Getting a Baby on a Regular Sleep Schedule

I highly suggest reading Dr. Marc Weissbluth's book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." While many moms reject the book b/c he advocates letting the child cry in order to learn to fall asleep on his/her own, you can use the book and really not let your baby cry too much. It's important to read the book all the way through because it really helps you to understand HOW babies sleep, WHY they need to sleep and WHEN they sleep best. After different, exhausting methods with my first 2 kids, I used this book to really pay attention to the recommendations about WHEN to put the baby to sleep and it was much easier. If I put my baby down for the night at 6pm, he was so much less tired that he didn't fuss as much. He learned to sleep through the night with far fewer tears (for him or mommy) than my girls did because I focused so much on schedule and time of day that works for a baby's natural rythms. Your friend needs to wake her baby up from all the sleeping, but not let the baby be awake too long or he will get overtired and sleep poorly. The schedule described in the previous response is exactly what Weissbluth recommends so buy her the book, as it's so handy to have all that stuff written down! Wish her good luck!

Hello A.,
I had a little bit of a problem like that when my daughter was a new born. The reading I did said to start with the mornings and go from there. Set a time (mine was about 7am) and wake your baby up at that time. Let them nap when they need to, etc but wake them up every morning at 7. Make sure the house is really bright and it's louder and it will send the baby a message that it is morning. Since this baby is 7 months (and so is mine) I would say to start with the wake up and try to get the baby to stay up for two hours and then let him sleep for 2 hours and then up for 2 and nap for 2. That is pretty much my daughters schedule, so that may give you something to go by. I'm sure it's going to be tough so I wish her the best of luck!
C.

I had 2 children that did sleep like they should. In fack they didn't sleep like the should either. The we both started to sleep all night at the age of 1 year.

Be patient my dear he will start sleeping normally not every child is the same. In fact I have a sleep disorter, plus a lot of other stuff.

I know how hard this has been on you you been there done that.
don't worry yet. I know that it will all work out. Just have faith. here is my email address incaes you want to get a hold of me at anytime.

____@____.com

windows live messenger to if you want to chat on line.

I hope i helpt you you can get ahold of me in many well anways.

Hello A.,

We established a routine for our little one who is now 16months old. In the evening, we feed him around 7:30PM and around 8PM - we gave him a bath (warm water always relaxes him).
After bath time, we'll spend 10 minutes reading his books, and additional 5 minutes for cuddle time. By 8:30PM - 8:40PM he's ready to sleep.

Hope this helps.
Sheila

Wow! I read about this issue, I can think of 2 things... E.A.S.Y. program and the pick up/put down procedures. Eat, Activity, Sleep and You time. Feed the child after he wakes in 15-30 minutes, then keep him active for 1-1.5 hours, then let him sleep. This gives you time to do what you need. Pick up/put down may take awhile. Sorry to suggest this-- but get the "Baby Whisperer" by Tracy Hogg. I got it on Amazon- used book price, so I wasn't spending so much. She explains the pick up/put down better int he book. Or try searching for it online. It worked for me!

Every child (every person) is different, so unfortunately this may be "normal" for him. That said, she can certainly encourage this baby to be awake more during the day, though you say he wakes every couple of hours. If he is quietly engaged during this wake time she may be able to encourage more awake time during the day and hope for more sleep at night.

It is often important to look for early signs of tiredness and encourage sleep at that time. Once a child is over tired it is often difficult for them to settle and sleep.

Is this boy growing, thriving and developing normally? Underlying physical issues can really affect sleep, especially in the very young. Does he snore or have brief periods of not breathing while he sleeps, these can be very detrimental to overall sleep/wake cycles.

In general, at 7 months this is probably nothing to panic about and likely to fix itself with time and natural development. However it is worth ruling out underlyinig physical causes and also trying to establish a conducive routine for the wake/sleep cycle that is desired. Bed time routines (simple or complex) can really help and can be introduced very young.

Sleep patterns, even when well established are also often disrupted during times of change (either household change, or infant change - next level of development, teething, etc). The disruption is usually temporary (2-3 days to a few weeks) and normal. So even when he starts sleeping more at night, expect there to be some periods when he doesn't.

K. H.

I would recommend she read BabyWise. I am unsure of the author off the top of my head. Some are very wary of it because it asks you to wake a sleeping baby, but I used it for my two sons, my sister used it for her children and I know of several others who swear by it. YOu can check out the website/google it. It also teaches the baby to fall asleep independantly, without rocking, a bottle or any other measure. It is important for the baby to self soothe.