Sleep Questions for 7 Month Old Son...

You might want to start feeding him cereal and/or supplementing with formula so that he stays full longer. I found that around the time that I stopped breastfeeding, my son only woke up 1 time and then when we started formula he was able to sleep until 6 or 7AM.

I am told that breast fed babbies may need to get feed a few times throughout the night until 9 months or so. It takes approx 3 hrs for a baby to metabolize breast milk and 3 1/2 hrs for formula.

Hi A.:
I agree with Heidi. I also agree with Julie L. Shes absolutely correct. If you leave your baby to cry for you long enough,HE WILL eventualy stop crying. Its called GIVING UP!or FEELING ABANDONED,or PASSING OUT from pure exhaustion. Many mothers,enjoy the intimacy of co-sleeping.You are not alone.Personally I feel It makes for an even closer bond with your baby.If you have decided, that its time for him to move to his own crib,then you must allow some time for him to adjust to the change.It will take some patience on your part.If I were you,I would nurse him in his room and put him down right after.soothe him a little if he needs you to.Give it a little time,he will adjust. I wish you and your darlin son the best. J.

It will be a matter of time. I don't think there is a special/magical way of getting babies to sleep through the night. Two of mine weren't good sleepers while my middle one was. They are individuals. I say continue being there for him when he needs you through the night. I think it's wonderful that you have him in bed with you. All three of my babies slept with us. It was so much easier for me to nurse right in bed, rather than having to get up and walk into another room or across the room to feed. He will, in time, become a better sleeper! I know it's though on we mommies, but that's what we signed up for when we decided to become mother's!

Take care

My son was not a big eater and got up several times through the night to nurse. Breastmilk is digested much more quickly, so this may be why he is not sleeping as long. Also, he may be going through a growth period (developmentally, physically, etc.) and so he needs more food!
My son sleeps with us and always has. We went through a short period where he needed his own room, but now we are all back together and it's fine - he's 2 yrs old and sleeps 8 or 9 hours a night at least. If you're able to, just respond to his needs. It's my opinion that meeting his needs may require a little extra work now, but will pay off in the long term.

I know you want advice on how to get him to sleep through the night and if you do get that from others, they will probably say feed him some rice cereal or something to fill him up before bed. I don;t have experience with that, so I am just guessing.
What I wanted to let you know is that I breast fed my 2 sons, one almost 22 years old and the other almost 5 years old for over 2 years each. The night feedings were as you experience, very avid and normal seeming to me, but a little h*** o* sleep, for sure.
I did co-sleep with both of them and it made all the difference because I noticed that we woke up at the same time, my milk would come in, I'd wake up and notice the baby was stirring, would pop it in and gently rest as the baby nursed, so I wasn't really having to wake up and get up and get exhausted. As they grew the intervals got longer. I always wore a shirt to bed 'cause sometimes smelling the milk would make them want it more often.
I wonder if your baby is too big for some of the co-sleepers that extend out the side of your bed so baby is close, but not in bed. I know I have seen alot of options advertised in Mothering Magazine. Our bed set up now, if you can believe it, is a king bed next to a queen bed and we all still sleep in the same room for a bunch of different reasons...it works for us.
By the way this months Mothering Magazine had an article or editorial on co-sleeping that refutes some of the assumptions of it's occasionally publicized dangers.
Hope that helps you cope and enjoy it all for the time being!

A., You are doing a great job! It sounds like you are a little reluctant, but in my opinion you are raising you child as nature intended. I also have a 7 month old son. Now that he is crawling and having other big milestones during the day, he is distracted by that and eating less. So he has to make up for it at night. Every night is different. Sometimes he eats a lot (like you said every couple of hours) sometimes less (only once or twice). The other night my ds kept trying to sit up and play! I just kept laying him back down and nursing him to sleep. It worked every time. I think he is just so excited about his new skills. It's a process you know? I believe sleeping with your baby is the most supportive for nighttime parenting. It makes it easiest for you and your baby. Good luck and keep it up!

My 7 month old daughter is BF and gets up only once a night. So I doubt that BF has anything to do with his sleeping. All babies are different. Up until about 1.5 months ago she was up often while sleeping. She wanted the comfort of being held, having her pacifier, or nursing. It was very fustrating. But I learned it was my own fault for running in everytime she cried to soothe her. Some how, don't know how, she started sleeping better. Good luck.

hi A.,
it might be habit waking, or he might be growth spurting. my 8 MO daughter is breastfed and still gets up at least once a night to feed. however, solid foods seemed to have helped her, specifically avocado. i guess its calories and fattiness really help keep her satiated until around 3 or 4am, then back down til 630 or 730. this is a new developement as she was waking at midnight then 5:30 - for the day. ugh. how much does he weigh? is he teething? i think that sleeping in the same bed might be making it more difficult. it did for us, and she sleeps much better in her crib. anyhow, please let us know how things progress. i feel for you!

Hey A., I know this doesn't work for everyone but my son was sleeping through the night at 4 months and the reason for that was I just stopped getting up with him. My Dr. told me that at 3 months babies do not need to eat during the night that they can sleep we just have to stop giving in to them. it seems that it is more of a comforting thing than something they actually need. Anyway I had to deal with him crying through the night for 1 night and it has been heaven ever since! Good Luck

Hi A., this problem I have seen a million times throught mamasource, and I have to tell you, the majaority of moms writing in who's babies don't sleep through the night are breast feed babies, so if this is a problem stop breast feeding for so long, you said your other 2 kids slept through the night at 6 months, mine were sleeping through the night at 6 weeks, You moms are probably going to get tired of hearing me say this but here it goes again, STOP GETTING UP WITH THEM AT NIGHT AND EVENTUALKY THEY WILL STOP WAKINK UP, the only reason that these babies are waking up is becasue they know someone is going to go in and get them, and I don't care what any one says putting your babies in bed with you is one of the worst habits you can forn with your baby, not to mention it must out a damper on sex and romance in the marriage, a 7 month old baby should not need to eat during the night, I have been a mom for 24 years raised 3 kids, and I was not up all hours of the night with any of them and did not put them in the marriage bed. You created this habit with your son A., and only you can break it, it seems like babies are being nursed way past the time they should be using sippy cups. J.

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A., you poor kid- I would feel like a walking zombie, still not getting near as much sleep as needed. If he's really nursing a lot (not just wanting cuddling), then I guess he is still hungry. I know this might not be politically correct- but maybe he needs some solid food. I bet cereal would help him sleep better. If you sleep more, then maybe your milk will be fuller of vitamins, etc. so he won't need to eat so often. I'm not a doctor- just a mom of 3 older kids. I do remember very well how difficult it is to "feel normal" and function on little sleep- when you're doing so much for all of the family around the clock.

Hi A.,
My advice is to start adding other foods during the day... after 6 months it is fine to start introducing cereal and pureed fruits and vegetables and stop feeding him at night. When he wakes in the night just offer him water. He may be waking now because he is hungry but once you add additional foods he will not need to eat at night. He probably enjoys the comfort rather than the food. It will take a few nights of staying strong but once he realizes he does not get the breast he will stop waking for it.
All the best,
C. :-)

Dear A.:

I, too, am not a believer in "clocking out" of parenting at night time. I signed on to parent as a 24 hour/day job! It sounds like you feel the same way but walking up and down the halls is too difficult for you because you need your sleep. That's because if you get up and get too active at night, you disrupt your sleep and have a really difficult day with your children the next day. The best solution I found was to nurse my children in bed.

In order to stay effective, preserve your sleep by placing your son next to you (not between you and husband) with a rail behind him. Turn to him and feed when he cries and then turn your back. Eventually, he'll get out of the bad habit of crying and trust that you're always there for him. At that point, they seem to relax at night and begin to sleep much longer. One day (all babies are different) you'll awaken to find that he didn't require nursing even once! Then you'll just put him in a toddler bed next to your bed, move it closer to the door each day and then CELEBRATE his big boy-ness by setting up his bedroom.

Family bed isn't a curse or "doom and gloom"! In my family, it lasted only 18 months and the entire time was a time of LOW STRESS and many gentle transitions. It's a way to set your course towards the ultimate goal of closeness which doesn't fade through the years...even the teenage years.

Best wishes,

M.

Hi A..
unfortunaly, breast fed babies digest their food quicker then formula fed babies. Therefore, can take longer to learn to sleep thru the night.
I am a mom of 3 busy kids too, with my youngest being 4 months. It is exhausting isnt it?
take care. Heidi

Is he on solids? If he isn't, sometimes this helps. Or maybe give him a bottle of formula before bed time. Might help him sleep better.

Major props for breastfeeding as long as you have!!! It didn't work out for me. My baby was 5 pounds, and too small to latch on. I pumped for 6 weeks......and then on and off till 8 weeks. He was on 100% formula by 8 weeks....and has been sleeping thru the night ever since.

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My daughter did pretty much the same as your son is doing. My daughter was exclusively breast fed until solids were introduced and then it was breast milk and solids. My daughter never took formula (which is good considering she's allergic to dairy). After two successful weeks of breast feeding my daughter decided she only wanted to feed off of one side. From the time she was born until about 9 months old she ate every two hours pretty much around the clock! From the time we moved her to her own room and into her crib around 2 months old, I made sure that when she went to bed she was awake. I never nursed her to sleep. By the time she was 6 months old I thought she'd be sleeping through the night for sure. No the case! I checked with the pediatrician and she said that it was okay since she only fed on one side and wasn't nursed to sleep, so my daughter was probably waking up because she really was hungry. We continued the every two hour thing until 9 months. At her 9 month check up, the pediatrician checked her growth and decided that even though she's on the skinny side, I could finally get some rest and cut my daughter off of eating at night. So that weekend, we did it, cold turkey. The first time she woke up, my daughter was very upset and cried for almost an hour on and off and then fell back asleep. She woke up about two hours later and cried for about 15 minutes. Two hours later I heard a slight cry, but by the time I checked the monitor she was back asleep. Then I woke up 3 hours later to a sound asleep baby! The next night she woke up once for about 10 minutes and that was it. By the third night I finally got a good night sleep. It was tough but, I let her figure it out and she did great. If you're ready to get some sleep, just be persistent and don't go get him! It will be hard, but you'll both get through it quickly. My daughter just turned one and two weeks before her birthday I stopped breast feeding her during the day. About a month before I knew I was going to cut her off, I introduced soy milk in her straw sippy cup (never took a bottle) and gave her 1 -2 cups a day for that month. So when I cut her off two weeks ago, cold turkey, she was already comfortable with her "milk." The first day was a little rough, she was a little more clingy than usual, but by the second day no problems at all. Sorry to ramble on, just thought I'd let you know there is light (or sleep in your case) at the end of the tunnel. I hope this is helpful. Good Luck and remember when you're ready to get some sleep be persistent and soon enough you and your son will get some sleep. ~ C.

has he started cereals yet? if he has maybe try to give him cereal and then nurse him like usual. if he will take a bottle offer him a ounces of water one feeding at night (this may disscourage him waking up. you may also try cluster feeding him before bed (feed him like 30 minutes early and then again right before bed). good luck i hope this is helpful!

Hi A.-

My 10 month old also wakes up at night (breastfed only) and I don't have specific tips on getting your baby to sleep longer (although I've heard lots of good things about "The No Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley). But, here's an idea for the co-sleep thing- we have our crib in our room. It started next to our bed with one side removed (like a co sleeper). A couple of weeks ago we put the side back on and moved the crib a few feet away. She can still see me and I can soothe her with my voice which works sometimes.

Do what feels comfortable for you. My husband and I love sleeping with and near our baby- it has actually strengthened our relationship. Oh- one more thing- to help break the eating habit every time she wakes up, my husband tries to soothe her first. This works about half the time; the other half I'm more certain that she is hungry.

Good luck!

Our son is 8 and half months old and I am still breastfeeding him too! For a couple weeks before he started teething we had him sleeping through the night...and I hate to say it but we just let him cry for a few nights. It kind of sucked and I had to sleep as far away as possible but it worked. I hated that with him in the bed my husband felt like there was no room so we just had to try letting him cry. It takes a couple of nights and you really have to give it a go but boy will you celebrate when he wakes up at 8 am to eat!

Is your baby eating any solids now?
If he is eating regular meals along with his bottles, which he should be at 7 months, then he is probably waking up because of habit, not necessity for food.
You may end up having to let him cry it out. I know that is the hardest thing in the world to do, especially with other kids in the house, but you will get more sleep and in turn be a better mother to your kids during the day.

Hope you get some rest soon:)

Seven month old babies don't need to eat at night, let alone every two to three hours. You must be exhausted! Break the habit now, or you'll be tired for the rest of your life! Make sure he's getting enough to eat during the day, and he'll be fine through the night. If he wakes up, feed him less and less every night (for about a week) until he's not eating at all. When he's done with that, if he's still waking up, go in, rub his back for a minute or so, and leave the room. He'll eventually learn to sleep without being fed in his own crib.
If you bring him into your bed, you may NEVER get him out. I've had friends with five or six year olds sleeping with them because the don't know how to sleep by themselves. YIKES! Good luck! :)

Mexican tip. :) Bathe your baby in warm water with several leafs of lettuce and he/she will sleep thru the night. Sounds strange but hey, it really works. I been working on regaining my Mexican roots and do plenty of reading on sacred plants. Good Luck.

Most breast fed babies sleep through the night sooner than formula, one of MANY benefits of breast feeding. My son slept through the night at 4 weeks. Sounds like your baby just enjoys the cuddle time with you. Many times they nurse for comfort, they're not actually hungry. They say if you want to have them sleep through the night the worst habit you can start is feeding them when they wake up. They need to learn how to self sooth and fall back to sleep on their own. Like when we wake up and fix our pillow, fall back to sleep... So, try rocking him, singing... but don't feed. Then let him cry, it will usually only last 12-30 min and that should break the cycle. MANY books about this so read up if you're not comfortable letting them cry.

My 5 month old was waking up every 2-3 hours too. I'm not an advocate of the cry it out method, so instead I would just try to give him a pacifier or sometimes I had to rock him. I gave him a "dream feed" at 10:30pm, with a bottle, so I knew he was getting a full meal. Then I didn't feed him the next time he woke up at 1am. I tried to just pat him to go back to sleep, sometimes I would give him the pacifier or even pick him up and rock, just not feed him. I fed him at the 3am wake up, but not at 5am. Now he goes down at 7:30pm, gets a full bottle at 10:30pm and nurses once at 3am, waking at 6-7am. Eventually, I'll try to phase out the 3am just like I did the other 2 feedings. Good luck.