Not Sleeping All Night at 7 Months Old

It's a hard time to get through. I have two healthy boys, 12 and 5. The 12 year old FINALLY slept through the night on his own when he was 2. The five year old also when he was 2. You may have a few years of this....three times a night, then down to two, then one......then by the time he's 15......who knows? As long as the doctor says he's fine.....growing, eating, wetting and soiling his pants, and developmentally doing well....you should be good to go. Everything seems really difficult until they can tell you what's wrong. Then it never stops. :) Best wishes and congratulations!

My 7 month old is doing the same thing. He used to sleep from 9:00PM until 6:00 AM. Now he goes to bed about 10:00 PM and wakes at 4:30 PM. I nurse him even though I'm not sure he needs it. I assumed he was going through a growth spurt. If he wakes before 3:00 I don't feed him. Last night he woke at 2:30. I let him cry for a little while because often at that time he can get himself back to sleep. Last night he worked himself to a full out cry instead of a whiny cry, so I got up and rocked him back to sleep. I expected he'd be up again at 4:30, but no, he slept until 7:30. This told me that he really doesn't need to be eating at 4:30. I think that if I stop feeding him during the night he might not wake with that expectation and fall back asleep on his own eventually, but I think it is important to help him back to sleep if he cries hard. I think too that their bodies get into a rhythm of waking at certain times, and we need to help them get back into a better pattern. Before my son started sleeping through the night he was still waking every 2 hours at 5 months old. That's when I stopped feeding him before 3:00 and it seemed to work, so I'll probably change the time to 5:00 and see how it goes. Good luck to you. When you're awake at night at least you'll know that you're not the only one, and your baby can get back to sleeping through the night.

My son did the same. He started sleeping through the night at 6 months, then my milk supply really dropped and I started nursing him at night to try to help boost it again. He is nine months now and we are slowly weening him from nursing at night. I was doing it 3-5 times a night each time he woke up! We bought the Dr Ferber sleep disorder book and it has advice on different sleep problems with children and how to slowly ween them so that they can fall asleep on their own and stay asleep. So far so good. I have noticed a difference in only three days! The most important thing I learned from the book is that whatever the child uses to fall alseep (boob, soothie, rocking, etc, if they wake up during the night and that element is missing, they will fully wake up. So it is important for them to learn to fall asleep without those things. Just like we wake up in the middle of the night and re-adjust, they do it too. Just think if you woke up and your pillow that you went to sleep with was missing or if you fell asleep in bed and woke up in the bathtub, you would be like "what the -" and fully wake up. The surroundings that they fall asleep with need to be the same. And the sleep times and schedules are very important too. Good luck!

First be sure he doesn't have an ear infection because illness is a big cause of those, especially colds.
Then I would make sure he's getting a good meal right before bed and then let him cry it out until he learns how to self sooth. At 6 months kids can sleep through the night without eating but won't do it until they have to.
I ran to my oldest every time she made a noise and she's 5 now and is still not a good sleeper. I learned from that and the others sleep great because they learned that it was sleeping time and not eating or visiting Mommy time.
It's harder on you than him to hear the crying but he'll get used to it and learn to sleep through the night again.
Best Wishes,
J.
Mom to 4 and soon one more through another adoption.

Wow! What a lot of stressful things for a baby to go through. We sometimes don't realize that any change in the routine can upset little ones. Once things get back into a routine and he is feeling secure he will probably settle down and sleep.

Good luck!

D.
Your boy is hungry. If he not on solids at 7 months is waking up with hunger pains. He is pissed off at the world because he devasted during the day because he is hungry. Sometimes new mother do not relize especially when they are breast feeding that if you dont eat a well rounded small nutricious meals 6 times aday your milk supply is depleated of the fats that is need to make the breastfeeding baby full. It is so important to get the baby started on semisolid foods to start such as Rice cereal, formula, banana, pear, Your boy should be eating. Breast feed him first and then give him some food along with supplementing him with formula until HE is FULL. Do NOT Over feed him. He will let you know when he is full, he will spit the food back out. This will allow him to sleep all night and he wont wake up being pissed at the world. And better yet you will get a good nights sleep too and both of you will have a pleasent day each day. Good Luck! KM

When my son was around this age he too went through his first big bout of illness and his night swent out the window. Now, I now I may be the minority, but we are big fans of letting them cry it out. Yes it is a painful process, but much quicker and it does work. Now this doesn't mean we just left him to his own defenses, we made sure he was "okay" before we let him figure it out, and we did check him, but he did start sleeping again.

your son has gone through a lot the last month, so it is not surprising he's having troubles. It could be teeth, but I bet it's all the other stuff. Just keep on routine, and be consistent and he will get it back!

I would say he is teething too...check way in back for those molars...even at 7 mos...he just might be starting th first year molar process....our went out then back in for what seemed like almost 4 months before they finally stayed through the skin...nighttime teething gel should do the trick...

Its pretty normal for a 7 month old to not be sleeping through the night even if he did at one point. My 16 month old still only does it a couple of nights a week and those nights are a brand new thing. If you really want to try something to make him STTN, I would suggest the No Cry Sleep Solution (you can get it at most libraries or book stores).

As far as a previous responder and him being hungry, that might not be the case. My son has always been a big eater and still wakes at night. Some babies just don't sleep as well as others. I am sure you know as a breastfeeding mother not to supplement with formula especially once he is on solids, it will only decrease your supply and hurt your breastfeeding relationship.

I will first state my opinion - I do NOT like cry it out. I believe it is harmful to the child and teaches the child that the parents will not come if there is a problem but only when they feel it's "time". I believe it's dangerous all the way around and NEVER advocate that to any parent ever. That being said, most 7 month olds don't sleep through the night. This little guy has had a ton of stuff going on in his life. Would an adult be expected to just shurg it off and act like normal? No. We'd probably be up lots too. He's no different. He's been sick. You've had issues with supply. You've been traveling - new surroundings. He's had a lot to deal with in a very short time frame. Don't expect him to act like normal. Give him time and realize that he will sleep when his little body tells him to. Out of my 4 children, I had 1 that slept at 7 months. 1 out of 4. All 4 are totally normal and each has taught me that they all do sleep. Relax. Take a nap during the day if you need to to make up for the night waking. He is only little once. Teach him to listen to his body and relax when he seems tired. Don't turn on lights when he wakes at night. Keep things dark and calm. Snuggle him and let him know things are ok and you are there to help him deal with the world. Maybe it's teething or maybe he's just not done fighting illness. Either way, he needs his mom to comfort him and let him know that the world is right again. Doesn't that make adults feel better? Put yourself in his shoes and treat him accordingly. After all, he is a short adult.

Dear D.,

I can totally sypmathize! My son was very much the same way. He didn't sleep through the night consistantly until he was almost 2 years old. His problem was that he'd get a cold and wake up in the middle of the night needing to be comforted, or wanting his pacifier that he lost, or just because he couldn't breath well. Once the cold was gone, he was still waking up during the night. By the time he broke what I think of as a habit, he'd get another cold and the process would start all over again. I don't know that I have any advice really, but trust me when I say, you are not alone! The only thing I can really think of is that if you don't already have a routine in place, to establish one and stick to it as much as possible...maybe that would help break the 'habit' - if that's what it is. Another thing you could try is giving him rice or cereal before bedtime, too. Maybe he's waking up hungry and the breast milk and bottle just aren't enough. Good luck!! I'm sure it'll pass soon.

Hello D., I too have a seven mon old baby. The grouchiness might be the teething because I had the same problem too. Its hard to see if your bundle of joy is sprouting a tooth/teeth but its growing. What I helped me is taking him a bath at night and playing with him just to tire him out buy 10 he is asleep and will not wake till 430 or 5am.
Hope this works

Has he teethed yet? IT could be that. We've been going through similar issues with our 8 month old. He was sick and teething...then got an ear infection..then was better for 2 weeks, then got the flu....and he's teething again.

His sleep hasn't been as good as normal with all that going on.

Also, has he hit any milestones lately (crawling ect). Milestones like that also are known to affect sleep.

your story is so familiar to me. My now 11 1/2 month old slept through the night from the time she was 8 weeks old up until she was about 7 months. all of the sudden she started to wake 1, 2, sometimes 3 times a night... at first we chalked it up to a growth spurt, then the possibility of teeth, for a while we would give her a bottle of either formula or juice, she would go back to sleep and then wake again later. Finally we made the decision one friday night wen we didn't have to work the next day to let her cry it out. She kicked and screamed so hard that I was laying in bed crying too, but since then she has been sleeping through the night again. I know it is not the most friendly advice to hear, but I think that sometimes they wake up once and you feed them, and from then on it becomes a habbit to want to eat. Also, in my situation we had recently weened her from the pacifier, so she was trying to use me instead, not sure if that might play a part in your situation. I feel your pain.

Been there, done that! It's not unusual for kids to get off their routine when ill or traveling, and sometimes that "off" can last quite awhile. Could be teeth, growth spurt, fatigue - probably all of the above, so hang in there. My youngest (16 mos) is just now sleeping through the night consistently, but if he naps too late in the day, soaks his diaper too early into his sleep cycle, or his tummy isn't totally full, he'll wake in the night. I bring him to bed with me (works every time) and swaddle him there, since he loves to snuggle. We use pacifiers liberally, too, and I pray over him when he's really having a hard time. Love and patience, that's the trick.

SAHM of seven, 23 yrs-16 mos. They're tons of work, but I wouldn't want any other job!

When you give a baby a bottle after nursing her, it prevents your body from producing that extra amount that she requires. If she needs more, continue to let her nurse and your body will produce more in short while.

If it makes you feel better, my baby is 16 months old and does not sleep through the night. Some babies start to sleep through the night and then begin waking more frequently again. It really fluctuates based on quite a number of factors. If you want to create healthy sleep, you can wait for it to happen on its own (with a bedtime routine, your baby eventually will sleep through the night without CIO), or you could help to encourage it. I recommend a book called "The No-Cry Sleep Solution." There are two of these- make sure to get the one for babies.

Hi D.,
We had sleep problems with our daughter from 7 months to 13 months. For us, I think it was related to when the teething started because that was when she stopped sucking on her two middle fingers to self soothe. (prior to 7 months, this was our life saver). Even if you can't see anything, there might be something brewing deep in the gums. What got us through (I called it "survivor mode") was to bring her in our bed at the first wake up call. I gave up trying to put her back in the crib in the middle of the night during this time. As long as she started the night out in her crib, my husband and I could still have our time together in the evening. Then from about 2am until 7am, she would sleep in between us. Finally at 13 months, I was only nursing at nighttime and had dropped all other nursing sessions. This helped tremendously because she looked forward to the nighttime routine, knowing that it was her only time to nurse. She is now almost 2 years old (done nursing) and goes down and stays down all night. It was a rough time for us, but we kept telling one another that it was temporary.. and thankfully that was true.

Angie

Hi D. ! When my baby was about your baby's age she suddenly started waking up every 2 1/2 hours like she did when she was eating. I think she was sitting up and didn't know how to lie back down. I would go into her room every time she cried for more than 10 minutes and would lie her back down on her side, give her a pacifier, and pat her back until she went back to sleep. Usually it took about 10 minutes. I did this every 2 1/2 hours for one night, then she started sleeping through the night.

I hope I helped !

It's not necessarily that he is hungry. Don't hurry to introduce solids, especially if there is any history of food allergies in your family. we have a strong history of that, so I wait until almost 1 yr for solids. He may just be overwhelmed with all the traveling, sickness, etc. lately, & will eventually settle down again once back into a regular routine for awhile. Could be teeth, even if you don't see anything; they shift around & cause internal inflammation for awhile sometimes before they actually erupt. Could be growth spurt, emotional changes, or gas pains from the formula. Try different things, but often if you wait it out, things improve for no apparent reason! Raising kids is an art, not a science!

Hi D.,

I'm so sorry you've having a rough time with sleep. 7 months usually is a big growth time, he might also be in the process of getting those two bottom middle teeth, and unfortunately it often is one of those times in a baby's life when they have more trouble sleeping. What I would suggest trying is avoiding the bottle after nursing. That sounds like too much, and maybe he's waking up with a tummy ache. Has your doctor suggested giving him some rice cereal yet? If you're worried that he's not full--and he probably is, sometimes it's hard for us to tell as nursing moms--you might consider giving him some cereal mixed with your breast milk or formula for a late morning meal.

Good luck!

S.

Have you tried a sleep sack? That may keep him more "bundled" and secure at night. Other than that, you may have to let him cry it out. The first night is always the hardest- but it will get easier after that!

Might be a normal stage. In the middle of the night try a pacifier and if that does not work then nurse. For swaddling, have you tried the sleeper blankets - they zip up around them. My 6 month old is still up once or twice - kind of depends on the night. Try not to pick him up. You could also nurse for less time, cut out the bottle... It's probably a lot of habit.