Sleeping pattern all over the place.

Kelly - posted on 01/09/2011

Teething gel works wonders :)

Brittnie - posted on 01/04/2011

my girl was born in february too! lol.. anyways, her sleeping patterns still vary extremely... and i have to put her to bed with a bottle also otherwise she will scream at night lol. I got my baby out of weird sleeping patterns at night by putting pablum in her bottle. I just used 2 tsps, and it worked great! first time i tried it she slept through the night. Also what i find helps, is when they wake at night, just let them fuss for a little bit and see if they go back to bed... but if they r like screaming, then go give them a bottle. My girl now goes to bed at 8... wakes up around 2, then sleeps until 8.. sometimes even 9! I dont put pablum in her bottle anymore, i just give her a snack about an hour to half an hour before she goes to bed. Usually what keeps them waking during the night is that their tummy isnt just full enough. Anyways, i hope this is helpful!

Missy - posted on 01/03/2011

My son was born in February too. My position is almost the same, although I am still breastfeeding. Our routine (which I have been in vain trying to change) is as follows:

7-7:30 breastfeed him to sleep
9-9:30 am he wakes screaming and feeds for 15 minutes until he is back to sleep, then an hour or so he is up again (same as just described).
Once I'm in bed with him, he sleeps 3 hours so till 12-12:30 and wakes to feed
Then 3 -3:30 same
sometimes he wakes at 5 am to wake for play but I manage to make him fall back to sleep by breastfeeding and then he is up at 6am.
He naps twice during the day, normally at 10 am and then 2pm for 1.5 to 2 hours.

HELP!!

Tracey - posted on 01/03/2011

My little boy is the exact same age and the exact same way with his sleeping habits! Let me know when you find the solution lol!

Melissa - posted on 01/03/2011

You need to try to sleep train your kiddo. My son woke up 10 times a night but at 6 months I sleep trained him and he sleeps through the night now like a charm. Also try dropping down to 2 naps a day. You will fond LO sleeps better at night and will probably have longer naps so that means a nice "lunch break" for you! I sleep trained using the book The Sleep Easy Solution. The key in consistency. Your little one will have a much better sleep (as will you) if he can put himself to sleep without a bottle or you helping. At 10 months there is really no need to eat at night (12 hours) unless baby has a medical condition or is under weight. Talk to your doc.

Elaine - posted on 01/02/2011

My daughter's also 10 months. At about 6 months, I started teaching her to sleep on her own using the methods from "The Sleep Sense Program: Proven Strategies for Teaching your Child to Sleep Through the Night" by Dana Obleman. It worked like a charm and she has been sleeping well from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Like any program, it required consistency and toughing out a few nights of her crying for about 45 minutes straight. The thing I like most about this book is that it emotionally prepares you for the crying part, giving basic no nonsense explanations for why it's good for your baby to learn to put him/herself back to sleep.

Courtney - posted on 01/01/2011

my son is the same way

Keri - posted on 01/01/2011

Sign up for Dana Obleman online. I followed her guidelines and let my 10 month old daughter cry it out. It took 3 nights and she is now sleeping straight through from 7:30pm to 6am, she gets a bottle at 6am then goes back to sleep until about 8am. The crying it out hurts you more than it hurts them. If you know they are not in pain then you can do. It wont take long.

Kala - posted on 12/30/2010

I had the same problem about a month ago, my LO would wake up 2-4 times a night and I assumed he was hungry, so I would nurse him and put him back to bed awake. After seeing our Dr. she told me in fact that he wasn't hungry. He was having anxiety that I have left him alone. She told me to wait to ensure he was awake (let him whine/cry 3-5 minutes) if he didn't fall asleep go in and re-assure him that you are still near. Rub his tummy, hum a tune, etc. but don't pick him up. After doing this for 3-5 minutes leave the room, he should begin to fall asleep on his own. If he doesn't try again. We had to let him cry for 5 minutes before we went back in. When I first began I was up for an hour, but was determined not to nurse him. We did this 2-3 times a night for 3 nights and every since he has slept through the night. Hope this helps.

Kayla - posted on 12/30/2010

I have similar issues with my daughter who was also born in February. The pediatrician recommended a book called Good Night Sleep Tight that was written by a well respected sleep specialist for children. The information in that book is extremely important and I don't think I'll be able to post it all here but it discusses sleep cycles, circadian rhythms, and hormones. It sounds like your son is dependent on the bottle to sleep. We naturally go through stages of sleep, with stage 1 being like halfway asleep, where we can realize that the pillow fell on the floor or that we are thirsty. As adults we have the skills to put ourselves back to sleep (at least most adults) but when our babies are dependent on the bottle or being rocked or whatever crutch we are using, when they go back to stage 1, they have to have the crutch in order to go back to sleep. It also talks about our natural circadian rhythm. When a baby sleeps at night it releases more growth hormones than during the day. Around 7pm was the recommended bed time for infants. A set schedule and routine is extremely important. Babies crave consistency as it makes them feel more secure and like they can know what to expect. I have a routine where I give my daughter a bath, then her bottle and then I read her a story, give her a big kiss and put her down drowsy but awake so that she can fall asleep on her own. The book recommends weaning. You might try watering down the bottle so that he doesn't think it's worth it anymore or a binky in place temporarily. It sounds like your son isn't hungry when he wakes up so there's not a nutritional need to give him a bottle. The routine recommended in the book is called the sleep shuffle where you lay your son down drowsy but awake and sit next to the crib, and 3 days later you move your chair further back. You can pat him intermittently to soothe him but do it in a way where he's not dependent on it to fall asleep. It helped my daughter when her eczema isn't bothering her and she is no longer dependent on the bottle or binky to go to sleep when her eczema isn't bothering her. Babies are supposed to get 11 hours of sleep a night at this age, and then about 3 1/2 - 4 hours of napping during the day so 2 naps, the first one being 1 1/2 to 2 hours long and the 2nd one about an hour and a half. Napping during the day is also really important because a well rested baby sleeps better at night than a tired and cranky baby. When babies are overtired they end up with the stress hormone cortisol which is like the baby wants to sleep but they feel like they've been given a shot of espresso so they can't sleep. It's a vicious cycle that can be difficult to break. I know this was long but I really recommend this book, and if you have any questions you can message me.

Mandi - posted on 12/29/2010

Hello , I had the same problem with my 10 month old son , until i stopped him having lots of naps during the day , he just has 1 nap now for about an hour at dinner time , and now he sleeps all night , unless he's teething lol , hope this helps x x

Lashia - posted on 12/27/2010

I agree I started putting my little man to bed at 10 and it helps a whole lot better. Now he pretty much sleep through the night. He gets up at 4 and go back to sleep about 10 minutes later after drinking not even half of a bottle. Doesn't get back up until 8 or 9 the next morning.

Reannan - posted on 12/25/2010

Yeah my 2 year old didn't sleep through the night until he was 16 months old & i had a friend who's son slept through the night from 1 month old! & my mum said i wasn't sleeping through the night till i was 3.. Im hoping he grows out of it like my eldest did :) thanks for your post though!

Heather - posted on 12/25/2010

My daughter is also 10mths like your son & does the exact same thing!! I have a 6 year old & he didn't sleep thru the night until he was 1 year old, when we finally got him his own bed. Sometimes I wonder if i can do anything different, I try to keep a routine, dinner, a bath & i lay down on the bed with her until she falls asleep then I put her in her crib, but the same every 2 or 3 hours sleep. I just do it cause I don't know what else to do, i believe every kid is different, cause i was talking to one of my friend's sister & her son was sleeping thru the night at 4mths!! So, it's not a boy or girl thing, nor are we doing anything wrong, or not feeding the child enough ( cause people are quick to say, you're not giving the child enough food) It's just their way..

Adrian - posted on 12/24/2010

I was in that position about a month ago, but I switched my daughter's bed time to 10 and woke her up at 8 in the morning, that way she only takes one or two naps a day and sleeps the whole night. Also you could, before you put your son down for bed, stuff his little belly full of something that will digest slowly, that way he will sleep longer and more soundly. I've started to feed my daughter some whole wheat or whole grain bread and juice and cheerios and a banana all within the last half hour before she goes to bed, and she sleeps marvelously. at first she would wake up once so i could nurse her, but after a month of this routine, she sleeps the full 10 hours, and she also takes good naps that aren't too long