Getting 5Mo to Sleep

Ditto Sarah D!

You can find info on Dr Sears website, too. Go to www.askdrsears.com and search for "high needs baby" and you'll find info.

I also recommend "The Happiest Baby On The Block."

I had the same habit to break with my son. Boy did I spoil him after 3 girls. Right on the tummy he would sleep and when I had to mow the yeard he was right there in a sling with earplugs in. Can you spell SPOILED? I worked a full time job and was a single mom of 4 children thanks to a divorce. I started out with putting his crib right next to my bed and wrapped him up tight in a blanket that had my scent on it and put my hands on him through the bars so he knew I was there. I went from 2 hands to one then to a finger on his cheek to his bed at the other end of the bed so I could wiggle the bed with my foot if needed, and eventually I got him out of my room in his own bed across the hall with two sets of monitors. One so I could hear him and the other so he could hear me. It took about 4 months to break him but I was so sleep deprived I had no choice. It's funny now because he is 7 and will come to my bed and say "Mommy I'm going to watch cartoons and I'll keep it turned down so you can sleep, lol I get extra rest this way and yet my mommy radar is on just in case. lol. This worked for me. Good Luck J.

tightly swaddle him , rock him, then put in his crib

Hi J.,

I have a very similar situation, and it was the same with dd, at 8 months she "got it" and began to self-soothe but now that I have her at 17 months and him at 6 months in 5 days, I have to do it sooner.
I've never been a fan of letting babies CIO, but I did it yesterday, I'd lay him down and he'd cry for EVER, I'd go in, give him his paci and he'd smile and want to be picked up and I did not.
Well, last night he fell asleep on me and slept in his crib without waking up ONCE from 8:30pm tp 8am! And he didn't wake up crying.... I only knew he was awake from the video monitor.

I am laying him down awake and letting him self-soothe.
That's all I can do and hope it helps. Weaning him slowly is way too much for me and I know mothers who still, at 19, 20 or 22 months are "driving" their kids for naps or sleeping with them!!
I can't so I am going to have to go cold turkey. He will be just fine, I know it.... He'll just have to learn, right now, he just plays and doesn't go to sleep, but he's not crying so that's a huge first step, then I am sure he'll cry to soothe himself, I'll go up, give him the paci and walk back out, he is only sleeping 30 mnt increments but he'll sleep more as he "gets it" he's NOT getting picked back up. I did this consistently with my daughter 4 days and she was done, never has cried again for bedtime or naptime.
Hope it works for you too!
Amy
EDIT -
I said that I started yesterday.
Well, GOOD NEWS!!! Today, he cried maybe 2 minutes, as opposed to FORTYFIVE< no LIE, yesterday I suffered, I laid him down awake, he played, cried a few mnts and is SOUND ALSEEP NOW!!! All on his own, I love it love it love it

Wow, that sounds very rough. I have 3 suggestions for you.
First, have you had him checked for reflux? My son was like this a lot at the beginning and Zantac made a HUGE difference.
Second, Get "The Fussy Baby Book" from Dr. Sears. It is very helpful for ideas to settle colicky and "high-need babies" (Dr. Sears's term for his high-maintenance child). I found mine at a Half Price books a while back!
Third, get a sling or carrier so that you can have your hands free during the day to do things. Ergo and Mai Tai carriers are great because the baby faces you instead away from you like a Baby Bjorn and you can wear the Ergo on the front, back, or hip! They also are strong enough to wear a toddler whereas the BB is just for babies.

I hope something there is helpful. Good Luck!

aw man that is so hard. what are the other boys doing while you are tending to this little guy. I'm sorry to be the one to tell you that sometimes sex life takes a bit of a back seat when there are three and one is so young. please do not worry - it will be back - it will! Just not right away. You may have to get clever in finding ways to be alone with your husband. Is there anyone in your family who can hold him or watch him at all? It seems silly to arrange childcare just so you can be alone with your husband but sometimes in the early days with a baby like yours it is the only way.

I also want to say hang in there for right now. This is something that will pass with a few months - the baby will be interested in other things, he will start to branch out, he won't be so focused on mom-mom-mom every single moment. There are a lot of different things you can do to get him to tolerate other sleeping arenas but again it will take time and patience. It seems like right now being practically a single mom of three you have done a great job with surviving without losing your mind. Do you have any thoughts on how you can get him to sleep in other areas? Can you lay next to him as he's falling asleep? Can you nurse him on your side in bed?

It took me a long time to get my kids to find different ways to nurse (sorry are you nursing? I didn't ask) and I also moved the crib next to the bed and that helped me to slowly move him out of the bed on some nights or he would start the night eventually in the crib and end up in my bed (attached to me) and over time accepted being moved back into the crib.

You're doing great! Look at everything you are doing. It is really hard work.

I can suggest setting up a chair in his room and at bed time you both go in there, you hold him and rock or sing or whatever you want, once he's out give him 15 mins of being quiet and asleep in your arms then move him to his bed. If he wakes up, go get him up go to the chair, cuddle him asleep again then set him back in his bed. It might take a few weeks before he actually sleeps through the night but at least in between those awake bouts you'll be free and it's only about 15 mins to get him back to sleep again.

Good luck.

Please let me know what works because my baby is doing the same thing. He's 5 months old and screams like that too. There have been a handful of times when he's slept all night 2 days in a row, but then he's back to waking around 4 or 5 times in the night (from 10:30 till 5 in the morning). I can't work (I'm a teacher) like that. I feel so drained. I'm currently reading "No-Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley. So far, I'm liking what she's saying, but it's difficult to get my baby to get to that point. She says that it may take some time, but my problem is that because I'm working, I do things differently on the weekends than during the week because I don't have to get up early on the weekends. My mother tells me that consistency is key. We'll keep working. Good luck and let me know if something specific works for you.

I had this same problem with my son until he was about 5 months old, and I still call him my high-maintenence little man. I actually started swaddling him again, very tightly, and putting him down when he fell asleep. I also used a sleep positioner in his crib so he felt like he was secure. I did this for about 3 months. He would wake up every couple of hours and needed to be rocked to sleep again, but at least I was getting a couple hours of freedom. I gradually started taking things away to transition him. First I started with the swaddle, and then the sleep positioner, and then I had to finally let him cry it out a little bit. He threw up a couple of times too. He is awesome most nights now and goes down at 6:30 and is up around 5A. I still hold him until he falls asleep and then gently put him down. Sometimes he wakes up screaming the second he hits the crib and then I pick him up and sway with him in his nursery until he falls back to sleep. I never start rocking again. If he cries after I've been out of the room awhile I just have to let him cry. We have a video monitor so it helps me deal. Now my problem is naps! He is still not able to nap properly in his crib. Good luck to you with this, I know how hard and trying it is. You have to do what is right for him, but don't forget about yourself.

Sounds like he needs a sitter a few times a week . . . he's playing you. Everytime he screams, you run to him. It works for him (as it did for my son). I started letting him scream (and IT IS HARD). Right now your son's on stimulus response mode. He screams, you pick him up.
I have a niece whose child did EVERYTHING you're describing now, and it was HELL for both parents. Now as a teenager he is a manipulative, whining boy, who is always catered to. Treat him exactly as you do your other children. Do yourself a HUGE favor and cope with the screaming now . . . even if it means you have to go for a walk outside to get away from it. He WILL STOP (eventually)! And if it means he throws up . . . he will eventually stop that too! He's too dependent on you. Don't let him rule your world, after all, YOU'RE the parent! I feel your pain, and know it's tough, but I also know it can be done! Good luck!