Sleep??????

You may need to start giving him some cerial in a bottle before he goes to sleep at night. That's what my sister in law had to do. I didn't do that and both of mine ended up in my bed for a few years. They got so used to sleeping with me they would not sleep in their own bed. That was the only solution that I could come up with.

Have you tried letting him sleep in his swing or car seat? Maybe he is not liking the position he is sleeping in. My son has reflux so whenever i laid him down on his back he hated that!!! He aslo likes to sleep in his rocker chair that vibrates. A friend also told me to try putting a heating pad on the bed where he sleeps and warm it up. Maybe the room is too cold. My son also likes to be swaddled still. Hope some of these suggestions work for ya!

Maybe he has gas. This has happened with my son before. When I can't get him to go back to sleep, it is usually gas. A little Mylicon works wonders.

Hi J.,

Sleep is a common question on this site, so in addition to all the responses you receive, always check similar posts for suggestions if you haven't already....usually I find great suggestions on questions I have that others have already asked. Here was my response to a similar question a few weeks ago. My son is now 7 months, but is sleeping throught the night and has never had to cry it out. Good luck!
---------------------------------

I agree with the other mamas who suggest putting your little one to bed before the meltdowns start. I too thought it sounded backwards, I thought keeping a baby up later would mean they would sleep later in the morning (which was all about me), but well rested babies go to sleep easier and sleep longer than babies that are over-tired or over-stressed. I read "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer" and the book suggested putting your baby down the very first time you see them rub their eyes or show signs of tiredness. For my son this was almost routinely around 6:30pm, but on occassion as early as 6:00pm. I thought there was no way he could sleep all night if I put him to bed that early, but here we are 4 months later and he is sleeping 11 hours all night and has been ever since I read the book. I also believe he goes down easy because we follow the same nightly routine, every night. It a quick and simple routine: As soon as he shows signs of being tired, rubbing his little eyes and/or yawning, I whisk him up, we tell both his daddy and his dogs goodnight, walk quietly to his room while explaining I am about to put him down for the night, we tell our pictures of our grandparents goodnight, I sit and rock him with his last bottle, and I put him in his bed before he is asleep. Each time I talk to him and explain each part we are about to do. I place my hand on his chest to soothe him, then I walk out of the room and he goes to sleep. The book suggests that if your little one starts to cry, it okay to pick him up, but only until he stops crying and then you are to immediately put him back down. I think this part is key. The book said the first night you may have to be prepared to pick him up 100 times, but as soon as the crying stops, you must put him down. This method worked for me because I didn't like the idea of letting him cry it out, and I have never had to let him cry it out with this method. Not once. And it never took 100 times to put him to sleep. I didn't have to do it more than 2 nights and I never picked him up more than probably 8-9 times. My mother was amazed over the Easter holiday when we stayed at her house that even in an unfamiliar home, in an unfamilar crib, I could put my son to bed, without rocking him completely to sleep, and he would be out in less than 10 minutes. She thought it was crazy to leave him in bed awake until the third night when she realized how quiet and peaceful he slept while she struggled to put my nephew down who fought her at every step. Then I got a laugh when she said that her kids (my siblings and I) never went to bed easily and she had to rock us all night. :) One thing that also helped I think is to place your baby in his crib for naps and some quiet time during the day to himself before bedtime....maybe he is unfamiliar with his crib if you are only using it for bedtime? Early on my son and I practically lived in our living room, but I made it a point at about 8 weeks to start putting him in his crib during the day while he was awake so he could get used to the surroundings. Good luck!

I HATE HATE HATE "Cry It Out" so take whatever I say with a grain of salt.

Babies have an instinctual need to be close to the parents, especially the mother. Think about it this way. You're tiny, helpless and weak. You're best bet for survival is to be close to an adult that can watch out for danger, protect you or take you and run. Little babies are born with an instinct to need close contact with Mama because she can fight off danger or take them and run away from it. We no longer live in caves or out in the wilderness but the instinct is still there.

As you saw first hand, CIO didn't solve the issue, it only created a fear in him that Mama won't be there if he needs her. He's not about to want to sleep if she's going to abandon him!

I too am blessed enough to be able to be a SAHM. Up until recently, we had a Family Bed, and our son slept with us. I'm divorcing now so I don't do that anymore but he still sleeps with his Daddy. He's three years old. He sleeps well, has slept through the night for a long time and takes a good nap in the afternoon. I breastfed him til shortly after he turned two and he slept great. He self weaned from that. Even when he wasn't sleeping through the night and waking to feed, because he was right there, I could feed him and we both went right back to sleep.

My suggestion is that if he's sleeping in a crib away from you, he's waking with a need to be reassured that Mommy is still there, all is well and he's safe. Letting him CIO only reinforces the fear that he isn't.

Maybe for a while til he is reassured again and sleeping better, set up a sleeping place in his room for yourself so that you can soothe him back to sleep before he wakes up completely. Gradually he'll hopefully wake less and less and you can go back to your own bed.

Either that or consider co-sleeping. I know its very much frowned upon in this country, we're all supposed to be so "independent" right from the womb. But in most other cultures and countries its a common practice and that's because it WORKS.

Like I said. Take what I say with a grain of salt. I know I'm a total hippie dippy type mom. But what can I say, it worked for us and still does.

I would be very leary of any pedi that TOLD you to let your baby cry it out! I know that with our daughter (who is now four) ours told us the same thing...even gave instructions as to how to go about it. I hated it....I had to do dishes with the tv on to try and drown-out the sound of my baby crying. Did it work? Yeah, for a month or so....now she's almost five and just started going to bed by herself about a year ago! With our second child, I had been doing more and more research on CIO (crying it out) and in the research that I found, the reason that it "works" with most babies is because when you don't answer their cries, they stopping crying....that's not a good thing! I think that the reason you don't have an "inner peace" about letting your baby CIO is because, deep down, you know there's a reason that you shouldn't. I personally feel like it is unhealthy. Yeah, sure, it works for some, but what are we teaching our babies by letting them CIO (especially so young?)? Are we telling our babies, "I'll only answer your cry and comfort you when it's convenient for me"???? I know that many people have very strong and very differing opinions on CIO and even know some people whom it has worked quite well (my best friend and her hubby did this because they were having marital issues after the baby was born and had to figure out a way to spend time together....that time was only found once the baby was made to be on a schedule, and CIO got her on that schedule and it has worked beautifully for them, but I will also say that she only cried for a few minutes from the get-go), but it's a decision that only you can make! My best suggestion is not to make that decision until you've done some serious soul-searching and research :) I will say this, though: Babies who are adopted from Russia don't cry. At first, the adoptive parents thoughts, "wow, what a great baby!" Until it was learned that these babies were not being cared for or comforted when they cried, therefore, they stopped crying....why should they? Their cries were going unanswered. Most babies do not cry for no reason. Even if all they want is to be cuddled by mommy or daddy....that is still a need. And I don't know about everyone else, but these sleepless nights of cuddling and comforting my babies are a bit exhausting, but I wouldn't trade it for the world! I'd rather be exhausted than miss out on this precious time....they won't be babies forever!

I hope you figure it out! I feel for you! I really do! We have three kids...only the almost-five-year-old sleeps through the night...our 2yr-old and 8mos old still wake (the 2yr-old to cuddle or drink something and the 8mos-old nurses through the night)

We have four kids and I definitely don't think it is a good idea to let them cry it out at such a young age--if he were more like 9-12 months, maybe. Maybe he is teething or something. I have had some great and some not so great sleepers (one of my sons routinely woke up 3-6 times a night for the first year of his life) and while it is not fun when you are in the midst of it I look back and think how quickly it passes and how fast they grow and I am grateful for all of the times I was "forced" to rock, cuddle and nurse...I wouldn't trade it for anything!

Feed your baby with cereal the last feeding at night, when he wakes if it doesn't seem he should be hungry try a pacifyer and just pat him in bed and croon to him softly to see if he will drop back to sleep. He could be starting to cut a tooth also.

Why don't you try cosleeping? I know lots of mommas think it's a bad idea but I personally think allowing a baby to cry it out is a bad idea. ;) Do some reading on the subject & you'll find lots of reasons why, although it may train your child to give up & sleep, it's not such a great way to get that much coveted sleep. Even Dr. Ferber has changed his tune a bit.

Both of my girls have been cosleepers. My eldest, now 6, went to her own bed in her own room at 3 & did so with minimal fuss. She's been a perfectly normal, healthy child with great sleep habits. My two year old still sleeps with us but will be evicted shortly as we're expecting a third now. Neither of our children is "weird" because they sleep with us; they're not clingy or developing poor sleep habits because of it, neither has ever been squished or squashed by my husband or myself. The only one with injuries has been my husband, who occasionally gets kicked. :) Despite what some people may say, children who cosleep with their parents are well adjusted & do develop healthy sleep habits.

If you don't feel comfortable having your child in your bed, perhaps consider a co-sleeper bed for him.

If you have the time & inclination, do some reading on the subject. I've found very interesting articles on the subject.

That said, if your mommy instincts are telling you that crying it out is NOT working for you & your son, LISTEN. Listen to those mommy instincts!! :)

Good luck to you! I hope you and your son are able to get some sleep soon (like, tonight!).

I'm in the same boat... with my almost 12 month old. She slept through the night at 2 months and stopped at 4 months. I read Dr. Sears book and didn't like it much- it basically tells you to live with it. Elizabeth Pantley's book is better and has some good ideas, but I found them hard to stick to. We just went through a week of teething and my baby woke almost every hour through the night for 3 days, last night she only woke 4 times.

Good luck. I can't deal with the cry it out method, tried it a couple times and have never felt so mean and cruel before. I refuse to do it again.

I know somewhat of what your going through. My six month old son has slept through the night maybe a couple of times. After seeking advice from family and friends they convinced me he needs more than just a bottle (like baby food or cereal) before bed, a warm bath and massage with lotion afterwards. It knocks him right out, and now he doesn't wake up as often. Also, making sure he gets alot of playtime and energy taken out before dinner and bathtime I think helps him get sleepy. Good luck!

OMG girlfriend. Follow your heart. This is your baby, your blood. I hate to say it, but pediatricians give horrible advice all the time. I don't know why they do it or why they think it's ok. It's not and it is our responsibility as mothers to take control and educate ourselves on things like feeding and sleeping and behavioral issues. It's overwhelming to me as a mother! You want to trust them and know you're getting the best information from them, am I right? Don't get me wrong, our pediatrician is wonderful and I love her to pieces. But after going through some early issues with my first son (breastfeeding issues), I started to realize that 1) she didn't have all the answers, and 2) some of the answers she was giving me were not correct (after doing my own research and witnessing my son's issues get resolved). It was at that point I realized I had to take all her information, guidance and advice with caution, and if it went against my instincts, I ignored it. Now I have a BIG 22lb baby who is 99% exclusively breast fed. At his 6 mo visit, she was adamant about him eating solids 3x a day. My first son loved food and I was excited to start baby no. 2 on solids. Well, after 6 wks of SLOWLY introducing just a couple of foods to him (not even cereal b/c I hate that stuff) I noticed he was getting more and more constipated and then he eventually stopped pooping altogether! (I had gone back to only breastmilk the week before). Poor kid went over 7 dys and I finally had to give him a suppository - horrible. He's had a couple issues since and 2 wks later we are slowly getting back to normal w/ him pretty much only on breast milk and prunes. Why am I telling you all this? Not sure! ;-) No, it's b/c I went in to the doc with him last week about a cold and we talked about his constipation issue and she said I should put him on Muralax or something like that and she said that some kids have to be on the stuff for a years. RED FLAG! First, foods before 12 mos are just an introduction to solids. Tastes, textures, etc. There is little to no nutritional need for it. Babies get that from breast milk and formula. So why would I force solids on my 8 mo old if he is obviously not ready to digest them correctly?!? And then load him up w/ medicine to fix the problem short term? At 22 lbs, he's surely getting enough milk! If he's still having digestive issues as an older child, I will def look into fixing the issue naturally, not w/ medicine!

The BEST book on sleeping issues, for me, was "The No-Cry Sleep Solution." This book was written by a mother of 4 , all of whom had different issues with sleep. She despises any CIO method and so she worked on ways to LOVINGLY teach her children to sleep. For me, I didn't even feel comfortable tackling the sleep issues with my first until he was 12 mos old. In my mind, I needed him to understand my words. That was important to me. So I waited and when the time came, I worked with my husband and he took over nighttime parenting. Of course I'm not suggesting that you should wait that long! It's whatever you need.

I just keep going back to thinking about how mothers in the beginning of time did it all. There were no strict feeding schedules in place, no cold CIO methods where each baby slept by himself in his/her own room - the family had a one-room hut for pete's sake. How do other mammals do it? The mothers are hands-on, 24-7. That's the kind of instinct you are feeling, and it's ok. The 2nd and 3rd generations before us took some weird twists and turns in their parenting styles, so I'm always cautious about advice from them ;-)

It sounds like your son was freaked out by the CIO experience. I tried it too and it was HORRIBLE, but as a new parent, it seems like that's what everyone tells you to do. I hope this post helped you a little, even though I didn't offer many suggestions. I will tell you that according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, sleeping through the night for an infant is only 5 hours in one stretch. And as your son gets older, he will become more curious about his surroundings (and you) and he'll prob go through different waking patterns. I also feel that boys develop slower than girls and tend to have more sleeping issues as a result.

Good luck. You are a very loving mother (as this post shows) and I know you will get through this.

Love, M.

Teething, maybe? This can really wreak havoc on both days and nights. Many will tell you it is too early but both of my kids got their first teeth at 4 months (and were teething sooner.) I usd Tylenol at night for pain and sometimes even during the day - an easy way to test this theory is just to pay attention to behavior. If He is really crabby and you try some Tylenol, he will "miraculously" recover in about 45 minutes.
As for crying it out - worked great for my first one but the second one absolutely refused. Go with your heart feeling.
Good luck!

Has he changed physically? My middle son woke up all the time when he was about 15mos-3yrs and I kept talking to the Dr. about it and we went around and around that he was sick, had colds etc - it took a year and a half to figure out that he had acid reflux all night long and the burning woke him up - we put him on medication and gradually he started sleeping through the night.
Good luck

J., I know the thought of having your son cry it out is very hard. I have to say though, that crying it out is not the worst thing that you can do. I know you want to hold him and craddle him, sing to him, and rock him to sleep, but he also needs to learn to comfort himself. I know everyone says, he is only 5 months old, but I have experiences with children from 5 weeks to 18 months old ~ I work in the nursery at church and at an Early Learning Center with infants~ and there are just children that cry themselves to sleep. It is gut wrenching to hear, and I know that to most it seems like torture. I would make sure that your son is well fed, not overly stimulated before putting him to bed, and that he is in something comfortable to sleep in. I would put a CD in his room that plays soothing music (classical) that repeats over and over. My child (2 years old) still wakes up at night, cries out for a bit, then goes back to sleep. She is not clingy, she is actually very outgoing! If you feel the need to go into the rrom, tell him you love him, rub his back, lean over give him a kiss, and leave the room. If after 10 min or so he continues, go back in and reassure him again. Picking him up, rocking him, and laying him back down is ok too...try gas drops, check for teething...you are not going to scar him for life by helping him soothe himself. Just because a child can do that does not mean he/she is neglected...
Both of my children cried it out, and are both doing very well emotionally and socially. We have a great relationship!

BEST of luck

Four months old is a little young to cry it out. Babies that age still need to develop trust that their parents are there and will meet their needs(such as stomach upset, teething, change in sleep cycle, etc.)when they cry.
You can find many great answers at www.askdrsears.com such as this one of many about sleep.
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/7/T070300.asp

Another resource is the book "The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night" By Elizabeth Pantley

Have you tried teething tablets? My son did the exact same thing for almost 6 weeks. He was teething and the tablets helped. Once the teeth came out he was back to his old self. Unfortunately he goes through this everytime he is teething so some months are rough.

Is he teething? It could be that he is actually in pain. Teething can start around 5 months and at least for my son (who is now 17 mos) it took several weeks for those first beauties to show up. Try giving him some infant Tylenol before bedtime or the first time he wakes up during the night. Plus I know that it is hard but my doctor said I could let him cry for up to 45 minutes before going in to get him. He sleeps 12 hours a night and takes a 3 hour nap in the afternoon. You will get through this, I promise!

I did not get to read all the comments so if I have repeated...sorry. First I didn't let mine cry it out until after they quit breast-feeding at about 15 and 18 months. Even then, I used cio as an energy release time. I would let them cry for about 5 to 10 minutes then I would go back in and rock and that generally worked. Sometimes I would have to repeat the step but not too often.

Another thing to note is that cio does NOT work for some children. They are just wired differently, this was my daughters case. Instead of it being a release of energy it was an emotional nightmare. She is the type of child where EVERYTHING is a big deal and she views everything in her life to be so intese that this method just did not work. Instead for her I would sit on the floor by her crib until she went to sleep without me holding, rocking or anything, and thus learned to go to sleep on her own. Then every few nights I would sit closer to the door until I was sitting outside her door and all she could see was a piece of me. But I would stay until I KNEW that she was asleep because if she noticed I was gone we had to start all over again.

While I know moms and doctors who believe whole heartedly in the cio method it just didn't work for us. My belief is that they are only little once and while they want me to be there I will be there because I know it won't be long until they grow "too old" for that. Of course being a stay at home momma lets me have that fredom of taking naps when they do too!

i think you were on the right track. our dr. said it takes 3 days to create a "habit" and 3 days to break one. you would need to let him cry it out for 3 (heart wrenching) nights in a row to break the cycle.

Hi, I know it's hard to let them cry it out, but at the point that you're aware of a whiny cry and a "real problem" cry, I found it best to let them cry it out. Keep in mind, crying is some of the only exercise the babies get. Also, when I weened both children (both were breastfed) it took one night. At the point I knew they just wanted me just because and not because they needed me, I decided it best that they cry it out so they had some ability to comfort themselves. It only took one night. Children are very resilient and while it killed me that whole night, they did each learn to sleep thru the night. You might also consider leaving a bottle of water in there with them, they'll find it! I wish you lots of luck and mercy!

At that age, I didn't let my kids cio. I had the same experience with my daughter after letting her try the cio method and it backfired. I would check into all the dr sears book about it. He has a great website, and it against the cio method as well. We co slept til 1 yr, then did the cio b/c then they actually understand discipline, etc, and don't just feel abandoned (which has been proven that atleast 50% of children have that reaction and it can cause anxiety/ depression issues later in life...).
Personally, I would say answer his cries. It'll probably take a couple weeks, but it'll be worth it in the long run...

Read Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. It subscribes to letting them cry ( which only has to happen a few times before it is over) and following a strict schedule of wake time and naptimes and a consistent bedtime routine. I used it for my second son and it has been wonderful. I can put him in his bed for naps or bedtime while he is still awake and he will play and then fall asleep. No rocking or nursing/feeding him to sleep! I change his diaper, read him Good Night Moon and then put him in his crib and turn on his musical crib toy (Ocean Wonders Aquarium) and he knows that it's time for sleep. It really is amazing how well it has worked on him. I hope you have the same success. He was about 5 months old when I started this protocol too. Dr. said he had "disordered sleep". She also recommended this book, ironically so had my neighbor who has twins the same age and she had lent it to me. Good luck!

My second was much worse at sleeping through the night. In fact at 2 1/2 I just went through another round of getting up EVERY night. Couple of thoughts - 1) teething. That could be the issue, try Tylonol before bed. 2) Is the baby attached to a woobie? My first one was from a VERY early age. My second one was not. Lot of articles I read said it is very healthy for little ones to have woobies. It allows them to comfort themselves when you are not around. I just re-inforced this notion with my 2 1/2 year old. I told him that when he wakes up at night, Mommy is sleeping, but Bah Bah is right there in bed with him and he can talk to Bah Bah if he is lonely. It had really helped. He asks for Bah Bah every night before he goes to bed. 3) You have to let them cry it out. It is hard, but trust me kids are SOOOO smart. They know they are getting attention based on their behavior. I know you think he is too young, but he is not. The other thing that is most likely happening, is that he has formed a habit. Since he has been waking up and getting your attention for a while now, it has become a habit. As hard as it may be, if you know he is fed, let he cry. He will eventually break the habit. Good luck!

You are not alone. No mom has peace about letting their baby cry it out, but it is necessary. I got myself some earplugs. I could still here him cry, but it was a little easier to rest during this. Sometimes I would even watch tv, with earplugs in.
Let him cry for 30 minutes to an hour (preferably an hour) whatever you can stand...after that amount of time, you can go into his room, and place your hand on his belly or back to let him know you are there. DO NOT PICK HIM UP. He might continue to cry. If you think all his needs are taken care of, it is okay to leave the room to let him cry for another 15-30 minutes. Continue this until he starts to go back to sleep(usually 3-5 nights).
Some nights I would be too tired or have too hard of a time emotionally to let my baby cry it out. Ask your husband if he would take over on these nights, and let him know it won't be more than a couple nights a week until you guys get this thing worked out. This plan of action should take less than 2 weeks, unless you decide to use this plan of action to stretch his nighttime sleeps hours into longer night sleeps.
Sometimes it helps to have an actual long term plan of action to focus on instead of 'winging it' night to night. Print it out and post it in your house for a few nights until you are able to remember it in your sleep...earplugs and tv can help ease your mind about this. Whatever you do, stick to it, as babies respond best to consistancy. Take Care,
K.

When he cries in the middle of the night and you have made sure he is not wet or hungry, tell him goodnight and leave the room. If he cries do NOT go back in there. It will take about a week, but he will eventually learn that you will not go back in there. Let him cry. If you don't, you will create a bigger problem. He will start crying more and more frequently to get attention. This will begin a very long cycle of him getting his way or else. Tantrums, etc. when he gets older. You cannot continue to give in.

I have raised 6 children and they are all happy and healthy. Crying never hurt them and it actually allows them to figure out they own frustration level.

Your son is at the age when he should be teething.
Even though you may not see teeth coming up, he may still be "teething" and we know teething is painful.
This can cause him to wake up and cry when it doesn't make any sense for him to do so.
Try giving him Tylenol before his nap and if he is teething, he should sleep just fine.
Hope this is helpful.
S.

also condiser the possibility that he could be getting over stimulated. My third little one did this and it was difficult. What we did was, one hour before bed time I would bath her in warm water and I would dim the light in the bath tub and took all the toys out....this was just a calming down time. Because we had two other young ones it was necessary for us to seperate because they all would get real wound up right before bed time...
So after the bath we went into her room where it was real quite and the lights were dim and we would put lotion with lavender in on her little legs and arms while I messaged her...then I would out her jammies on and feed her. I just made sure all my motions were real slow and clam and my voice was kept real low...
The first night we did this she slept through the night...where she was getting up every 30 minutes!!! I swear by it!

Crying It Out works for some kids; sometimes my 10 month old has to cry for 10 or so minutes to get to sleep. It works well for him but it never once worked for my 3 1/2 year old. Each kid is different and has different reasons for not sleeping well. My 3 1/2 yr old could cry for 2 plus hours. He could get so revved up he could make himself puke. Finally, we just came to the realization that he was not going to be able to cry it out. We asked the pediatrician regularly if there was something wrong with him. He said that his oldest didn't sleep through the night for almost 3 years and that crying it out is a very personal choice and not to let myself get pressured one way or the other. That is the same advice I give everyone else; do what feels right for you and your family. People tend to be very opinionated about this topic; don't let anyone make you feel bad about your decision one way or another. We ended up finding out much later that my 3 1/2 year old has a bad case of acid reflux; he is on Prevacid now and sleeps from 8 to 8 every night. When I think about his sleeping patterns now, it makes so much sense and I wonder how I missed it so long. You may want to have him checked out by a gastroenterologist if it continues. I have to admit that the two years it took him to sleep through the night were hard on us, but my husband and I took turns getting up with him at night and we just got through it. Good luck to you. My heart goes out to you.

Hi, J.,

I just read each of these posts and noone talked about this, so I figured I'd give it my two cents.

I love the Ask Moxie blog for most parenting questions. She's not an expert, but a Mom with a ton of knowledge and also her readers can write in their suggestions. Go check out her post on the 4-month sleep regression (also do a search on "sleep regression" to read some other posts). She talks extensively about how sleep changes when kids hit their physical milestones.
http://moxie.blogs.com/askmoxie/2007/10/4-month-olds.html

Hope this helps! And thinking of you!
N.

he is too young to let him cry it out. that is really for when you know they are getting enough everything and are just being bratty. all kids do it. but not at his age. he is probably going through a growth spurt and just needs to eat more during the day. by now he should be eating cereal. this happened with my daughter everytime she hit a growth spurt. i fed her more during the day. if she got up during the night i just gave her a bottle and put her right down. if she took her bottle and i changed her and she still fussed, i chaeck for teeth buds (where the guns are whiteish from teeth comming in.) teeting tables are the best! he's not too young to teethe.

I really like the book "the no-cry sleep solution" by Elizabeth Pantly. What I liked about this book is the variety of ideas provided and knowing that every kid is different.

I figured out that adjusting our naps and moving our bedtime earlier and sticking to a bedtime routine did the trick for us.

This could be teething too. Sleep changes during teething and this too will pass. If that might be it, get some nightime oragel.
good luck

if he is not on food yet feed him , i agree that crying is not the answer, they get plenty of reasons to cry on a normal basis, rock the baby give him food if still on just formula like the dr.s say these days the baby is hungry get him on first foods, my family always feed babies starting around 2 week with light cereal and increasing as baby gets bigger first foods mashed potatoes blended beans green beans peas a hungry baby is not gonna sleep, god bless

Dr. Sears does not recommend Crying it out until past 2 years of age. Check out the book "The No-Cry Sleep Solution" and see if some of those suggestions work. I used it some for my second.
http://www.amazon.com/No-Cry-Sleep-Solution-Gentle-Throug...

Neither of mine slept through the night until 12 months, so hang in there.

Dr. Harvey Karp's "Happiest Baby on the Block" DVD was super helpful to us as well.

Remember this is just my opinion....
However, I'm right there with you... I could never let my girls just cry it out. Not when they were only a few months old. I felt like it was my job to make sure that they felt secure no matter what. I rocked them, fed them, and had them sleep on my chest where they were most content. Once again breaking some rules. But I didn't care!
I wrote to another mother (whose daughter wasn't sleeping at night) that their sleep habits change so much and so often that first year as they grow, that you have to adapt.
I think you need to do what gives you peace of mind. If that means you want to rock your baby until he drifts off so be it. Follow your heart. Peace of mind is worth so much more than being able to say it was a horrible time but we let him cry it out until he got the idea and quit.
My children are happy, healthy, and sleep just fine and have for many years.

Is he teething? We had sleep issues when we were cutting teeth. If that is the case, do not get orajel because of the chemicals, we gave them most of a dose of tylenol and rubbed the rest on their gums which worked so much better than anything.

Good luck!

Hi J., my name is T.. I have a 5 month old little girl myself that is doing the same thing. I figured out she was teething. There were a couple of nights she would wake up every 30 minutes and would only lay back down to sleep on my stomache. When she would wake up, she was bitting her fist. That's when I realized it must be her teeth. I put on a little bit of baby orajel and rub her gums for about 2 minutes, and it's instant.... back to sleep, no problem. If you think she might be teething, try it. If not, when my child wakes up, I give her a pacifier. She back to sleep in seconds, but she only takes it when she's sleepy. I guess it's a great soother for her. I know as far as foods go, my baby is still on breast milk and formula only, and she sleeps 10 hours straight waking up once to eat. Right before bed I give her an extra ounce and a half and she sleeps like a champ! I've never let my baby cry it out. My Doc told me that right now she needs to know you are there. She needs comfort. I will give her a moment and then I go in and sing to her softly, rub her hands, or sometimes rock her back to sleep. It's all trial and error. Good luck! Hope you figure it out :}