| Still not sleeping through the night |
My almost 8 month old is still not sleeping through the night. Before he came home from the hospital he lost a pound and they told us to make sure he ate every 2-3 hours during the day and not to let him go more than 5 hours at night to get him back to his birth weight and keep him from getting more dehydrated. We are still struggling to get him to sleep through the night without drinking 1-2 bottles. We've tried just going back in and helping him find his pacifier, rocking him, putting him back down and letting him cry a few minutes. (A few times I thought we might get a visit from the cops) But nothing works!! As soon as he hears us shaking the bottle on our way back to his room, he stops and looks for us. If we don't get him right away he SCREAMS. At his 6 month checkup our pediatrician suggested putting him to bed later at night, "A lot of babies are up until 10:00 or so." (We had been putting him to bed between 8:00 and 9:00.) Keeping him up later didn't seem to help and only made me more irritable because I missed those precious minutes of quiet time to relax or tidy up while he was sleeping. I know there are babies who don't sleep through the night until they're 1 or even 2 years old, but any suggestions on how to help him get back to sleep without needing to eat? Thanks! |
| See also: sleeping, self soothing, bedtimes |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| Answers: |
| |
Hello Jenni,
If he is getting up just because he gets hungry why dont you try to add some cereal on his milk before going to bed, make his bottle a little bit thicker , it will be more filling, my cousin did that with her daughter and its working.
Wish you luck!!! |
| posted by Lorena on 07/22/2007 |
 |
|
|
| |
How much does he eat during the day and is he enough? My pedi says once a baby reaches 6 month, they should get enough calories during the day, so they don't need to be fed middle of the night.
We give our son dinner at 6pm and put him to bed at 8 pm. He wakes up around 11pm, and we would give him 8oz of formula. This seems to keep him going until 8 am.
Another option I read is to water down their formula since waking up in the middle of the night for a feeding is more in relation to routine. This makes them feel it is not worth waking up. I'm not sure how much this really works because I never tried it. It is not recommended for babies under 6 month. |
| posted by kathy on 07/22/2007 |
|
|
|
| |
We feed him until he shows signs of being full. Usually it's when he doesn't stick his tongue out to get a bite or his mouth opens more slowly and not as wide. He's never been a good drinker (we struggled getting him to drink an ounce at a time without getting sick when he was first born for a long time). By his 1 month date he was finally drinking 4 oz at a time. (I pumped for 6 months because he coudln't get enough nursing. He would fall asleep after 3-4 minutes.)
He eats 2 stage 2 containers of vegetables plus his cereal mixed with a 1/2 container of fruit in the mornings. He drinks at least 26 oz milk during the day (his pediatrician said between 24-32, but try to keep it under 30) and 4 oz juice/water mix a few days a week. When he wakes up at night he drinks 6 oz milk and wants more but if we have his pacifier close by and switch them out he'll stay asleep. He stays pretty active during the day practicing crawling, jumping, playing, pulling to stand, etc. and he naps 1 to 1/2 hours in the morning and about 2 to 2 1/2 hours in early afternoon. He's always awake by 4:00 p.m. |
| posted by Jenni on 07/22/2007 |
|
|
|
| |
I also had problem with my son when I was breastfeeding. First, he had problem latching on, he would fall asleep immediately during nursing, and I could not keep up with his feeding demands. I pumped for 2 months and supplementing with formula to meet his feeding demands.
Does your son still get sick when he drinks? If so, I heard reflux could cause discomfort while they are drinking from the bottle. My son has reflux and is currently taking medication.
What else do you feed him during the day for lunch? I give my son breakfast at 8 am 2oz of prepared cereal or 4T oatmeal mixed with 2oz fruit, and 6 oz formula), lunch at 1pm (2oz meat baby food, 2oz veg, 2oz fruit, and 6 oz of formula, snack at 3pm (4oz juice or 4oz fruit) and dinner at 6 pm (4oz of meat baby food, 2oz dessert, and 6 oz formula).
Sometimes babies go through a growing sprout and want more feedings. Other reasons for waking up could be teething pain and new development milestone. Unfortunately during these time there is not much you can do.
Another option is the "cry it out" method, which I personally can't do. I read many books such as No Cry Sleep Solution (which I could not follow through due to sleep deprivation) and Ferber method (which was too cruel for our son and us to endure).
Luckily our son started to sleep through the night days before he hit 6 months. We always have to give him his pacifier to sooth himself back to sleep. I find sometime running a white noise helps our son as well.
There are a lot of recommendations out there for sleep training but you have to find something that meets your needs. Sometimes modifying the training that meets your son's requirement and yourself may be your best solution. Finding the right method is the hard part.
|
| posted by kathy on 07/23/2007 |
|
|
|
| |
Brody doesn't get sick any more when he drinks...only if he bounces to soon afterwards. He always got hiccups when I ate apples and bananas during pregnancy and gets sick now when he eats those. When we told his pedi about it he thought reflux since he was also spitting up a lot of milk and gave us Zantac for him. That seemed to make it worse (none of us understood) so I quit breastfeeding and we switched formulas. It appears he is a little lactose intollerant but doing fine with the new formula.
Right now he's just eating 2oz fruit with his cereal in the morning, 4oz vegetables for lunch, and 4oz vegetables for supper. That's all he wants; we also give him water to drink while he eats and offer him milk after but he is done at 3oz. We haven't gotten to the meats yet. We take it very slowly since he shows sensitivity to foods. He's never been able to eat as much as other babies and I've asked his pedi about digestive/stomach problems and he said as long as he's following his growth curve (and he is perfectly consistant) then he's really not too concerned with the amount that he eats. He said temperment is more telling of any problems and Brody is a very happy little guy. Others who have interacted with him have also commented on him always being in such good moods.
We are definately not the "cry-it-out" parents. We attempted the Ferber method as a recommendation from his pedi but that only makes it worse for him and us. It can go on for hours if we let it. |
| posted by Jenni on 07/23/2007 |
|
|
|
| |
If your pedi is not concerned with Brody's weight then I wouldn't be too concerned about his eating habit.
James was also on Zantac and there was no difference at all with his spit up, so our pedi switched to Prevacid. His spit up problem has improved since he switched it. At least your son is doing better with a different formula so that is fortunate.
In regards to coercing James to sleep is we started with daily bedtime routine an hour before his bedtime. When he starts to stir, I would go into his room immediately and put a pacifier into his mouth. Most of the time he will go right back to sleep. Other time when he wakes up, I would lean over, put a pacifier into his mouth, and gently kiss him on his cheeks and rub his head until he falls back to sleep. Since he falls back to sleep within a minute, we decided to do it this way rather than other options.
If your son won't go back to sleep in the middle of the night, it may be that he is truly hungry. Maybe since he isn't eating a lot during the day, he wakes up for a feeding.
Try giving him formula right before you go to bed and see how long he sleeps before waking for another feeding.
|
| posted by kathy on 07/23/2007 |
|
|
|
| |
| try classical music in his room. my daughter loves it. |
| posted by Devon on 07/23/2007 |
|
|
|
| |
Our son LOVES music in general. He likes Big Bands, Simon and Garfunkel, and right now his favorite is a song by Cold Play. Any time he hears it he stops what he's doing until it's over. :)
Thanks for all the advice.... we'll see how it goes! |
| posted by Jenni on 07/23/2007 |
|
|
|
| |
I know how it is when they won't sleep thru the night. @ 8 months my son was teething. Tylonal helped. We also used "Hylands Homeopathic Teething tablets" They desolve under the tongue (he just chewed on them). The tabs numb the gums. Also "dr. Sheffield's Teething gel". We get this at our $1 store or the health food store. The other thing that helped was laying our son on his tummy. Of course when he started rolling over we had to start all over again. He'd roll over and then get upset b/c he couldn't get back on his belly. So I would try to start on his belly. It took letting him cry himself to sleep a few times but then it worked fine.
And true if your Ped is not concerned about weight don't you be. My son was 3 months premie and always just under the curve. but he eats like a horse. Every child is different and we found that what is good for one is not always good for another. The books can give you a good idea but your child can tell you more. Maybe he is ready for meat. Our son never did the bottle thing. He hated formula and jar food. He went from Breast feeding to goats milk to cows milk and solids. I pureed all his food. In the end it was cheaper and healthier for him. He too had reflux. watching for full cues helped and the generic tummy gasX for babies worked best.
good luck |
| posted by Ren on 07/24/2007 |
|
|
|
| |
Thanks for all your help and suggestions. We changed routines and last night was finally better in the middle of the night. Going to sleep was a WHOLE NOTHER STORY!
He does have his second bottom tooth ready to pop through. It seems as though his teeth are coming in a lot more slowly and spaced apart than other babies since he got his first tooth about 3 weeks ago. I guess I just assumed that they would both come in at the same time! Hopefully when it breaks through things will go much better! |
| posted by Jenni on 07/28/2007 |
|
|
|
| |
| Jenni, my son is 10 1/2 months old and still doesn't sleep throught the night. Before bed we give him the same amount of cereal he has for breakfast and 4oz of formula. His pedi is telling us he doesn't need the bottle in the middle of the night he just wants his mommy. I do believe this is true for my son although he does drink 6oz when he wakes up. Have you ever tried to give your son cereal at night before bed. Try it you have nothing to lose. Hope this helps.............. Stephanie |
| posted by Stephanie on 08/29/2007 |
|
|
|
| |
| Thanks, Stephanie. I guess we haven't really considered it since he really got going on solids throughout the day. I have been feeding him 8 oz between 10 and 11 pm, but he still gets up between 1:30 and 2:30 and wants a bottle usually 4-6 oz. He's 9 months now and it's still a struggle. Our son's pedi said the same thing; that he's just waking up to find us and that we should just give him drinks/sips of water, or even a little milk at first, from a cup in the night so he gets use to not having those calories. It makes sense but it's hard to function during the days with little sleep. We might have to try giving him cereal again before he goes to bed. Do you do it at the beginning or middle of your bedtime routine? |
| posted by Jenni on 08/29/2007 |
|
|
|
| |
My son is going through teething problem also. As your son, his top teeth seem to be taking forever to break through. I would be careful about Hyland's Teething Tablets. A friend of ours, a nanny, bought one bottle for us and it was a life saver. I told our pedi about it and was told to stop giving him the tablets because it contains belladonna. I was told it is a hallucinate and is sometimes used as a recreational drug. In addition each tablet contains about 480 mg calcium. Infants should only get up to 800 something for an entire day.
I've been giving him Children's Motrin per our pedi's recommendation a night and that helps him sleep up to 8-9 hours.
I'm sorry to hear about Brody getting up in the middle of the night for a feeding. If he is getting enough calories during the day and is getting up in the middle of the night, try watering down his formula. I heard this makes babies getting up in the middle of the night in result of habit forming feel after while they don't feel it's worth waking up anymore.
|
| posted by kathy on 09/02/2007 |
|
|
|
| |
| Last week my husband ran into the store to grab a can of formula real quick. He came out with it and said, "The purple label, right?" Yep. BUT he got the WRONG purple label. We used Gentlease and he got Lacto Free. I was going to take it back the next day if I didn't have to open it, but I did. The next night our little guy SLEPT ALL NIGHT!!! We thought a long time ago that he may be lactose intol., but we had tried every formula and it seemed as though nothing helped. We're thinking that we didn't give them enough time to get into his system. Whatever it was, it was the BEST MISTAKE EVER! He's only waking up for a minute or two just to get his pacifier or if his diaper needs changed. YEA!!! |
| posted by Jenni on 09/05/2007 |
|
|
|
| |
| That is a funny story about the wrong formula. Anyways, that is great that he is finally sleeping through the night. I wish you luck! |
| posted by kathy on 09/09/2007 |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |  |
|
