Geting a 4 1/2 Month Old to Sleep More During Night

co-sleeping with your child IS HEALTHY, scientifically speaking. Do it for as long as you or your child like. Although, if you think that 5 months is right, that is what you need to do. I have posted links below the article about co-sleeping and transitioning into a bed.

Scientific Benefits of Co-sleeping
Popular media has tried to discourage parents from sharing sleep with their babies, calling this worldwide practice unsafe. Medical science, however, doesn’t back this conclusion. In fact, research shows that co-sleeping is actually safer than sleeping alone. Here is what science says about sleeping with your baby:

Sleep more peacefully
Research shows that co-sleeping infants virtually never startle during sleep and rarely cry during the night, compared to solo sleepers who startle repeatedly throughout the night and spend 4 times the number of minutes crying 1. Startling and crying releases adrenaline, which increases heart rate and blood pressure, interferes with restful sleep and leads to long term sleep anxiety.

Stable physiology
Studies show that infants who sleep near to parents have more stable temperatures 2, regular heart rhythms, and fewer long pauses in breathing compared to babies who sleep alone 3. This means baby sleeps physiologically safer.

Decreases risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
Worldwide research shows that the SIDS rate is lowest (and even unheard of) in countries where co-sleeping is the norm, rather than the exception 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. Babies who sleep either in or next to their parents’ bed have a fourfold decrease in the chance of SIDS 10. Co-sleeping babies actually spend more time sleeping on their back or side 1 which decreases the risk of SIDS. Further research shows that the carbon dioxide exhaled by a parent actually works to stimulate baby’s breathing 11.

Long term emotional health
Co-sleeping babies grow up with a higher self-esteem, less anxiety, become independent sooner, are better behaved in school 12, and are more comfortable with affection 13. They also have less psychiatric problems 14.

Safer than crib sleeping
The Consumer Product Safety Commission published data that described infant fatalities in adult beds. These same data, however, showed more than 3 times as many crib related infant fatalities compared to adult bed accidents 15. Another recent large study concluded that bed sharing did NOT increase the risk of SIDS, unless the mom was a smoker or abused alcohol 16.

(FOOTNOTES BELOW after my signature, if you are interested in the books)

Please feel free to visit these links for more info

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/10/handout1.asp

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/10/t130500.asp

http://www.askdrsears.com/faq/sl20.asp

Stay healthy and aware,
P.

1. McKenna, J., et al, "Experimental studies of infant-parent co-sleeping: Mutual physiological and behavioral influences and their relevance to SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome)." Early Human Development 38 (1994)187-201.
2. C. Richard et al., “Sleeping Position, Orientation, and Proximity in Bedsharing Infants and Mothers,” Sleep 19 (1996): 667-684.
3. Touch in Early Development, T. Field, ed. (Mahway, New Jersey: Lawrence Earlbaum and Assoc., 1995).
4. “SIDS Global Task Force Child Care Study” E.A.S. Nelson et al., Early Human Development 62 (2001): 43-55
5. A. H. Sankaran et al., “Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and Infant Care Practices in Saskatchewan, Canada,” Program and Abstracts, Sixth SIDS International Conference, Auckland, New Zealand, February 8-11, 2000.
6. D. P. Davies, “Cot Death In Hong Kong: A Rare Problem?” The Lancet 2 (1985): 1346-1348.
7. N. P. Lee et al., “Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in Hong Kong: Confirmation of Low Incidence,” British Medical Journal 298 (1999): 72.
8. S. Fukai and F. Hiroshi, “1999 Annual Report, Japan SIDS Family Association,” Sixth SIDS International Conference, Auckland, New Zealand, 2000.
9. E. A. S. Nelson et al., “International Child Care Practice Study: Infant Sleeping Environment,” Early Human Development 62 (2001): 43-55.
10. P. S. Blair, P. J. Fleming, D. Bensley, et al., “Where Should Babies Sleep – Along or With Parents? Factors Influencing the Risk Of SIDS in the CESDI Study,” British Medical Journal 319 (1999): 1457-1462.
11. SIDS book, page 227, #162
12. P. Heron, “Non-Reactive Cosleeping and Child Behavior: Getting a Good Night’s Sleep All Night, Every Night,” Master’s thesis, Department of Psychology, University of Bristol, 1994.
13. M. Crawford, “Parenting Practices in the Basque Country: Implications of Infant and Childhood Sleeping Location for Personality Development” Ethos 22, no 1 (1994): 42-82.
14. J. F. Forbes et al., “The Cosleeping Habits of Military Children,” Military Medicine 157 (1992): 196-200.
15. D. A. Drago and A. L. Dannenberg, “Infant Mechanical Suffocation Deaths in the United States, 1980-1997,” Pediatrics 103, no. 5 (1999): e59.
16. R. G. Carpenter et al., “Sudden Unexplained Infant Death in 20 Regions in Europe: Case Control Study,” Lancet 2004; 363: 185-191.

Hi. It is very tough but you have to place your daughter back in the bassinet after you see that she is asleep. You don't want to end up on the couch every night. She will start sleeping through the night soon--let's hope. You sound like a great mom who is concerned about her kids and husband.

My now 7 month old son starting having the same problem at the same age. You should start some type of sleep training sooner rather than later, and be sure that your daughter is napping well during the day. You really should not sleep with her on the couch as that is dangerous, unless you means that you are on the couch and she is in the bassinet next to you. I sometimes let my son sleep with me in the early morning if we want to sleep a little later, but I think the best practice is to make your daughter get through the night in her own crib or bassinet, even if it is next to you.

I also can't tell from your question if you are falling in the trap of feeding her too often in the night. At this point, she should only need 1 true night feeding so if she wakes up more often than that, try soothing or a pacifier instead of a bottle. My doctor suggested that at 6 months, my son should be able to go 6-8 hours without feeding at night. Your daughter might not make it to 8 hours, but she should definitely be able to go 5-6 hours. If you feed more often, you will add to the problem. (I fell in this trap myself.) Good naps and an earlier bedtime might be just the solution you need. Also, buy a sleep training book. Healthy Sleep Habits or No Cry Sleep Solution, depending on your preference.

I think you have to decide what works for your family and life style. Whatever you decide, This is the age to set sleeping limits. It is much easier to deal with it at this age, than at 10 months or 1 year. Babies that age take about three days to get used to the habit of anything, so a long weekend would not disturb your husband or your 8 year old. A good sleeping habit makes for a much happier baby and parents. I have a 2 year old who has been sleeping great since 4/5 months. I read dr. Ferber's book, and though decided not to do it the same exact way, I did use it as guideline.

Hi,

I'm a mom of a 10 year old boy and a set of 6 year old twin girls. My son was the same way , he slept wonderful as long as it was with me. It's all about your smell and heart beat. So I purchased a heartbeat bear and started putting the shirt I wore all day in bed with him , so he would have the smell of me. Or you can sleep with a small blanket and use that. He started sleepng through the night. let me know if it works.

There are safe and respectful ideas in Nighttime Parenting or a book called No Cry Sleep Solutions.
They grow up fast so enjoy snuggling your little ones!!
H.

NOTE: The Ferber ideas are UNSAFE and not endorsed by the AAP.

Congrats on both of your girls! I have a 3 1/2 month old daughter and a 2 year old daughter myself.

I got both my girls to sleep through the night early on. The 3 month old still sleeps in our room, my 2 year old until 5 months. I'm not sure if I'm lucky or the tips I got worked. I would try a pacifier. Some people are dead set against it but I find it helps soothe an extra suckling need and helps soothe my baby back to sleep in the middle of the night. If you hear your baby fuss in the night don't respond right away (or pick her up), she might be able to fall back asleep on her own, unless she starts full blown crying. Last tip, don't change her unless she's got a poop or she's drenched.

I hope this helps and you get more sleep. I don't miss the nights of breastfeeding on auto pilot. It might take a bit, but before you know it she'll be sleeping a straight 8 hours. Good luck!

Dr. Ferber's book. I think it was How To Put Your Child to Sleep? It was a life saving recommendation from my sister-in-law. Both of my children, the youngest is 6 months, have been sleeping 10-12 hours since they were 6 weeks old. I am not sure if my results are common, I am still nursing, and I know that breastfed babies don't usually sleep through the night as easily as formula babies. I have to say, I owe it all to Dr. Ferber. It was a bit difficult with my first, but I realize the health benefits to our whole family now that our children sleep through the night and can sooth themselves back to sleep by themselves. My 5 year old slept just fine through the new baby learning to sleep. I thought he was a light sleeper but he just got used to that noise for the short time my newborn was learning how to fall back to sleep. I know there are benefits to a family bed or co-sleeping, but everyone I know that has created the family bed has regretted it and it seems to have hurt their marriage. I hope this helps.

at the time of my fourth pregnancy I was taught about scheduling my babies day. Naping and feeding help set a babies time clock and teach them to put themselves back to sleep. This helps them go back to sleep at night when they wake up, with out parental help. I used this with all the rest of my babies, including my twins, and they all were sleeping an 8 hour night by 8 weeks. I will say that with my twins they were not doing as well as my other child did and I figured out that I was giving them their pacifiers during their naps because I was worried about them waking up the other twin. When I quit messing with them during their naps they too got right on schedule with my other child. I have 8 children and the scheduling took the chaos out of having a baby in the house. It was a life saver for me.(My first child didn't sleep through the night til she was 9 months.) The people who wrote the material I was taught was Gary and Marie Ezzo. They have a book called "Baby Wise" that teaches the scheduling and the reasons for it. Hope this will be as much a help to you as it was to me. If you can't find the book let me know and I will get you the basics.