I think I'm doing this right but just want some reassurance since my husband is away and I'm doing this on my own. As a little background, our 6 month old (almost 7 months) was waking up anywhere between 4 and 6 times within an 11 hour period. Last night was my 2nd night trying this. As a side, she doesn't use a pacifier nor a bottle. Please read and let me know if there's anything I should be doing different tonight. My goal is not to have her sleep through the night (would be nice, but not realistic at this point), but to reduce to one to two feedings a night and that's it. She is on solids...I can't say she loves it but she does eat a fair amount of Yo-Baby yogurt with oatmeal, and some veggies.
MONDAY NIGHT:
1. Down for the night at 7 (I generally don't do any crying it out as she goes down fairly well after bath and nursing).
2. Up at 8:30. I did not go in the room but waited 10 minutes. She was escalating so I went in in 5 to 10 minute intervals, did not pick her up but just kissed her and told her I love her but that it's time to sleep. At 8:45 she was asleep. At 9, I heard some crying again but lasted about 3 minutes.
3. Up again at midnight. I fed her.
4. Up again at 2 am, crying, screaming, etc etc. I repeated what I did at 8:30 and she was asleep within 10 minutes.
5. Up again at 5 am. I fed her.
LAST NIGHT:
1. Asleep by 7
2. Up at 9:15, fussed/cried and was asleep in 5 minutes
3. Up at 11:20 and I fed her
4. Up again at 1:55, crying, screaming, etc. At 2 am she was quiet but not asleep (or maybe she was?). I heard some intermittent kicking for about 15 minutes and then around 2:35 she was crying again. I realized it was a little over 3 hours since I fed her (she’s in the 5th percentile for weight), so I picked her up and fed her. I’m not sure if that was a mistake or not.
5. Up again at 5:15…I was so wiped out that I picked her up and fed her
6. Up for the day at 6:30.
We actually moved so we're not living in Chicago currently...so seeing Weissbluth is not an option (though his book is like having an extended appt with him!). Some of you suggested I put the baby to bed a little later. I thought I'd give that a try tonight but she had other thoughts. ;) She has been fighting that late afternoon nap and after crying excessively, ends up sleeping about 30 or 40 minutes. However, even the times when she has taken a restorative late afternoon nap, I've found that she still practically "begs" me to put her to bed by 7 or 7:30 the latest. Tonight was no exception and she was out cold by 7:15. No fussing, no crying...she just looked at me with her big hazel eyes and wrapped her finger around my thumb...I kissed her, put her down and she curled up on her side and started sucking her blanket (I guess that's her version of a pacifier). The only thing different I did tonight in terms of her environment, was to wrap her in a sleep sac...since she's a kicker, I thought that might be waking her...this way she's just a little more cozy and contained, but it probably won't make a difference. So, I guess we'll see what tonights adventure brings. Like many of you suggested, I did feed her as close to bedtime as possible...she had some yogurt and sweet potatoes at 6:15. I would have loved to have her eat about a half hour before bed but she never seems to want to...she pushes my hand away. Thank you again...I hope this all rights itself sometime soon. When I read about the toddlers who are still not sleeping through the night, it really frightens me. I would do anything for even just a 4 or 5 hour stretch. The worst is when I wait out her crying...but then find myself totally awake. By the time I get myself back to sleep, it isn't too long before she's up again. I hate that! Well, to end on a positive note, if the worst thing I can say about my life is that my adorable 6-month-old is keeping me up at night, then I'll take it! I have so many friends who are struggling to conceive, and I know I'm so blessed to have her.
Have you tried putting her to bed a half hour later? This helped when my daughter started to wake after falling asleep for an hour or two. It was confusing because she had been going to sleep at 7:30 regularly. But since I put her down a little later, she now sleeps at 8pm and wakes at 8am without waking us up during the night.
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Sounds like you are doing great mama, just hang in there. It seems like you are trying to get the night feedings down to just twice a night, is that right? Sounds like a good way to taper off night feedings, especially if you are concerned about her weight. Maybe check in with your ped at the next visit and see what he says in regards to your daughter going the night without a feeding. Have you introduced solids (rice cereal) at this point? If she is getting some solids during the day in addition to the breast milk and there is no medical concerns, then I would say you could cut down to one feeding and soon no feedings through the night. We used to put my daughter down at 7 or 8 after a bottle and then wake her before we went to bed for a last feeding around 11pm or so. Then she would go until 6-7am, which at least gave us almost 8 hours in a row! You are doing great, just keep it up and don't beat yourself up for caving in. Sleep training is tough, but it will work and you and baby will be happy after a good night's sleep. Just make sure when hubby gets back he is being supportive and not undoing everything you have worked hard to do =)
A six month old does not need to be fed during the night if it's getting adequate calories during the day. She probably just wants her mommy. What I did was I put her in her bed, sat next to her in a chair and I would repeat "nite nite" everytime the crying got bad. Eventually she calmed down and fell asleep. During the night if she cried, I did not go in there. It hurt to hear her cry, but on the monitor I could see she was okay. it only took a few nights and it worked like a charm. She's been in her own bed every night since and doesn't cry when she goes to bed and waits for me to come in her room in the morning when she wakes up. She's 2 1/2 now and we're expecting #2 in Sept.
My 15mo was and is small, always in the 5-10 percentile so I understand wanting to feed her if she is truly hungry. I think you are doing a great job and sounds like you guys are headed in the right direction. My BF daughter didn't sleep through the night on a consistant basis until about 9-10 months. Listen to her crying, it took me a while but if I listened hard enough I could tell which cry was for hunger and which was for just needing some comfort. I spent many nights just rocking and holding her she didn't want to eat she just wanted some cuddling. Sounds like you are doing a good job!
Hi R.. I'm sorry to hear that you are still struggling. You are absolutely correct...most babies (breast or bottle-fed) require 1 to 2 feedings between a 12 hour bedtime and waketime until 9 months of age.
Have you considered scheduling an appointment with Dr. Weissbluth? He's in Chicago, as are you, so maybe a consultation would be worth the time and effort.
Best wishes.
