7 Mo Old STILL Waking up in the Middle of the night...ZZZZ...any Suggestions?

Hi everyone - my almost 3 year old son JUST started sleeping through the night. He has never been a good sleeper - not even for nap times - I used to call him the 20 minute power napper.

In my talks with other moms, it simply comes down to this - some kids are not good sleepers, and some are! Interestingly enough, the magic number in the most troubled sleepers is 3 - by then for some reason, they all seem to develop MUCH better sleep habits. Thank goodness!

Although it feels like you'll never get any sleep - hang in there - eventually you will!!

Some babies do not sleep through the night. There really isn't anything that you can do. My three year old never slept through the night until she was about 2. You may be able to make her sleep a little longer by making sure she is full and bathe her in lavendar and give her a lavendar oil massage when she gets out of the bath.

We did a paci 'mine-field' ... sounds funny huh? We put one paci in each corner of the crib (minus one corner - that one was in his mouth at time of going to bed) this way he was likely to find them on his own... also - read No Cry Sleep Solution - our guy has been a TERRIFIC sleeper since about 2,3 months thanks to this book's tips and methods...without any 'crying it out'.

Good luck! Remember, this too shall pass!!

Hi J.!

I hope someone has some helpful suggestions. I have 3 small children and the first one didn't sleep through the night till after he was a year old. So when the second came along and started sleeping through at 8 weeks, I was in heaven. Then the 3rd did good until he was 6 months old and there are times he gets me up twice a night at 11 months old now. Usually at 1:30 and the other between 4 and 5. I've tried changing his eating habits and nothing seems to be helping. Do you think it's just the individual child and nothing more? Please help someone!

My daughter woke up once a night for a feeding until she was around 7 months old. everynight, like clockwork, at about 3:00am. Once I realized that she was eating enough during the day and was old enough to not need the feedings, I started just changing her diaper, giving her the binky (pacifier) and laying her back down. Miraculously, it actually worked. Now she is a year old and has slept completly through the night, from 8-8 (most of the time) ever since she was around 8 months. So everybaby is different, but most likely yours just needs to learn a new routine.

J., My 7 month old still wakes up every night also. She loves to eat right when I am in my deepest sleep, and honestly I don't expect her to ever sleep through the night. Well, not any time soon. Unfortunately, some babies just don't sleep through the night. My now 5 year old didn't have this problem. Don't let all those moms that are lucky enough to have a sleepy baby make you feel like you are doing something wrong. If your daughter finds her paci and goes back to sleep, leave it near by for her and just remember that she will go right back to sleep and so can you. I know this gets frustrating sometimes, but she will eventually let you sleep again. Hang in there.

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Wow. In three kids I've never had one sleeping through the night at 7 months. I know that it helped my oldest to stop nursing at night when we realized he just gets very thirsty at night and started offering him a sippie cup of water. At five he'll still drink a whole cup of water every night.

Took forEVER for him to stop wetting his pullup at night, but I got to sleep. lol

Maybe offer her a bottle of water? I know some people start watering it down more and more until it's water. I would never do that with a bottle she needs for nutrition, though!

Oh! I wish I knew the answer...My 10 month old is still doing it too...he got sick with a bad cold around 8 months and had lots of trouble sleeping...now he seemes to have forgotten how to sleep 8 hours straight! If I find anything that works for me, I'll reply again...good luck.

Well, both of my daughters were born 2 months early and always needed extra formula through the night, so I never had one to start sleeping all night that early...when both of mine were about 6 months they had several nights that they would sleep through the night, but it didn't last. Every doctor told me that maybe they are going through a growth spirt. Have you tried using soft music that cuts off by itself? Or patting them on the stomach or back for just a few seconds until they go back to sleep? That usually helps me. I'm not sure if there is a sure way to keep them from getting up any...they are just babies and very unpredictable and every one is totally different!! Just be patient!

Hi J.-
A friend passed along this wise piece of advice to me, it may work for you. She sewed a pacifier to a blanket (sewed the handle to a blanket a little bigger than a burp cloth) and then when her daughter lost her pacifier at night, she knew to look for her blanket, which is much easier to find than just the pacifier. She only used this one at night and naps. It stayed in the crib.

As for the 4am waking, I think some kids are different. My son took much longer to sleep through the night than my daughter. You may want to just go in and rub her back to see if she'll go back to sleep instead of picking her up and feeding her.
I hope you get some sleep soon!

I'm sure you're doc has told you that all babies are different. There was a big difference between my 2 boys' sleeping habits. My first would wake every 2 hours to feed till he was 6 months!!! And didn't start sleeping through the night till after he was 1. My second would only wake 1 to 2 times a night to feed from birth, then at 6 months started sleeping through the night. Your daughter may still need that 4 am feeding for a while, possibly well after her first birthday. But don't let this frazzle you, that means she is getting enough to eat and will grow fruitfully! It may be hard because you're not getting enough zzzzz's, but enjoy the time you have with her, because it won't last for long!

Hey J.,

I can't offer much advise, but I can tell you that my son is 9 months old and does wake up 2 to 3 times per night between 10:30 PM and 7:30 AM. He sweats alot while he is sleeping so I think he gets really thristy at night. Also, when people generally start working with the baby to sleep through the night is when my child started getting sick. He started getting sick around 5 months and has had something for months now. Colds, stomach viruses, bronchitus, you name it. He is now 9 months old and has had an ear infection for 4 weeks. Also, he is almost 24 pounds so he's had a lot of growth spurts.

I don't know if any of this would apply to your daughter, but these are my experiences. Different babies have different levels of tolerence when their bodies go through the light sleep stage. If this is the case, I would try a sound machine. I bought one at Walmart for about $20. It makes rainforest, ocean, rainstorm, and other different noises. This might be helpful to ease her through the light sleep stages at night.

If you find any ideas of making the passy easier to find at night, let me know!! That thing drives me crazy! No wonder he can't find it...I can barely find it at 3 in the morning!