A Call for Help From Other Super Moms
Okay Mamas out there in Blog World, I need tips on how to get my baby to sleep through the night.
My almost 9 month old refuses to sleep through the night. It's time to get this under control. Most nights he gets up two times and is up for the rest of the day at 7am. This Mama is tired, especially after these past two weeks of holidays, all three kids home (school is back in session this week, YEAH!!) and out of town guests. I have a copy of "Nighttime Parenting- How to Get Your Baby to Sleep Through the Night" on my dresser but I'm just to darn tired to read it all. Plus, with loads of laundry sitting all over the place waiting to get washed, folded, or put away, who has the time! I've read the first 11 pages and it does seem to be a great book. In fact, I started it with my other two babies when they too would not sleep through the night and before I could finish, or even make a dent, they issue resolved itself. So it looks like this time I will get a chance to finish it. But while I'm doing that, I also want to know what has worked for real moms in this situation.
As a way of background info, I'm still nursing and when he gets up, he wants to nurse and he has a full feeding. Sometimes I can give him his binky instead of nursing him but I've read that you shouldn't do that.
So, any helpful advice would be appreciated!
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6 comments:
From my experience, your baby either 1) really does need to be fed during the middle of the night, or 2)just wants your company. If it is the former, he simply can't sleep through the night. If it is the latter, you can try going cold turkey and letting him cry himself back to sleep a few times (VERY hard) or you can slowly get him used to it by waiting longer before getting him each time.
Thanks Revka! Yes, I think it's either 1 or 2 but I don't know how to solve it. I tried the cold turkey method with my oldest and for over 2 hours he screamed himself into an exhausted state. When I went to check on him in the morning, he was sitting up, fast asleep, gripping his crib bars. He slept until 10 am, as opposed to 7 am. So I don't have the heart for that.
awww! i am picturing your oldest asleep and hanging onto the crib bars -- poor thing. i wouldn't have the heart for that either. it's hard for me to give advice on this topic b/c i have been v. lucky with my daughters and their sleeping habits. [except for the whole refusal to sleep in a crib thing -- Youngest sleeps on her crib mattress on the floor with bed rails -- bizarre, I know but why fight it] The only thing I can think of which may help is to test Little B out to see if it's 1 or 2 of the options that revka mentioned. Instead of feeding him milk, give him some water to drink. Since water isn't nearly as exciting as mommy's breast or milk, then he may get bored of waking up for water. and maybe make sure that he is well-fed before bed (i.e. rice cereal or something). Apparently, at his age, he shouldn't need to eat during the night. that's all I got!
I know what you mean about not having the heart for it. My oldest girl is 4 and has only stopped waking up asking for milk sometime during the past 3 months. Of course, that's probably because I FINALLY got smart and started only giving her water in her sippy cup at bedtime. It ook me long enough to figure that one out! Justice Fergie is right, water is not as thrilling as milk. All 3 of my girls are now sleeping through the night on a regular basis, and I am simply ecstatic to be able to get a full night's sleep after 4 years. Not to discourage you or anything. (grin)
I like the water idea a lot. I know he shouldn't be waking up for a feeding but he does. I'll try the bottle of water and see what happens. Hubby will have to give him that because he will wake up the house if I gave him a bottle.
Thanks for the tips!
I would try to give him a bottle. I was in your exact situation and DD was getting up 3 to 4 times a night. As it turns out, she was hungry because my breastmilk wasn't satisfying her any more. Although switching from the breast only to bottled formula was a little disturbing, it wasn't as bad as I thought because she got her act together in less than a week.
Now, she gets up once during the night (usually after about 8 hours of sleep). I tried the water but that didn't work out for me because she simply woke up 2 hours after the water. Maybe I should have stuck with it for a longer period, but I didn't. So, now I stumble into her room and give her a bottle. I'm usually asleep before she even finishes that bottle and then I see her in the morning.
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