned him off the breast. He is almost 8 months. He'd wake up around 2 am and I'd give in and put him in bed with me beacuse I was so tired and it seemed easiest. I tried everything the no cry books suggested: I swaddled him,filled him up with warm milk,put on white noise background,ritually followed a nightly routine...still, he'd wake up.
So my New Years resolution was to "train my son to sleep through the night". I finally resorted to letting him cry it out. Unlike others, I could NOT close his door and turn my TV on to mask the sound because I worried too much. Was he going to fall out of the crib, was he going to wrap himself up in his blanket and suffocate,was the hard crying going to hurt him??? All these things were going trough my head so I had to literally lay on the carpeted floor of his room and listen while he cried. He would SCREAM and kick his little legs againt the mattress. From my position on the floor,I could get on my knees and peep into his crib without him seeing me so I could make sure he was ok while crying. He cried for 2 hours the 1st night. So many times I wanted to give in but I knew if I just stuck it out, he would eventually fall asleep and the next night would be better. After 2 hrs, he did fall asleep but he woke up again an hour later and cried for another 45 minutes. This went on a few times that same night(each crying spell became shorter and shorter) until I took him out of the crib for his morning diaper change and breakfast at 7 AM.
The 2nd night was a little better. Instead of crying for 2 hrs the first spell, he cried for an hour. He woke up 2 more times and cried for short periods before going back to sleep. The 3rd night he woke only twice and cried for only 15 minutes each time. The 4th night he woke twice and cried for about 5 minutes each time. Finally the 5th night he woke only once and whined instead of cried for about 5 minutes and he slept the rest of the night until 7AM. I was ecstatic!
This only just happened last week. Now, he pretty much sleeps through the entire night. He WILL wake up once or twice but he only whines for a minute or 2 before falling back asleep. No more loud crying though! It took some patience and preserverence but it paid off. After everything, it was "tough love" that finally trained(conditioned) my son to sleep.
I will not lie. It was definitely difficult. I recommend doing it on a weekend or beginning it on a night where you dont have to be up early the following day because you will not get much sleep if any at all. I cried right along with him and it was extremely stressful for me. But after that 1st night, it DOES get better. Now we both sleep so much better and are more productive and happy. Make a decision and stick with it. Don't give in. A happy Mom has a happy baby. Good luck!!

I feel your pain...mine is 14 mo's and finally sleeping through the night, 12 hours, it's heavenly...people have no idea what a big deal sleep becomes when you're not getting any. If I were you I would rock him, sing whatever I needed to do to keep him from crying...everything except be his human pacifier. But I am a SAHM so it's easy for me to say, if I had 2 kids & work I would probably give in and let him cry it out. I don't advocate the crying-it-out thing at all but it sounds to me like you have to either teach him to fall asleep on his own or start co-sleeping (we co-slept for 5 months and I loved it). I wish I could help you, just remember, this too shall pass. Your so close, hang in there. God bless you & your little ones.

Hi B. -
I completely sympathize with you on your sleep deprivation. My son did not sleep all night until he was nearly 14 months old - which was when I weaned him. Of course, when he wakes up, he wants you. You become his pacifier, which is exactly what I was to my son. I couldn't stand hearing him cry - it was too hard. If there is ANYONE at all that can come help in the middle of the night (parent, friend, Aunt, Uncle, brother, anyone) - it only took us 4, maybe 5 days to get my son to sleep all night. When he would wake up, my husband would go in there with him. By the 4th night, my husband walked in, my son saw him, rolled over and went back to sleep.
My son never took a bottle or pacifier, so I was his only comfort. It was very difficult - but you have to do it for your health.
I also read the book, "The No Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley. It had a lot of great suggestions. That was the beginning of the help (www.nocrysleepsolution.com).

I hope it gets better soon. That was the hardest time for me - I wish you luck. If you have any questions, please let me know.
S.

Hi B.,

I feel so bad for you, I really do.

Have you tried warming up his bottle before feeding it to him? Is it Whole Milk instead of formula? Does he eat any other foods? I would say to stop acting as his pacifier, it's not good for either of you. Does he take a bottle okay during the daytime? If he does, it might just be that he doesn't need a bottle at all during the night and he can cry it out when he wakes up. Hopefully once you get him in for his one month check-up you can get some good answers and helpful suggestions. Good luck!!

-Char

Hi B.,
I am so sorry to hear of your sleeping troubles, and I can sympathize! I have a 3.5 year old and a 17 month old, but at the time I had my littlest one, Jax was 2.5 and I had 2 that would not sleep. You can get run down and being sleep deprived can make the matter worse. Anyways, with all that aside, remember these little ones are smarter than we give them credit for - and they will start to control you and the situation - have you tried letting him cry it out, if so for how long? I can tell you what worked for me. I am one of those that when the crying gets tough - I give in, so I had to drown out the crying and wait - I would turn on the ac fan, turn on the T.V. Shut his door and would wait it out - after about 3 nights of allowing him to cry it out - he slept thru the night. I know it is much easier said than done - but it works! Oh, I would let him cry no more than 30 minutes...Hope this helps and good luck!

J.

B.,

OH....Do I Feel your Sleep deprived pain! My baby is 13 months now, and I have not weaned her from breastfeeding, because I cannot get her to sleep through the night. Last night I was up 3 times...AAAHHH. She is getting her molars and this has escalated things, on most nights I am just up once hopefully, but this is just enough to make you not feel rested...especially since you have been ill. I am married, however when she wakes up it is just a nightmare if I send her Daddy in to get her....she screams even more when I don't come get her...this makes it almost impossible to put her back down. OOPS should have beed sending Daddy in before now..I guess. I am not one of those Mom's that can let her baby cry it out...so I guess I will just have to suffer for now. Unfortunately I have not advise, however I might try the pacifier now(as one poster suggested) to see if it works before I wean my little one. Keep me posted on how things go, as I will soon be in the same boat...and can use any advise!!!
I pray you get some rest soon!!!

Hi B.,
I know my suggestions might not be popular, but here are a few techinques worked for me. My son was nursed for a year and I found he missed the closeness of me and being in my bed...so I gave in a let him sleep with me. I would hold him in the nursing position, and let him have a real pacifier and rock him to sleep. If he woke up, I was right there and I patted his back and he would go back to sleep. If your child never slept with you b/4 this may or may not be the case. And there are certain steps you have to do with co-sleeping to ensure his safety. I would check out the advice by experts on this if you try this. my son is now 2, goes to bed, falls asleep on his own and has been sleeping (mostly) through the night for about 8 months. Get some help if you can afford it with a night nanny or a good friend so you can get your health back to 100%. I was raised by a single mom and to this day I can't figure out how she did it. Hang in there. D.