How to get him to sleep longer stretches?

amother

Linen

Sun, Jun 04 2017, 9:12 pm

My 18 month old baby still wakes up frequently at night. He has never been a good sleeper and will always wake up halfway through a nap or every hour or two at night. He has never ever slept more than 4 hours in a row and that was amazing when he reached 4 hours.
I've taught him to fall asleep in his own crib while I sit next to the bed.
However he still wakes up every hour.
How do I get him to stop waking up? I already have a noise machine.

amother

Linen

Sun, Jun 04 2017, 10:16 pm

Depends. If I'm in a sleep training time I'll tell him to lie down and go back to sleep. He cries for about 20 minutes and then goes back to sleep. And then wakes up an hour later and we repeat the process. If its been about 4 hours since the last time he nursed ill nurse him and then put him back to sleep.
After weeks of sleep training not helping with the wake ups I've gotten frustrated and fluctuate between telling him to go back to sleep and waiting out his crying, or I'll bring him to my bed where he sleeps better.

Its hard enough to let him cry it out. I can't do cio every hour all night long. Night after night. Week after week. He still wakes up.

amother

Linen

Sun, Jun 04 2017, 10:17 pm

amother wrote:

Does your baby Take a pacifier? A water bottle? I found only water at night helped my kids sleep better

No pacifier. No bottle. No blanket. That's why it is so hard.

pesek zman

Sun, Jun 04 2017, 10:26 pm

You need to pick a method and be consistent. He sounds like he's confused since sometimes crying got him nursed, sometimes it got him ignored, sometimes just shushed

Sleep training can be fairly quick (several nights to a week) if you are consistent with whatever method you choose

amother

Linen

Sun, Jun 04 2017, 11:08 pm

pesek zman wrote:

I was. But after 2 weeks I saw no improvement and took a break. Then tried again a month later for 2 weeks. Again no improvement. Repeat again and again. And here I am.

amother

Linen

Sun, Jun 04 2017, 11:45 pm

Tonight was a typical evening.
Bedtime at 8:00, nurse then fall asleep in his own bed with me sitting nearby.
Awake at 8:45. I kiss him and say lie down go back to sleep. He screams. I say no nursing. No up. Go to sleep. Screams 20 minutes then falls asleep.
10:15 he woke up. I offered him sippycup with water (I always offer it) and he drank deeply and lay down and went to sleep without crying. 11:10 he woke up. Drank deeply again. Screamed 20 minutes again. Went to sleep.

Awaiting the next wake up Mad

Back to my original question. Why does he wake up so often? And how can I extend it?

Leahh

Sun, Jun 04 2017, 11:50 pm

I would think he needs something to be able to self soothe and put himself back to sleep.
At this age a blankie is not a danger anymore. Maybe consider getting him one.
If he can't self soothe how is he supposed to go back to sleep? Give him the tools to do it then you can work on sleep training.
And like others said, choose one method and stick to it for a week to 10 days. It shouldn't take more than that, if even that long.
Is his father around? Did you try sending him into the room instead of going yourself?

amother

Ivory

Mon, Jun 05 2017, 12:02 am

Are you sure he is getting enough food before going to bed?
What does he eat for dinner, and how long before bedtime does he eat it?

When my babies woke up crying a few times a night, it meant they were hungry. And at that age, nursing is not really filling them up, its just an extra. When I started feeding them a lot more before bed, they slept much better. Even if it was just plain bread or crackers. He should feel satiated.

amother

Linen

Mon, Jun 05 2017, 12:07 am

He doesn't like blankets. Won't get attached to anything else besides me. He's very firmly attached to me which is good but makes it hard.
I've tried sending my dh to put him back to sleep. It goes the same way it does for me. He still cries etc. And still wakes up again.
sleep training has given us some improvements. He now goes to sleep on his own in his bed. When we first started he couldn't do that.
I've read the baby whisperer. And googled many different methods.
I won't leave the room while he cries. I sit next to him. I rub his back. When he asks to nurse I say no nursing. When he asks to be picked up I say no up. When he gives up he sobs his heart out then falls asleep.

I have spent hours with him crying. Everyone told me eventually they stop crying but he still cries at virtually every bedtime.

If he would wake up every 4 hours to nurse I would be thrilled. That would be amazing compared to now.

And the funniest part is that when I do eventually bring him to my bed to sleep with me (usually after 2am) he does sleep 4 hours sometimes. Usually 2 -3 hours. I just wish he wouldn't wake up every hour all evening long.

amother

Linen

Mon, Jun 05 2017, 12:10 am

amother wrote:

That's possible. I will try feeding him again between supper and bedtime to make sure he's really full. Thanks for the idea.

amother

Wine

Mon, Jun 05 2017, 6:42 am

I won't give you advice. I will tell you what worked for me. My daughter is 14 months and wakes up at least once a night and around 5:00 for the day. She cries for about hal an hour. She used to be much worse walking up every few hours.

I STOPPED FEEDING HER AT NIGHT. and she started walking up much less.

I STOPPED FEEDING HER IN MY ROOM AND DROVE AROUND FROM 5:30-6:30 TO PUSH OFF HER FEEDING. Today for the first time ever she slept through the night and woke up at 6:00. I decided to stop the water bottles too as it trains the body to get thirsty during the night. I also started giving her less food around lunch so she should be hungry for supper or giving her a snack before bed. For me it was all about the food.

I don't know how you are coping. But my body finally collapsed after so so so so many nights of disrupted sleep.

keym

Mon, Jun 05 2017, 9:18 pm

It seems to me that he is confusing hungry and thirsty. I don't feel a child that age should need to drink so much. Nursing and then so much from his sippy cup that he's soaking only a few hours later. I think you really need to feed him more and try to teach him the difference between hungry and thirsty. Warning. He may start kvetching that he wants to eat at 9 at night, but at least you can work with something if that is really what's wrong.

mommy3b2c

Mon, Jun 05 2017, 11:28 pm

tigerwife wrote:

An eighteen month old shouldn't need to nurse every four hours- he should be able to sleep for 12 hours straight! Can you cut out the night feedings?

Doesn't look like my baby got the memo. He's 21 months and wakes up to nurse every 2-3 hours!

amother

Blush

Mon, Jun 05 2017, 11:31 pm

amother wrote:

This is the first thing I thought of as well. Make sure he is getting a good solid meal before he goes to sleep for the night.