baby wont sleep thru night and mommy exhausted!!!!!

Andra - posted on 02/10/2009

Quoting Jennifer:

I guess every baby is different.. I am just convinced my 23 lb butterball is hungry.. We got a great routine before bedtime and goes to sleep at 7:30 with no problems and he eats plenty during the day... guess he feels the need to eat us out of house and home. I've even tried letting him cry it out and that doesn't work. Guess I will be sleep deprived until he is 18.

Is the sweet butterball eating enough during the day? Has he ever slept a longer strech of time? My 7 and a half month old has been a fairly erratic sleeper- she slept through the night (9pm to 5am) at 12 weeks for 2 whole months--then she started waking first at 4am then at 3am then at 2am and 5 then at 1 and 4. Then she reversed just a few weeks ago. I don't know what to blame it on except a little sleep training.  We decided to let her cry a little and it worked.  She nurses to sleep at night and if she is somewhat awake she puts herself to sleep with a paci.  She gets 3 good-sized meals during the day including a grain cereal (rice, millet, barley, or oatmeal), goatyogurt, fruit, veggies, and some sort of protein + breastmilk (no formula).  We are not huge on a set night time routine- she gets changed in her nighty, we read a book or two, then nurses, then goes to bed.  I encourage everyone to try sleep training-- I was MORTIFIED of having to hear Louise crying, but finally broke down after realizing exactly how much she needs to learn how to sleep.  You are not doing the baby any favor by picking them up and not allowing them to try to fall asleep on their own.  We began by putting her to sleep earlier-- she is out by 7pm.  We never let her get too upset, but I do have to say that we became a bit more tolerant to her cries.  The last week she slept anywhere from 7pm to 3:30 am to 7pm to 6am! Eventually it will get better anyway, but I truly think that we are reaching an age where sleep training is perfect-- once they get more mobile, it will get tougher.

Kirsty - posted on 02/10/2009

aup chick!!! wen mine dint sleep all i did wo feed her a couple o yogurts n then there milk n i had no props since!!!! ow old is she?

have u tried changing her milk?

have you been doctors to see if she ok within herself?

Julie - posted on 02/10/2009

My  son was sleeping through the night and soothing himself back to sleep when he woke until the holiday season.  My family is large and stresses him out every time we get together as a whole unit.  Unfortunately, someone also passed a cold onto him and he had trouble sleeping at night because he couldn't breathe.  I started nursing him again during the night because he had a fever and occasionally brought him to bed with us to make sure he was breathing ok and now he won't soothe himself to sleep anymore.  He would scream and scream until I would nurse him and put him down again - sometimes 3 times a night.  We've gotten past that now, but now instead of nursing he wants his pacifier.  The more I let him cry, the wider awake he is and the longer it takes him to fall asleep again.  How do I get him to soothe himself to sleep again?

Julie - posted on 02/10/2009

My  son was sleeping through the night and soothing himself back to sleep when he woke until the holiday season.  My family is large and stresses him out every time we get together as a whole unit.  Unfortunately, someone also passed a cold onto him and he had trouble sleeping at night because he couldn't breathe.  I started nursing him again during the night because he had a fever and occasionally brought him to bed with us to make sure he was breathing ok and now he won't soothe himself to sleep anymore.  He would scream and scream until I would nurse him and put him down again - sometimes 3 times a night.  We've gotten past that now, but now instead of nursing he wants his pacifier.  The more I let him cry, the wider awake he is and the longer it takes him to fall asleep again.  How do I get him to soothe himself to sleep again?

Nicole - posted on 02/10/2009

Oh sleep....its a never-ending topic isn't it?!? We struggled with night time wakings and getting settled for bedtime and used the book 'No cry sleep solution'. We liked it because the first step was journaling what's really happening and then creating a solution that works for you and your babe. Our son is now sleeping right through the night. I also agree with the mom who made comments about food, when we started solids he was able to go longer without nighttime feeds. All babies are so different! Good luck

Dana - posted on 02/07/2009

Any large book store should have it.....but i know you can get it on amazon.

Sonya - posted on 02/06/2009

where would i get this book?

Dana - posted on 02/06/2009

I had this problem very early on and my best friend that had a 9 month old at that time had recommended the book "On becoming Baby Wise"...I don't remember exactly how much it will apply this late in the game...but it got my lil one sleeping at least 10 hours straight from 6 weeks old...We hadd some issues the past few weeks but it was just a phase. I have recommended this book to everyone b/c it makes so much sense and has worked for everyone i know of. Hope this helps!

Cheryl - posted on 02/06/2009

ALL MUMS READ THIS !!!!!!!   I had the exact problem and was told THE best solution...have u noticed that ur babies started waking during the night when they became more active during the day , eg crawling ???      The problem is they are burning more calories then they can eat during the day and are being woken up at night by their rumbling tummies, not hungry for milk, but for food. !!  

   After a month of not sleeping longet then 1 hour at a time during the night, i was at my wits end, and i was given great advice my a child health nurse...FOOD FOOD FOOD !!!

  I know feed my bubs low-gi breakie, Porridge or rice cereal,  Meat and veg for lunch, followed by custard or fruit... dinner about 5.30 , meat and veg,   then he has roasted pumpkin and potato cubes and plain pasta to eat (with his own little hands) while the family eats dinner...the potato,pumpkin and pasta fill him up, and after bathtime and his nighttime bottle he is out like a light !!!  

 He now goes down at 7.30pm..wakes up (if at all)  about 3 for a bottle..then asleep til 7am...not bad considering he hasnt slept very well at all in months !!

 Trust me mums...the extra food, the low-gi food REALLY helps !!!

Rachel - posted on 02/04/2009

My daughter had the same issue, and I finally figured what works out for us.

1. my daughter takes a morning or afternoon nap and I never let it go past 3 hours.

2. I feed her baby food mixed with cereal

3. I give her a bath and let her splash around.

4. I don't pick her up in the middle of the night unless she is sitting up or standing. If she wakes up and is still lying down I just let her wail a bit because it means she is going to go back to sleep within ten minutes at the most.

Hope this helps.

Valérie - posted on 02/03/2009

Hi Angela

So many people talked about a quiet bedtime routine. I thought hers was fine since it included bath, massage, bottle and bed, but I realized it was noisy and bright. I made it quiet and with lights very dimmed for 45 minutes so she could really wind down. Someone said it's better to let the baby settle herself, which I do with Angélina. Also, Celeste wrote a note about putting lots of pacifiers in the bed, which I did. And I trained her to put them in her own mouth by handing her the pacifier rather than put it in her mouth for her. Last night she cried only once and it was because the pacifiers had got out of her reach. I didn't need to let her cry down or anything like that, which is a relief. Though I don't go in for a little wimper. Hope that helps!

Angela - posted on 02/03/2009

Valerie what suggestions did you use?

Angela - posted on 02/03/2009

Valerie what suggestions did you use?

Sonya - posted on 02/03/2009

Tx for all the great ideas all!! So far she has been sleeping much better, only waking once a night now, the other times she wakes I let her fall asleep without bothering her and she does fine (tho i still have to stop daddy from getting outta bed to grab her on habit) he started asking me if he should get her or not. I bought some lavender scented candles for scent and just tub time with no soap seems to be ok for her skin. Even my 2 yr old is sleeping better!!! Ahhhh, i forgot what rest was like, lol.

Valérie - posted on 02/03/2009

Quoting Valérie:

My little girl also still wakes. Usually between 1-5 times. She is very easy to settle and just needs her pacifier -- this is probably her nature plus the fact that I let her settle herself lying in her crib from the first days rather than rock her etc. I'm pretty sure that the reason she wakes and doesnt settle back to sleep on her own is that I don't give her enough time to do so. I'm jumping out of bed quick as I can!! It's ridiculous. I want to leave her to fuss a little until the crying gets sincere, but I'm not very rational in the middle of the night and forget my resolutions...

Thought I should post again to say: my daughter slept through the night yesterday!! from 6:40pm to 8:30am ¨(bliss) Thanks to the suggestions made here. Here's what I did differently:

- she had a routine, but it was noisy because part of it was alongside my 2year old eating, etc. Now I have a quiet pre-bed routine away from the commotion that lasts about 45 minutes. The end of it = I let her play quietly in her room with lights dimmed, then lay her down, with light and show mobile (Tomy), pacifier...

- I trained her to put her pacifier in her own mouth. And I put several near her head, as someone had suggested.

BTW, Sonya, could you give your baby a massage with hypo allergenic cream rather than a bath? My daughter loves it. It's relaxing for both.

Sonya - posted on 01/29/2009

i tried the bedtime bath soap and lotion, thats what i use for my 2yr old, but lil elly broke out in a head to toe rash from it, and anything with fragrance. I really wish she could use it, i use it myself sometimes and it is so calming. does anybody know of any room fragrances that i dont have to spray ( i am avoiding anything that could cause asthma or allergies)

Mindi - posted on 01/28/2009

We have a bedtime routine as well and try to be very consistant.  I use the Bedtime bath & lotion by Johnson's and swear by it!  The first time we used the bath, the baby slept through the night for the first time and I ran out the next day and bought the lotion to go with it.  I too am afraid to stop using it because we have a baby that sleeps a consistant 10-11 straight at night!!

Raeny - posted on 01/26/2009

just to concur i was praying that no cry sleep solution would work as i am not a fan of crying it out however i thought the pick them up until they stop crying and then put them down immediatley was a bit ridiculous cosidering he would stop crying when i came in the room and then proceed until hysterics until i picked him up and would just go into hysterics everytime i put him down. maybe it worked for some people but definitely not us. like i mentioned he will cry a little sometimes but usually not and it isn't hysterics and never for more than 10 mins almost like just voicing his disdain haha.

Ashlynne - posted on 01/26/2009

Its the same for my daughter. She wakes up every 2 hours and at either 1am or 4am decides its a great time to play and will talk to herself (yelling actually) for 1-2 hours. I've tried the no cry sleep solution and my daughter seems to cry more than she did before. There are some really good tips on here...I will be trying some of them out.

Natalie - posted on 01/26/2009

Quoting J. Celeste:

Our girl has slept through the night for the past 6 nights. We have no idea what changed, but we're just praying it doesn't go back! Things started to get better when she could "bink" herself, so we put about 10 binkys/pacifiers in her crib each night! We let her cry a bit when she first wakes up at night, and now, she'll go back to sleep as soon as she finds a binky. Good luck!

that is such a great idea

Natalie - posted on 01/26/2009

my little girl is seven months now, she gets two naps a day no later then 5:00pm. i feed her solid food morning afternoon and night. she was waking every 2hrs then i started what she is doing now. i also have music playing always and sometimes very loud even if she is naping. i give her a 6 to 8 oz bottle before bed. she is now waking up only once at 2:00am and then again at 7 or 8am. i would make sure not to talk to her at all that stimulates her. my first was not this hard, so hang in there youll figure out what she needs.

J. Celeste - posted on 01/26/2009

Our girl has slept through the night for the past 6 nights. We have no idea what changed, but we're just praying it doesn't go back! Things started to get better when she could "bink" herself, so we put about 10 binkys/pacifiers in her crib each night! We let her cry a bit when she first wakes up at night, and now, she'll go back to sleep as soon as she finds a binky. Good luck!

Jennifer - posted on 01/26/2009

I guess every baby is different.. I am just convinced my 23 lb butterball is hungry.. We got a great routine before bedtime and goes to sleep at 7:30 with no problems and he eats plenty during the day... guess he feels the need to eat us out of house and home. I've even tried letting him cry it out and that doesn't work. Guess I will be sleep deprived until he is 18.

Jenny - posted on 01/26/2009

Quoting Sonya:

yea i'm thinking the main problem is daddy jumps up durin the night as soon as she cries to put her in bed with us. She goes to bed awake each night and falls asleep on her own then, but thats the only time. I've started to sleep on the outside so mebe he wont jump up so fast to grab her!!!! lol

Ahhhhhh!! Men. I would say that you need to tackle him so that you can give the little sweetie 5 minutes to see if she will put herself back to sleep. Start tying him to the bedpost!!! ;)

Good luck hun!

Sonya - posted on 01/26/2009

Quoting Jenny:

Do you use a pacifier or does she suck her thumb? REason I am asking is apparently they have different sleep stages that they will wake up in. Babies that 'sleep through the night; are actually waking, but they are putting themselves back to sleep. My little guy sucks his thumb and I have woken up to go to the bathroom when he has been awake and sucking away but he goes back to sleep. I am wondering if maybe a pacie or something would help your little one be able to comfort herself to sleep?

no thumb sucking or paci, i tried the paci for a very long time and she never took to it, now when i still try, she just chews and plays, then tosses it aside...hoping the daddy "control" will work, she did only get up once last night! But I've had a few of those, try not to get too hopeful here, lol.

Sonya - posted on 01/26/2009

yea i'm thinking the main problem is daddy jumps up durin the night as soon as she cries to put her in bed with us. She goes to bed awake each night and falls asleep on her own then, but thats the only time. I've started to sleep on the outside so mebe he wont jump up so fast to grab her!!!! lol

Jenny - posted on 01/26/2009

Quoting Angela:

Thank god I am not the only one!  We are waking up every 2-3 hours every night... more when sick.  I dont have the heart for cry itout and like others my resolve fades in the middle of the night esp when I have to work the next day.  Please someone tell me that they out grow this stage

Of course they grow out of this stage!!! And it will happen sooner than you think - hang in there!!

Jenny - posted on 01/26/2009

Quoting Sonya:

we do have the nighttime routine, minus the bath because she has really dry skin, for my older ones night routine also. She is so sporiadic with the times she wakes, i cant even figure that part out. My first slept thru the night so soon that i said the next one would be payback, lol. I'm so tired of dragging myself thru the days tho! and she only takes two 1/2hr to hr naps a day. Very active kiddo!!!

Do you use a pacifier or does she suck her thumb? REason I am asking is apparently they have different sleep stages that they will wake up in. Babies that 'sleep through the night; are actually waking, but they are putting themselves back to sleep. My little guy sucks his thumb and I have woken up to go to the bathroom when he has been awake and sucking away but he goes back to sleep. I am wondering if maybe a pacie or something would help your little one be able to comfort herself to sleep?

Also, do you put her to bed awake, or asleep? I have heard and read that if you put them to bed awake, and then wait in the room and comfort them when they cry without taking them out of the crib, by rubbing their tummy or singing, that they learn to fall asleep on their own and then will sleep through the night.

I'm trying to think of anything that you can try!! Being tired is soooo hard!!! And we have a hard enough job as mommies without adding to it!! Keep up the positive attitude !

Raeny - posted on 01/26/2009

I agree with Allie. My little stinker is not sleeping through the night either. We do have a nighttime routine that seems to work better than anything else that we have tried. We start off with a bath (usually). Then he gets the boob and then we sway togther and I either read or tell him a story. I sing him his song and then turn on his cd (disney lullaby's) and he goes to sleep. This usually keeps him sleeping for a few hours. He gets up one more time after I go to bed at which point daddy or I bring him into the bed where he gets the boob again and a little snuggle then he goes back to his own bed (which is in our room). I hope this is helpful I know it is not through the night but it does keep everyone mostly asleep so I don't feel really tired unless he has a really bad night which are few and far between.

Tara - posted on 01/25/2009

Our baby has slept through the night since about 12 weeks old. We just have a routine and stick with it. We give her a bath and then her last bottle gets rice cereal in it. I don't do that anymore but we did a few months ago. I know it can be stressful, I remember when she didn't. I don't have family around me because DH to help. But then he worked when i was off for the baby. BIG HUGS

Sue - posted on 01/25/2009

Me too - ugh! My son slept though the night at 2 months - for about 2 weeks! He then started waking up approx. every 90 minutes and did that for about 4 months. Ever since, he wakes up every 2 or 3 ours. Every night! I have tried crying it out too - didn't work. Ditto strict routine and others. He goes to bed great, falls asleep on his own - but can't do that when he wakes up at night. I end up bringing him into bed with me - not very ideal for either of us. I haven't had a full night's sleep since I was 7 months pregnant! I feel your pain and am also anxiously seeking a solution :)

Angela - posted on 01/25/2009

Thank god I am not the only one!  We are waking up every 2-3 hours every night... more when sick.  I dont have the heart for cry itout and like others my resolve fades in the middle of the night esp when I have to work the next day.  Please someone tell me that they out grow this stage

Sonya - posted on 01/25/2009

we do have the nighttime routine, minus the bath because she has really dry skin, for my older ones night routine also. She is so sporiadic with the times she wakes, i cant even figure that part out. My first slept thru the night so soon that i said the next one would be payback, lol. I'm so tired of dragging myself thru the days tho! and she only takes two 1/2hr to hr naps a day. Very active kiddo!!!

Angela - posted on 01/25/2009

Quoting Jennifer:

Well it's nice to see that I am not the only one with this issue. We have a nighttime routine with our son.. and we cut off late night activities at 7pm so that he is unwinded. He goes to bed around 7:30 and wakes at 10:30-11 (which we isually give him a 8oz bottle) and then will wake around 2:30-3 (which is the same with the 10:30/11).. there are times he with sleep from 7:30-2:30 straight but it's pretty uncommon. He wakes for Final at 7:30 am. We tried letting him cry it out and it didn't work. We've tried the Cereal in bottle myth and it didn't work.. I just would like one night of sleep thru the night.

Do you have a videocamera in my house?  Are you sure you are not watching a video of our house.  He goes to sleep well, but then is up often.  We are moving him into his own room soon and hoping that helps, if not I will spend more time walking between rooms than sleeping!  :(

Jenny - posted on 01/25/2009

A routine at bed time since he was about a month old is what did it for us. We would give RJ a warm bath with Johnson's baby bath, (lavender scented, I don't know if it actually works but I am afraid to stop using it!!) and then a warm bottle. The lights are low during the bottle and he gets in a good snuggle. Then we put him to bed with his mobile or music on. He would fight sleep constantly for the first month we did this, but eventually he figured out that the routine meant bed time and a longer sleep. He would go longer and longer through the night (provided we were quiet during feedings, low lights and no talking etc....) until at 3 and a half months he started sleeping right through. That is what worked for my son, I hope you can figure something out, you must be sooooo tired with big sis to take care of too!!!!!

Jennifer - posted on 01/25/2009

Well it's nice to see that I am not the only one with this issue. We have a nighttime routine with our son.. and we cut off late night activities at 7pm so that he is unwinded. He goes to bed around 7:30 and wakes at 10:30-11 (which we isually give him a 8oz bottle) and then will wake around 2:30-3 (which is the same with the 10:30/11).. there are times he with sleep from 7:30-2:30 straight but it's pretty uncommon. He wakes for Final at 7:30 am. We tried letting him cry it out and it didn't work. We've tried the Cereal in bottle myth and it didn't work.. I just would like one night of sleep thru the night.

Valérie - posted on 01/25/2009

My little girl also still wakes. Usually between 1-5 times. She is very easy to settle and just needs her pacifier -- this is probably her nature plus the fact that I let her settle herself lying in her crib from the first days rather than rock her etc. I'm pretty sure that the reason she wakes and doesnt settle back to sleep on her own is that I don't give her enough time to do so. I'm jumping out of bed quick as I can!! It's ridiculous. I want to leave her to fuss a little until the crying gets sincere, but I'm not very rational in the middle of the night and forget my resolutions...

Sheena - posted on 01/24/2009

My daughter was born June 18th...She sleeps through the night every night for the past two months. What worked for us was a routine. At 8pm she gets a bath and a gentle massage with Johnson's bedtime lotion, next she is feed a 6oz bottle with cereal, after eating it's story-time and last but not least she is placed in her crib with a lullaby cd playing til she falls asleep. That's our nighttime routine and she's usually sleep by 9:30 no later than 10pm and sleeps til 8 or 9am.

Allie - posted on 01/24/2009

Have you ladies tried making night time as boring as possible for you babies? We struggled with this problem for what seems like ages until we decided on a type of routine. I think our daughter led the routine we just altered it ever so slightly...We would turn the lights down low or off at a certain time of night, go through the same bedtime routine, lullaby's etc. When we would put her to sleep that was the end of the day and there was no more stimulation.
We would let her cry it out to a certain extent, obviously when she got to the "somebody's-murdering-me" screams we would comfort her and start over again but there would be no talking or television around or lights besides her night light...
Babies are so busy learning new things, teething, practicing their milestones and what not that we have to remind them to slow down!
I know this might not be the answer for you but I like knowing what others did or do too!
My daughter was born June 27th, she is still waking 1-3 times a night but can usually put herself to sleep. It was hard getting her to this point...but it happens!
Patience! Sleep when you can until you can enjoy hours of continuous sleep!
Best of luck! :)

Danielle - posted on 01/24/2009

I am in the same boat my son was born June 9th and we haven't had a full night sleep. I have tried it all too. So I will be interested in some replies too. My son has his own room though.