My 8 month old still doesn't sleep through the night :(

amother

Sun, Dec 04 2011, 7:29 am

I tried so many things. My ds used to sleep 6 hours straignt, but ever since he turned 6 months old, he woke up more often during the night. Now he wakes up three times at night, which isn't bad, however, he doesn't sleep long stretches. So during his first wake up, he sleeps only 2-3 hours. I've cried the cry it out loud method, but it's just too much for me and my baby. He cries hysterically non-stop and then it's even more difficult for him to fall asleep. I bought the no-cry-sleep solution book and followed the suggestion to pull out whenever he's sleepy when I nurse him. Well, somtimes it worked, but he still doesn't sleep a long time at night. He wakes up at night wanting me to nurse him (he doesn't take a pacifier)...sometimes he falls asleep on me while walking with him around the room, but that takes like 30-40 minutes! and he's getting too heavy to hold all the time. He's going to turn 9 months next week, and he's still not sleeping well during the night...I don't know what to do anymore.

cinnamon

Sun, Dec 04 2011, 7:36 am

When you nurs him does he go back to sleep easily?

ewa-jo

Sun, Dec 04 2011, 7:45 am

Is he sleeping a lot during the daytime? If he is napping for longer stretches during the day than he sleeps at night, then he might have his days and his nights mixed up.

Could you try to keep him awake a little bit in the evenings so that he is nice and tired when you put him to bed for the night? Also, try feeding him an hour before bedtime and then again right before bedtime, so that he is full when he goes to sleep.

BeershevaBubby

Sun, Dec 04 2011, 7:49 am

9 months is a growth spurt. He could also be teething and laying down hurts his ears.

amother

Sun, Dec 04 2011, 7:56 am

cinnamon- after I nurse him at night, I put him in his crib and then he falls asleep. However, sometimes it happens that I have to walk with him in the room even after I nurse him.

ewa-jo: he takes 2 naps during the day. One nap is for an hour or two, the other nap is another hour or 45 minutes. He seems tired when I put him to sleep during the night, so I don't think he's sleeping too much during the day. I will try to feed him an hour before he sleeps like you suggested.

Yesha: he has 6 teeth already, so yea..I did think that it could be teething pain... but how come he wakes up every night three times? it's like this every night. Also, I know that 9 months is a growth spurt, but he started waking up more frequently before 9 months (like from 7 months).

ellie23

Mon, Dec 05 2011, 11:04 am

this is what I ahve observed with my own children and others. my suggestions are just that- I understand that every baby is different. when a baby is fed every few hours at night, he becomes used to getting fed then and wakes up in expectation of the food and the warmth that the feeding experience provides. however, at 8 months, your baby should be sleeping at least 6 hours straight but most sleep even longer than that. it is clear from your post that this "schedule" is not working for you. I am also assuming that the baby is a healthy weight for his age...he DOES NOT need to eat during the night- at that age he should easily be sleeping 6 hours straight with no food at all. he has grown accustomed to falling asleep with your help and with being picked up and fed when he wakes at night. my suggestion is this. feed him his supper. make sure he is clean and fully fed. place him in bed awake but sleepy and leave the room. make sure the room is dark and conducive to good sleep (sometimes white noise helps). if he likes pacifiers, put him to sleep with it. when he wakes up, maybe 2.5 hours later wait 5 minutes. sometimes babies wake up from a light sleep before they get into deep leep and they will go right back to sleep. if he is still awake after 5 minutes, go in to make sure eveyrthing is ok, and he is physically comfortable. THEN LEAVE. go in 5 minutes later if he is still upset to make sure he is ok. dont pick him up or talk to him. just rub his back for a moment so he knows you are there and then leave. then wait 7 minutes to go back, then 10- until he falls asleep. this method has worked for so many people I know and I know its so hard to hear your baby unhappy but he needs to leanr how to fall asleep and stay asleep without you- these are invaluable skills that he will need for life. if you keep feeding him or rocking him to sleep you are ultimately handicapping him by preventing him from learning to sleep without you. I did this for my daughter and after one night and 20 minutes of crying she slept longer and better wand was happier during the day. my friend did the same thing for her 5 month old and after a few days she also slept better.

one last thing- be sure that his bedtime is good for him. is he imposiible between 4 and 5 pm? that may mean his bedtime is too late and he isnt getting enough quality sleep. does he nap well during the day?this also affects how his day goes and how he sleeps at night.if his day and night routines are consistent, and you stick to your guns, he will likely sleep for longer and better- and so will you! good luck!

seeker

Mon, Dec 05 2011, 12:47 pm

I am definitely the wrong person to listen to about this, because I am still struggling unsuccessfully with my 12-month-old, but here's one eitza I've read about that seems to make sense: If he's waking up approximately the same times every night, then it's a habit he's used to. Try waking him up a little before his usual time to nurse him, to interrupt his bad pattern. Then every night do it a little earlier until it merges with his before-bedtime feeding. Hopefully this will eliminate at least one interruption.

No idea if it actually works but it sounded like a great idea in theory. I never manage to wake up in time to do that, the only thing that gets me up in middle of the night is baby howling and by then it's too late Tongue Out

amother

Mon, Dec 05 2011, 4:47 pm

Lots of 8 month olds don't. I have a 3 yr old who doesn't.

top105

Mon, Dec 05 2011, 5:23 pm

none of my kids slept through the night while I was nursing. when I weaned them, thats when they learned to sleep through the night. till then I am up with them every 3 hours for quick mid-night snack

jelly belly

Mon, Dec 05 2011, 6:54 pm

top105 wrote:

Yup, same here. I usually only woke up with them 2-3 times in a 12 hour stretch after around 14 months, but at 8 months it was definitely every 2-3 hours.

Laughing Bag!

Mon, Dec 05 2011, 7:09 pm

my 14m old still wakes up at night truth is I never tried otherwise, im bh nursing clean so if he needs the feeding I give it to him.
when dd was 10 m I did sleep train her I figured if I dont nurse clean why bother Wink

so I guess every baby is different

grin

Tue, Dec 06 2011, 1:35 am

children seem to adjust to sleeping through the night at different ages - my experience was from 6 weeks up to the longest, at a year. In general, the more active babies slept though the night earlier than the more placid ones. In short - iyh, this too shall pass.

(and yes, I nursed them all.)

cinnamon

Tue, Dec 06 2011, 4:07 am

just wanted to add that my almost 12 month old only started sleeping through the night a couple of weeks ago and still wakes up sometimes (she woke up twice last night) so if he generally goes back to sleep easily I wouldn't do anything about it.

amommy

Tue, Dec 06 2011, 7:48 am

my dd is 12 months old and she still doesnt sleep thru the nite. and it doesnt seem like its gonna happen soon:(

DefyGravity

Tue, Dec 06 2011, 8:12 am

Your baby is going to wake up constantly until you put a stop to the behavior. An 8 month old should be able to sleep through the night without getting up 3 times (or even once) to eat.

The baby is only doing this because he/she is used to it, and since he doesn't need to break the habit, there's no reason to do so.

My babies are 13 months old, still nursing, and they've been sleeping through the night since 6 months. It didn't happen magically. Most babies don't learn to sleep through the night by themselves, they have to be trained. And that's what we did. It took some time, and it was hard, but well worth it. Now my twins usually sleep from 7pm-6am.

FWIW, my son is a monster when he teethes, but will still sleep through the night. We even sleep-trained them when they had colds. There's always going to be something that will come up when you sleep train, but it NEEDS to be done.

Ima'la

Tue, Dec 06 2011, 11:59 am

I am a very big fan of "The Sleep Lady." Her method is basically to let them cry, but you stay with the baby and reassure him. It ends up being much gentler and I have found it very effective. I have left out a LOT of detail here. She has a book which is very worthwhile.