Sleep Training - Livingston,NJ

comfort him when he wakes, but wait 5 minutes to go to him if he is only fussing or light crying and see what he will do on his own. If 5 minutes goes by and he is not settled, or if he is really crying, go in and comfort, but without food. Sing to him, rub his tummy, ect, but try to keep him in his crib and laying down while you comfort. It may make for a long couple of nights, but he will get it. If need be have sister spend 2 or 3 nights on the couch while you teach your son how to sleep without food as a pacifier.

3 moms found this helpful

We fed my son on demand until he stopped needing a night time feeding. For us that was 17 weeks. I read that for breast fed babies that can be substantially later. He always slept in his crib in his room. We always went in and picked him up when he cried - it was always for an obvious reason. We did not do cry it out - I wanted my son to learn that when he cried, we were there for him.

What time do you put yours to bed? We put DS to bed between 11:30 p and 12 am (when we went to bed). Then if he slept 6-7 hours it was already morning. Many people seem to put them to bed at 6-8 pm - 6-7 hours later is the middle of the night. If you do a last feeding at approximately midnight - he may not be hungry again until morning.

We did not do a set nap time or other 'schedule' for DS until he was 1 (when he went from the infant to toddler room at daycare). So 'his' schedule was pretty much - wake screaming from hunger, eat, change diaper, play, sleep then repeat q 3-4 hours until approximately 11pm-12 am, sleep 6-8 hours then start over.

2 moms found this helpful

Dr. Sears is an expert in this field and has some good advice here about helping them get back to sleep:
http://askdrsears.com/topics/parenting/sleep-problems

This is where he specifically talks about the night nursing issue and some good alternatives:
http://askdrsears.com/topics/sleep-problems/night-weaning...

Hope it helps!

1 mom found this helpful

I just wanted to say good luck and I am with you right now. My DD is 1year old and I have strictly breastfed her and now we are sleep training and weaning. Tonight was a rough one. She only cried for 30minutes and in that 30 mins she did have periods of quiet where she did quiet down but started back up again.
I would say have you daughter camp out in your room for a couple nights until this gets figured out. Make it fun for her if space allows get her a sleeping bag and a little lantern that runs off of batteries. This way she doesn't feel like she is getting the boot.
Hope all goes well for you!

1 mom found this helpful

I nursed my now 2 year old daughter, and on our pediatrician's suggestion, we had Daddy go in with a bottle with water to offer the baby at around 9 months. She was also getting up twice and after the first night she stopped getting up twice. It took 3 nights of offering the water in the bottle for her to stop getting up that other time. There were a few nights here and there after that and we did let her cry or Dad would go over and rub her back but the bottle with water helped us a lot. She realized it was not worth getting up for! We were all in one room, though, with no other siblings, so it may not work for you....but maybe? Just a suggestion. Goood luck!

I know a lot of people don't like the CIO method, but it worked for us. We did it with both our boys and they both sleep like a dream now. My current 11 month old has slept through the night since he gave up breast feeding at 9 months. BF is how I would get him back to sleep when he woke in the middle of the night. That was the only time he would nurse besides right before bedtime. One night he awoke and I went in to nurse, and he just didn't want it, so I put him back in his crib and patted his back and that was it. He has slept from 7:30 pm to 7 am for the last 2 months. We had trained him to fall asleep on his own at 6 months, but he would still wake once or twice to feed. Make sure he is eating enough during the day. He should not need to eat in the middle of the night at this age. Could be a comfort thing, but it is all he knows now. He needs to learn to soothe himself to sleep. The going in to check on him can work and offering less milk/shorter BF or water can make the transition easier. I like the book, Sleeping Through The Night by Dr. Jodi Mindell. She offers great tips on on kinds of problems that pop up throughout their development that can interfere with a good night's rest.
Good Luck!

Are you sure he doesn't need the night time feedings. He may be in a physical or developmental growth spurt and need the nutrition.

If you want to try sleep training, I agree with the method Jen C. described. You want your baby to trust that you will come to him when he needs you. By going in and leaving and then coming back in again you're showing him that you're still here and care about his needs. It's consistent and loving. He'll catch on that he's OK and you're still there. Be waiting 5 minutes you're giving him time to learn how to soothe himself.

SuperNanny suggests gradually lengthening the amount of time in between going in to the room.

I have a ten month old and the thing that is working best for us is daddy gets up right now. It took a couple of nights, but we are getting a lot more sleep now even if he is up at 4am for the day currently. If I go up there is crying until he is fed and falls asleep. If my husband goes our son goes almost right back to sleep with very little crying once daddy is there. If he is awake my husband can also put him in his crib say a few things and he goes to sleep. When I try he stands up and cries.

W.,
Thank goodness you're not going to try CIO. Blessings for your son. I don't know if you are nursing or feeding him food in the middle of the night. Either way - he's waking because he is hungry. Until he moves past that he wont' sleep through the night.

It doesn't last forever, but at night it DOES feel like it. You've got him in his own bed, so he is used to that.

Contact la Leche League for more ideas - they may be able to help you find a direction for this.

My oldest woke 2-3 times through the night up until age 3.75. he still wakes occasionally 1-2 times.

My youngest nurses still at 15 months, and he is up 4-7 times a night. More if he is teething.

Nursing is the fastest greatest ease for teething pain.

Good luck,
M.