My 6Mo. Is Sleeping Even Worse Now!!

I would put him to bed at 9pm, play hard with him tickles fun stuff. A nice warm bath and fed before bed. Full stomachs seem to put all my day care kids to sleep. Baths are soothing and quiet time after a lot of play to settle him down. I have let kids cry it out. I will try rocking some and some just want always to be rocked. They will eventually sleep after crying and being upset. It also wears them out. Good Luck. G. W

Whatever your plan is, make sure you stick with it. If you don't it will be too confusing and take longer to set in. Be sure and know that it will get worse before it gets better. It's new and they don't like it. Babies and children thrive with routine. They learn what and when to expect food and sleep and that makes them feel safe and they find comfort in it. I too did the paci thing until I thought I was going to lose my mind. After a while you'll come to a cross road. Either you'll keep putting it back in and deal with losing sleep or you won't and let him work it out on his own. It's always hard to watch your babies struggle but sometimes we have to let them learn a skill on their own even while they are still very young. Not all struggles are empty and painful. Most will help us to grow and learn how to deal with life's many ups and downs. Hang in there.
Best Regards.
C.

Wow...no way! I remember setting Joe to a sleep schedule and it bit at first...I hated it. Didn't read your first post, but what worked for us and another little boy I kept was this: if you're breastfeeding, fine and good. But setting the bedtime routine is crucial. We would make the last feeding of the night with a little formula added to the breastmilk b/c the formula kept him full longer (or if you're not breastfeeding, then formula in some infant oatmeal). It's a little heavier to keep him less hungry. Our routine included a nice warm bath in a soothing manner (not so much play like a daytime bath), lotion him with lavender lotion, talking to him the whole time (quietly). We'd each cuddle him a few minutes, give him kisses, lay him in bed, turn on some soothing instrumental or worship music, and WALK AWAY. When the lights were out, it was over. He sometimes would fuss a few minutes but the same routine every night let him know what was expected. My husband made me do the cry it out thing, but I was scared it would cause "damage" to him so we had a 5 minute rule: when young, 5 minutes and when older, 7. I'd have to wait that whole time before going back, if we knew the routine was the same as always and the diaper was clean (he wore a sleepsack after too big for swaddling, so I knew it wasn't a blanket issue). What's the nap schedule like in the daytime? We would have him in bed about 7, he'd wake up 6:30-7 (we were up and getting my husband off to work), and he'd have a nap at 10 or 11 and another nap at...I think it was 2 or 3. (Been awhile can't remember exactly). I've noticed if babies are overly tired, they're too miserable to go to sleep easily, hence the 2 naps religiously. If you need to reset your baby's sleep schedule though, maybe you could try to get him to bed slightly later the first night so he wakes up at a certain time, then do the 2 naps. That would be my advice. Good luck. (I totally disagree with getting up and putting baby in bed with you because it disturbs your sleep and your marriage, but I was always a very hands on mom otherwise: daytime cuddles, laying on the mat with him, etc). He is "set" in his routine now, and even my best friend thought I was exaggerating until she babysat for us: he's 2 and if you say at the right time "let's get ready for bed" he will get his blanky, his paci, and put himself to bed and wait for his story, kisses, and hugs. Routine is everything...it's just getting it set to something that works for him. (We did pay attention to his natural needs, not our TV schedule when setting the routine). However, your wee boy is actually sleeping a long time for an infant and that's a good thing! I think the super relaxing routine helps sleep, and the last meal could keep him full. Is his diaper dirty? If all this doesn't work, he may just be hungry again. In a growth spurt, he'll get more hungry, more often. Good luck.

Have you ruled out food allergy's/intolerance or reflux? What about teething?

Doing different things will cause worse sleeping. Getting him up when he isn't sick or obviously having a problem also causes worse sleeping.

I have three boys and all three slept through the night by 6 weeks. My youngest is now two, and while getting him to go to sleep is still occasionally a battle, once he is out, he goes all night. Here is what has worked for me.

Get your child ready for bed. Even when they are tiny, give them warning. "You will be going to bed in XXX minutes." Then make sure they are fed, etc., and put them to bed. Have a routine...you either rock, or sing, or read a story book...but have a routine. Then plop them into bed. If they wake in the night, do not go in their room for 15 minutes. (20 when they are older then yours.) Your son needs to learn how to wake up and then put himself back to sleep. Right now he is clinging on the hope that you will come and get him up (that hope will make him cry longer) and he is also clinging onto the hope that you will come and help him put himself to sleep. He wants you to do all the work.

So don't go in for 15 minutes. Because you've been getting him up, he will probably have a stronger will then that. So go in his room, reassure him, DO NOT PICK HIM UP, rub his back and talk soothingly to him until he stops screaming. (If he is whimpering only at the end of your 15 minutes, don't go in...he is almost done and back asleep.)

The first three nights will be the hardest. He still has hope. He will cry a lot and you will feel like you are being a terrible mom. But you aren't. You are training him that he can do it himself. You know the trainers on the Biggest Loser who scream at their fat folks until they force themselves to get through their mental barrier and actually run? Then they are so proud of themselves because they did it. You are working with the mental issue of training and will. And by going in every 15 minutes to reassure your son (but not pick him up or give him hope) you are able to reassure yourself that (a) he is okay, (b) he isn't soaked/dirty and (c)he isn't sick.

After a while he will figure it out and start to wake up, cry a bit, and then go back to sleep. So expect one hard week but hang tough. This really does work. Really, really, really. If you are completely consistent for a week then you will see a difference in his sleep patterns.

VickiS

Google the Sleep Lady. When my youngest was still waking every hour at 10 months I read her book and alot of ideas helped alot. I wouldn't say it was the "end all, do all," but it was great:)!

I agree with the mom who said, "Stick to a routine." However, don't be so inflexible that you never change the way you do things. As you know, their sleep habits change as they grow. At his age, he may be cutting a tooth and this could cause him to wake up during the night. If that is the case, I would give Tylenol before bed. I'm not a big believer in letting babies cry it out, but I'm a little more forgiving of cry it out since my second son was born. He was a terrible sleeper until he was around 6 months and just when we have a routine down, he changes the way he wants to do things. So, I do let him cry a little bit-under 20 minutes- if there is no other way and we've tried everything, but he is 18 months old now. Just start a bedtime ritual, decide what you're going to do if he wakes up and follow through. Good luck to you both!!

Hi A.. My son has had similar sleeping problems. Our pedi recommended that we try the advice of Kim West in her book Good Night, Sleep Tight. The methods really have helped us. My son is still not a very good napper, but he does really well at night now. Also, as far as the pacifiers go, the author I mentioned recommends putting several in the crib so the baby can learn how to put them back in himself. That has been a huge help for us... Good luck and God bless!

It sounds like a growth spurt or teething. My son did this at 3, 6 and 9 months. I fed him when he woke up (between 4-5) and put him back to bed. After a few weeks he started sleeping through the night again. If you think he is teething, try Motrin. It works better and lasts longer. Also, Hylands teething tabs are awesome. I would't start "helping" him back to sleep. That can start a bad habit. I know it can be vert stressful when babies have night waking. It ususally doesn't have anything to do with how much you play with them or how much they had to eat that day.

Good luck!

I definatley agree that you need o stick with a routine. I am not sure when you feed him solids but maybe he is a little hungry. My son is more difficult at sleeping than my daughter. I thought I was going to loose my mind. She slept throught the night at 12 weeks. Him, not so much. Try putting him to bed a little later. I know it is frustrating but it will get better. Good luck.

Hi A.! My son did this too. At 7 months, I just let him cry it out. I would peak in his room to make sure he wasnt hanging out of the crib or anything "wrong" with him. If he looked ok, I would let him cry. He did eventually stop. The problem with the paci is it comes out of his mouth and falls on the floor so he cant find it. I just took my sons paci away and he sucked on his blanket. I hope this helps!

I am sorry, but let him cry it out. Maybe turn tv on or the radio. Maybe get him a cool crib toy. My daughter has a Fisher Price fish that you hang on the crib. I press the lullaby button and the fish dance to it. I call it baby tv. She loves it and by the end of it she is asleep. I wouldn't recommend feeding him unless you want to keep up waking up for the rest of the time. He is a good age to cry it out because he can't walk or climb out of bed. Remember it is easier to deal with a 6 month old crying then a 1 or 2 yr. old. Toughen up, rent a movie and when he starts crying you watch your movie in a different room. I know that is not what you want to hear. Good Luck L.

My daughter was a terrible sleeper until age 1. If you don't want to do cry it out, then just enjoy the time spent with him and soothing him until you are ready to do cry it out. I miss rocking my daughter to sleep. The time goes by so quickly. I finally did CIO with her because I had to rock her for HOURS each night and was getting less than 3 hours all together of sleep each day. After 3 days of CIO she became a terrific sleeper, but I lost that special time with her. I wish I hadn't given her pacifiers at that age because we had a terrible time breaking her of the habit at 19 months old, but we used to put several in her crib and she learned to grab one when she wanted it.

I do think it's important around age 1 to get good sleeping habits down because once they transfer out of a crib it is impossible to keep them in bed if they don't want to be there!

Hi A.,
I know exactly what you are going through. I have been through it twice with both my boys. It is not a fun place to be and especially when your exhausted.
It seems if your baby is worse now than he was before it might just be because he's confused. You said you had tried everything that other people had offered as advice and if that is the case than he may just be confused now more than ever about the routine. Babies as I'm sure you already now thrive on routines. It might take some time to get a routine established but once you do you will definatly see results. My kids went through the same thing as yours is going through now and believe me I tried everything also.. some good some bad. Some worked, some didn't but it wasn't until I decided on my plan and stuck with it to the end that he started sleeping better.
I think the worse thing to do is to feed him or take him back to bed with you. That is only setting you up for more bad habits to break later. It might bring temporarily relief but not in the long run.
What I did was when he first started to cry I waiting a certain amount of time ( I think I started with 1 minute) and then would go in there and pat his back. Just to reassure him that I was there and all was okay. It is important to not talk to him though as that will only stimulate him more when he hears your voice.
I would pat him for a few seconds and then leave.
If he is still crying that is okay just go ahead and go and the next time wait about 2 or 3 minutes before you go back in there and do the same thing. (remember no talking or saying ANYTHING). Keep doing this and each time make your time in between going in there longer. I don't believe in just letting your child cry and cry until he falls asleep. At that age they need reassurance from you that it is still okay. You may get to the point where there is several minutes in between each time you go in there which believe me seems like an eternity when they are crying but it's okay, he knows your there.
Do this until he falls asleep. And each time he wakes up in between, this is what you have to do. In my experience it took 3 days before he was sleeping through the night and in between (especially if you have to go to work during the day and can't nap) you are tired from being up during the night but trust me it will pay off in the end when you are both sleeping for several hours at a time without waking up.
Whatever you decide whether it be this or to take someone else's advice is to devise your plan and then stick with it. It may take a week or longer but once you get your routine established you will both be happier in the long run. I always had to remember that when I first started and it was really really hard and I was so tired that it was probably harder on me than it was on him.
I hope you will find this advice helpful and if not then I hope you will find something that will work for you so that you both can get some much needed rest.
Good luck and please keep us all posted on the outcome!

Does Tylenol help? My daughter started sleeping terribly at 6 mos and a few weeks later all 4 top teeth came in right around the same time! She is always much more fussy before I can actually see the teeth breaking through. Tylenol is non-sedative, so it will not "make" him sleep (and obviously I'm not suggesting anyone do that!), but if he is crying and fussy and then sleeps after taking tylenol, it is because he was in pain that you've now fixed. In any case, good luck - not getting any sleep is just the worst!!

in same boat - 6 month old not sleeping. first slept through the night starting at 3 months old. not going to into why b/c it is complicated. However, I had a heart-to-heart with my pedi at her 6 month well. I let her cry herself back to sleep that same night which was last thursday and she has been sleeping through the night ever since! Do whatever you feel comfortable doing; however, my husband and I were just exhausted. It was effecting our marriage and relationship with older daughter. Being constantly tired causes a lot of frustration.