7 month old sleep | Imamother

Rebshosh

Fri, Jun 27 2008, 10:11 am

I know there are other threads with similar questions, but none I found have been so helpful. So...

My seven month old goes to bed at 9-930 and wakes up 3 times then gets up at 8 or 9. He only takes two very short naps during the day 30-45 minutes. I know he needs to sleep longer than that because he wakes up cranky and stays cranky. The few times he takes 2 hour naps he wakes up happy and stays happy. I tried putting him to bed earlier at night but he just waks up at 4 am and wants to play. At first I was very against the cry it out method but now I am willing to try anything because I need more sleep and so does ds! I still nurse him every time he wakes up at night, but I don't htink he is actually hungry. What can I do? Is it too late to teach him to soothe himself because he is already used to me getting him right away?

Ima2

Sun, Jun 29 2008, 9:36 am

I had the same problem as you, exactly! Does your ds sleep in your room at night? If so, Isuggest moving him out. We did that and it really helped. Of course that wasn't the end answer, but it definitly helped. Then my dd kind of got into a mode of waking up around 2 or 3 for a bottle and then again around 5 and then finally woke up at around 8. I think that it was just a matter of maturing for her, b/c she would inconsistently not wake up during the night for one of those times until byt he time she was 8.5 months or so, she was sleeping through the night. Of course, I let her cry a little here and there, especially when I put her down to start off with, but she got used to it. Then when she would wake up in the middle of the night around 5, I would ignore her and she'd go back to sleep- I knew she could sleep through the night. It's never too late to teach self-soothing to a baby. Also, about the naps, she just started taking longer ones. I know it's hard, trust me, but just try these tps and wait it out, he'll grow out of it soon. Good luck!

RedVines

Sun, Jun 29 2008, 10:13 am

do you nurse? I have an almost 7 month old that I would love to be on some sort of napping sced as well as bedtime. I need help with this, seeing as how he nurses every 2 mins.

su7kids

Sun, Jun 29 2008, 11:09 am

Quite possibly you're putting your baby down to nap when he is already overtired.

Read the Baby Whisperer by Tracy Hogg or visit their website, and see if you can pick up points on how to recognize their sleep schedule before they're overtired.

An overtired baby will sleep less and wake up more tired.

pninay

Mon, Jul 07 2008, 5:47 pm

my ds did/does the same thing. hes 6 1/2 months old and I put him to bed at 845-900 and he usually sleeps thru the night UNLESS hes learning something new. like when he learned to roll over he would wake up 2-3 times a night because his body was telling him to roll over (something new he never knew how to do) then we were fine for a while and sleeping thru the night again and now he learned how to sit, so his body is trying to teach him how to sit up on his own. so we're back to waking up 2-3 times a night. what I try and do is soothe him in his bed. put in his pacifier .... turn on white noise, rub his belly, hold his hand, play with his hair softly until he falls back asleep. if none of that works then I feed him. but I always try something else first so he doesnt get used to being fed so many times a night. otherwise he wont ever stop waking up because that will be the schedule his body puts him on.

yo'ma

Wed, Jul 09 2008, 6:55 pm

I would like to know why you don't put him down more often in middle of the day.
My 7 month old is also a lousy sleeper. He usually sleeps between 20-45 minutes at a time. Usually 1/2 hour and very seldom 1 hour or more. But I put him to sleep 2 or 3 hours later each time. He doesn't sleep through the night, but bl"ah, bl"ah, bl"ah, he only wakes up once or maybe, maybe twice, depending what time I put him down for the night.

pninay

Wed, Jul 09 2008, 9:03 pm

who says I dont? he wakes up at around 730/800 ish and then naps at 11 (ish) for a bit and then again at around 2/3 for a bit. SOMETIMES he also goes down at 6, depending on the day he's had but not always and he goes to sleep for the night at 845/900.

he sleeps anywhere between 20 minutes to an hour all depending on how much he needs. he doesnt wake up until hes ready. if something wakes him up, he usually falls back asleep right away because hes still tired.

yo'ma

Wed, Jul 09 2008, 9:28 pm

pninay wrote:

I was talking to the op, sorry. She said he sleeps twice for about 45 minutes each.

Rebshosh

Sun, Jul 20 2008, 3:43 pm

I try to put him down more often, but every time it is nap time, its a big fight to get him to relax and go to sleep. I just can't handle it more than twice a day! He is BH sleeping a bit better at night now, like waking up two times, but his naps are still IMPOSSIBLE. It is driving me crazy. I try putting him down even before he acts tired, and sometimes he falls asleep better, but still doesn't stay asleep past one hour. Sometimes I let him cry but he'll scream for 20 minutes without slowing down and thats about when I go to get him. Should I just let him cry longer? And what about when he wakes up too early from his naps, let him cry till he goes back to sleep?

pinkbubbles

Sun, Jul 20 2008, 5:06 pm

this is my opinion- people will tell you different things and you might find this doesnt work for you.

If he is obviously tired but screaming because he doesn't want to sleep, go in every few minutes so he knows you are there but don't pick him up and don't stay for more than several seconds. He'll fall asleep eventually. You can do this maybe twice and then you shouldnt have to fight for the nap. (The point is not to leave him screaming for a long time) This way, he will learn to relax and fall asleep alone.

Maybe using white noise- like a fan- to block out anything that wakes him up/ using blackout shades will help him sleep longer. Also making sure the room is at a good temperature.