My son is 2.5 months and my husband and I have trouble getting him to sleep at night.For the past month it has been a huge issue to get him to sleep. He does absolutely great during the day he naps a couple times a day and we try not to let him nap past 6pm or it will take us til 11 or later to get him to sleep. I have also tried the night time bath and night time lotion before bed and it doesn't seem to help any. He is breast fed, so at about 830-9 i nurse him to put him to sleep and he will nurse for about 20-30 minutes and as soon as he is done nursing he immediately wakes up and it takes me about an hr sometimes longer to actually get him to sleep. I was curious if anyone else has had this issue and what has worked for you. My husband has no issue getting him to sleep, but for some reason he fights it with me.
Would really love the advice/ideas of what might help him fall asleep quicker at night so I am not staying up til late getting my baby to sleep. Thank you now in advance for all the help.
Thank u for the responses. I guess I should have mentioned that my husband is military and is deploying next month for a year so it is very important that I am able to put my son to sleep. Marda thanks for the input but I won't be able to have my husband sdput him to sleep at night. Plus my son sleeps with me in my bed. I will not put him in his crib because he wakes up immediately. For my comfort sake he sleeps with me. We do quiet time at night to wind everyone down. My daughter(3) watches a quiet movie before bed and my husband and I watch a show while I nurse. I am not concerned about my ason sleeping through the night at all because he already does that. I am just curious of different ways that I can help him go to sleep at night. Right now after about an hr of trying I just put him in his swing and let him cry himself to sleep and that isn't fair to him or me.
I co-sleep with my baby too and love it. I would recommend getting the "Happiest Baby on the Block" DVD or book from the library. The DVD would take a lot less time but I couldn't find it from the library. I found the DVD on Netflix and the book at Tacoma Library.
Also, I think "Gramma"'s response is thinking that he is 2.5 years not months because at 2.5 months, it is normal and healthy to have numerous naps throughout the day.
Honestly, it sounds completely normal and natural to me. I read and hear so much about encourage babies to sleep on their own, etc, and it just seems wrong to me! Trust me, by the time they are seven months old or so, you can easily get them to sleep through the night...with maybe one wake up. My daughter is now one, and still wakes up just once at night to nurse. I don't mind, and I will continue to let her do it. However, I get all the sleep I need.
I have no advice, because I think you're doing just what you should be. I can offer encouragement, though...he'll start to sleep longer and need less nutrition through the night...it's just a little weary for the first months! :) If I were you, I would just treasure all those special nighttime moments...because soon enough, they'll be snoring and you won't be able to wake them up in the morning.
I suggest you try putting him to bed with a night light and perhaps quiet music. Then leave. If he cries go in and pat him on the back a bit and leave. Do this at intervals. Do not pick him up or make a big deal about his going to sleep. I think that you'll find in a few days he'll be able to get to sleep.
You cannot make him go to sleep. You can only provide a restful place in which to fall asleep. He's at the age where he's learning many new things and putting himself to sleep is just one of them.
Since your husband isn't having the same difficulty, could you have him be the one to put him to bed, for now? I suggest that your husband is able to be more matter of fact and less concerned about being sure he goes to sleep. Men tend to do a better job of treating things such as this in a simpler and less emotional way. Or he may have more influence in this situation because he's not with your son as much as you are. It doesn't matter why it works for your husband. Since it does work let him do it.
Some children will lay in their crib, playing and jabbering until they fall asleep. This is OK too. You don't have to stay awake because he's awake.
I went through the same thing with my almost five year old! She slept for several hours at night but we couldn't get her to go to bed a decent hour. She would take several little naps but absolutely would not be down for the night until around 1:00 am. My husband would get her to sleep around 10:00 and be convinced she was down for the night, but thirty minutes later, she was up again. I can only tell you that just past the three month mark, she gradually backed up the 1:00 am to 11:30 and then to 9:30-10:00 which I could live with.
Try cutting out TV time at least 30-60 minutes before bed. The light from a TV keeps the body awake because the body recognizes it as sunlight and "extends the day" for the body. When you nurse try not to do it in front of the TV. And honestly, the baby will sleep when HE is ready. That's just how it is. Especially since he's breastfed and his tummy is so tiny, he's going to digest the breastmilk very quickly and need to nurse again within a couple of hours. That's to be expected. He's ONLY 2.5 months. So you have to work around the baby's routine and not force him around yours right now.
Edited to add: I just noticed people saying he should only have one nap during the day and are comparing the nightly and nap issues with their toddlers and 5 year olds but I have to say... really? The baby in the OP is 2.5 MONTHS old! He should be napping frequently and eating frequently. He's breastfed which means he'll sleep and wake frequently and it's natural, not to be construed as a "problem." What you should be doing is journaling his sleep/wake cycles as well as when he eats so that you can see his natural patterns and then plan around them.
Have you tried swaddling him? My DD really loved being swaddled at night and she began to sleep through the night consistently at 14 weeks. We swaddled her in both regular flannel baby blankets and we had a knit wrap that had velcro tabs on it. It sounds like you have a good start on a napping schedule and setting up a nighttime routine. Mostly, just know that it takes time to get them in a cycle and he will get there. You're doing the best that you know how and that's the best thing for your child. I hope this helps.
Mommy - you smell great to him, your heart beat is very comforting as is your voice and touch, and you produce the best food on the planet (breastmilk). Of course baby doesn't want you to leave him when you want him to sleep all alone.
I started off as a Single Mother, working full time and going to school part time. I was EXHAUSTED but it was due to my day schedule, not lack of sleeping at night. I co-slept and still do and it's the best thing I've done to ensure we ALL got the sleep our bodies and minds needed.
My almost 6 y/o is transitioning out of our bed because we have #2 coming in July and there is only room for 2 adults and one child. My daughter is sad to leave, but understands why. Thankfully she's been wanting more and more privacy lately and would have been out on her own even without the new baby coming.
At 2 1/2 months, he's still really too little to be very consistant for long. For most babies, they will have a sleeping pattenr that might last a week or two and then something will change. Many babies will get better around 6 months. I wasn't so lucky. Mine seemed to settle into longer patters as they approached 1 year and even more consistant patterns around 18 months.
I think your best bet is to ignor the clock and try to notice his cues. As soon as you notice him getting sleepy, help him along, whether that be rocking, singing, white noice, whatever seems to help. If nursing him seems to wake him up, you could try nursing him before bath and then helping him to fall asleep after you dress him. Try to play around with things and find something that works for him.
By the way, I love the way the bed time bath products smell, but I haven't actually found them to help my kids fall asleep. Just my experience.
Good luck! It really will get easier!
At his age he should only have one nap time a day and it should not last over an hour and a half. Be careful about not letting him fall asleep in his dinner plate when you first transition him to one nap a day.
You also might want to increase his physical activity level. Swimming lessons are really good for that and have Dad take him out and throw the ball around with him after work.
your little one still adjusting! lol you will be lucky to get 2 hours asleep by the time he is 6 months. you must remember he was on his own time schedule in your belly so now he has to realize that there is a night and day and that when it starts getting dark and late it;s time to go to sleep. the bedtime bath stuff just smells good, thats it. as far as advice, marda's sounds like a bet. good luck
Once my baby stopped needing to be burped (around 5 months), I nursed him to sleep while lying down (we have two beds pushed together - so we have lots of room to comfortably co-sleep - at first, we slept in separate beds). I only learned how to do it when he got older, it may work for a younger baby. I use to take a book to bed and read until I could safely de-latch and be on my way. He would often wake up 45 minutes or so later and I would nurse him back to sleep.
What worked best for me is a schedule of events for night time...bath, or calming episode of favorite show...putting her in pjs...last bottle or snack, the big deal of getting her comfort items (fuzzy blanket and pacifier...she only gets it now at bed and nap times), letting her turn off the light (once big enough), some rocking (not always to sleep), I ALWAYS end the night with "It's nighty night time, I will see you in the morning, and I love you"...now I have to add..."Stay in bed and DO NOT get up"...LOL.
Put together a schedule of what you are doing now and do not stray from it. A calming book can help...just the tone of your voice and the security it holds. You might also want to express and bottle feed the breastmilk once or twice a week...not to upset the breastfeeding but to maybe add a tiny bit of cereal to it to help him sleep. Once he gets in the pattern, you can stop if you want. It would also allow someone else to put him down at night and give you a break. Just ideas, though. Good luck!
