Sleeping through the night?!/No Cry Sleep Solution/ Ferber

BrachaVHatzlocha

Tue, Dec 28 2004, 6:38 am

Hi! I have an almost 6 month old baby boy. He's a big baby (18 lbs kn'h) and still isn't sleeping thru the night! At about 3 months he started going 6+ hours, then it went down to 4-5...I figured cuz he was teething...Then he got a cold at 5 months, and it was every 2-3....and it's been like that since!
I try giving him a pacifier if he wakes up...sometimes it helps, sometimes not. Usually I end up feeding him during the night about every 3 hours...
I need my sleep!! He is not so small that I'm worried is undernourished!!
He only nurses...during the day, while I'm at work, I pump - so I know he takes approx. 5 oz each feeding (doesn't want more than that)....
Yesterday I finally started rice cereal (very liquidy, as mixed with my milk) -- he still awoke every 3 hours (at once point after 2)....
Any tips??

Yael

Wed, Dec 29 2004, 6:06 pm

feed him the rice cereal right before bed, and try to increse the total amount of food he gets in the evening. see what happens. most babies are not sleeping through the night at 6 months, just be patient. keep him in your bed or at least right near it so you dont have to fully wake up each time you nurse him, and fall back to sleep while nursing.
this stage is hard but it will pass eventually. I promise!!!

shoy18

Fri, Dec 31 2004, 10:20 am

my baby is KH 4 1/2 monthes and hes been sleeping through the night for a month he is on a schedule he has two naps a day and goes to bed at 7:30 and sleeps until 7:00am. He wakes sometimes only for his pacifer. My mother had told me when he's three monthes if he wakes up in middle of the night not to feed him just hold him and calm him down and put him back to sleep and he will stop getting up because isnt being fed.

ForeverYoung
Guest

Sat, Jan 01 2005, 5:15 pm

so many new people here! Welcome!

anyways, my 4 mnth old, who haapily slept through the night in her bed since 3 weeks old, began waking up almost every hour. Now she sleeps in my bed and wakes up 1-2 times. Oh, well.........

sarahd

Tue, Jan 04 2005, 12:52 pm

Oh boy, that's a pity. I was so excited, because my baby for the first time today ate what I would call a normal meal, I.e. more than two teaspoons of cereal, and I was hoping he would make it through the night without waking me for a meal.... Confused

BrachaVHatzlocha

Mon, Jan 10 2005, 7:59 pm

I started my 6 month old on solids 2 weeks ago (not only cuz he was grabbing our food...more cuz I was hoping it would help him AND ME sleep better!). So far...I don't really see a change...he's still up every 2-3 hours at night....
Yael, did your baby end up sleeping after your let him cry it out that time, several months ago?
I let my baby cry 10 minutes the other night...it's too hard for me!!
What do you think is more filling - rice cereal, some other baby cereal, or a veggie? My mother thinks the carrots would be more filling than the rice cereal....
Also....anyone give formula instead of nursing before bed?? I haven't tried it, but I'm curious if that helps
(do I sound like I'm desperate for sleep??)

zuncompany

Tue, Jan 11 2005, 9:26 am

Sounds like my Zu. Nothing helped... it was cause he was in a routine. He got sick and than fell into the routine. We ended up having to sleep train him and it worked B"H. Cereal does nothing for either of mine. In fact since Tev started on it (he was grabbing food off of my plate and eating it!) he sleeps less. AHHHH!!!!

Sara

BrachaVHatzlocha

Tue, Jan 11 2005, 9:35 am

What do you mean by "sleep training"? Letting him cry it out??
I bought the book on ebay - Baby Wise - and then resold it after looking it over and seeing what it was about...

hardwrknmom

Tue, Jan 11 2005, 10:28 am

Yael at 6 months I let my daughter cry (even for a half hour sometimes) then I went to her room and just rubbed her back. She finally fell asleep. I got her used to this routine. It's worked great since!

You've gotta have a lot of patience and at 6 months you can DIFFENTELY put them on a schedule.

yehudis

Tue, Jan 11 2005, 11:26 am

Bracha -- have you ever read The No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley? I've never read it, but people say it works.

Another thing -- do you know that he's actually hungry when he wakes up? Or is it more of a way to go back to sleep? Maybe he's having trouble falling asleep. They suck differently when they're hungry and when they need comfort.

Also, my babies had a stage where they were so interested in what was going on around them that they didn't want to go to sleep. Does he want to stay up when he wakes up? Or does he seem sleepy?

zuncompany

Tue, Jan 11 2005, 11:45 am

Don't use Baby Wise! My ped warned us about it. Not only is the guy not a ped, but the meathod could lead to some serious issues if you follow it closely. Also he bases it on "X-tian" thinking. He has some church and yata yata. Not a good Jewish book!

Our ped. recommended the Ferber meathod after no-cry sleep solution didn't work and actually made it worse. Every child is different though. It was not easy, but it worked in three nights. He is a great sleeper now too!!!

Sara

BrachaVHatzlocha

Tue, Jan 11 2005, 1:03 pm

Hi! What's Ferber and what's No-Cry? Please - advice!!!I also heard there's something that you track when your baby wakes up...and then wake him up 1/2 hour before and each day stretch the times...I've been tracking my baby's waking and unfortunately, he doesn't always have a schedule, though it's usually every 2 hours.
I know he's not always hungry...1/2 the time he takes the pacifier, the other 1/2 I need to nurse him....
He used to sleep 5 hours plus!!!!!

yehudis

Tue, Jan 11 2005, 2:02 pm

Here's the link to the book:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obi.....57443

Do you think he might be teething? Does he seem in pain when he wakes up?

How long has this been going on?

BrachaVHatzlocha

Wed, Jan 12 2005, 6:52 am

I felt he was teething over 3 months ago (when he was 3 months old) and started "biting" down and drooling and fussing...No teeth yet...but at that point he WAS sleeping 5+ hours...Now, for over a month, I think, it's been 2-3 hours at a time.
Last night he woke up after 2 hours...I put him back to sleep with a pacifier and he went for another 3 hours...so it was 5 hours between meals...but I still had to wake up every 2-3 hrs!
So...to answer you...he may be teethign - but doesn't seem to be in pain...but you never know cuz he can't talk yet!

yehudis

Wed, Jan 12 2005, 2:19 pm

Bracha,

He could still be teething. Maybe he's not in pain, but just uncomfortable. I think it's normal for this age to wake up every 2-3 hours. Although I know that's not helpful Smile

. They do grow out of this stage eventually. And then they become toddlers and throw tantrums when you tell them to go to bed Smile

.

Are you able to nap during the day at all?

BrachaVHatzlocha

Wed, Jan 12 2005, 6:54 pm

Hi! That's so sweet that you are thinking of my well-being, suggesting napping.
I wish I could, though, even if I had the time, knowing myself I probably wouldn't.
I work 9-4.
with 2 year olds. Smile

(what were we saying about tantrums and sleeping???)
Smile

Last night I put "the baby" to sleep about 9:30 and went myself at 10 and I felt much better Smile

wish I was in bed, now...I'm not so good... Wink

Pearl

Thu, Jan 13 2005, 1:19 am

The girls were very bad sleepers until they were about 3 years old.....The baby, a boy, wakes up to nurse twice a night (at least), but I know that eventually he too will sleep through the night, even though it might take another 3 years..! I guess I am just used to not sleeping a full night, it's been at least 8 years!

BrachaVHatzlocha

Thu, Jan 13 2005, 6:45 am

LOL - u sound used to it!B"H.

I love my baby and he's definately worth it!!!

Also - he's my first....so I'm still getting used to this no sleep thing Smile

B"H