Screwed up Sleep Schedule

I have had my baby sleeping through the night since she was a month old. I'm talking that she has slept from 9pm unti at least 7 am, sometimes later. I used a book that had been recommended by a friend of mine and she had her little boy sleeping through the night at about 6 weeks. It's a book called Baby Wise. I truly recommend it.

What I had to do was wake him up when he starts to doze. He will be cranky for a little while, but if you continue to wake him, and lay him down when you are ready for him to go to bed, his body will reset it's clock. Wake him gently, and play with him, or have your husband play with him. Also, try laying him down for a nap around 2, and let him sleep until around 4. This may also help him to stay up later.

I am worried about that happening to us. Our 3 yr old was pretty easy. After 8 pm we made the enviorment quite and darker. I know that she stayed in our room till about 2 months. She grunted in her sleep and would wake us up all of the time. So at 2 months we started putting her in her crib. I only really remember getting up about 130 or 2 and 4 or 430 to nurse her and change her diaper. I swaddled her back up and put her back in the crib. We didn't talk or anything. There was just a soft light and a rocking chair. She would go back to sleep. That is how I remembered it anyway. With twins on the way I hope we can do about the same. So I don't know if you do all of that or what you do at midnight when you little one wakes. But try not to stimulate him to much and keep it a relaxed area. Swaddleing worked wonders for us but at 4 months I don't know if he will let you any more.
A.

If he takes naps, maybe you should shorten them during the day. Honestly...I tried to keep my daughter on a schedule...but it never worked. I just suffered through it

with both our kids they would take a nap from 5-7 then we would make sure their awake until about 11/11:30 then feed them once more and then they'd sleep until 5/530 a.m. which would be perfect to get up nurse them, put them back down while showering, dressing, & breakfast.

the best way to keep them awake is to play with them. undress them so then not too warm. warmth induces sleepiness. you can do cool sponge baths. keep him awake as long as you possibly can or as close to the time you want him to go down. we found doing just little bits at a time was harder one our kids because it didn't leave much difference in what they were doing.

Hi M.,

I know all those books out there can be so overwhelming. I don't mean to add another one to the pile, but I had the book Babywise 1. Sure, it begins at birth, but it is not too late to implement. Even though I loved the book, I was not so rigid to not break a rule because I fealt I knew my baby more than anyone else. However, their routine was awesome. My son started sleeping through the night (8:30-7am)by 10weeks old. He is now 2 1/2 and with the exception of teethings, sicknesses or occassional bad dream, he sleeps through the night 10 hours and takes a 2-2 1/2 hours nap every day.
Basicly.....kids thrive on routine....my son still does. It's a security for them and I think for us as moms too.
Hope this helps.....would love to know what ends up working for you...

well i have a seven month old so when i was having trouble with sleep patterns i would play with my baby to keep her awake as much as i could then i would change diaper and feed her..she would sleep till maybe 5 am but hey that was some sleep

Hi M.,

I am going to give you some advice on what worked for me. My son is now 2 1/2 but when he was 3-4 months old I was going crazy looking for a way to make him sleep longer and nap better. At that time I was an exhausted mess!!!!!

Here is what worked for me. I found out that my son was looking for routine. He needed to know what to expect. I knew that he needed at least 3 naps a day and to sleep at night. I began with everytime he woke up I would change his diaper and give him a bottle and then approx 2-3 hours later (when he would get fussy and tired) lay him down for a nap. He liked being swaddled and I put him is his crib when he was not fully asleep and then played his ocean aquarium (which only played for 10 min) and he would put himself to sleep.
And again when he would wake up I would change his diaper (in the same place everytime) and give him a bottle. I believe that a child feels safer if they know what to expect next and that they have a better time to learn how to self sooth.

Hope this helps. congrats on becoming a mommy!
G.

I think that your little guy is old enough to start eating cereal that will help him to sleep longer. But you need to keep him up until 7 or so then feed it. If he is falling asleep give him a bath or tumy time without any clothes. You have to be one step ahead of him falling asleep.

I would try to keep him up for an extra hour at night, because 7:00pm is a good bedtime for a 4 month old... and then see if that keeps him asleep until about 1:00am. Then feed him and change him and see how long he sleeps. It is not unusual for a 4 month old to wake up a lot. My daughter still wakes up in the middle of the night and she is 2. He will sleep more the older he gets. Do you stay up pretty late yourself? I had to get use to going to bed by 9:00pm at first so that I could get three or four solid hours of sleep, and then it was every two and a half to three hours that the baby would wake up. It is the inevitable part of parenthood. You can try to make sure that he is set on a time for his morning,and afternoon naps and have a set bedtime that you lay him down. He might just have a mind of his own right now too. Do you hold him to put him to sleep, or does he fall asleep on his own? Well, I wish you luck. Being a first time mom is hard and uncertain... but treasure it. They grow so fast.

Hi! I have an 11 month old...he's slept thru the night since he was about 2 months old. I have kept a routine that he is accustomed to and that seems to help. At 8pm, lights go off and the TV gets turned down...that's a sign that it's near bedtime. He's still napping good thru the day too. Getting on a schedule is hard when they are tiny like yours...but trust me...you'll get there! My best advice would be just to try and get a routine going...and have a "wind down" time at night that your son can get use to, if he's not already us to it. Let us know how he does!