7 Month Old Not Sleeping Good

Updated on January 30, 2010
R.H. asks from Grove, OK
18 answers

My 7 month old son has just started waking up quite a bit in the last few weeks. Now for the last four months he hasn't had a problem sleeping through the night. I don't know what would have made this start. Anyhow, when he wakes up it's usually about an hour and a half after he goes to bed (he knows his bedtime is no later than 9), and fights for a few hours to go back to sleep. Then he'll wake up a few times in the middle of the night. He doesn't act like his sick or anything, so I don't know what's wrong. If anyone has had this problem and knows what to do about it, please let me know. Thanks.

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J.J.

answers from Dothan on

Maybe it is his teeth. I know that when my son was getting new teeth it would wake him up at night. There are teething tablets that I used that worked the best.

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P.S.

answers from Tulsa on

Your baby could be cutting teeth and his gums hurt. try letting him suck on a wet washcloth you have put into the freezer, this helps numb the gums. Hope this helps.
Blessings to you.

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G.B.

answers from Tulsa on

Everyone of mine started waking up about that age. I would go nuts trying to figure it out. It will pass. I don't know exactly why they do this, I would feed them right before bed, just give them another bottle, all sorts of things, but it eventually passed.

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M.F.

answers from Fayetteville on

Have you thought about teething? My daughter is working on her one year molars (just turned one on Sunday) and she has woken up twice so far tonight. Try giving the little tyke Tylenol or Motrin before he goes to bed and see if that helps.

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S.S.

answers from Lawton on

My daughter started on a very poor sleeping schedule about that age because the starting of solid foods caused her acid reflux to flare up. If he's showing other signs (like spitting up more than once or twice a month) talk to your doctor about the possibility.

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G.B.

answers from New Orleans on

R.,
I would put the child to bed at the very same time every night. People may say that is hard to do- no it is not. Make it a priority to get the child in bed by 8:30, 9PM. Also make sure your child is well fed about a
half-hour before sleep.
It could just be your child is going through a growth spert and is hungry at night.

G.

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B.L.

answers from Oklahoma City on

Has he reached new milestones lately? His ability to explore the world and entertain himself has probably increased recently. Before he would wake for a moment, lie there, and drift back to sleep. Now he when he wakes for a moment, he realizes that he can play and entertain himself. He is just figuring out how fun life can be and it will take him awhile to get use to soothing himself to sleep again.

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C.E.

answers from Fort Smith on

My 11 month old did that too at about 7mths and I figured out that she was teething. So I used the herbal teething tablets at night and some orajel and it seemed to help her alot. It took a while for her teeth to come in. Now she is doing great at night!

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S.I.

answers from Oklahoma City on

With him only being 7 months old, he could be hungry, or even teething. If you aren't feeding cereal, you probably need to. If you are, make sure you are feeding it to him in the morning and at night before he goes to bed you may not even be giving him enough or even adding a little bit of fruit to it. You may want to add a bit more so that it helps him through the night. Each baby is different and sometimes you just have to try different things. If one don't work, try the other. If it is teething, some orajel, or even some tylenol before bed will help with this. Check for bumps on his gums to see if he is teething. If he is drooling alot, that is a sign of teething aslo. Just have a little patience, because at that age it could be anything. If he is waking up, but not crying in hysterics, then let him lay for a little bit. He will probably go back to bed. If he is sobbing then I would try some different things to help him.

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S.L.

answers from Fort Smith on

He could be going through a growth spurt and be hungry. You may want to up his food intake an hour or so before bed time. Or he could be teething.

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T.A.

answers from Little Rock on

Hey R., My oldest did that too! Slept like a baby for the firt year and then started waking up in the night and still does! He is two now! So, I would try to get them to be earlier. No later than 8pm. You will have to work on that little everyday til you get it to that point, then just when he wakes up leave him in his room. I would tell mine that it is not time to get up yet and to go back to sleep, then walk out of the room. Everyone is different. Some are against crying it out, I, however, am not against. Children have it in them to know how to work it to get you to do themw what they want. So be firm and stay with it. He will eventually go back to sleep. Wish I could help more........ :(

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A.M.

answers from Huntsville on

My son started waking up sometimes again right about this age. This seemed to coincide with the time that he was really taking off crawling and has less of an interest in sleeping as long during the day. He was ready to explore. So you child may also be ready to hit a developmental milestone.
At this time we also moved his bedtime back to no later than 7:30 and this seemed to get him right back on track and he started sleeping better at night again. If you miss that right time to put them to bed and keep them up too late they will be overtired and won't sleep as well. And as a bonus, you will have more free time in the evenings.

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G.D.

answers from New York on

My daughter has been doing this since she was born. In the beginging she would cry and than fall back to sleep on her own untill her first "daycare" provider told me she took a pacifier when she slept. Now I am up at least 6-8 times a night to stick it back in her mouth. I know how you feel I feel I started a bad habit but it works and I wish I knew what else to do. Is he teething?

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L.B.

answers from Fayetteville on

Have you recently started introducing solids? They're usually not as filling and protein-dense as milk or formula, so by substituting some milk feedings for solid feedings will leave him hungrier and won't stay in his stomach as long. He might be waking up hungry.

Also, he might be at a developmental milestone. Try giving him extra love and attention during the day, and in a little while, his night wakings will probably resolve themselves.

Whatever you do, don't make it a fight. Be loving and show him that you care. He's waking because something is bothering him.

Good luck!
L.

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S.L.

answers from Fort Smith on

both my children did this, i ended up taking them to the pedi. and everytime they had an ear infection...no fever or anything so i didn't think they would be sick but who knew that that was what was keeping them up at night

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C.I.

answers from Fort Smith on

I suggest experimenting with different things. One thing to try is to put him to bed a little earlier than usual. As strange as that sounds, it worked for my daughter. I was working to keep her up until 9 thinking that she would have a better chance of sleeping through the night. The night that I was tired and just gave up and put her to bed early, she slept longer and better than she had in a while. This continued to work with her. If I put her to bed "on time" (around 7:00), she would sleep about 12 hours! Not all of my daughters were as sensitive as the oldest, but for the most part, if they were over tired (even slightly) they would not sleep well. Good luck!

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L.D.

answers from Fayetteville on

9 is a little late for a baby that young. Try moving to an earlier bed time (gradually) actually 7ish is appropriate. The problem is that baby could be overtired by 9 and that leads to sleep problems (trouble falling asleep, waking after 20-30 min, and waking through the night) Make sure there is plenty of sleep during the day to and that will help, only 2 hours of wakefulness. I think mine had around 3 naps a day at that age. between the last nap and bedtime have about 3-4hours of wakefulness. All the moms I have given this advice to have had success with it. I know it sounds crazy and most moms think that the more tired they are the better they sleep, but the opposite is true. I started doing this around 7 months (we actually put her down around 6:30) and I saw improvments within a few days, soon she started sleeping through the night, and napping well during the day. You need a good consistant bedtime routine too. We also let her cry to learn to self soothe, but we did it more gently. I would nurse her till she was really sleepy, then lay her down and let her fuss herself back to sleep. I think it helped becase when she woke up at night she would easily go back down by herself within a few min. I think that it was the combination of all the things we did that helped her sleep. My mom bought me this 3day sleep method she found online, I just picked the parts out of it that I liked and used them, and just as it says, it worked.

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T.S.

answers from Little Rock on

Could be teething. While he's busy during the day, he doesn't notice it, but when he gets quiet and still for bed he can. Try Hyland's "Teething Tablets" or ibuprofen.

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