Haven't Slept in 7 Months

This to shall pass! And what is wrong with talking a nap if you can take avantage of it when the 7 month old naps. Believe me when i say it changes now my girls get on the last nerves i have because they can walk talk and even tell on one another so enjoy the three hour breaks. What i had done was to to keep the lights down when she woke during the evening nursed her and then put back to sleep wright away. I had read that if you make it night time with little or now stimul that the baby will adjust alot quicker to sleeping longer period of time. Just think when there teenager they stay up all night and sleep during the day when you want them awake.

Hi S.,
My little one who is almost 8 months old does the same thing. He sleeps 3 to 4 hours in a row, wakes up and either nurses or needs to be rocked back to sleep. It is very draining, isn't it? My husband and I split the night parenting duties so I can actually get more than 3 hours in a row sometimes. Of course, that makes both of us pretty tired on most days. Go ahead and take the nap that you need whenever you can do it. Sorry I don't have more to offer other than the consolation that you are not alone.
-S.

I can give you the unconventional ways.....:
1. (old wives tail) flip her 3 times counter clock wise to undo her internal clock
2. try 1/4 teaspoon childrens benedril (or call doctor to find out right dose for weight) - maybe doing 2-3 days will get her clock on target
3. try keeping her awake during the day - you might have to listen to her cry some because she will get mad but she is probably sleeping too much durning the day so she is rev'ed up for night.....
4. is she teething? My son started teething at 3months... even though the teeth didn't show up til about 8 months.
my doctor told me you can rub childrens benedril on the gums and it works better then oragel.... I never tried it though...
also teethers work too - my son is not a thumb sucker or pacifier chewer either... also my 3yo daughter sleeps in the same room until we move....
good luck and call your doctor if you choose the benedril!
S. B

I lucked out with my last two boys, they were instant sleepers. My first was terrible, I too tried everything. I thought I was missing something since he was my first, and spent many days and nights frustrated and exhausted. I used the Dr. Brown's bottle (if you are using formula) and that helped cut down on the gas. Also I put a radio in his room and played a Worship CD and let him cry it out. Before bedtime, I tried to keep everything quiet in the house, low lights, and voices, not churchlike, but subdued. I would give him a lavender bath (courtesy of Johnson's) and put him in his crib. Before long he was sleeping like an angel. Now at six he still somewhat gives me a hard time at bed time, so there is something to say about their personalities. I also had a friend that would always use a fan, as a source of "white noise" to drown out the sounds of the house and that worked amazingly. I would laugh as she carted the fan around, but when you find something that works you stick to it.

Also, for yourself in the morning did you try preparing your other child's things for school the night before? I get my son's clothes around and we decide what he is going to have for breakfast, pack or eat at school. He knows that if he drags his butt in the morning he is going to have toast on the way to the bus stop (breakfast is provided at his school) and he can eat at school.

Your rest is #1 and it is something that us mom's usually don't get enough of. Try to steal a few minutes of good rest as you can, you will feel better and your family will appreciate it, too. I try to have my husband do the bedtime routine at least once a week so that I can turn in early and it does wonders for us all. Hang in there...

I found that if I fed my boys right before bed they would sleep longer. It's something about having a full belly so they don't need to eat during the night and in turn sleep longer. They only time this didn't work for me was when they were teething. Another thought is that she's been doing this for so long, she may think this is the schedule. I know it's hard, but let her cry it out. If she's full and her diapers clean, she's fine. It will take a little bit, but once she realizes your not going to get her. It should stop.
Good Luck

The No Cry Sleep Solution book is pretty good. I also like Dr. Sears Baby Sleep Book.

Have you tried swaddling? Do you wear her during the day? Have you tried cosleeping? If you don't want her directly in the bed you could sidecar the crib.

Hi S.. I'm sorry to hear about your sleep deprivation. Unfortunately I don't have any advice to give you but wanted to let you know that I'm in the same boat as you. My 1 year old boy does not sleep for more than 3 hours, either. I also tried many things but nothing works. He usually goes back to sleep when I nurse him, but sometimes, he just can't go back to sleep and takes hours to get back to bed. I just keep hoping that one day, he will sleep a longer stretch, and all by himself!!! ( I co-sleep with him now) Good luck, S.!
T.

Hi S.. My first ? is how does she sleep during the day?
Try to keep her busy during the day so if she sleeps alot during the day keep her awake as much as possible especially towards the evening. a baby that sleeps too much during the day is usually up most of the night, to me it sounds like she has her days and nights mixed up...
make shure her belly is nice and full before she goes to bed at night.. I dont know what you feed her. but try to give her a bowl of baby oatmeal with a bottle at her last feeding.. it may work or it may not.
I put a fan in my girls rooms and keep them on at night for white noise..that helps alot...make shure you turn the fan away from her though so she dont get cold. I got one of the little table top fans put on the dresser backwords on hi.. it is a soothing noise to babies.
If you have a chance to take a nap in the day, TAKE IT!!

Hi S.,
I can relate to your situation. I have a 10 month old girl who doesn't sleep through the night yet. It's alway something...teething, sick, coughing, constipation...
Something that has helped us lately, is to have your husband go in and re-settle her for you. She might cry for a little while, but she just might go back to bed at least one of those feedings at night. At this stage in the game, she is not really hungry...she just likes that fullness in her belly to sleep. Also, try stretching her 4 hours. It will help her start to sleep longer stretches. If you have any other questions, you can message me. I hope this helps a little...and Take a nap! This won't last forever. You need to be rested.

I have a 7 month old son, too. Basically, after talking it over with his pediatrician, and also a special "Healthy Start" nurse that tracks his develop, and reading many articles on the subject, this is what worked for us.
Let her cry. You will feel like the most horrible mother in the world (I cried so much the first night along with my son) but just do it. At seven months, your daughter does not need to be eating during the night--I let my son get up once at 4 a.m. to nurse, because I don't want him to stop breastfeeding and I feel he needs that extra feeding to stop him from weaning himself, but lately he's even been sleeping through that. The first few nights, turn down the baby monitor and let your daughter cry (although I'll admit, we were lucky; my son never made himself sick, and only cried for 50 minutes the first night a few months ago, and has never cried as long since then. The first night, he was up every hour or so crying, but the second night was so much better, and by the third night, he was only getting up twice a night, and this was when he was 4 months old.)
The first night, let her cry as much as she wants, and she will cry herself to sleep. Pretty soon she will figure out that you're not coming in and will learn to put herself back to sleep when she wakes up during the night. I swear, you'll feel terrible, but it worked for me, and it's really good for the baby in the long run because she needs to learn how to self-soothe. Good luck!