7 Month Old Not Sleeping- Help

If you have a minute to go back and look at some of my answers regarding helping baby learn to sleep thru the night, I have some of the tips and tricks and books that were life-savers for me. It can be done and you can help baby but the more you know about infant sleep the better you will be able to teach him to sleep. And I'm with you-cio is for the birds!

Do what works! What I mean by that is that my 6 mo has been sleeping in his carseat in his room the past month - it started when he had a cold but continues - because that is where he is getting sleep and I am getting sleep. The pediatrician said whatever works...eventually he will outgrow the carseat and we will cross that bridge when we get there. My 2 yo slept in the swing until he was 8 months old, and he until present is the best sleeper in the house - putting himself to sleep, sleeping all night and a good napper! Every kid is different...do what you have to do to survive and good luck!

Babies are physiologically made to sleep in REM throughout the night in order for brain reparation. All day long they are bombarded with a million new sensations, pictures, words, motions, sounds, movements, etc etc etc etc. During naps they are so PHYSICALLY exhausted so they sleep in DEEP sleep. At night though, their brain puts their body in REM or light sleep. That is the only sleep in which their brains can repair, sort out new information and build new cells. Any noise, even their own breathing, can wake them from this. It's unfortunate but it is how they develop!

Also, babies are more comfortable with mom and or dad because during the day you give them comfort and reassurance. At night, alone in their crib, they don't get that which is why it is so difficult for them to get back to sleep after the inevitable waking.

What we have done is put a toddler bed with one side as a crib (so he can't roll out) pushed against the bed, so the open side is flush with our mattress. He sleeps there next to us. He still wakes and cries but it is so easy to console him and he's back in dream land in the blink of an eye!

Also, we still rock our son to sleep... we got an expensive stroller (we were in Norway at the time and needed something all-terrain lol) which we can lie flat. We lay in some soft blankets, pop him in and wrap him in his fav red blanky and gently roll the stroller back and forth (I play mahjong or check emails while doing this) and when he is asleep we lift him out and put him in bed. This has worked well for the past 17 months! Oh I should also mention we had a sling, Baby Bjorn, which we wore him sometimes if he was fussy.

Keep in mind he could be teething as well which could cause major disruptions. Talk to your doctor about using infant pain relief and a topical anesthetic (Dentinox is best as sugar free and used by dentists). And it's never too late to learn massage techniques! Babies of all stages love to be snuggled and touched.

And also remember, we're all as tired as each other in these stages! It obviously gets better, otherwise no one would have second or third or fourth children...or more lol!

Does you put him down awake or is he already asleep? It may help to put him down awake for the first bedtime and naps so he learns to fall asleep on his own. You can certainly touch/stroke him if he seems to have trouble. Also - is he hungry - he may benefit from a later feeding to help him sleep through.

All babies wake during the night (so do almost all adults). It's just that the 'good' sleepers can fall asleep again. When he wakes and cries, you can wait a minute to see if he just falls asleep or not. If not, just go in, stroke him and talk softly without picking him up. It may work. I agree that 7 pm is early for bedtime. At that age we put DS in his crib when we went to bed (11 or so). Prior to that is he was sleepy he slept in his bassinet or on a mat on the floor (the child could sleep anywhere).

First of all, 7 pm in early for bed. Try gradually moving his bedtime back to about 8.
Also, is he napping during the day? I know it sounds counterintuitive, but if he's overtired, he won't sleep well at night.

I'm wondering if you are waking him up in your sleep. My son was a light sleeper early on. We had to move him out of our room at 7 weeks because my hubby and I were moving and grunting in our sleep so much that we were waking him up.
If you are not interested in CIO, you should at least stop bringing him to bed with you. I have spent several long nights on the floor in my son's room, as well as in the rocking chair in his room with him in my arms.
At this age, he is used to the pattern of crying and Mommy being right there to "rescue" him. Don't rush in the second you hear him crying. Many times children will cry out and then within a few minutes, fall back asleep on their own. My son is 23 months old and still does that. I hear him on the monitor enough to wake me, but by the time I get awake and make it out of the bed, he's back asleep.

I had a music box that projected shapes onto the ceiling. When our daughter woke up we'd go comfort her, check her diaper and turn the music on. Most times she would watch the shapes til she passed out. My SIL got it for us cause it worked so well with my nephew. Worth a try and not very expensive, good luck!

my baby girl wakes up maybe 1 to 2 times a night but she goes to bed with her brother bout 9 and she in her own bed but when she wakes up it usually just to make sure i still there so i let her no i there by talking to her and she falls back to sleep or sometimes she hungery so i get her a bottle but she goes back to sleep now my 2 yr old he had a pillow he had to sleep wit he wake up i d give him that and he go right back to sleep maybe a stuffed animal or something with mommys smell on it would help it did mine

My DD does the same thing. She is 8 months now... we tried CIO, and I wasn't able to stick it out past the second night. (She was soo sad. :( I couldn't handle it) I got the 'no cry sleep solution' book, and that gave me a better understanding of sleep, and helped a little bit, but she still won't sleep more than 3 hours at a time... usually more like 1 1/2-2... I started putting her in bed with me out of desperation, and that's what has worked the best so far. She still wakes up, but instead of crying and getting mad she just snuggles down and falls back asleep. I'm a little worried that she is going to become dependent on co-sleeping, but at least I'm getting some sleep now!

Did you say you bring him to bed with you after you go to sleep? Hate to tell you that ,that might be your wrong right there!! Its hard to hear them cry, Dont shut hes door and put a night light on. They have to cry a bit, Trust me its harder on you then it is him. Make sure hes naps are in the same place as he would sleep at night, Thats most important. Hes only doing what you teach him. So mommy's have to learn just like your baby's.. It gets better! :)