Baby Sleep Troubleshooting...

Later bedtime. I think he's not really tired at 7:30. Start moving bedtime back 15 minutes at a time until his bedtime is around 8:30 or 9PM. Then maybe he will be tired enough to go to sleep for real the first time.

you are putting him down to bed too early. when my boy was that age i put him to bed around 10 he slept till around 10 and had a 2-3 hour nap that ended around 3. he was breast fed, and sometimes woke around 3 for a quick meal but not every night

My first - my sister (well meaning) said "Why don't you nurse him to sleep, that's what I did". Little did I know she had issues with all her babies, and they didn't sleep until well after 2 years old.

Ultimately you need to let him learn to associate that groggy feeling with going to sleep - and not the boob.

He hasn't learned that - except maybe he has with naps. Mine did too. So feed him well before bed time. Keep him up later at bedtime (screw the 730 feed then bed) and let him get good and exhausted. When eyes are droop, let dad put him in crib. Dad can shush, dad can rub his back, dad can have routine. Babe has to be super tired. Make sure you got that huge burb out otherwise babe will wake up and cry (good tip someone gave me because I wasn't getting it out).

That's why a lot of babes will nap fine but not sleep well. They will drift in car seats or bounce seats - because they know how to fall asleep with noise and hustle bustle, but need that boob at night - take boob away, and just keep up longer and wait till they naturally have that tired feeling. That is sooooooo much easier than crying it out. I know, did both.

Good luck :) You can message me if you want. I had that book too.

As a mom of 4, I can tell you this: you are putting your son down WWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY too early. If this is your nightly pattern, your son is telling you "I'm not ready for bed yet, mommy". If he FINALLY stays asleep at 11PM? then put him down at 11PM.

Stop equating fussing with the need for the boob. Just because your son is fussing does NOT mean he's hungry. Try other things to sooth him instead of whopping the boob out every time he is fussing or crying.

It is OKAY to allow your son to cry for a few minutes and let him try and sooth himself. It is ABSOLUTELY OKAY. You're not letting him scream for hours! If you let him cry for no more than 15 minutes? You're NOT a bad mom. I promise. Your son NEEDS to learn how to self-sooth. Yes, he's only 6 months old, but he needs to learn how to self-soothe.

It's okay to find another way to sooth your son without giving him the breast. See if he needs to be burped. See if he needs to be changed. He's six months old! He's growing fast, mama! Before you know it, he'll be in Kindergarten!! (YIKES!! My graduated high school last year and is in college!! WHERE DID THE TIME GO?!?!)

If you let your son cry for 15 minutes? He will not get hurt. He will be fine. After 4 boys, I know this. I know it's hard. But it's OKAY. You REALLY need to put him to bed later. He's NOT ready for a 730 bed time.

Since he's not nursing for long? I would do as others have suggested and see what your milk supply is like. It's okay to give your son rice cereal or something heavier too before bed time.

have you tried to pump to see how much milk you are producing? If he's not getting enough to eat, he will wake up hungry. Pump and see what comes out.

The first year is the hardest.

Stop putting your boob in his face every time he wakes up or cries. It's a habit now. STOP.
Get on a schedule.

You're not producing enough milk if you nurse him for 5 minutes. You are his pacifier.

If 11PM is when he stays asleep - your son is telling you his bed time. My oldest was asleep by 9PM. Slept until 5AM. My youngest son? Up until Midnight - slept until 9AM. Heck - he's almost 16 and STILL doesn't go to sleep until midnight. If he didn't have school? He'd sleep until noon!

So adjust. He's NOT ready for bed at 730. YOU Might be, but he's not. wait until 930 - 10PM to put him down. STOP nursing every 5 minutes.

Pump to see how much milk you are producing. If you're not producing enough, consider giving him cereal before bed so he goes to bed with a full stomach.

well, you get to pick, of course, but for me feeding hungry babies was a priority. being a baby's pacifier was not.

it sounds as if your first order of business when he wakes up and fusses is to pop a nipple in.

i'd work on alternate soothing techniques, and stop offering the breast for every bout of fussiness.

i'd also stop nursing him to sleep every time. start transitioning to finish nursing, lay him down, snuggle him and rub him and croon to him, but don't let him fall asleep attached.

even for naps you're laying him down, then nursing him.

separate feeding from sleep and you're on the right path.
khairete
S.

If you add up all the sleep he's getting, naps and all - how much is it?
If he's getting roughly 14 hours of sleep per day - then he's getting enough.

At about 6 months a lot of changes are coming.
Teething can start up and baby starts getting more mobile with turning over, front to back and back to front.
Some will start babies on a little rice cereal - although it's more just for chewing practice.
It doesn't really help with getting a baby to sleep any longer.
Breast milk or formula is really all he needs till about his first birthday.

When he is awake make the most of it by tiring him out.
Stroller walks - fresh air seems to help tire them out a lot.
Tummy time - they don't always like it at first but they get to turn over and slither a bit and hold their head up - it's all a good work out for their muscles.
A bouncy seat - they eventually learn to bounce themselves.
Our son loved his play mat at that age - it had plenty of things to reach for and grab at (and chew) and he could kick at things too.
Anything he can reach he will put in his mouth - so be careful.
Our son surprised me once when I was sitting with him on the floor going through mail and before I knew it he chomped on my toe.

Right about at 6 months is the perfect time to start separating feeding from sleeping a bit.
You don't want him to always link feeding with sleeping because if he can't fall asleep without nursing you are both going to be pretty miserable sooner or later.

If he's up at 5:15, I find it unlikely that he really needs to go down for the night at 7:30-7:45. I think he's nursing fairly well if he's doing it for 15 minutes, but I don't think that it's like he's actively nursing 3-4 times more during the evening. He may be sucking for comfort, but how much milk is is taking in? Do you let him drop off, or do you pick him up and burp him/switch breasts/burp? The latter should wake up him and also get up any air bubbles that could be causing discomfort. It would also wake him up enough to nurse longer in that same session, rather than just constantly "topping him off" with a little milk until he drifts off again and again.

I'd keep him up longer until what seems to be a natural bedtime. I'd nurse longer but less frequently. Yes, you nurse on demand, but only if you've filled him up. If you want to co-sleep, fine, but I'd work to not have him use the breast to fall asleep. If you want him to fall asleep next to you, okay. That will probably be a problem later on if he can't fall asleep alone, but you are the only one who can decide when you will fight that battle of separation.

I think you might want to read up on the Ferber method - I think people misunderstand CIO and think it means you never, ever comfort the child or go in the room and you just let them scream for 4-5-6 hours. That's not it. You don't have to do it, but at least be sure you understand the rationale and method. We did Ferber on the advice of our pediatrician at 6 months - but it was not constant crying. She felt strongly that he needed good sleep for brain development by six months. You will work with your own pediatrician, of course, based on your child's medical situation, your philosophy, and other factors. Be sure that, whatever you choose, you fully understand and embrace it, so that you don't keep changing methods. That just causes confusion for the baby and makes him feel less secure. You do want him to develop good habits, and while you want to maximize his comfort now, you also want to minimize new problems down the road.

My guess is 7:30 is just too early. He might not be that tired, yet. If he's going to sleep and waking and back to sleep and waking for over 3 hours, I really think you're just trying to put him to bed too early.

I think the other moms make some good points, but I disagree about this being a bad habit. There's nothing wrong with you being a pacifier (he's only 6 months old!) and you're not setting a bad habit in how you are helping him get to sleep. If he were 3 years old, sure. But at 6 months, I wouldn't worry about using nursing to help him sleep or co-sleeping. Both are very age appropriate.

His sleeping needs will change as he grows, and he is likely at an age where he can stay awake longer. I would try keeping him up a little later (an hour at the most to start with) and see how he responds.

all babies have sleep troubles. For us, at age 6 months, our daughter woke up every night crying. It was a non stop thing. It passes when she was 9 months old. Babies cry, because they are hungry, they need a bottle, they are wet and need changing, they need to be burped, or have gas. Or they need to go number 2 and having difficulty. Or they just are not tired. I suggest before you go to sleep, you make sure they are worn out. Tire their mind, with maybe a mobile or music or playing with them or hypnotic noises.

Do realize this is a average problem that all parents go through. How creative you are and how you handle it is of big concern. Last thing you want is your baby to hear impatience in your voices and lack of care or love. You may not realize this, but babies record everything. And everything they hear and see will come out one way or another in their behavior or personality. If you need to complain or argue about who gets up to make the bottle or change the diaper, do it covertly.

I also agree with Sindy C. try some solid foods,
solid foods had a grounding effect. We also began baby food at 9 months. Come to think of it, maybe this is what solved our problem. Also don't put them down too early.

When my child was that age I remember her falling asleep on her own , no need to do all that so she could fall asleep . I think you had him on a schedule way too soon , if you haven’t tried feeding him Gerber or baby food I think you should start doing this , I started Gerber when my child was 4 months and so on , sometimes children can’t sleep because they aren’t full , I would suggest you try this , not that you should feed him all the foods right now but you can do like fruit sauces and soft baby foods , I did it and my child is super healthy and up to this day I don’t have to baby her to sleep . You can find the 12 pack of baby Gerber at Target , it also looks like it’s the perfect serving size for children this age especially because they also have to drink their formula . It worked wonders with mine . Just saying , in case you haven’t tried feeding him baby foods . Hope this helps