My 7 Month Old Is Not Sleeping

Hi J.,

I'm 43 yrs old and the mother of two grown boy's. But, I've been a nanny for a set of triplets and a 15 month old, so I've had lots of experience. Try feeding her with a spoon and adding fruit to it and see if that helps. Have you ever tried that cereal it is nasty and has no taste. The fruit gives it alittle more flavor.

M. D.

Just wanted to say that none of my babies ever slept through the night... in fact, I'd be worried if they did. Of course, the fact that I breastfeed may make a difference since breastfed babies may need to eat more frequently than formula-fed ones. My 14mth old son rouses at least once a night but, its not a big deal because he sleeps with me and I just nurse him back to sleep.

I think the problem is that so many people have these expectations about how a baby is supposed to act/behave and when something different occurs, the parent is at a loss. One thing I remind myself of whenever things get kind of hard/rough is that they are only babies for such a small amount of time and to really enjoy this time; cherish the memories since they are fleeting.

The oatmeal may work, but your friends aren't necessarily right. Some babies don't sleep through the night until they are 2 (sorry). You can't base your baby's development on any other child even siblings ----

My daughter just turned 2 and 98% of the time she sleeps through the night but occasionally she still needs a bottle in the middle of the night and some babies need a bottle in the middle of the night for awhile, depending on growing or metabolism ----

Hi J....I would agree with others that your daughter cannot nor should not be compared to anyone else's because she has her own personality. Around 7-10 months of age, many babies go through a stage of night terrors and night wakings because they realize that a big world exists out there, and it can get frightening. You may begin to notice that she is more difficult to get to eat when there is activity going on. She would rather be involoved in it, then sitting onthe sidelines, and want to make up time to reconnect with you and perhaps catch up on some food during the night. Something that has worked well for my family and girls is sometime (not at nap time, but another feeding time), take them in a quiet darkened room for some good one on one bonding with mom. Whether it is breast, bottle, or cup just holding her talking with her and letting her know mommy is right there can make alot of difference. It's not always just physical nutrition but oftentimes emotional nutrition they need.
Good luck!

My daughter is 9 mon. and we've had the same problem. If you find a great solution please let me know ____@____.com I cant get her to eat more before bedtime. Sometimes she will sleep through the night and sometimes not you never know. She started sleeping through the night at 10 weeks and did pretty well until 5 months. when she started crawling at 6 mon. she started having a harder time going back to sleep. If your baby is mobil that might be why shes waking up and staying up. I know you were only wanting advice but if you get any please let me know. My daughter does sleep with a sleep machine(rain sound) and that does help getting her down to sleep when we're away from home.

Hi J.,

The oatmeal thing may work. I am thinking that it could be the teething at that age. Feel around the inside of her mouth to see if any teeth are cutting through the gum. If so, try swabbing in inside of her mouth with orajel when she wakes up in the middle of the night or give her a little bit of baby motrin. (Of course as perscribed.)

Also, it is easy for friends to say what your baby should be doing. But all babies are different as all moms. I personally found that sleeping through the night happen in waves. My babies would sleep through through the night for a while then hit a new milestone that would interupt the sleeping through the night. Example: growth spurts needing to eat more, teething, night terrors, potty training, growthspurts again - having pain in legs and arms for no reason.

Have fun with your baby girl and ...
Lots-o-Luck!
CJ

My 8 month old is hit or miss on the sleeping. She eats some veggies and cereals but for the most part it is just an old wives tale that it will make them sleep. Some babies sleep through the night a lot sooner, and others have a higher metabolism and require that extra bit during the night still. She could also be going through a growth spurt. My oldest didn't sleep through the night till she was almost 1.

I just wanted to say that I named my 8 month old Kaleigh also. Just spelled slightly different.

J.,

You picked a great name, Kayleigh. My 6 month old is named Kyleigh. For your question my daughter doesn't always sleep through the night either. That is OK. Not all babies are going to be the perfect baby that starts sleeping through the night at 3 months old. When I tried giving my daughter cereal in her bottle she also spit alot. Just try feeding her a bowl of cereal and a jar of fruit around her bedtime. That will make her full longer. Teething also will disturb their sleeping patterns. I have a friend whose baby didn't sleep through the night until she was over a year old. Don't worry about it, I know you probably would like more sleep at night. Just give her time everyone's child is different from the other.

Good luck, C.

when you are at home........before bed.....give your baby a relaxing warm bath.....with herbs from the health food store that promote that............then give your baby a message..........Babies love this and will sleep better......and good advice for mom also!

I am having the same problem.. Emily will be 7 months tommarrow and she usually sleeps all night long but lately she has been waking up every night at 2 or 3 am.. and doesnt go back to sleep until like 5 or 6 am .. HELP ME ALSO>>

Hi...I am running into the same problem right now J.. I used to brag that my little one would only wake up twice at night and now she is up and down all night at 6 months old. I am crediting it to the fact that she is teething and that she is crawling now so I believe that her instincts are to push up and crawl now when she rolls over and when she does that in the middle of sleeping it wakes her and makes her mad. I guess it is just another one of those growing stages that we are going to have to get through! Good luck!

J.,

First, all babies are different. My sister's baby is also 7-months old and she does not sleep through the night either.

My now 10-month old son used to do that, but because he was hungry in the middle of the night. We started giving him a formula bottle before bedtime. I don't know about rice cereal or oatmeal, that seems a bit heavy for bedtime. We started off at 2 ounces of formula when he was younger then we have gradually increased it as he grows and now he is drinking 6 ounces. He gets the bottle after a bath and before bedtime. The bath I think relaxes him and the formula fills his little tummy. So sometimes he falls asleep with the bottle, but not before he finishes it. Then I hold him for about 15 to 20 mins since he didn't get to burp. I then put him to bed. This has worked really well for us. He's been sleeping all night since he was 2-1/2 months. This is just my personal experience but of course whatever works for you. Good Luck!

My advice to you is to read "On Becoming Babywise" by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam. This is the only reason my 7-month old is sleeping 9-12 hours each night. I used to bring her to bed with me and breastfeed her at night, she would wake up happy and I would be miserable because I didn't get any sleep because every move she made woke me up and I was squished and uncomfortable all night and my husband ended up sleeping on the couch because he was scared he would roll over on her. Now she doesn't wake up at all during the night and is even happier in the morning, and so am I. My pediatrician advised against rice cereal in the bottle, she said if it is put in the bottle some babies will overeat and become obese. Try feeding her with a spoon, she's the perfect age for solid foods. If the rice still makes her sick, try baby oatmeal. I had to take my daughter off rice because it made her constipated but the oatmeal doesn't. Another reason for her not sleeping could be because she's teething, it may bother her at night. You should also pay attention to your nights, does your daughter wake up crying and do you go pick her up and get her back to sleep yourself? If so, then you need to let her fall back asleep on her own. There might be some screaming and its heartwrenching, but if you don't correct this now she will never learn proper sleep habits. Before you know it she'll be 3 years old and still not sleeping through the night. Read the book if you can, it worked wonders for my daughter, my husband and me because when she sleeps, we sleep! Good Luck!

Hi J. my daughter's name is Kaylee, i really don't remember when she started to sleep throught the night, all I know is we go the whole night now. When she started teething we would give her a washcloth to suck on to kind of sooth herself, you could even wet the corner, that way she will get something out of it. Also if you wet it put it in the freezer for a bit to make it like ice if her gums are hurting her. I know you said she does not drool but if she is by any little chance, it soaks into the wash cloth. Good Luck

Hi J.
I know that feeling my son got sick from the rice cereal also so we tried the oatmeal cereal and it has always held him over and he loves it. Hope I helped some.

I can't help much. I breastfed my son and supplemented with one or two bottles of formula a day. That bottle was usually right before bed because he would sleep better with it. I would breastfeed and then give him a small bottle and he would be out.

I also want to add that the Babywise books are very informative.

Around the age range your daughter is at, I found that the teething was what was keeping my son up. He always got more than one tooth at a time. And he didn't really want to eat when he woke up. So I occassionally gave him some oragel and tylonal and he would sleep a little better.

Good Luck with your little one!