Need Sleep Solution for 7 Month Old

There's an article here with tips from Dr. Weissbluth on sleep:

http://
billiediscoverytoys.blogspot.com/2008/09/sleep-begets-sleep.html

Try putting him to bed earlier- like 7 pm. For whatever reason, the earlier they go to bed, the longer they will sleep at night.

Hi S.,

I was very against the cry it out method, until my daughter started waking up at night, around the same age as your son. After walking around in a near-coma for a couple weeks, I was at the end of my rope and decided to try the cry it out method. After a few rocky nights, I was finally able to get some much-needed sleep for myself!

Here's how it worked for me: I got a stopwatch, and when my daughter woke up, I let her cry for 30 seconds, then I went into her room, rubbed her back and talked very soothingly and quietly (telling her I love her, that she really needs to gets some sleep, that I'm here for her, etc.) for about 15-30 seconds, but I did NOT pick her up - this is the most important and most difficult part. Then I left, and when she started crying again, I waited 1 minute, went back in her room, talked very soothingly, rubbed her back for a bit and left. Then I waited 2 minutes, then 4, then 8, then 16 minutes (doubling each time). The key was let her know I was there and that I love her, and to comfort her, but not to pick her up. The hardest night was the second night, when I had to go in, for the last time, after 64 minutes (she did not cry for an hour straight, it was off and on and when I went in for the last time, it was almost more for my comfort than hers). By the 4th night, all was well and she fussed a bit but that was it, she started sleeping straight through the night. The object is for an infant to learn to self-soothe and to let themselves fall back asleep without any help, and while I know there are many critics of this method, I do not feel my daughter has been emotionally damaged because I did this. She is currently 3, and has wonderful, healthy sleep habits.

This method makes for a few rocky nights, but you need to remember that it is extremely important that you get enough sleep too! Emotionally, the first night was absolutely horrible, but I cannot tell you how wonderful that first full 8-hour night of sleep was a few days later!

Good luck, and remember, just like healthy eating, you need some healthy sleeping too!

K., mom of a wonderful 3 year old girl

I was about to post something about this too!!!

I am SOOOO happy to hear that I'm not the only one with this problem! My daughter is almost 7 months old & I'm having the same sleep issues. I was attributing most of it to teething. She eats less during the day (like the person below this wrote) and only a little bit of cereal during the day & that's a struggle.

I really love Dr. Sears books/advice. You can always check out his website or get a book. I love the website because it's got an index you can look up whatever you want. The website is: www.askdrsears.com

Other than trying to keep your baby up later (makes for one cranky baby!), I don't know how to change their naptimes. I just followed my daughters' lead & made her nap times when I noticed she was getting tired & made the routine that way. So, if I noticed she was tired around 10:30 & again at 2:30, those were her nap times. that worked until teething began.

I'm sorry if this isn't as helpful as you'd have liked but I wanted to thank you for posting this. Again, I'm very much in to attachment style parenting & don't think it's necessary for babies to "cry it out", they are crying because that's how they communicate. I hope the website helps you & that you get the much needed rest soon...

Have you asked your pediatrician about adding some rice cereal to his night-time bottle? He may just be hungry.

We loved the book "No Cry Sleep Solutions" by Elizabeth Pantley.

Poor, tired mama! I suggest an earlier bedtime. I know it sounds weird, but it really works! My 8 month old goes to bed between 6:30-7:00 at night, and sleeps until 6:30-7:00 the next morning! (Sorry to rub it in...)

But he didn't always do that! For him, it was about the early bedtime, soothing himself to sleep (I had to stop nursing him to sleep), and letting him fuss it out sometimes. But will that wake up your daughter? Argh!

I also make sure he gets 2-3 naps a day, which helps the night sleep. It's hard to adjust their nap schedule though- I feel that afternoon nap pain! If he gets a really good nap in the morning, then it'd probably be ok for him to take a catnap during the school pickup. Just make it quick, and try to get him back in the crib when you get home!

Good luck!

Dear S.,

You are going to have to let him cry it out unfortunately. If he is eating cereal or whatever you give him at dinner time and a bottle at night time he is not hungry it is just habit. What i did with both of my children is i started letting them cry it out at nap time on a Friday then continued it through the entire weekend. By Monday night both of my children were sleeping through the night. It is difficult to do but if you do it a nap time and bed time after a few nights the crying time is less and less and by the third night nothing. The reason i say weekends is because noone has to be up for school or work so the sleep disturbance will not be as bad if you can catch a nap during the day. Remember if you decide to do this you can not give in, it sends the wrong message. If anything it will work in the reverse he will think if i keep this up eventually she will come and get me. As I said this is very difficult because noone wants to hear their baby cry. However look at the light at the end of the tunnel you are teaching your baby to soothe himself to sleep, to be independent. If you want to start getting some sleep i think this may be your only choice. Good luck!!

Hi I am a mom of two wonderful children boy and girl.. What I would suggest is the bottle that you give him before he goes to bed at 8:30 you could increase or add cereal to it... that might hold him longer and help him sleep longer.. Also if at all try and keep him up to maybe 9 pm with a larger bottle and that could help him to change his routine.. I am not a big believer in letting a baby cry it out..

It seems that perhaps your son is used to eating at night. You can GRADUALLY modify this habit by offering him some formula at the midnight feed, but reducing it by an ounce or 2 every couple days so that by a week or so, he'll no longer need that midnight feed. Once you have gotten through that, then try the same technique for the 3am feeding. Just continue to slowly reduce the amount he intakes so that he's no longer needing, or dependent on it. When you do this, make sure that he gets a full 8 ounces of formula before he goes to bed, that way you ensure that he's not hungry--and that it's just habit. ALSO remember that babies do continue to go through growth spurts occasionally. So when you have him down to a bottle before bed and then when he wakes up, if occassionally he requires an early morning feeding, it's okay...although you can try water first. Personally, I do not think the cry-it-out method works.

As for the naps, this is an easy fix. You can simply try to tire your son out and put him down for his nap 15 minutes early for a couple days, and then continue to put him down 15 minutes early until he's going for a nap at the time you need. This may take a week or so, but it'll work--AS LONG AS you tire him out so he;s ready to sleep and you're not forcing him to nap if he's not tired.
good luck!

try changing his bedtime a little earlier, experiment with the times but try each for a few days(one day wont give you a true result of how he acts). as for the nap, i really dont think you can change that. my first daughter has always woken up the same time every morning, no matter when she goes to bed. so then she would get tired the same time. i coudnt change anything if i tried. maybe though you can have luck if you change his bedtime. a good nap is key for most babies.
i completely disagree with crying it out. if you google, you will find numerous negative effects. you dont have to let your baby cry. my children have never been left to cry. if your baby is left to cry, he will eventually pass out from exhaustion. i have cried myself to sleep in my life and it is an unpleasant, unrestful experience i dont need to give to my babies. 30 mins is a LONG time esp in the middle of the night when he usually sleeps. he is needing something from you.

i really have to think he is hungry though. if he just wanted comfort from either you or the water, he would go back with the water bottle(or even just you holding him). the fact that he tries, then realizes he isnt getting fullfilled sounds like he is hungry. the way i always knew with my first who was bottle fed, if i gave her the pacifier, she would go back to sleep, if she woke back up 10 min later, she wanted to eat. otherwise, she just wanted help soothing.

good luck to you.

When my son was 6 1/2 months old he was still waking 1-2 times a night. I have twins and was miserable b/c sometimes I would just get hom down and he would wake his sister (who slept through the night unless he woke her!) This is when I asked my ped. for advice. He suggested that I water his bottle down instead of just going right to water. It was a bit more of a trick ;) So we did 1 oz. water and 3 formula. Then then next day 2 and 2, then 3 and 1 and we never got to full water b/c he just gave up and stopped waking in the middle of the night! I also started to read the book Good Night Sleep Tight by Kim West (www.sleeplady.com) This is THE greatest book about sleep and it's importance and how to get your baby to sleep without "crying it out". It worked like a charm for us and they were soon taking 2 naps a day and sleeping through the night for 12 hours!! They are 14 months now and still sleeping strong! I hope these suggestions help for you and you get some rest.
Danielle

Hi S., I have a 7 month old too, and she's not sleeping through the night either. At this point, it's pretty normal to need to eat during the night. I rely on Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child for my sleep solutions, and Weissbluth (author) suggests that babies are ready to sleep 12 hours without needing a bottle or nurse at 9 months. With my son, it was 11 months before he started sleeping 12 hours without waking, so it is different for everyone. When my daughter wakes before midnight, I don't feed her, but because I also have a 21 month old who is a nightmare when he's woken, I do go to her if she's not back to sleep within a half hour and soothe her back to sleep (I have been successful with a "let cry" method for going to sleep with both my kids, but I think 30 minutes in the middle of the night is disruptive for the whole family). Anytime after midnight, I nurse her. You may want to try feeding your son more solids during the day, this could help fill him up more so you can eliminate at least one feeding. Good luck!

I bet he is teething. This will pass.Hang in there

Hi S.

You need to let him really cry it out... You can't give in once you start because you are just teasing him. It will take about 30-45 mins for each time he wakes and after three nights at most.. your baby will sleep through the night. He's too old to still be eating at night. he will never learn if you keep feeding him. I know it's very hard and against human nature to do so but he will be a better baby when he wakes and will nap better during the day. I suggest reading Dr. Michel Cohen's book if you want to learn more about it.
Good luck

R.

Hi S.

Your little guy is just waking up now out of habit. And yes, unfortunately he needs to cry it out...and yes, you will feel like the meanest mother in the world.

but I started letting mine cry it out at nap time...I was better prepared mentally to tough it out...weekends are a good time to start because your little girl doesn't have pre K. It's a tough road, but well worth it. My kids would scream as if they were in excruciating pain and then wake up in the morning all bubbles and giggles. It seemed as though they had no memory of the night before! It'll will take a couple of days, but it works...I did it with all 4 of mine. I cried and sometimes my husband would have to hold me so I wouldn't go into their room...hang tough. Habits are hard to break.

I have the same problem with my nap time and my youngest. I now just give her a shorter nap...during the day as long as she has had 45 minutes...she should be good to go! THis in the long run might help with your little guys sleeping!

Good luck

D.

My son wakes up like 4 times a night. Some babies just wake up a lot. I'm going crazy too. He is also teething so you may want to take that into consideration. I don't believe in letting a baby cry it out...I personally feel that it is cruel and I just can't let my little man cry for too long. I tried to once. I mean crying while you're holding him is okay because he is still being comforted to sleep. I do nurse and cosleep so that may be a culprit for me. I'm actually starting to put him in the crib more often to try to wean the cosleeping and see if he will sleep longer if he is not next to me.?? good luck to you!

Hang in there...
My now 3 1/2 year old slept through about 3 mos. of age. My now 1 year old didn't sleep through until 11 months! She did sleep through in the beginning, but then teething took over and I took care of her...
But in terms of the cry it out method - be careful - obviously you don't want your baby to wail and scream into hysterics - something is wrong...
I did the CIO method with my baby because I knew she wasn't hungry at night (I was still breastfeeding her), and she did holler and whimper but never to the point where she was really really crying.
Now she is a great sleeper - remember your baby is just communicating with you with the different cries and sounds so keep that in mind. You don't want to ignore their cues...

FYI - I did the water thing - just reduce it one oz each night and it worked for me. Perhaps you could do the same thing but for formula? When you get to the last ounce and he wants more - then offer water...and explain that's all he's getting...

I'm sure you'll find something that works for you. :)

Like one of the others that commented - I was against the cry it out method until recently. My son who is now 8 months had gotten to the point where we had to do all these things just to get him to go to sleep and even then half the time he would wake back up. I guess we realized that enough is enough and we didn't want to him to be 3 years old and going through the same ordeal.

So about 2-3 weeks ago we started the cry it out (Ferber method) and I am so glad that we did. He goes down every night at 9PM (in the past it was more like 10 - 11PM) and he seems to actually sleep better. If he does wake up in the middle of the night he is able to put himself back to sleep.

The first 2 nights were the hardest. However, each night the crying was less (and less intense). Now, he knows that at 9PM it's bed time and he is already falling asleep. He goes right down.

I know its hard in the beginning but it will be worth it. Now my husband and I actually have some time together and we can also get to bed a little earlier.

I was about to post this exact email! My 8 month old has been waking up 1-4 times a night her whole life. Every once in awhile we get a 6 hour stretch, also every once in awhile we get her up every hour!

1) We can only get her to eat 1 tablespoon of cereal a day -- she still has too strong a tongue thrust unfortunately. 2) We can't put cereal in her bottle because she sometimes sucks to much and breaths it in, coughs, and this is a health hazard with cereal in the bottle.

However, this last week I've noticed that she can go longer (4-6 hours) without a bottle during the day and at night -- when she's waking up at night she's only having an ounce. This fits what one mother said about that 9 month mark. So, I think she's getting to that point where she's not hungry, she is just needing the bottle to fall back asleep. So, I have to try the method of teaching her to fall asleep without it, which is hard because she falls asleep while she eats when her nap time is close. I think I'll check the sleeplady book out from the library.

Good luck! I know your pain. I'm so sleep deprived that I can barely get anything done during the day, so taking care of my baby has become "just keep her happy till her next nap!" Its no way to live. Let me know how it goes!