7 Month Old Not Sleeping Through Night

Hello E., I clearly understand! My daughter just had a baby and he started off sleeping through the night, then when my daughter got sick, then he started waking up and wanting to stay up different times throughout the night. But, to get him back on track, because we started losing sleep because of him crying and wanting to play. What I suggested to her, and now to you, and what I did with her brother when he was doing the same thing years ago, lock down the time or times that she is waking up through the night, set a time that will work that will allow you and her to get some sensible sleep,then with that, at the next feeding that is at that night time feeding, give her a nice warm bath, feed her, then lay her down. maybe even set a radio with some soft ocean music, something that is soothing. You need to stay in control of the timing and set the pace, along with helping her get on a set schedule.
Good luck, A.

When My son was about 1 1/2 mo old he started sleeping through the night, and then about 4 mos old he started not sleeping through the night again. I struggled for about 2 months and then I upped his milk to 9 oz (only before bed) and he then for the most part slept through the night again. I was hard to be up in the middle of the night (sometimes for 1-2 hrs) and up at 5 AM when he got up for the day. I was also working a full time job therefore so tired when he went to bed, many times I was sleep by 7 PM.

Good luck to you.
M.

I don't really have advice. I just wanted to say I am right there with you. I am breastfeeding and my little boy, who just turned 7 months on the 26th, wakes 1-2 times a night. He eats for about 3-5 minutes and then uses me as a pacifier. He has slept through the night maybe 3 times. I would just recommend lowering the amount you put in her bottle by like an ounce everyweek. I can't quite do that but it seemed to work for my older children when I was trying to stop the night feedings.

Try a bottle of water instead of formula to see if she really needs the comfort. She may end up not waking up anymore just for the water.

E., I used a program called "The Sleep Sense Program" and it truly changed our lives. My daughter co-slept up until 5 months old, and when we went to trasition her to her crib it was a nightmare, then I read this book and she now sleeps through the night and takes good naps during the day. I saw results in the first week of starting this program. If you would like the info, email me directly @ ____@____.com
I would love to share it with you.

M.

Hi E.,
I would like to share with you what worked for me and my kids. When I came home from the hospital, I noticed one thing about the way my kids were eating...They were on some schedule that the hospital set for them. I also noticed that my home was not on the same schedule. My husband and I decided to change that. Here's what we did. Instead of letting the baby eat on that set time, we fed when the baby was hungry and let them eat as much as they wanted. I mean, that's what we do as older people. This seemed to work for us in the beginning. As time went on, the babies started to make their own "schedule." Sleeping came along with that revised schedule and the babies acted like they were full and nutritionally satisfied. Both began to sleep longer, especially through the night. Both were putting in 6-7 hours by 3-4 months. They are now 13 and 9 and both are healthy. The whole letting them cry was hard for me, as my nerves couldn't take it. I know I wouldn't want someone to hear my rantings if I were hungry.
Do the best you can and your baby will become more comfortable with her feedings. Maybe allow her to eat more. Are you supplementing her bottles with solid food yet? Keep in mind, this is just worked for me and I might be giving advice that isn't very PC...after all, it's been almost a decade for me.. :)
Good luck and I hope you get some much needed sleep.

C.

I will probably get hate mail for posting this, but both of my kids slept through the night at 6 weeks. On the other hand, my younger brother didn't sleep through the night until he was 5 years old (ugh). However, when my family went away for Christmas this year, my then 7 month old started waking up in the middle of the night again, for no apparant reason, except to annoy family. Whan we returned she got up again in the middle of the night for a couple of hours. That is when i decided that I was not going to encourage the habit. I put her down in her bed, said goodnight, and went back to my room to watch the clock. After 5 minutes, I went back, gave her her binky back, and walked out. I increased the time between visits and only had to do this 3-4 times until she was asleep. i had to do this for 3 nights in a row, and have never had any trouble with it since. I guess in my house, sleep is an expectation that we have always had for our children-not just for our own sake, (we are both day people), but for their sake as well. We felt that it was our job to help our kids develop good sleeping habits that they could carry into adult hood. I will let you know if it worked in about 15 years!

Hi E.! My name is T., and I am a mother of 2 boys, one who is 3, and an 8 month old. I had this problem with my first son, from the time he was born until he was about 8 months old he woke up in the middle of the night. When he was 8 months old he was waking up 2-3 times, I would fix him a bottle, and he went back to sleep, just to wake again a few hours later. Your pediatrician is right in the fact that at 7 months, your daughter does not need to eat, but crying it out was not an option for me either. What worked for me was, when I put him to sleep, I layed him in his crib (without a bottle), and sat with him. The first night he cried for a little while, but not for very long, every now and then I would pat his back or his belly, or run his hair for a second, just to let him know I was there, but I didn't sing, or talk, or anything. Then when he woke up in the middle of the night, I did the same thing, no bottle, just give her a little pat or a rub, and sit there with her. I don't remember how long my son cried for, maybe 10 or 15 minutes, then he fell back asleep. I think it took 2 or 3 nights of this before he was falling asleep on his own, and sleeping through the night. After he was sleeping through the night for a while, then I would lay him in his crib and sit outside of the door, if he cried, I came in, layed him down, pat his back, and left the room again. Eventually, all I had to do was lay him down, and he fell right asleep, and stayed asleep! I hope this helps, I actually got this sanity saving method off of a website, I will try and find it for you and send you the link if I can.

My son is 8 months old and still won't sleep through the night. He will finish a 8 oz bottle around 4 am. Sorry I don't have any suggestions for you. I just wanted you to know that you are not alone. She will sleep through the night when she is ready and there is not much you can do to change her mind.

E.,
Like you, I couldn't let my baby "cry it out". I found a great resource -- Kim West's Good Night, Sleep Tight" book will give you some great tips on training your daughter to sleep through the night. I used it with my daughter and then my son and they adapted really well (no or very few tears). It is a matter of training them gradually over a number of days. Kim also has a website www.sleeplady.com.

Good luck!
L.

E.,
I too, was having the same problem with my son at that age. I am not sure if you are breastfeeding her or formula feeding, but I have found that more satiating nutrients will make a VERY huge difference. I am not one who is comfortable with letting my kid cry himself to sleep when it is obvious they are hungry. If your daughter will suck down the whole 4 oz. try giving here more or even right before she goes to bed. The main reason a baby would be waking up in the middle of the night wanting a bottle or anything that will soothe that ache in their tummy, is probably because they are hungry. I still have bouts with this when my son goes through growth spurts. Don't be discouraged though, your daughter will sleep through the night, eventually. You need to do what feels comfortable with you and what satisfies your baby.

Good luck,
M.

Maybe you could try tapering off the amount you give her? Try only 3 oz, or 2. Maybe she'll decide it isn't worth waking up for.

Does she take a pacifier? Have you tried giving her that instead of the bottle?

I'm a first time mom so I can't say this works from personal exprience, but have you tried diluting her bottle overnight? I've heard several places that if you gradually decrease the overnight formula until it's just water, that more often than not, they will just give up on the idea and begin sleeping through that feeding. Good luck and I hope you get some more sleep soon.

C.

Awww, I definitely have empathy for your situation. Rather than try to throw out a summar answere to what can be a complicated problem, I would like to reccomend a couple books for you that have helped me.

First, Dr. Richard Ferber's lastest "Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems" is very useful. It especially helped me to understand what was going on with my baby and to understand my baby's behavior. Don't be dissuaded by negative connotations of "ferberizing" babies, that is not all this book or this Doctor is about. It also has sections specific for various problems, even those extending beyond infanthood into childhood. Even if you don't want to buy this, I would go to a library or bookstore and browse it.
( http://www.amazon.com/Solve-Your-Childs-Sleep-Problems/dp...)

Also, "The No-Cry Sleep Solution" is also very good, less technical, more touchy-feely, and guides you through a resolution "plan"
(http://www.amazon.com/No-Cry-Sleep-Solution-Gentle-Throug...)

I really try to keep in mind that my baby is new to this world and it is my job to help her establish good habits. A couple months ago, I felt like I was a prisoner to my baby's whims, now I have guided her into being able to sleep better and we are all happier. She is seven months now and sleeps from approximately 8 pm to 8:30 a.m. She is so happy and fun in the morning now that she finally sleeps! I always thought she was just perpetually in a bad mood, but it turns out she just was tired.

Goodluck!
R.

Are you nursing? If you are most breast fed babies will wake up more often because the breast milk digests faster and therefore leaves their little tummies empty. If you are just doing formula then it is probably more if a habit, but you can't break it over night. Her body has been accustomed to eating at that time so she is really feeling hunger pains. What you might try is work at pushing those times that she eats closer together. For example, if she wakes up at 12am and 3am, then try waiting a little bit after 12 to give her the food and gradually over time it will turn into only once a night and then hopefully none. I have a one year who just recently started sleeping throught the night with no food. and it just happened out of the blue. Things take time.
A little tip that I use for me amd my family is that the doctor's give advice based on the average kid. Not that yours isn't average but you spend everyday with your child not the doctor. They can really only give you suggestions. And try to trust your instincts, I know that is hard because I have a hard time doing it myself. It is frustrating not sleeping but hang in there, it will come. Good luck

HI. Sounds just like my son. I nursed him though and always was thinking maybe he wasn't getting enough milk, so I'd get up the 2 or 3 times. I didn't want to let him cry because we lived in a condo and I was afraid of waking the neighbors. It finally took my husband almost tying me down when my son was about the same age (maybe he was 8 months) in order to let him cry for 40 minutes. I felt like the worst child abuser ever. I was almost in tears. It was by the far the hardest thing to do, but also one of the best. My son has been sleeping thru the night (more often than not) ever since. He might wake periodically thru the night, but goes back to sleep after a minute or two of fussing. I hate advising to let your child cry as I found it so difficult, but if you can, it might be worth it...but don't do it if you're not comfortable with it...or try putting on ear phones when she starts to cry and let your husband go thru the crying if he can handle it.

Hi E.!
My son is now 8 months old... and we went through the same thing when he was 7 months. It was extremely hard for me to deal with, and at the time I had no idea what was going on. He hasn't been waking up to eat at night since November, so I know for a fact that he wasn't hungry. I brought him to the doctor, because I thought maybe he was sick. He wasn't, and she explained to me that this is the age where they start getting separation anxiety. And she was right! That night, I let him cry it out, and ever since he sleeps perfectly! Well, sometimes he'll wake up, but he'll only cry for about 5 minutes and he'll get himself back to sleep. I know it is so hard to do this... but I bought myself an mp3 player and loaded it with songs. That got me through the crying, because it breaks my heart to listen to him screaming.
I hope this helps!
Steph

Hi E.,
I have a 5 month old and he has been sleeping through the night since he was 4 months old. I will tell you what I have tried and it seemed to work. First, I read the book The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems. She gives great advice when us parents accidentally make mistakes and make habits. She will tell you step by step how to fix the habit. I have my son on a four hour schedule. So he eats, plays, sleeps, and then eats again. He eats at 7:00am, 11:00am, 3:00 pm, and 7:00pm. Then he starts to get a little sleepy. We start his nighttime routine around 7:30. I change his diaper, put him in his pj's, then read him a story. I put him in his crib and turn out the light and turn on our Twilight Turtle. He will stare up at the lights. He will eventually fall asleep. His next feed is at 10:00pm and he only gets 5 oz. unlike the other feeds where he gets 7/8 oz. He hardly wakes up for this feed. He is very sleepy and just opens his mouth. After, I don't even burp him. I just put him right back to the crib and leave. He has been able to sleep through the night. Sometimes I find if we(the parents) mess up during the day and get him to bed later then he might wake up at night but he can settle down himself. And if he doesn't I give him the pacifier. If you need anything else feel free to write. I really suggest the book. It really works.
Hope it works,
J.

Every baby is different, chances are feeding her at night is not harming her at all. And just be patient because my daughter did not sleep through the night consistantly until about 2 1/2 years old. Good Luck!!

E., you do need your sleep and so does she. Have you tried just cuddling her for a minute reassuring her you are there then laying her back down after the ten minutes? My Sister in law had this same issue with her 1year old and the Dr told her she was just spoiled. She tried just checking on her but not picking her up. She also gave her a comfort toy like a favorite stuffed animal or blanket. Good Luck. Hope you get your sleep soon.

I had the same issue with my daughter through about 10 months. At that time I asked my pediatrician about it and he recommended the Ferber method. It worked like a charm, but you have to be committed and diligent about implementing it. Basically you put your child in bed (of course after their typical bedtime routine) and at first give them maybe 5 minutes, then go back in and reassure them without picking them up. Then you increase the time to about 10 minutes the first night and no more than 15 – 20 minutes ever. If they wake up at night you do the same thing. The best way to understand the method completely, and to understand sleep patterns, is to get his book. It’s by Ferber, but I don’t remember the complete title. For me it took 3 nights to get her to go down without a fuss and sleep through the night. She has been going down no problem ever since and is now three. The first night it was fairly painful and took about 2.5 hours to get her to sleep, but the second night it was about and hour the third about 20 minutes and the fourth she went down without crying. If you do decide to do this, time it so no one is sick, you don’t have company, etc and you have the ability to maybe be a little extra tired a few days. I also used it with my son, but it never took more than 20 minutes to get him down, he’s now 15 months old. Good luck, and I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have.

In good rest,
G.