Is Something Wrong with My Baby? More Sleep Issues.

Maybe he is just 7 months old and going through the 'mom can leave me' thing? And the reason why the bouncing works is because he just wants to be held?

I'm a first time mom, so I have no real clue. What I do believe, however, is that many babies wake up lots of times till they are toddlers. In fact, I don't buy that it is normal for babies to sleep through the night --I think that is a culture preference, not necessarily a biological one. Some babies are great sleeper, other babies aren't. Some are truly hungry and wake up for food.

My 7 mo old daughter was, till a few days ago, going down for her naps with no problems. She seemed to have settled into a twice a night waking thing(she needs the food) but the last two nights have been crazy every 1.5-2 hours nights. But instead of her normal 'I'm hungry' cries, I'm getting screams. Sometimes nursing works, sometimes she just wants company.

In fact, this morning, she refused to go down for her nap by herself. She screamed and screamed and screamed until I kept her company.

My daughter does the crazy 1.5-2 hour thing every so often. Typically it corresponds to major developmental milestones. I found the book -The Wonder Weeks- very helpful in understand that some babies are just super fussy non-sleepers just before major developmental leaps.

I am exhausted, and not looking forward to the 9 month leap. The 3 month leap about killed me, the 26 week leap almost did.

I just keep reminding myself that I am blessed with a highly sensitive baby. I also keep reminding myself that this will pass, and eventually, I will get some sleep.

My input: there is probably nothing physically wrong with your son. Most likely his growth is just your pain.

I would say that something is wrong, tummy ache, allergy, ear infection, etc. I also cosleep and I feel like the best part of it is that they don't even have to cry in the middle of the night because you are so close. The fact that your baby is crying when you are right there offering the breast would tell me that something is off. Maybe it's the formula or the solids could be too much for his digestive system still. Every kid develops at a different rate and if his tummy was used to breastmilk only and then formula and solids was introduced it could not be sitting well with him. Personally, I would cut back on both those and see what happens. I think reflux is more common in younger babies but I could be wrong. Your milk supply may not be low, it just seems that way because you produce less in the evening and a lot of babies like to cluster feed in the evenings which a lot of people perceive that there isn't enough milk for them. Good luck.

Is he having gas pains? That sounds like what my 4 month old daughter does when she's gassy (which is most of the time!). Sometimes it's very hard to get her to burp and I have to pat and rub her back for several minutes. A lot of the time it also helps just to sit her up and let the gas bubble work it's way out. I put gas drops in all of her bottles to try to avoid this situation. You might want to try that in his bottle before bed. Good luck! I hope you get some sleep and your baby feels better.

Hi J.. As I was reading through your note, I immediately thought "I wonder if he has acid reflux?"...and then you mentioned you just put him on medication. I know it's only been a week and a half, but you could always give the Pediatrician a call with an update about his behavior.

However, it sounds like your Pediatician is ruling out medical issues and believes that your son is manipulating you. I know he is extremely young, but he has already figured out that if he escalates his crying after a couple minutes, you will give in to him (smart little guy!!) That could be the case. Or...do you see any signs of constipation? If so, slip some prune baby food in with his cereal once a day and see if that makes a difference. Or...is he teething?

I'm a cry-it-out Mom, and there are successful techniques that are more gentle than the "cold turkey" method. However, you've got to trust your gut -- so if you feel strongly that there is something physically wrong with your son, perhaps you should try to get a second option from a different Pediatrician.

Your kids are so close in age -- these may be tough times, but they will get better. I promise. Hang in there.

Hi,
I just went thru the same thing with my little guy and we ended up with a shiny new toooth a few weeks later! I swore he wasn't teething but I was wrong. After tooth came, sleep resumed. Good luck!

Trust your gut that something is causing him pain.

Did this start with any other changes? Change of formula? Addition of solids? Change in your diet?

How long has this been going on?

I agree it could be an intolerance or reaction to food, it could be teething, night terrors?

I would start with the things you can do something about. Changing his and your diet... cut out any kind of dairy, lactose-free is still dairy, cut out any wheat.