My son who is now ten months old was sleeping through the night from the time he was eight weeks old until he was seven months old. When he was seven months old he ended up with RSV and was very sick with ear infections on top of the RVSV. Since that time he started waking up for a bottle between 2 and 3 am and has continued for the past three months. We have tried going from a full bottle over time giving him less and less but that did not work. We have also tried putting a bottle with water in it almost in his hand so when he wakes up he will have it. He just drinks a few sips realizes it is not milk and throws in out of his crib and starts screaming. We have also painfully tried to let him cry it out and that still did not work. He still gets up and cries until we bring him a bottle.
My husband and I are getting very tired of getting up in the middle of the night but the other reason we need to do something now is I am 11 weeks pregnant and have morning sickness really bad if I get out of bed in the middle of the night. My husband has to get up early for work and cannot really afford the break in sleep either.
If you have any suggestions please help as we are in desperate need of our sleep.
You aren't going to get a good night's sleep soon. Whatever you try is going to take a while, but stay with something. Don't switch tactics.
is there any way you can ake a bed for him in your room? that way you can hear his hunger cues before he starts crying and fully wkes up. Plus if you can have everything ready to make your bottle right there in the room, then it's a shorter wake up time for you and your husband and your son...
pleas don't force him to cry it out... all that teaches is that you aren't there to fulfill your baby's needs and he'll learn not to trust you.
also, keep in mind that as babies hit growth spurts/teething/ etc... their sleep patterns change, and parents need to parent their children through these stages. Just realizethat when an infant cries it's b/c he needs something that he can't do for himself, and it's your job as a parent to fulfill whatever that need might be and whenever that need might be.
I'd read "solve Your Child's Sleep Problems" by Ferber. It worked wonders for us, and covers sleep issues for all ages of children. He talks about requirements for sleep, routines, midnight feedings, etc. and offers solutions. This can be really hard, but your child has a habit of eating at night. So now you have to find gentle ways to break it. Ferber's book is great.
After making sure that he is healthy I like the idea of gradually transitioning to water. I found that tip in a genlter sleep book called: Good Night, Sleep Tight - The Sleep Lady's Gentle Guide to Helping your child go to sleep, stay asleep & wake up happy.
I am NOT a fan of any of the cry-it-out methods. I nursed for 13 months, I used this book and by month 7 our baby girl was sleeping throught the night (which can be harder for breastfed babies.) I LOVE this book and you can sort of do it to the extent that you are comfortable. I have also always kept a small box fan running in her room to drown out any noise.
Hope this helps!
Purchase a sound machine and give that a try. Conair has one for less than $20 I think and Homemedics also has a simular model. It has worked for us when we have a fussy baby.
Hi A.,
We went through the same thing with my 10 month old son, however, he was sick with ear infections, colds, and RSV for about 5 months and never slept. First, make sure he is actually well. We put dark curtains on the windows so it is very dark in his room, bought an air purifier machine which produces white noise and made sure we put him to bed awake. We then had to let him cry it out. He first would cry 20-30 minutes and now never cries and wakes up none. He has been sick again once since we started doing this and did not sleep during that time so make sure he is well before trying out letting him cry.
I hope it gets better. I truly know how bad you feel when you never get sleep:)
Hi A.,
First off, I'm sorry to hear of the trouble you're having with that precious baby boy! But you're obviously a very caring & concerned Mommy. I have been right where you are & have to recommend the book On Becoming Babywise; ignore any negativity you've heard about this book & just read it. It's amazing! People tend to view it as the "cry it out" book, but it's truly a book about putting your baby on a schedule & also about the wonderful, mysterious way babies work! It's so worth the pay off. Both of my babies slept thru the night @ least 9 hrs., after incorporating the Babywise techniques...don't give up!
ps. Most likely your baby is not waking due to hunger @ this age, so you may want to stop giving him a bottle before he really gets a hold of a new habit! ;)
K. <><
Hi A., Have you tried mixing a little baby cereal in his milk at bedtime? That helped with mine.
I agree with making sure he's well....no lingering ear infections, not teething, etc. He may also be tring to go through a growth spurt and needs more to eat. Try feeding him more during the day, and especially at dinner/before bed. Can your husband try to pat him back down without a bottle? Will he soothe with walking etc? I also recommend the "No-Cry Sleep Solution" book. The methods she describes are meant to slowly transition your child to sleeping through the night so it's not a quick fix, but it will work without tears.
Hang in there mama!
I tried feeding more filling foods for dinner (no gassy foods) a warm bath with lavender soap & lavender lotion, a bottle with a little cereal mixed in it just to top him off before putting him to bed. And also a "noise machine".
My son is 3 and he has slept all night from 3mts. My daughter from 2mts and she will be 2 in August. Just make sure he is well.
May God Bless You & your family!!
Definitely take the advice of some of the other moms and make sure he is healthy. Once you know he is, accept the idea that the bottle he is waking up for is not for nourishment, it is for comfort. Babies at 10 months old don't need a middle of the night feeding. If he were truly hungry or thirsty, he would suck down anything (including water). Unfortunately, there isn't a "now" solution. Anything you do will probably take time. I suggest letting him cry and going in to comfort him every 10-15 minutes, without a bottle. The first few nights you won't sleep at all and it will be really tough but he will learn how to comfort himself back to sleep. Then you'll be sleeping again before you know it. If you are concerned for his thirst, leave a bottle of water in the crib with him. Also, we run a humidifier in my son's room for white noise like some of the other moms suggested. It works great. In the mean time, take naps during the day whenever he is sleeping, don't worry about how clean the house is and ask a friend to watch him so you can nap. I've heard that the book "Babywise" is a big help. I read, "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer" which had similar ideas. It seems like every mom goes through this and you have to find what works for you but that is what worked for me. Good luck and congratualtions on your 2nd baby!
My only advice is very hard to follow because you have to endure several nights of crying. However, since your son was sleeping through the night before his illness, it might not be to difficult.
I would let him just cry it out for a night or two. Don't go in to comfort him, but just let him cry until he stops. According to my experience, this will only go on for one to three nights. I know it is hard, but he should gradually learn that you are not coming to see about him and will learn to get himself back to sleep. The hardest part is hearing him scream and wanting to go in and hold him and comfort him. But as you say, you need to get your son to sleeping through the night SOON.
I know this is what the experts offer as advice on this subject. Your son knows that you are coming into his room to comfort him, so he keeps screaming...but when he learns that you are not, he should settle down. (And also, the crying should tire him out and he will be more ready for sleep). Good luck
Well first congradulations on your pregnancy!
I was having the exact same problems with my son a few weeks ago. He is now 8 months old. What I did was change his eating habits at night. Instead of food my mom suggested to feed him some rice cereal mixed with fruit because it feels them up more. Well it worked! I also started giving him a bath a little later than normal, which kept him up about 30 min. to an hour longer. So, I would suggests keeping him up about 30 minutes later and feed him rice cereal with fruit. I mix 2 Tablespoons with 1 1/2 oz. of milk. He loves it.
All the other moms have great advice. I also use a humidifier which provides white noise. And the book babywise is a wonderful book. My son has slept through the night since he was 8 wks, thanks to getting him on a schedule. Hope this helps. Good Luck!
R.
i have nothing helpful to tell you but i have gone thru the same thing my 13 month old got sick and had to be put in the hopspital at 7 months he had some unkown virus and all kinds of problems since then before he got sick he would sleep all night now im doing good if i get two hours of sleep in a row at night so i know just how you feel. i also have 5 yr old twins to get up and ready for school every morning if you find anything that works please let me know im at my wits end!good luck!
Read the book BabyWise by Ezzo for help.
As the mother of three girls, 23, 20, and 17, your nights of completely uninterrupted nights are over for quite some time. I will tell you, against my pediatricians advice, we would put them in the bed with us at times to get rest. Some will holler and scream over this advice, but it was called survival. I worked full-time with all three of my girls and this was the only way I could get rest at times. It worked, they are now sleeping in their own beds :o), and they are not marred for life due to this practice. Truthfully, I hope they will do the same for their own. There is nothing sweeter than waking up to that beautiful little face early in the morning.
JM
You might want to try gradually transitioning to water... so if you're giving him an 8 oz bottle, try 7 oz milk and 1 oz water the first night, then 6 oz milk and 2 oz water the next night, 5 and 3, etc. He might not notice the taste difference as much, and it will give his tummy time to adjust to not being so hungry (water doesn't give them that full feeling like milk). It takes a while, but we dropped a nighttime feeding this way, and also switched from breastmilk to formula then formula to milk this way.
