My six month old has never slept over 4 hours at a time. He does not take naps over 1 hour, unless we're driving in the car. He has mild acid reflux, which he takes medicine for twice a day to remove the pain of laying down. I am going nuts trying to keep up with a PT job, a four year old, and a houshold during the day...and now I've added this one who never sleeps! help! I need advice. I have let him cry it out, but that typically only works for the midnight feeding, if it works at all. In the middle of the night when I nurse or my husband gives him a bottle, he eats around 4 oz. a a time. I feed him baby food twice a day. His bedtime is 8:00. I'm out of ideas.
I would get the book The Baby Whisperer. It really helped me. If he is hungry, I think "cluster feeding" feeding would really help. Starting at 6 p.m. again at 8 right before bed and then again in his "sleep" at 10. Good Luck!
I had the same problem- she would only nap 30 minutes to an hour- and didnt sleep for long at night. This went on until around 5 months of age- thats when we decided to see the doctor. After many trips to the doctor we found her weight was going down a few ounces each day. (We were having to do daily weigh ins) My ped had me try formula for a few days- (mom cried- I wanted to nurse) she sucked down the first bottle like it was the best thing ever! I was upset but went along with it- sure enough- she started eating alot more and sleeping like a baby should! I nursed my first for 1 year and wanted to do the same with her, but it didnt work for her system. She was eating just enough to get satisfied, but not full. So, in turn, she was waking often. Switching to strictly formula was the key for us. Now at 20 months- she is a wonderful sleeper!! You might give formula a try- Good Luck
Do a little reading on the Ferber method. This is how he got our son with reflux to finally get into a regular sleeping routine. Buy a book on it or google it.
I agree that some babies just are not good sleepers. My second set of twins just turned one in July. Still not "sleeping through the night." Recently I was happy to occasionally get an all nighter from one of the twins and maybe every 4 hours from the other. My sons are just very very hungry; they are constantly going through growth spurts where they just can't get enough food, even with lots to eat during the day. They were 6.5 weeks premature, but at one year they are as big as most 2 yr olds. My twin girls were the same way. I tried all kinds of routines, I tried cry it out, in which case one girl would bang her head against the side of the crib until I thought she would get a concussion - that just never worked. My girls slept a lot better when I finally put them in bed with me. I reconcile myself to feeding whey they wake up and try to make it as smooth as possible. I know that one day they will sleep longer and longer; probably around 18 months. Good luck. Co-sleeping did help with my girls.
Maybe he is needing more food. My twins are 6 months old and eat around 6oz at a time. Also they eat the cereal and babyfood twice a day.
Have you considered that he might have a dairy allergy or that something you're eating (like dairy) is contributing to his reflux? He sounds just like my first son who did not sleep well until he was almost two (and coincidentally stopped nursing). No one ever suggested it and we just thought as others have suggested that he just wasn't a good sleeper. However, I started have IBS issues when he was two and removed dairy from my diet. My second son was a great sleeper. We also later learned that we all have an allergy to casein (the protein in dairy).
You should be happy your getting 4 hours at a time. My baby would wake up every 2 to 3 hours until she was about 9 months then it went to every 4 hours. She is 14 months now and finaly sleeping all night. But not always...for two weeks she got up at 3 am and wouldnt go back to bed.
The Ferber method was a joke for us...she would cry all night. She co slept with me until she was 3 months and then to her crib. I would feed her every time she woke up against my doctors reccomendations. She was hungry! How could I not feed her, once fed she would go back to sleep. NOTE: I never picked her up...I fed her lying down in the crib.
I would say try feeding him when he wakes up maybe he is hungry. Maybe increase the oz. at 6 months my baby was drinking 6 oz.
Good luck.
I can totally sympathize! My DD was the same way. It was so hard. I dont know that I can provide any great advise, only support to know you are not alone.
I did finally use the modified CIO method because she and I needed sleep SO bad. It took almost two weeks, but she finally started sleeping through the night. I would lay her down, wait 5 min and if she was still crying I would go in and rub her back, let her calm down, leave the room, wait 5 min and if she was still crying I would go in and rub her back, and on with the cycle. This does not work for everyone and it was extrememly hard. But I finally felt like she was getting a good night sleep. She would still have nights when she would wake up and be awake for hours at night, but they became fewer and far between. If you go this route, you have to be consistent or it will not work.
Her naps did not level out until she was about 8 months old, she would finally take 2 one hour naps, which was like heaven! (she had been just taking 3 20-30 min naps).
I think that some babies just do not sleep as well as others (I have a niece who could sleep all day and night if you let her!)
Good luck. It will get better.
