First of all, I love this site! All you moms are so helpful, I've asked so many questions and gotten great advice, so THANK YOU!
So... my 9 week old son was doing really good sleeping for longer and longer stretches during the night. He was up to sleeping about 5 hours straight, then he'd be up for a change/feeding and go back to sleep for another 1-2 hours and be up at about 5:30am. For whatever reason the last couple weeks he's regressed and now only sleeps for maybe 1.5 hrs to 3 at a time and when I try to put him back in his crib, he wakes up within 15 minutes, fussing, crying, etc.
I don't believe in the whole "spoiling your baby" thing, so if he just fusses, I'll let him alone to see if he falls asleep, but if he seems really unhappy and cries, I've just been taking him into bed with me where I sit up and watch TV while he sleeps in my arms. As much as I love holding my sweet boy, when I've been up in the middle of the night for 4 hours straight I need sleep! I'll try putting him down again and again, and the same thing happens. Am I too worried about it? Will he outgrow this stage? He just seems to sleep more soundly during the day and I dread having to try to put him back in his crib every night - he seems like he hates it!
Take him to bed with you, sleeping in your arms, and you go to sleep to. That's called co-sleeping :-) It's what I did, I know it's not for everyone, but everyone gets to sleep that way.
Hi S.!
I'd like to share some thoughts are unfortunately not talked about enough in our society.
Many moms report experiencing issues with getting their babies to stay asleep. But what is really going on in many cases is simply the biology of a newborn baby. Babies are supposed to wake up every couple of hours to eat. Their ability to wake at night is actually a protective mechanism and can help prevent SIDS. Often we impose unrealistic expectations on babies, assuming they should be sleeping through the night. When they wake up they are simply doing what they are supposed to do.
Of course you do need to get sleep and feel rested!! I'd like to suggest another idea that you may not have considered but one that IS actually safe and can be very beneficial. Families around the world have been doing it for years with success and well respected baby experts like Dr. Sears and Dr. James McKenna highly recommend it. But often its looked down upon in our society. It works extremely well for our family. What is it? Sleep sharing. Bringing your baby to bed with you at night. He can sleep near you in your bed or you could try a co-sleeper, which is a small crib that attaches to your bed. Its been shown that moms who co-sleep actually get better sleep than moms who don't. You don't have to travel far to get to your baby and you can respond quickly (baby doesn't get so worked up, is more easily calmed). If you are nursing, you can use the side-lying position while co-sleeping and simply go right back to sleep. Your baby may fall back to sleep much more quickly and stay asleep longer with the comfort of knowing you are close by. It doesn't mean you will be sleeping with your child when they are 15. For more information about this look at The Baby Book by Dr. Sears, Chapter 15: Nighttime Parenting: How to Get Your Baby to Sleep. Also check out Dr. James McKenna's website. He runs the Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Lab, has published many good articles and books on this subject and poses the question to us, "Is it safe for our babies to sleep alone?" His website is: http://www.nd.edu/~jmckenn1/lab/index.html
Dr. Sears website is:
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/7/T070300.asp
Best wishes for you and your family!!
A. D.
Hi S.,
He may be going through a growth spurt - has the amount he eats changed? Is he breast or bottle fed? Can you try feeding him a couple ounces less at the 8ish feeding so that he eats a couple ounces more at the midnight ish feeding? That should get him til 5:30 without waking up!!!
One other note..... yes, I'll admit it. I co-slept (Oh the horror!!!!). LOVED IT. no need for you to stay awake while baby sleeps. You can sleep too. If you aren't super comfy with him in your actual bed - you can get a bassinet that is the same height as your mattress and put it right next to you so he lays in the bassinet and you can have your hand on his back as you are on your side.
You don't have to co-sleep forever - I transitioned my daughter back to her bed around 6 or 7 months.
Good Luck
PS - yes you're too worried and yes he'll grow out of it. Repeat that for the next 18 years!!!!!!!! :-)
He is most likely in a big growing spurt. Feed him and change him and put him back to bed. A few days or a few weeks and he should go back to sleeping.
Also to be considered: Teething. Yes, I said teething. It takes any where from a month to 3 months for a tooth come in. Most babies don't start teething till about 6 months, but some start quite earlier. My oldest had his first tooth right at 3 months, my second had his first tooth at 1 week shy of 4 months, my third had her first tooth about 1 week after she was 4 months. On the other hand, my cousins babies did not have their first teeth till well after a year old.
Hi--
You've gotten good advice already, but just to add---I love sleep sharing!!! My babies feel safe and I know they are safe because they are right there. You're son doesn't like to be in his crib because he is completely helpless there. Imagine having no control over your limbs, no control over eating, no control over shelter, and not having your caretaker there. It is scary. That's why Mommy's hate to hear their babies cry and why babies hate to be put down. It's really pretty simple :-)
Good luck!!
J.
I recommend the book Babywise. It will help get him on a sleep schedule.
He sounds like one of my babies! (ages 8,5,and10months) Slept good and then out of nowhere decided they needed to be held by me to sleep. They all ended up sleeping in bed with me and my husband. I regret being lazy and not toughing it out though. You could let him cry it out, or just put him in your bed. I recomend crying in out though, it's a pain sleeping with a baby. When he cries if he isn't in need of a feeding then go in after like say 5 min and comfort him put him down and then keep extending the time you stay away, you will be tired for a while but it sounds like you already are. Wouldn't you rather sleep with the one/two people in the world you love the most? So he probably does hate his crib..lol
