Sleeping Through a Newborn

When we had that same situation I put a sound machine in my older son's room. That way when the little one woke up it would not automatically wake up the whole house. I reversed the situation when it came to naps - I used a fan in the baby's room and now he can't live without it but at least we are not tiptoeing around the house while he is sleeping.

Actually, all of the books and websites I've read lately say NOT to let your baby cry themselves to sleep. They say it's a period where your baby is learning to trust you and know that you'll respond quickly when they cry.

I've had a lot of success when my daughter was 2 months after reading a book called The Happiest Baby on the Block. The author's theory is that infants are born 3 months too early and are not able to sooth themselves back to sleep without us mimicking the sounds and feeling of the womb. He describes in detail his "5 S's" swaddling, a side or stomach hold, shushing (or some other white noise), swinging, sucking.

Another practice I started around 2 months was making sure she took naps between each feeding throughout the day even if it was just for 20 minutes. I'd have her take one long 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon. I found that trying to keep her awake during the day made her cranky and actually made her sleep less at night.

We keep a white noise machine in both kids' rooms. This helps tune out sounds outside the room, and it is also great for soothing fussy newborns.

I know you are more concerned about your older child waking, but I thought I'd share some tips for soothing a fussy baby at nighttime. My youngest was very colicky and slept very poorly as a newborn. We set the white noise machine to the static sound, which is often soothing to babies (it mimicks the sound of your blood swooshing that they got used to when you were pregnant. Also, the Miracle Blanket is a swaddling blanket that worked wonders for my daughter. She finally slept after six weeks of screaming at night (www.miracleblanket.com). Good luck!

I dn't know that I would let my 2 month old cry himself to sleep, that seems a bit young. I don't know what time he is going to bed, eating or getting up, but a lot of kids are still waking up hungry at 2 months old. Have you tried feeding later or a little bit more? If that isn't the problem and he is just crying because 2 month old babies do, then maybe think about putting some white noise in your older sons room so he won't wake up. If they sleep in the same room I would put it on anyways, it might help the baby sleep through the night, if not maybe it will help the older one sleep through the crying.
Good Luck!

I personally think your 2 month old son is too young to cry it out. He's still so young and wants comfort from his mommy. When he older, like 6 mos. to a year, and continuing to wake then maybe try it. Does DJ wake Brandon up now? I was afraid of my baby waking up the older kids but they are oblivious and sleep right through it. Some white noise in Brandon's room would help fade out some of the crying.

Hi Maria,
Well sad to tell you that a 2 month rarely sleeps through the night without crying. I also think if your doctor is telling you to let a 2 month old (whose lungs are not prepared for that kind yelling)to cry out you should find another doctor. I think the best thing you can do right now is rock your baby back to sleep after he is fed and changed instead of laying him down upest. I only say this because he is just tooooooooo young to be left crying. Good luck.

I usually don't disagree with Dr's but... I believe based upon reading my Baby books and experience that 2 months old is too young to be letting a baby "cry it out." I responded to my daughter's every cry until she was at least 3 months old. That first 3 months allows your baby to trust that you are there for them when they need you. After 3 months old then you can wait a little while to see if they go back to sleep and then as they get even older you can wait even longer. We did use the "cry it out" method with our daughter when she was 5 months old and older (who is now 2 years old) and it did work. However, those first 3 months are crucial to build that trust bond between baby and child. Also are you swaddling the baby?? Swaddling really helped our DD sleep at night. Good luck and give us an update!

well as far as u not wanting to stay up all night some times we as mothers have to make sacrifices for our children even if it is our sleep but if ur rocking him and u tried everything then u let him cry but not for too long. crying wont hurt the baby or ur other son it not like he has to go to work or school in the morning. try keeping him up more in the day have a set bed time at night set time for feedings throught the night try maybe a bath with vapor wash and a warm bottle of milk before bed

Give your child babies magic tea and he'll sleep through the night. The tea is natural and has no preservatives.

Think back to when you were pregnant did the baby have less movement in the day and really star moving at night? The reason for this is your movement created a rcking motion that put the baby to sleep there fore your baby is used to sleeping during the day this is a very common issue with little ones you need to keep the baby awake longer during the day and not let him sleep for more than 2 hours so when he goes to bed he is tired and will sleep at least 6 hours straight then will wake up for a bottle keep the lighting low and rock while feeding he should go right back to sleep. I hope this works it did wonders for my family with three children i need all the sleep i can get.

Maria,

I have a two month old as well. She does wake up at night after sleeping for about 4 hrs. We had a hard time settling her down to go to sleep at night and after the middle of the night feeding. After feeding her, she would fall asleep, but as soon as we put her in the craddle, she would wake up crying. All the rocking, burping, cuddling, etc. did not work UNTIL we used the bouncy chair.

After we feed her, we put her in the chair to fall asleep. After about 10-20 minutes, we could put her in the craddle. Usually she stays asleep. If she immediately wakes up crying, we put her back in the bouncy chair and sometimes have to leave her there for the remainder of the night.

Chances are, your child (like ours) has a little bit of reflux after eating and so keeping them upright after feeding helps. Babies have a weak pyloric sphinctor for the first few months of life and they will experience heartburn with a full tummy.

Hope this helps!

N.

Well, I am sorry, but that last M. was way harsh; how was her comment helpful or supportive?? It is my understanding that you are worried about the new baby waking up the older baby. Well, I agree with the sound maker to be in teh 18 month olds room, that should help. Also, I would move the new baby to a diff part of the house, as far away from your 18 month old as possible. With my youngest she slept in our room in the basement for the first 6 months or so, that way she didn't wake up her siblings sleeping upstairs during the night. Best of Luck!

Two months old is much too young to cry it out! This is what a newborn does, sorry to tell ya! Some babies are better sleepers than others. I have a 14month old who STILL does not sleep through the night. Part of being a M. is taking care of your children through the night, learn to adjust.