Sleeping Through the Night - Englewood,FL

First may I ask,do you pick the baby up everytime it wakes up? If so you need to just let the child learn to put he/she back to sleep on their own. However have you tried a nice warm bath before bed to relax the baby. I use to massage my youngest ones back very gently and she would fall asleep .

I hate to be the negative one, but everyone preaches the method that the first women stated and although I agree, it does not work with all children. My daughter is now 14 months old and still has not slept through the night. I let her "cry it out" and all that has done is help her figure out that I'm not coming some nights she just sits in there and plays and it can last as long as 3-4 hours. Sometimes she takes breaks from the screaming to rest up and scream some more. I do check on her to make sure she is fine, clean diaper etc. but trust me we have tried the method mentioned previously and now we are at the point were we can listen to her for 3 -4 hours some nights - she's like your child, she just wants to be up. The best nights are the nights she plays. There are some nights where she literally throws everything out of the crib, and at 14 months she has a good arm and can knock stuff off the dresser, but if you leave her nothing in there you miss out on the nights she occupies herself.
So if you find another method than most give you, I would love to here it since my daughter is stubborn!!!!!

I was the mom who said "I will never let my baby cry it out", but when my daughter turned 9 months old and was still waking every couple of hours during the night I had finally had enough. I think my awakening was when it got to the point that I would go in her room she would open her mouth for her binky and then once I gave it to her go right back to sleep. She was 9 months old she knew how to put her binky in her own mouth, but she was used to me getting up and giving it to her. So, I finally made the choice to let her cry it out. I started w/5 minute increments. I would check after 5 then increase to 10 etc. After 3 nights she would wake up for a minute and then put herself back to sleep until finally she would just sleep through the night! I couldn't believe it I actually wanted to kick myself for not doing it a little earlier. (once I knew she didn't need the nourishment during the night anymore) I'm a better mother for doing it because I was actually getting quality sleep at night and being more energetic and happy during the days with her so I don't regret it at all! I wish you luck because it's hard!!

L.,
Each child is very different. My son was the best he slept thru the night at 2 months. My daughter on the other hand didn't sleep thru the night till she was 3 years old. Some kids require NO SLEEP. You can try to feed her cereal in her bottle before she goes to sleep that might help a little or keep her up as last as possible & not let her have a nap after 3 or 4 pm. But for the most part there isn't much to do if those don't work.

I had this same problem with my first son. I tried a couple of things together that worked for me, every baby is different. I will tell you what i did and maybe it could work for you too.I first started with a clean plate,and kept him up one full day with out naps by playing with him, keeping him busy.Than that evening, I took him a warm bath with lavendar baby bath soap put him a warn pj and rocked him to sleep in his rocker. He went right out like a rock and slept through the night. I did the same thing for a few days, soon he was going to sleep on his own with out me going through the ritual. Basically you need to find what works for you and your baby.

Good Luck!

My daughter did not sleep through the night in her crib until she was 6 months old. The pediatrician told me that at 6 months old they do not need the nightly feedings, so they are capable of sleeping all night. It was very hard but we had to let her cry herself to sleep and when she woke up in the middle of the night we did the same (let her cry herself back to sleep). Although it broke my heart it was very worth it.

Good Luck!

L.,

Have you read Baby wise? It is a great resource for sleeping and wake patterns. it gives details for sleep time, wake time and the cycles that babies go through during the day. I used it for my son and it was amazing, it really makes life great and consistent for you and baby. Good luck

I cannot stress enough how IMPORTANT a routine is. With my son its the same thing every night. At 7:00 we feed him, then bathe him, get him ready for bed and then at 7:45 like clock work we put him in his crib. When little ones know what is going to happen next and what they can expect I think it really helps them. Also Im not sure how you feel about a pacifier but, in my opinion they really helped my son fall back to sleep at night with out my assistance. Also, maybe talk to her pediatrician about a higher calorie and higher protien formula (if you are not breastfeeding exclusively) That may help her stay satisfied longer :) Good luck.

I wouldn't worry too much. I do not agree with crying it out, but I know that it works for some people and you have to see what works for you. Just consider, maybe she isn't waking because she isn't able to soothe herself, but just because that is what her body is doing. Don't you have insomnia nights? The difference is that we stay and bed and put up with it, they can't do that. I have personally found that when my son doesn't go to sleep, or wakes up in the middle of the night, it is for a reason. I would suggest that you just keep patient and make sure this isn't just a phase. She is only 5 months old and there will be many hard nights ahead! As she gets older, they will be fewer and fewer. I have never left my son to cry and he is an amazing sleeper! He started to put himself to bed after a little rocking at one year old and he sleeps from 7:30-7 consistantly. Up until then, I always rocked him to sleep. If he isn't going to bed, it is because he isn't ready and there is nothing I can do to change that. I would be very careful about assuming that there is no reason for her to be up. If it was just a matter of her not being able to soothe herself, she would fall asleep during nursing, bottle or rocking. If she is up for hours, it is because her body just isn't going to let her (or you) sleep. It should just be a phase, just try to be patient. With my son, he would wake sometimes for his 4am bottle and not go back to sleep. I had the house dark, quiet and rocked him for hours. If he wasn't able to go back to sleep, I just made my coffee super early! Then, a week later, he would go back to normal. At 5 months old, she is not manipulating you, I swear!

I have twins who just turned 5 months old on valentines day :) I agree with Maryanne about not letting them cry it out. For the most part, I have been extremely lucky with my twins. Most of the nights they sleep right through. Nick is usually in bed by 7or8pm and sleeps till his 4am feeding and then goes straight back to bed till about 8am. Katie stays up pretty late (11 or midnight) but then she sleeps straight through until the morning.
As wonderful as they usually are about sleeping, they have each gone through difficult stages. This past week, Nick refuses to fall back asleep after his 4am feeding. I found that if I keep him in bed with me, I can keep nursing him back to sleep and sleep myself. Him waking up doesnt bother me that much, I just let him nurse again and fall right back asleep myself while doing it. I have also found that many times when they are very restless, being close to me REALLY helps calm them down.

Good luck mama!!!
N.
www.discoverytoyslink.com/N.

Hi L.,
I know it's going to be hard, but you may have to let her cry it out a bit (not for an hour or anything extreme!). One of the best skills you can teach your beautiful new baby is to soothe his/herself and put themselves back to sleep when they wake during the night. My daugther didn't balk at sleeping through the night (once she learned how) until she was 7 months old and it took 3 hard nights of listening to her cry before she worked it out, but then we were done for good and now she is a dream child and soothes herself back to sleep every time! The first night she cried for 35 minutes and I cried myself, thinking I was a bad mom for letting her go that long. The 2nd night, it was only 20 minutes and I still felt guilty, but less so. The 3rd night, it was only 5 minutes and I knew we were on the right track. Be prepared, it will be hard but if you give in and go get him/her, you are training the babe to expect that to happen when they wake/cry.

Hope this helps! Good luck! Let us know how you make out!

K.

I have found that getting her in a routine will help, up in the mornings feed that child cereal with bannanas, or some kind of fruit, mine were eating at 1 month.(everything)..I think half the reason why SOME babies cry and stay awake fussy IS because they ARE hungry...they make a great bottle that you put the cereal and fruits in that the baby can suck right up...give her bottles as you normally would but just try feeding her lunch...cereal with a veggie...and dinner cereal with sweet pototoes,or fruit etc...(at first I always used cereal as a base...rice or mixed cereal and added different fruits and veggies to it, and it fills them up real good.)try different foods to see what she likes..mine would always cry and not sleep and when the were just a couple of weeks old they were eating and VERY HAPPY.
And as far as sleeping.....
all babies are different again...my 2 yr old was kinda like your daughter up and down at first, he had gas so maybe you should listen to her tummy and if you hear it rumbling or passing gas,maybe check with her doctor and see if gas drops might help (make sure you are burping her really good..even at 5 months after a bottle) ..once we got that taken care of then there is issues of teething so rub her gums to see if they are swollen and red, some babies(like mine) start teething at 3 months.then you just give baby tylenol and I use the teething tablets.(they are great)..and A warm bath before bed always is a big help. then lather her up with baby lotion and a baby massage relaxes them for sure(shoot it does me)..and play is very important. and her sleeping habbits might change
I was very very lucky with my 1 yr old since I started feeding him at 3 weeks he takes about 1-3 hr nap..eats good lunch& dinner and wants to go to sleep by 7:30 but I try to keep him up to atleast 8pm, and he will sleep 12 hours straight...woo hoo I was lucky with him and he is my last.
GOOD Luck...it does get better as they get older,it is an adjustment time for the both of you..if you go to lay her down and she wakes up pat her back...heck I have stood for and hour sometime to get mine back to sleep patting them...mine are spoiled I hold them to get them to sleep(mostly rock them) because I dont like to hear them scream and I won't! then I lay them down( I am a stay at home mom and I can do that..lol )but most of the time I lay with them... my 2 yr old has bunkbeds and him and his 1 yrs old brother share a room and sometimes I lay with my 2 yr old in his bed, and the baby is in his crib...as long as I am close they will go right to sleep.(but I am working on laying them down on their own to sleep because its pretty hard to hold them both at times to get them to sleep.)
and I play the radio in there room to county music, or soft music and they sleep sound.
A baby is going to wiggle and scoot mine always scoot so their head touches the crib padding rails, I guess it makes them feel secure?
Just remember....what works for me or others...may not work for you so be patient and keep trying different things .
also a good source of info. is the baby magazine, its free.
If I can help just drop me a line..
S....proud mother of 4 this is my secound time around with my 1 & 2 yr old...I have a married 22 yr old daughter and a 15 yr old son. and my 22 yr old just told me I am going to be a grandma( which I will be called NINA, too young for Grandma I am only 41...lol)