7 Month Old Won't Sleep! - Chicago,IL

Hi -

My son also around month 7-8 started waking up several times. I read it could be teeth and also separation anxiety. Sometimes all he needed was to see me and then I would lay him down again (NOT taking him out of his crib) and he would go right back to sleep. However the interruption of my sleep was very hard for me - even if it lasted a few minutes.

I read about the crying out method and was not entirely in agreement with it due to reading about children vomiting or losing breath of so much crying, as well as getting emotionally and physically exhausted and feeling abandoned.

I chose to do the "controlled crying" method instead which I felt was better and worked for me. I also understood that my son's crying was in protest and about adjusting to change.

Basically you lay them down and say goodnight and then walk out. They will probably start to cry in protest (and stand up) and you wait a few minutes and then go back in and quiet them down and lay them down again telling them it's time to sleep and that you are close by and everything is OK). You do NOT lift them out of their crib. Then you repeat the process everytime letting them cry 5 min more.

I was lucky that I only had to go back in 4-5 times and then he understood and went to sleep. It also lasted a only a few days and then he was sleeping through the night.

We only had to re-start this process after illness, teething or travel (jetlag) and again it only took 1-3 days.

My son actually now gets excited when it's "sleepy time" and takes great naps too.

Good luck and choose the method that works for you!!

most of the time, cry it out won't last as long as an hour as she will tire and then the next night will be shorter and then the next will either be shorter or she will fall asleep. I would also make sure she is getting good naps as they help her sleep at night. I know there are those that say cry it out somehow affects self esteem. Personally, I think that if you are very responsive to their needs and affectionate etc, letting them cry to get to sleep a few nights in a row will not harm a child and will help them get a very important thing that they and you need - sleep. good luck.

My little guy does this every time he's learning a new "trick". He hit a TON of milestones between 7-8 mos, and so really stopped sleeping through the night for awhile. He's back to it now that he's mastered what he's doing (crawling, standing...now walking at 9mos, etc...).

That's been his pattern. His sleep is in 3-4 hr shifts or so about a week before he hits his next milestone.
It was just that during that timeframe, he hit a BUNCH of them. :)

We didn't change anything or did any sleep training, and he went back to sleeping through again. Certainly up to you for what you decide, but at this stage, if he's waking up at night, there's a reason for it. Teething, activity, etc.. His little brain is processing new information and it takes them over for awhile.

Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. It can be a bit tedious to read, but worth thetime.
Good luck!

We did CIO with our son at 6 months and have zero regrets. No, he doesn't have a crushed self-esteem because of it either. In fact, once he started sleeping through the night, going to bed on his own, and taking regular naps we noticed a remarkable change. He was happier, more alert, and less cranky. He is now over the age of 2 and bedtime/naptime is an absolute delight. We put him down at night with a few of his books and he'll 'read' to himself for 10 minutes before falling asleep on his own. When he wakes up in the morning, if mommy and daddy aren't up yet (or if he wakes up super early) he'll entertain himself in his crib with his stuffed animals or books. Knowing that I helped him sleep was so totally empowering.

We also loved Weissbluth's techniques and when we decided to implement them, we followed the book exactly as things were outlined. I decided on a Friday that, enough was enough, and that my baby needed to sleep better. He was a cranky mess all of the time and I knew the lack of sleep was a huge contributing factor. Over the weekend, I mentally prepared myself for the task ahead, thinking that it could be a week of really hard work and agony but that it would be worth it because my son would get the sleep he desperately needed. My husband was on board, too, and was a great source of support.

Monday night came and we did the usual routine and put him in his crib. He cried for 45 minutes. I wanted to go check on him but I knew that he was not sick and not in pain. He just didn't know what to do because *I* had always done it for him. I won't lie - it was hard, but the crying did stop after 45 minutes. I tip-toed upstairs and there he was, fast asleep.

Tuesday night I braced myself for another 45 minute session. Again, when we put him in the crib he started to cry. Watching the clock, we noticed that this time the crying was 15 minutes. Still difficult to listen to but better than 45.

Wednesday night we put him in the crib and he cried for 2 minutes. I was stunned. I tip-toed upstairs to make sure nothing was wrong. I peeked my head in to see him and there he was, fast asleep. I could not believe it!

He did have moments where he would wake up in the middle of the night (or too early in the morning...like 4:30) and cry. Again, following the techniques in the book, we did not go to him. Of course, you know your child's cries and can ascertain the difference between the 'want' cries and the I'm hurt 'need' cries. The crying never lasted long and he went back to sleep.

Good luck to you and give it a try. Make sure you are consistent and patient, and allow some time for the process to work. Happy sleeping to you and your family!

She could be teething or having ear infections. Or is gassy from what ever she eats. Is she on solids or still bottle or breast fed? Then sometimes even if the amount seems good they might not be full. Baby cereal is good. And she might just miss you. It is hard to let them cry it out. There's all sorts of books out there but that is your child. You are exhausted so whatever way works for you to get her sleeping may go against all those professional books. For example they may tell you not to feed her ten minutes before you watch your favorite Soap opera. Point is while they mean well, every professional that writes a book is not there to parent your child. So if you are seriously concerned and don't want to wait out the recommended 58 minutes or whatever don't, pick up your baby and love her. If Weissbluth wants to come over and help you let him of course. You are doing fine. Trust your gut instincts with your beautiful baby.

Call Weissbluth - ###-###-####. He is a MIRACLE worker and you will thank me within 48 hours of doing what he says.

Have you checked if she is teething? My daughter did this for a couple of weeks when her teeth came in.