Help! My son will not sleep through the night. I breast feed in the evenings and w/e, but during the week day we give him baby food, formula and cereal. We've been trying to feed him by giving him heavier foods before bed time, but he is still waking up in the middle of the night for me to breast feed him. Also, he's been drooling, but teeth have not broken through. He's very, very clingy and wants to be held all the time. Perhaps due to the fact that I place him in the bed with me after he has awaken past his first feeding may have something to do with his clingy behavior or is this normal at 9 months? I put him in the bed with me because his father is at work and I am too tired to sit up then, place him back in his bed. I am hopeful I will be able to reverse this... I work during the day and need to work at an optimum pace, but have not been able to snore since he was 6 months in the womb (smile). Mom's Help!
I had two girls pretty close together and breast fed both and I honestly don't think I slept until I weened them. I weened the first at 11months and the second at 8months. I ended up taking catnaps while breast feeding in the recliner. It's a rough road but it does get better. They do eventually like food. Mine were extremely clingly and would hardly let anyone else even hold them so I know where you are coming from.
Good Luck
Im not sure how to help with the sleeping proublem, but i might be able to help with the cling. I used to hold my children all the time and they devloped a need to always be held. My mom sugisted that i give the child something to catch his intrest and keep it. So i bought a baby play gym and sat him in it to play. these gyms come for children of all ages. just find on that sutes your childs age group. After acouple of times my children started to take an intrest in the toy and playing. this gave me some time with out my children in my lap and arms. i was able to sit and watch them play. it also alowed me to read a book or wright. i hope that this helps some. as for the sleeping, have you tryed massaing a loation with oatmeal in it on him before he gose to bed. I did this with my children and never had a proublem with them getting up in the middle of the night. i dont know if this will help with the sleeping on not. good luck.
I echo what Jennifer and Deborah say. Follow your gut instinct. If you think he needs to eat -even if it's every hour!- let him eat any time. If you think he needs to be with you to rest better at night, let him do so.
I too am a working mom and my now 2.5 yo was the same way: she slept with us when she was a baby and was up every few hours very hungry and wanted milk. (she was a big baby, so she might have needed more milk because of that?) It's tough to do when you have to be up at 6:30am! But there's hope! They will eventually grow out of it when they're ready.
Once she turned two, she started sleeping the night through in her own bed, although I need to stay with her until she falls asleep. It's OK with me, because as the other gals said, they're little only once and there will come a time when they won't want us to be around! So enjoy this time -even with the challenges- you're doing a great job!
I recently went/am still going through some the same thing. I have 8 month old twin girls. I couldn't figure out what the problem was because they had been sleeping through the night. Then all of a sudden they started waking up around 3 or 4. One night they slept all night again. When they woke up they had new teeth. Turns out they were working on getting the top 4 teeth. I believe that they were waking up because their gums were hurting. One of them only has one of the top 4 now and still wakes up occassionally in the night. She will go a few days. But the other one has 3 of the top 4 and has slept all night since they came through. I really thnk that teething was/is the problem with my girls. You might try teething tablets or Tylenol or baby before bed. Best of luck!
B.
Give yourself a big pat on the back for continuing to breastfeed. I am a mother of 3 boys 12, 8 and 9 months. Still breastfeeding my baby. I also had/have problems with my baby and sleep. I am still somewhat sleep deprived. Every child is different. My 8yr old slept through the night when he was just a few days old, and was breastfed til 8 months when he wouldnt stop biting me. My nine month old still wakes during the night but usually on the nights when I have been away all day at work. I am a nurse and work 12 hour shifts so sometimes I literally dont see him until he wakes up to feed. He does not have teeth yet, but I feel them under his gums. I have given him tylenol before bed when I suspected he was in pain. He constantly chews on toys and my finger. When a baby is teething, there are enzymes that actually have to break down the gums so the teeth can come through, that sounds painful! So check with your pediatrician for a tylenol dosing chart if you dont have one and try it just once. If you are gone all day for work, your baby just may want to be with you. Also try putting him back in his bed after you feed him. And make sure he is in his own crib in his own room. I know you are tired but just think, if it works, you will get rest. My baby was in my room and I was getting up twice per night and getting up for work at 4:15am, not getting home til 8pm! A neonatologist at work suggested I put him in his room and get him out of my room. I did and have seriously slept better! Both my big boys slept in my room for some time, but every child is different so that is how I look at it. One more thing, you may, if his needs have been met (dry diaper, warmth, and fed) let him just fuss a bit, he may drift off back to sleep :) Good luck!
Hi C.,
The clinginess is totally normal. That is about the age that they start going through seperation anxiety. Which is totally normal. They just don't want their mommy's to leave them at all. And that can be a short phase or a long one like in my case. My daughter is 2 1/2 and if I leave her sight she is having a fit because she can't find me. As for sleeping, he is only little once. Some people say co-sleeping is a big no-no, but I did it with all three of my kids. I have known children that would not even walk into their parents bedroom because it was off limits. I never want my kids to feel that way, so from day one i have made sure they feel welcome no matter what. My daughter still climbs in bed with us about 3am every morning. It can be a big issue if you allow it to be, but if you can get sleep with him in your bed, leave him there girl. get some rest. Your a mom. You need rest!!!! I hope I have helped in some way. Have a blessed day!!!
D. Mattern
The MOM Team
Raising your income and your rugrats at the same time.
www.formyrugrats.com
"The only thing that counts is faith, expressing itself through love." Galatians 5:6
I raised 4 children, and 2 wanted to be in bed with us, and 2 didn't. Three of them slept all night almost from the start, but the baby (who is now 19!) I don't think slept the whole night thru until he was 2.5! They're all so different from each other, just like we are as adults. Most people just don't realize it because most people aren't as deranged as I am to have as many as I did!! So they have no basis of comparison. You're doing a great job. Hang in there little mommy. One day your son will rise up and call you blessed.
Grace & peace,
J.
Hi C.! Hang in there girl. Being a working mom is a challenge. Especially when you have a little one that is restless at night. Don't worry about the co-sleeping. A lot of people try to tell moms that sleeping with their kids is a bad thing. But you have to be able to function and sometimes that's the only way. I have a 5 yr old and a 2 yr old and they both sleep with me. My 5 yr old has never been a good sleeper and when I was a new mom I tried all the advice...let him cry and all that. What finally worked was someone sleeping with him. His personality is such that he doesn't like to be by himself at night. I just figure in a few years he'll be too big for me to baby and I'll long for the nights that he snuggles up next to me! So...do what works for you and don't let anyone tell you different!
