I have a 6 month old son that on most days won't take a nap and also has trouble sleeping at night. I have no problem getting him down, my problem is keeping him down. I have him on a good consistant schedule and bedtime routine. I know that he won't sleep thru the entire night, but he still wakes up every 1-2 hours sometimes wanting to eat sometimes just needing to be held. Nap time during the day is a struggle, most days he won't take a nap at all. I use our night time routine during nap time as well, nothing I do seems to help. Any suggestions?
Schedule Schedule Schedule.
You didn't mention anything about his daily schedule and feeding habits, health and weight issues, etc., so it's hard to tell what the problem really is. I don't know of many babies that nap well and make it through the night before 1 year old w/o a schedule and routine. There are lots of books on it.
Feed the 6th month, and give him a nice warm bath. After rub (massage) and wrap the baby tight and rock him to sleep.
Bed time routine is crutial. Lavander productss mad e for bedtime work well. And if he is not eating baby food he may just be waking to eat. A thick bottle right before bed mixed with rice cereal worksd great.
Hi J.,
some great advice below. if consistency and a schedule does not work, consider if he is comfortable while sleeping. Both my kids has silent GERD (heartburn), that resulted in trouble sleeping, especially when they started eating foods. Foods that really create havoc are peaches, beans, acidic foods, and high fat foods.
R.
Are you still nursing? Does he wake up to eat, or just to be held? Does he self-soothe yet?
My little boy, now 3, used to wake up to eat, so when I got up to nurse him, I would decrease the feeding time by one minute every night. (If using a bottle, decrease by one ounce every night.)
Once the problem of eating during the night is fixed, you can tackle sleeping! We used the "Ferber Method," which some critics thought was too harsh, but worked well for us, and was, to me, much better than letting him cry all night. If he's not self-soothing yet, don't bother, because it won't work. (Our son sucked on 2 fingers.)
Basically, every night, we let him cry 5 minutes longer every time he woke up. On night #1, I let him cry 5 min, then went in his room without picking him up, and rested my hand on his back until he stopped. The next time he cried, I let him cry for 10 minutes, then 15 minutes. I stayed at 15 minute intervals for the rest of the night. We were up most of the night, and it sucked. The next night, I let him cry for 10, 15, then 20 minutes. Things went much better, and my 20 minute intervals only went on for about an hour. The next night, I started at a 15-min interval, and only had to do that one.
I guess it usually takes four days. If you fall off the wagon during teething, illness, or travel, you have to re-train. Dr. Ferber recommended starting with the 20-minute interval. The key is consistancy, and the 5-minute increments are not set in stone. Some people go in 1 or 2 minute increments.
This worked really well for us, as long as we were consistent. There are a lot of books out there, and if you don't like this way, you will definately be able to find one that matches your philosophy more closely.
One more thing, all the books I read stressed having a bed-time routine, and keeping it the same for naps and night-time. We read a story and sang 2 songs. Our son is 3, and we now read 2 stories, sing 2 songs, and he turns on his night light. Good luck!
I went through the same thing with my son who is now 19 months old. He was a colicky baby, which made things worse. At 9 months, he wasn't sleeping through the night and wasn't napping good either. We were all exhausted.
Our pediatrician convinced me to try "crying it out." I had resisted this approach for several months because I didn't think I could do it, nor did I want to let my son cry. I tried everything in the "No Cry Sleep Solution," but it didn't work for us. Crying it out, as difficult as it was, worked beautifully. Our son started sleeping through the night within 3 days, and now is a great night-time sleeper. Napping is still a bit challenging, but going to one nap a day has worked well.
We waited until 9 months for crying it out, but in retrospect, we probably should have tried it sooner. I think my husband and I cried more than our son did, but the benefit of all getting a good night's sleep is huge.
Good luck.
A humidifier can work wonders for sleep.
I know of 2 great sleep books: Elizabeth Pantley's "No-Cry Sleep Solution" and "Good Night, Sleep Tight" by Kim West and Joanne Kenen. Both have some fabulous techniques for helping your baby learn to self-soothe...without making them (or you!) cry it out. Very gentle methods.
If your husband is willing to get up with him for a few nights, that might also work (assuming you're nursing or are the primary food source). Once he realizes he's not getting milk & mama snuggles every time he gets up, he'll learn to only get up when he's hungry.
I've got a preschooler that's a terrible sleeper... always has been. But we used the West/Kenen book and did get him sleeping through the night (finally, at 15 months, I'd had enough!) and that seemed to help naps some as well. My best bet for getting him to sleep was always motion. Yoga ball, rocking chair, ride in the car. He could be still once he fell asleep, but motion helped him get there MUCH faster.
Good luck! It's exhausting!
I'm putting in another vote for the No Cry Sleep Solution. I believe that it is better for baby and you (in both the short and long term) if you do not let your little one cry it out. I checked out the book from the library instead of buying it, but I may end up buying it anyway because it is a great book. Good luck!
I highly recommend the book 'How to Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems' by Ferber. He is a sleep scientist & has studied sleep problems for years. It gives very practical advice for a variety of issues including getting kids to sleep well - nighttime & naps. I've used his advice for all of my kids & I have AMAZING sleepers. Good luck!
I have 6 month old twins! My little boy has been sleeping through the night for months where my little girl will wake up 1 to 2 times a night.. She has a really loud cry and so we hate to just let her cry thinking she will wake up her brother. But what we do is go in and give her back her binky and pat her back to sleep and then she will usually fall right back to sleep. Sometimes she will wake back up with in a hr, sometimes she will stay asleep the rest of the night! We don't usually get her out of bed unless she gets up every hour and then I will feed her and try putting her back to sleep. Sometimes she will only go back to sleep in her swing. But for now it works for us.
Good Luck!
