Okay, i feel like I need to clarify some of the things said. First of all, for those of you who think you should come on this site and make me out to be a bad mom for wondering what I can do for my kids (particularly the woman who said "how dare I deny my child food"...this is a site to ask for help, not criticism. I would appreciate you not responding if all you want to do is put me down for asking for help. Secondly, thank you to those of you who have given helpful answers. I don't think I need to see a therapist because I can't get my son to sleep through the night and it makes me tired. I am getting burnt out, but I would imagine it's b/c I don't get much sleep and have 10 kids to look after everyday. Although I appreciate the concern, I just need a vacation...not a therapist.
As far as my question...I staretd feeding him rice cereal last week (so far haven't noticed a difference) but maybe wil start feeding him twice a day...the second before bed??? He has reflux and I recently stopped his medicine b/c he is outgrowing his dose and his dr. said to just let him outgrow it and be done with it. My husband gets up with me, too...but our son wakes up 2 times at night so we are both still up every night.
I understand that not all babies sleep through the night at 3 months (although 95% of babies are sleeping through the night by 4 months...this is in a book my dr. gave me). My other kids were sleeping through the night by 3 1/2 months...so I just set myself up to feel the same. our dr. said not to feed him at night now b/c thi sis why he gets up. he is used to us feeding him. My daughter's dr. (when we lived in another state 4 years ago) said the same thing. I guess my reason fo rthe post was to see if anyone has ideas on how to get him to stop wanting to eat at night and how to get him to fall asleep on his own.
I have worked with infants/newbrons for many years and have a lot of experience with this....nothing I do seem sto work for my own child though! Please don't criticize me for asking a question. I am a good mom and know what is best for my child...I jsut wanted a little advise. People who come on here and make me feel bad for asking a question have ruined this site for me. It really stinks b/c this was my place to go for help.
I am sorry that other moms made you feel bad, I completley understand how tired you must be my kids all three of them didn't sleep through the night until they were like 2 and it wasn't always because they wanted to eat. If you need to talk feel free to email me. I also do daycare in chaska.
I didn't read your other post so I'm not sure what you've tried. I'm sure you've tried letting him cry it out. Although it seems mean at his age, sometimes it's necessary.
I know that there are books out there on sleep training. An old workmate of mine had one that boasted sleeping through the night in a week and it worked great for them. I don't know what it was called though. Sorry no help there.
For my own kids we had a musical star that would play music and shine lihts and imagines onto the ceiling. We had it for bed time and if they woke up. It was kinda their signal that it was time to go to bed. Plus it gave them something to focus on.
Good luck and hang in there. Sorry about the butt holes whose mothers never taught them "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all!" :)
One thought that a doctor gave me with our first is to try to keep the naps and such short during the day and try to make sure he is getting all that he needs during the day (ounces wise). This should hopefully help. Good luck!
Baby is probably just not mature enough to sleep through the night. If he's eating a full feed when he wakes, then he needs it and won't be able to sleep through it until his body matures enough. If he's just sucking a little nad falling back asleep, then he could probably go without it. Thats how you need to judge his night time habits... if he's actually eating when he wakes up, then he needs them so please don't stop, just wake, feed him, and put him back to sleep. That way there is no screaming and crying nad hours of being awake to try and get him to d osomething he's just not ready for.
Rice cereal may make it worse, as its binding so it could constipate him and make his belly hurt. If you want to start solids now, go for oatmeal.
I have no doubt you are a good mom because of your concern for your little guy, and for yourself and your business. But it sounds like he's just not mature enough to sleep all night yet, and thats ok. It won't last forever, and all kids are so different. My boys are polar opposites as babies... though nothing was different between how we 'raised' them as babies. Both were breastfed only, both were co sleeping... my oldest starting sleeping all night around 4wks, but my youngest woke to nurse until 6mos, and still woke at 4am to nurse until he was 11mos old! So each child is different.
I know we kind of put yourselves out there when post on here, and though it is hard to hear what other people say you have to take it with a grain of salt. Mothers and fathers know what worked for them , they know their own children so that is what they base the advice on. You are stressed and that is understandable nearly everyone on here has been there before. the point is every child is different. You just have to look through what people say and take bits and pieces from each post so that you can mold it to fit your child. I posted on your other request and i am sorry if i was mean, i wasn't intending to be. i know some people dont like them but i gave my son a lovey and a pacifer to help him through the night. As long as he has his stuffed monkey he will sleep fine. sleeping through the night is considered to be a stretch of 5 or more hours. like i said before for the first 3 months my son was awake every 1-2 hours at 3 months he started sleeping in his room and woke 5-7 times a night. trust me i know how you feel i really do. what worked for me was just doing what my son wanted i fed him rocked him and cuddled him then at then at 7 months old on a monday night he was up every 2 hours, then on tuesday night he slept from 7pm to 7:30 am. between then and now at 14.5 months i have had to get up with him maybe once every 2 weeks and only for a quick hug then he was back to bed. i know what it is like to be tired and still have to get up and watch kids. i have been doing daycare and night care since i was 16. at 16 i watched my nephew he was 6 months old and he was up 3-4 times a night then i went to school the next day. the only true advice i KNOW that works is to love them and feed them and they will grow out of it in a few months. good luck, and i am sorry again that people have upset you.
One thing I did with my son when he was about that age is he took a late nap (like 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.) and then he was up for a few hours. I gave him a feeding and then we both went to bed at the same time, around 10:00 p.m. That way, he was only having one feeding that fell in the middle of my sleep.
I would also say try chiropractic care--for both his acid reflux and his sleep issues. Have you tried the "sleep slings" that go inside the crib for acid reflux? Whatever route you take, I think you could benefit from a solid night or two of sleep ASAP. Do you have a friend or relative who could take your baby for a night, or maybe you could swap houses and she could come to yours and watch your baby?
One thing I wonder about is what everyone's (you, your doctor, everyone who responded) definition of "through the night" is. How many hours are we talking about?
You said your book says something about 95% of babies sleeping through the night at a certain age. Well, someone has to be that 5%, unfortunately. I'm not saying it's YOU, but statistically someone has to be.
Lastly, one risk you take with him crying it out during the night is then he could be awake for quite awhile, and may compensate during the day by taking longer or more frequent naps. One thing to think about is how long does it take to feed him and have him return to sleep vs. letting him cry? I'm not against crying it out, but to be honest, if he eats and then falls back asleep, I would just feed him. If he is up for awhile and it gets to be a fiasco, that's a different story.
Good luck.
I have never gotten my little ones to sleep through the night until they were about six months old. I do remember feeling like you do. my four month old is still waking up at one and four. I don't know why, but it doesn't bother me as much now as it did when I was younger. I take better care of myself now. Surprisingly, a walk makes me feel more rested during the day. I also take a vitamin. I am interested in what others have done. I know feeding my kids a good bowl of cereal at bedtime usually helped.
Hi hon,
Sorry you've been critizied. This is a pretty cool site and there are a lot of fun moms on here, but, with everything, there's always that one that will over think things. I hope you just press the "delete" button for those.
My mom had 6 kids total and 5 of them within a four year span. Yep...two sets of twins! I always asked her for advice when I was going through the tough times with my kids. I figured if she didn't know, there was nobody that could help me. LOL! She always seemed to have the right answer.
Anyways, I had a really tough time with the reflux thing and one of my friends little baby did too. We both eneded up doing the same thing. Raising our matresses up a few inches by the headboard side. This way the food stays down. Gravity isn't as harsh! Try it.
This way you should be able to feed him before he goes to bed and he should be able to sleep. My mom told me also to make sure that you get all the burps out.
It sounds liek you're doing all the right things. If his acid reflux still persists. Melaleuca makes a Florify that I take for my acid reflux that is awesome and safe for kids!
God Bless! And stay true... I don't know one mother out there that has not made a mistake with raising there children. That's what makes us indivuals. That's how we become who we are! Special!
I would ask the dr. to reconsider his stance on the reflux meds unless you notice that your little one is significantly better. It's my understanding (and I certainly may be wrong...) that many. many times reflux in infants does not fully resolve until they are close to a year old. My daughter was on her meds until 14 months. Had we stopped them sooner it would have been bad!!!
Second...this baby just might not be ready to sleep through the night. My daughter is going on 2 and she still wakes up at night pretty regularly. Not every night...but probably once or twice a week. We have tried everything, too...now we just go with it and take turns. Things will get better...it just sounds to me like he is just not ready yet and still needs the nutrition.
