Sleeping Through the Night - Lawndale,CA

This is a very helpful link, from Dr. Sears:
http://askdrsears.com/html/7/T070300.asp

Your baby is normal. She is waking, because at this age, they have a normal biological "growth-spurt." And at each growth-spurt they NEED to feed...because their need for more intake increases, in proportion to their growing.
Per our Pediatrician, for the 1st year of life a baby needs to be fed on-demand... and breastmilk/formula is their PRIMARY source of nutrition... NOT solids, NOT other liquids.

Both my kids woke up like that too. And my son had a GINORMOUS appetite!

Your baby naps VERY well. Be glad about that. Most Moms would LOVE to have their baby to nap 2.5 hours.
-what time does she nap? At this age they usually nap in the mid-morning.
-sometimes, when a baby is "over-tired"... they actually do NOT sleep well at night AND they wake more.
- does she have regular consistent bedtimes? The more consistent, the better.

For a baby, "sleeping through the night" means sleeping for at least 6 hours straight. MANY babies at this age do not. Sleeping through the night differs for each baby. Some kids do not sleep through the night until 2 years old or older. AND, teething and separation anxiety and then "night terrors" occurs, which are all normal developmental "changes" in sleep patterns.

If you can have someone else feed the baby at night.. .that is a part solution. Then you can rest.

A baby, wakes for biological and survival needs: hunger, discomfort, pain, illness, developmental changes. They can't help it... they don't do it on purpose.

I know, it can be SO tiring. I went through that with 2 kids... but they won't be a baby for long, and at some point you will think that THIS is easy... and then when their other difficulties and phases occurs... this will seem like nothing.

It's all a blur right now I"m sure. But MOST IMPORTANT... is NOT to expect a baby or child to 'behave' older than they are. Otherwise, it will only lead to frustration.

As long as your baby is getting proper intake, and growing well and gaining weight.. then you can be assured she is fine. Or, maybe she is teething...

What you can also try is: adding another ounce to the bottle than you normally do. She may surprise you and drink all of it too... thus indicating, that she needs more intake and more ounces.

All the best to you,
Susan

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Hi P.,
Check out www.theindependentchild.com It is owned by my friend and Mom Katie Smith. She is a sleep coach and does wonders! She is super helpful and knowledgable and worth every penny!
Hope this helps!
H.

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I have been there. for your own sanity, you probably need to wean her from the bottles. The 4:30-ish bottle is the toughest, so you may want to leave that until the last....

One at a time, remove one of the waking times by slowly adding water and then decreasing the amount available to her. She is doing it because she can. She doesn't need it at this age. And I know you NEED the sleep. It may feel mean at first, but believe that you are providing her the tools to be a good sleeper later on. Try "Healthy Sleeping habits, Happy Child". There are a lot of books out there with different methods. This is just the one that seemed to work for me.

The hardest part will be when you finally don't give her the bottle at all -- each feeding time. It usually only takes a few days, though.

when they get sick, they want to wake up all over again. Just know that it is easier to remove those waking times once they've been through the drills before. All is not lost.

Most importantly, make a schedule for yourself and stick to it! Don't second guess yourself in the middle of the night. Remember that your daughter can do it, and so can you!!! Maybe even find a friend who is willing to listen to you complain about how hard it is. Just don't second guess your plan.

Good luck.

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I would suggest calling Kathy at http://www.babysleepsolutionsla.com/. I waited until my son was 10 months old and I was sleep deprived to the point of being a zombie. My only regret was I didn't call her sooner.

Kathy is great and really works within your comfort level and within 2 days he was sleeping better than I could have dreamed of.

Good luck!!

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Im so sorry, I know what you are going through...My son has been the same since birth. I breastfed for 17 months and he would not take a bottle so my husband could not even help. He is now 2 years 3 months and still wakes at least twice during the night, not to eat he just wakes and wants to be rocked back to bed. I work full time and currently 7 months pregnant with our second. The doctors just tell me "its just his personality". Im over it and have accepted my sleepless nights. I have been up since 430am today with him. he is use to getting up for daycare. Not easy but well worth it! Done get frustrated you could be in my shoes and im sure it will get better once you start weening her off the bottle. You have only a few more months, Hang in their!!

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My daughter did the same thing! In fact, she didn't sleep thru the night until she was 26 months old. I breastfed until a little over a year, but when I finally weaned her, it started to get easier. Here's what I finally did, and I wish I had done it much sooner. Make it a point to give a large dinner and be sure she's full when you put her to bed. When she wakes up, you can comfort her, but don't give her a bottle until morning. Tell her, no bottle until morning, or whatever she might understand. (My daughter was a little older, but I would tell her, no milk until the sun comes up.) The first week or so might be tough. But, she'll figure out that there's no reason to wake up and finally sleep through the night. Sometimes my daughter will wake up, but I give her a sippy cup of water in bed and when she wakes up, she finds her cup and drinks the water and goes back to sleep on her own. As far as daytime naps, that sounds about normal. As she gets older, you'll see her start to push her nap back farther in the day. Mine is almost 3 and wants to nap at 5PM. UGH! I hope this helps...

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this is normal shes probably going through a growth spurt. she also could be teething. i was lucky my little girl was sleeping through the night at 6 months. what i did to help it was cluster fed her before bed (ie- i would give her a full bottle then 1 hour later feed her a thick solid and then at bed time about 1-2 hours later she drank another full bottle). then when she would wake up id give her 2 oz of water. this helped to deture her from waking. some nights i did have to give a bottle because she wasnt taking the water. good luck

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Have you tried (you may not like this) giving her a pacifier when she wakes for feeding? I used the book the baby whisperer's suggestions on getting my daughter to sleep thru the nite and it didn't go exactly as the book said, but around 6 months we got her to sleep thru the nite (9-10 hours) 8:30pm to 6:30am using the binky. Now she doesn't use/need the binky at nite but does for her daytime naps.

Daytime naps - my daughter only sleeps 30 minutes 2x a day and has been that way since about 9 months. It is impossible to get anything done. She is very happy, so it's not like I have this sleep deprived child that I need to get to sleep more, it's just her rhythm. What saves me is that I have help - see what you can do about getting a mommy's helper!

Best to you!

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I have to agree with Susan. I'm not sure why we start to think babies are supposed to do anything. My son woke like this due to growth spurts and teething, and my doctor said it was very normal. If he was hungry feed him, if he needed to be cuddled or comforted then, go ahead...but, if he just fussed and could settle back to sleep then, GREAT!! What you have to do is listen to the cues. Babies will tell you when they absolutely need to be fed, changed or otherwise. I got so frustrated that I couldn't hear what my son was telling me until his Pediatrician told me it was okay.

The nap she is taking is great and exceptional for her age!

If she is teething try Clove Oil, or other homeopathic remedies. Cold washcloth, teethers from the ice box or teething gels and tablets are great. Also, infant Motrin is what worked best for my son.

If she is growing, then she needs the nourishment and is asking you for it. Just make sure you are meeting her needs and don't worry this too shall pass.

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I know its frustrating, but that is pretty typical behavior for a 9 month old. Often at that age they have two naps a day instead of one but a 2.5 hour nap a day is pretty good. You may want to make sure she is good and full before she falls asleep. The true definition of a baby sleeping through the night is 5 hours. She will get there eventually I promise! Hang in there!

This may sound really mean... and it will be REALLY hard the first few times, but it worked for me. Let her cry. At nine months she doesn't need the food anymore... she is just waking up out of habit. We were going crazy with our little girl too. She just turned six months old a week or so ago. We let her cry it out for about three nights and each night the crying was less. Then she just started to stay asleep. I read somewhere that it works best if you don't even go in the room. Don't give her her binkie, blanket, don't rock her, etc. See, we were trying to pacify her other ways and it never worked and so in the end I would just nurse her. We were so tired. Then I read that piece of advice, and that's what did the trick!

Good luck. Sleep issues are tough!

P.S. on the nap.... that sounds like a great amount of time! Both my kids take short naps!

Hi P.,
I have an book as an attachment that another Mamasource mom sent me on how to get your child to sleep through the night.
I would be happy to email it to you.
____@____.com
Good luck!

Have you let her cry through it? I know it can be tough to listen to, but you need to teach her to comfort herself. My 9 mo. old still takes the same amount of naps, but he will least sleep for 10-11 hrs. at night. I would also ask your pediatrician for some advice or a well seasoned mom of 3 or more kids. Good luck!

Don`t give her a bottle and let her cry it out. After a few nights, she probably won`t wake up anymore until the morning. ; )

I was having the same problem with my son but he wouldn't take a bottle, breast only...and it only got worse...every hour. I know it sounds awful but I let him cry it out. I had to. I was getting no sleep and wasn't good to anyone being that exhausted and he was so tired he was cranky during the day. It took 3 nights and I wished I had done it sooner. He cried for 1 hour and 20 minutes the first night off and on and varied crying from wailing and screaming to just fussing to just making sounds to see if I would come in the room. We have a video nanny cam. The second night he only cried for 9 minutes. I couldn't BELIEVE it! The third night he cried for 1 minute when I put him in the crib and then fell asleep. After that he would just fuss for a few seconds after I left the room...and he would sleep for wait for it..... 12 hours straight. It was the best thing I ever did and he loved me the next day just the same. It was the only thing that ever worked for us. I don't know if you've tried this but it just works for some babies. Good luck.

I hear you, sister. We went through the exact same thing. She doesn't need the bottle at night at this point, she just wants it (and you!) Would you consider the Ferber Method? It WILL work, if you are willing to do it. You will see immediate results. The first few nights are rough, but after that you will be amazed how much more you both sleep. You might not be able to get anymore nap time out of her, but I'm assuming that if you could get a full-nights sleep, you wouldn't care, so I would focus on the night time sleeping for now. Ferber Method, DO IT! It works!

Your daughter might be teething. Feel around her gums with your finger or look at her gums as they may be swollen a little. I don't know if you medicate, but I would ask her pediatrician for the Tylenol dose for her age and give it to her an hour or half hour before bedtime. She might be in pain of some sort (growing pains)and Tylenol would aleviate her discomfort. Also make certain she has dinner and then give her a milk so she has a full stomach thru the night. She could be waking up because she's hungry, too. Good luck! I am a mom of two.

Your problem may be her taking to many long naps. Try limiting her nap time and see if she responds to that. I found that when my boys would not sleep through the night is was because I wasn't giving them enough activities during the day to tire them out. You might also consider now going to your child everytime they wake up. This is very difficult for parents with small ones to do. But if you want to ever get a good nights sleep you need to be diligent about training your child that you will not respond everytime they wake up. This will be hard but stick to your guns and you will see results. This isn't selfish you deserve a goodnights rest. I hope this helps.

Hi! My dr. told me when my daughter was 8 months old that she should no longer be waking up to eat in the middle of the night..that the only reason she was doing it was as a comfort thing/habit and that I needed to just go in, rub her tummy and tell her it was night-night time. Then leave her room. He said after a few nights she would figure out that she wasn't going to get me to hold her or feed her in the middle of the night and she would start just sleeping through..and even if she did wake up that she would put herself back to sleep. It worked!! I did it a few nights that way and then after that she started sleeping through the night. She's now 16 months old and sleeps 12 hours straight every night (unless she really doesn't feel good). Every once in awhile she will wake up and cry for no more than a minute and goes back to sleep. It's SUCH a relief!!! GOOD LUCK!

Hi P., A 9 month old sweetie does not need a bottle every 2-3 hours, so what you need to do is break this habit for her. She is waking up for these bottles because she knows mom is going to get up and give them to her. If you stop giving them to her, she will eventually stop wanting the bottle in the night time. Give her rice ceral befor bed time so she falls asleep with a nice full tummy. My 3 kids when they were 9 months old they were only on one bottle a day and that was in the morning while I was geting their ceral ready, they were all using a cup, and they were on 3 meals a day with baby snacks in between. The rice ceral worked for my baby's starting at 6 weeks old, I've never experienced the sleepless nights with my baby's/children unless they weren't feeling well. Break the habit now, cause it will be harder as time goes by. J. L.

i feel for you bec i'm going through the same thing right now. actually my situations may be worst. my dtr is 8 months old, whines on & off all night, & wakes up almost every hr wanting a bottle with juice mostly, but sometimes milk. my husband & i are suffering so badly bec we were both are sleep deprived, he works, & i am 12 wks preg on top of that.
my dtr is usually rocked 2 sleep by my husband on his chest, put in her crib once she's sleep, then after 2-3 hrs she's up, wanting a bottle every hr after the 1st 2-3hrs of sleep, & wanting to sleep in between us. well, we decided this week enough was enough! i 1st took her to the dr this pass thurs 2 make sure she did not have an ear infetion or was not teething bec of the all night whining. the dr diagnosed her w/SR (spoiled rotten. lol) which my husband & i both expected. my dr has been telling me everything i was doing (rocking 2 sleep, sleeping on hubby's chest, going 2 her 2 soon when she cries, putting her in our bed) was gonna bite us in the long run since my dtr was 4 months old. we have trained her to do this all these months. the dr gave us a "night time training" article w/some suggestions.
at our children's age they should be able to sleep through the night (8 hrs) w/out a bottle (provided you are feeding brkfst, lunch, dinner, w/snacks in between 2 the baby).
we should not go to them so quickly when they cry. people wake up all the time throughout the night & we manage to fall back to sleep & so should a baby. they need to learn to do this w/out mommy's, daddy's or a bottle's help. the dr said we should allow her to cry. crying never killed or hurt anyone & there have been studies that this will not cause any psychological harm to the baby. the average child cries 30-90 min before falling back to sleep when they are being trained. you may just wanna check on them every 5-15 min (as you see fit depending on the age of the child) making the visit very short & boring. i started allowing my dtr to cry during her naps in the day & i stay consistant with her always napping in her "big girl" bed (crib) so that she's not confused at night when she can not get in bed w/mommy & daddy. btw her crib is in our room next to the our bed.
no night time diaper changing unless the baby has a diaper rash or is really wet.
put them down in the crib when they are almost sleep & not have a bottle in their mouths when they go to sleep. this will make them wake up & the last memory is the bottle that they had.
as for the bed transition i have a teddy bear to help her so when it's nap time & we are cuddling i grab her bear "baby" & have her hold it while we are cuddling. i also put the bear in the bed next to her w/her arm over it or on it to help soothe her.
these are some of the things i remeber off the top of my head that have helped us. tonight will be our 3rd night of doing this. after the dr appt thurs, for nap i put her in her crib. she cried for 20 min until she fell asleep & slept for 1hr & 30 min. that night, (the 1st night) she cried on & off all night long. she went to sleep at 9p & cried from about 12a-5a on & off. & believe me they were all types of cries from a whiny cry to someone is killing me shriek. we are in an apt & the neighbors probably hate us now lol. that's 1 reason why it took so long to break her bec we are in an apt. it was so hard to hear, but i know it needed to be done. last night she slept from 9p with less crying. she woke up a few times during the night, whined a lil, then dozed back off to sleep. she did wake up at 4am crying more. we changed her in the crib, gave her a milk bottle w/the bear next to her, once almost sleep i put her back in the crib w/the bear. she woke up & whined for 2 seconds & went back to sleep. i figured she had been sleep for 7 hrs & was probably a lil hungry. she slept til about 7am.
i hope this helps you & your family bec you are not alone. good luck & wish us luck too!

First thank your lucky stars that she sleeps so long for a nap. A lot of the time I get ONE hour from TWO naps from my 8.5 month old. To get an hour I have to have her awake for 4-5 hours.
I was having the same problem at night and clearly they don't need to be waking that much except for mnay once. First I let her cry anytime she got up before midnight or one. It never lasted that long (maybe 10 minutes). I'd feed her once if she woke up sometime around the 1/2 point and then ignore her if she woke again before 5 or 6. After several days of that she actaully started sleeping 12 hours straight and all of a sudden I felt so much more rested! But now she has started waking once a night again and does seem pretty hungry so I'll be happy with that for awhile.