Sleeping Schedule?

Hi L.,
I have to first say that is very brave and commendable of you to take on such a task. He is at the age where he starts to figure it out on his own. This is what my doctor said and I didn't believe him, but my son actually did figure out his days and nights. But, there are some things you can do to help. Try to establish an bedtime routine, such as give him a bath then rock him and feed him then put him down for bed. If he has the same nightly routine, he'll start to figure out he's suppose to be sleeping after this happens. Also, adding some rice cereal to his formula at bedtime also keeps him fuller longer and helps him sleep, so you could do this also. Another thing is try to wake him up at the same time every morning and put him to bed the same time every night. Sometimes light music or background noise can help "lull" him to sleep. Hope some of this helps, it helped me..but in the end, the baby decides for himself if he'll be a night owl or early bird...but you can try to coach him along.

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I would agree with the comments here, especially that you are an angel to take this child in when his parents cannot take care of him.

Establishing a bedtime routine at a set time each night really helped with my baby when he was little. A bath, pajamas, a few books, a tummy full of food and he was dozing in a dark room by 8:00 most nights.

One thing that I would not suggest is trying to keep him awake all day so he'll sleep at night. In my experience, an overly-tired cranky baby actually has a harder time falling asleep than one that's had a few regular naps and is feeling happy.

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Suggestion - if he has them mixed up start getting him up earlier than usual and letting him nap earlier. Maybe even going to the link of cutting a nap out or shortening that during the day.

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Actually it's fairly easy. My daughter is almost five months and I was having the same problem. So, I started to give her a bath right before It was bed time. (She goes to bed at about 8.) She also gets a bottle right before bed time and then I either lay her in her crib or rock her to sleep. And if that doesn't work also try A baby lotion made for Nighttime. My daughter enjoys the Johnson and Johnson lotion with Lavender, it sooths her and puts her right to sleep. Good luck, and I hope that lil man is good for you.
O.

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hey first of all thanks for being there for the child! there are so many that need help. I would give him a warm bath right befor bed and a full tummy of course.when mine were 4 months i put just a dab of rice cereal in the bottle right befor bed it seemed to fill him up where he would sleep longer good luck! and GOD BLESS YOU FOR TRYING.

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Hi, I must agree with everyone that it is awesome that you would take on that responsibility to help out with this baby boy. Whatever you decide to do, just make sure you are consistant. My son had colic for the first 6 months so it was very hard to get him on a schedule. But when I would lay him down at 9 in the morning, he would cry for awhile, but eventually he went to sleep. I had to consistantly do that everyday. I would say don't get in the habit of rocking him to sleep though because alot of times that causes him to need to be rocked everytime he needs to go to sleep. That happened with my first child. My son now at 14 months lays down at 9, 1 and 9:30 at night. It just takes ALOT of consistancy. Kinda like starting a "habit." Eventually he will catch on
:-) And a little crying won't hurt him, only you lol.

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I would first like to say what a wonderful person you must be to take on this responsibility. I am 42 and recently adopted our baby...it will take some time for him to adjust. I would do as someone else said...when preparing for bed make sure everything is quiet and dark. We did put a cd player in Tyler's room w/quiet low music playing. Just do it the same for a couple of weeks morning and night and he will catch on. I agree with the rice cereal at bedtime, the bath and lots of hugs. I am sure he needs them right now as do you. Also try to keep him up in during the day as much as possible especially the afternoon.
Good luck and please email me if you would just like to talk.
T.

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When he wakes up in the morning, feed him and keep him awake. After the next feeding, put him to sleep. Keep alternating wake and sleep cycles. Also, try not to let him fall asleep while eating. He needs to learn to put himself to sleep instead of relying on food to put himself to sleep. Bless you for taking care of him when his parents can't. Good luck!

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Hello - What a wonderful and kind person you are to be there for this baby. I have found the book, The Contented Little Baby Book by Gina Ford a great resource for schedules. Of course I have not followed her schedule 100% as she reccommneds. I used it as a good guideline to give me a start. It really helped me with my first and now my second. It gives a great timeline breakdown for napping and feeding schedules for the first year at all different ages. Good Luck!

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L.,
Chances are your little one will straighten this sometimes cruel pattern on his own. To help matters, try to limit daytime naps. This can be tricky, but worth it. Make sure during the day the room he is napping in is not dark and noise is not kept to a minimum. During the night, do the opposite. Try to stimulate him during the day with activities and songs to limit napping. Do not however, keep him from napping all together because an overtired baby is less likely to sleep at night anyway. Personally my son and I go through a ritual, if you will, at night beginning with a bath, a massage, a story, and soft music. I have done this with him since he was born and he has slept for ten hours through the night since he was nine weeks old. He is now ten months.
I hope this helps.

Sincerely,
L.

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