Please Help Us with Our Babys Sleeping Habits!

Get the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. Great book on how important sleep is and how to accomplish it with our kids. Lots of information to absorb but great book.

I think at five months, it is pretty normal to wake up every 3-4 hours. My baby still wakes up at night and he is 14 months old. He wakes up about 2 hours after he goes to bed and then about 6 hours later again. He only naps once or twice a day for an hour at most and he seems to be getting enough sleep.Trust your instincts. If he is healthy and is in a good mood and is growing properly, he is probably getting enough sleep.

I feel your pain, L.! I HIGHLY recommend getting the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. It is a great sleep guide. The key is to get him back to sleep before he becomes overtired. Here's an average sleep schedule for that age according to Dr. Weissbluth: wake up at about 7am, morning nap by 9am, early afternoon nap around 12pm, a possible quick late afternoon nap at around 3pm and bedtime at 6pm. Until about 8 months old, 1 to 2 night wakings to eat is normal and Dr. Weissbluth doesn't discourage as long as he is eating a decent about and goes right back to sleep. I swear by this book! I used it as my sleep "bible" with my colicky daughter (will be 4 in July) and she still goes to sleep at night by 6:30pm and sleeps about 12 hours without waking. People, including my sister-in-law who is a 1st grade teacher with a 5yr old and a 2 yr old, are amazed at far ahead developmentally she is. She reads and can write her name and the alphabet. I feels it has alot to do with the type of sleep she gets. Sure, it cramps our life sometimes, but I get a great night's sleep and have a child who rarely throws a fit. She will now tell me she is ready to go to bed as she is tired. Email me is you want more info. The success I have had with Dr. Weissbluth's book has made me contemplate becoming a sleep coach for exhausted parents.
Sincerely,
L.

I REMEMBER WHEN MY SON WAS A BABY & HE WAS CONSTANTLY GOING THROUGH FORMULA & MY MOM SAID "PUT A LITTLE RICE CEREAL" IN HIS BOTTLE & WARM. JUST ENOUGH TO THICKEN THE BOTTLE. MY SON SLEPT FOR HOURS. THERE ARE SOME BABIES WHO REQUIRE SUBSTANCE @ AN EARLY AGE. DOCTORS DO NOT BELIEVE IN CEREAL IN BOTTLES BUT TRUST ME, MY SON IS NOW 26 YEARS OLD & EXTREMELY HEALTHY. I HAVE RECOMENDED THIS TO NUMEROUS FRIENDS & THEIR BABIES ARE JUST FINE & HAPPY. SO ARE THEY SINCE THEY SLEEP A LITTLE LONGER. :<) FEEL FREE TO E-MAIL ME.

BLESSINGS,
A. M
____@____.com

I had a similar situation with my son taking short naps. I found the book The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems and incorporated the sleeping and eating routine. He was sleeping through the night within a few days as well as sleeping better during the day. The book talks about various sleep issues and how to address them as well as feeding issues. She recommends a "dream feed" where you feed your baby without waking him at around 10-11 pm after putting him to bed around 7-8 pm. All of this worked with my 2nd, too.
Best of luck whatever you try,
C.

Does your son suck on pacifiers? My sons do and I learned this trick from a relative: I gave my sons the pacifier when they wake up in the middle of the night and they usually go back to sleep right away, unless when they are hungry or not feeling well. My older son took on the pacifier when he was a few weeks old, but my younger one didn't use it until after he turned 4 months old. So if your son hasn't used the pacifier yet, perhaps it's not too late. However, I heard it probably will be too late after they turn 6 months old.
Obviously there are pros and cons using the pacifiers. Once I know the pacifiers work on them, I usually only use them when my sons are very fuzzy and need to go to bed. I generally take them away once they feel asleep. I weaned off my older son from the pacifiers when he turned 2 (I probably could have done it a bit sooner, but we were moving and had a few big trips out of the countries. The pacifiers helped ease his emotions). Weaning off wasn't difficult for him.

Hi L.,

I see that a lot of people have responded to your your question about sleeping through the night, so I'll leave that alone. I did want to share something that the nurse who ran my new parents support group told me about naps. If your child naps for just 20 minutes that means that's how long his sleep cycle is. Some kids sleep cycles are shorter and some are longer. We all come partially awake when our sleep cycle ends, but as we get older we learn to go back into REM sleep without fully coming awake after our sleep cycle ends. And as we get older, our sleep cycle lengthens. There are tricks that you can try to extend your baby's sleep cycle, but it's an interesting tid bit to know before you get too upset about his short naps.

Hi L.,

I suggest you invest in The Baby Book by Dr. Sears. This will get you all the way through the toddler years on all kinds of issues including sleep. There is nothing wrong with your baby at all! He is doing what works for him. Many parents want their baby to do what is best for them (the parents) and get on a rigid schedule. Won't happen and isn't healthy for the baby. Dr. Sears gives a lot of great advice on how to "wind babies down" and get them into a sleep mode that will promote longer, deeper sleep without "forcing" them into a routine that goes against their body's natural rhythms. As for your son's dining habits...as long as he is gaining weight and is healthy overall, then you are doing everything right. Dr. Sears also has several chapters devoted to feeding (both breatmilk and formula) that you would find informative. Good luck!

do you nurse your baby to sleep? that could be why he wakes up so soon after going down. if so, try nursing before nap but then putting him down drowsy but awake. it may take a little while for him to learn how to fall asleep without nursing, but it will help both his daytime and nighttime sleeping and will make your life a lot easier in the future.

I recommend you get a copy of Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child By Dr. Marc Weissbluth (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, maybe your local library). Great resource for all sleep questions. You didn't really mention your sleep routine but that is vital. A warm bath, pj's, stories/songs are all cues to your baby that sleep time is coming. Also, timing is everything...try to catch your baby before he gets too sleepy. Finally,doctors consider sleeping thru the night 5 hours striaght at this stage ;). With each milestone (ie new teeth, sitting up, crawling etc. you should expect to have disruptions in your families sleep. Good luck and happy sleeping.

Don't believe the hype! Despite all the wonderful babies we hear about who sleep through the night by your son's age, many do not. My son did not sleep through the night until he was 11 months old. At this age, sleeping through the night is defined as 5 or so straight hours of sleep - not the same as our definition! Make sure your son is getting at least 13 hours of sleep per day. To help him sleep (and I tried and read everything), try this: 1) establish a CONSISTENT bedtime routine that is about 30 minutes long 2) establish rules with hubby about how you will handle getting him to sleep (my rules were that I would go into his room 3 times, the first time immediately after he started crying and by the third time I'd make him wait and after that I wouldn't go in again until he'd fallen asleep and awoke again), 3) put him to bed earlier!!!!! may seem counterintuitive, but it works - try 700 or 730, 4) use music or white noise to help him sleep (I used womb sounds and/or air purifier) and, lastly, when he wakes in the middle of the night, only give him milk once, give him water the other times (he won't drink it, trust me). In a month or two, you can stop giving him milk when he wakes up all together. Babies will wake up even if they are full, so don't get into a bad habit of feeding him every time he wakes up (starting at about 6 months). I know this is maddening, but try these things and even if you still don't get quite the sleep you want, you'll get some control back and at least a bit more sleep. Good luck!

I also recommend Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child By Dr. Marc Weissbluth. My daughter was up all night at around four months and someone recommended this book to me. She was sleeping through the night and taking great naps in no time. The book is separated by age so you don't have to read the whole thing right away. Good Luck!

It really does help to feed baby cereal with breast milk or formula before he goes to bed at night. Some say this is an old wives tale but it worked for my four babies, freinds' babies and babies I have cared for. Bigger babies at birth eat more too so make sure he/she is getting enough to eat during the day hours so night time sleep with increase as he gets older. Babies normally wake up at least ten times a night so if you hear your baby, do not jump up and run in there. Give him a chance to put himself back to sleep. They often fuss a little and go back to sleep. If you rush in, pick him up, he will get used to having a party every night. What worked for my oldest son was winding up a music doggie when I put him to bed. Once my friend put him to bed and he would not go to sleep but she did not wind up his doggie. LOL. Some babies sleep all night early and some don't. It takes alot of patience and loss of sleep. It will get better!
F.