How to get baby to sleep through the night!!

mommyto3RN

Thu, Apr 30 2015, 12:59 pm

Long post sorry

This is not my first kid lol but I just cannot seem to get him to sleep through the night and he's 5 1/2 months and I'm just so sleep deprived!! I work 40 hrs/week so by the time I come home and get all kids in bed I'm zonked and theres so much to do and I just need some rest!!

So I have a 3 and 2 year old and then the 5 1/2 month old. The other 2 were much better sleepers, I never felt so sleep deprived. Maybe because he's a boy the others are girls I don't know. He doesn't always eat super well, he did have RSV few months ago since then it's hard to feed him his bottle in full, before that since 3 weeks about he was downing 4 oz always. Then the RSV hit and he started eating poorer. The middle of the night feeding is good and the morning feeding is good and he did start solids, but only eats the baby cereal he won't touch anything else whether home made or store bought jars, vegetables or fruit, he only eats the cereal. The Dr did say to start him if he wants because he had good head control ect.

So his eating varies during the day, we wait for him to really cry to eat sometimes because that way he'll actually eat well other wise even on schedule he won't eat well. I try try to load him up on food, formula/cereal before bed but right before bed he won't really take a bottle. I have the same routine everyday, I put him to sleep the same time every day, about half hr here or there, like 7/7:30 depending on what is going on with other kids. He showers regularly to relax him before bed as well. So he'll sleep till 12/1 and then eat again and sometimes goes back well and sometimes not. He may sleep till 6 am but with giving him a pacifier many times and sometimes he gets up at like 4 screaming and not go back to sleep.

He has doubled his weight and is almost 15 pounds so the Dr said he can sleep 10 hrs straight.

WHAT DO I DO WITH HIM? he is a good baby overall BH, wants to be held more then the other kids, but it's understandable bc now we are near my in laws who hold him when they see him a nice ammount and his sitter like barely leaves his side.

I just don't know what to do to have him eat better before bed and have him sleep more!! I never had to really let my other kids cry it out but would be ok with it, I just really don't know what to do!

Pls any suggestions!!!

smss

Thu, Apr 30 2015, 1:21 pm

every child is different. I believe that STTN is a developmental stage, not just about being ready to go x hours without food. it sounds like most nights your baby eats once over an 11-hour period, which is actually completely NORMAL for a 5.5 month old.

the pacifier is probably creating a sleep association for him. if you can wean him off that slowly (maybe introduce a lovey instead), that might help.

hugs. it is so hard, but it really doesn't last forever.

mommyto3RN

Thu, Apr 30 2015, 1:25 pm

Thanks! On a good night it's once. Recently been 2x about even if I feed him while he's sleeping before I go to bed. I give him a soft toy I guess what youd call a lovey? Besides the feedings he cries a good number of times some nights, it's just hard to keep waking up every night multiple times sometimes, my other kids also had pacifiers they cried for them sometimes but not multiples times and they'd go right back to sleep with no issue.