Sleeping through the night?

Louise - posted on 10/07/2009

With our little girl I started giving her cooled down boiled water in a bottle instead of milk when she wolk up during the night. She wasn't hungry just in the habbit of waking up! The first two nights were tough as she wolk up a few times but by night 3 she had given up and now sleeps through. Water was obviously not as appealing as milk! Maybe some people think thats cruel but she wasn't hungry and mum needed to sleep!!

Sharon - posted on 10/04/2009

Oh yay!! That's great news. I guess it doesn't take much for some babies to learn how to self-soothe. Mine's been the same way ever since we started this little 'routine'. The other night, she woke up at around 3:30am and started whining, but I didn't get out of bed. I just listened to her. I thought, 'ok, if she really starts crying, I'll go to her and let her know I'm there, but if she's just whining, I'll wait it out'. And that's all she did! She whined for about 5 mins and fell asleep. I'm sure that if I'd actually gone in there, she would have freaked out and wanted to be picked up. I guess sometimes it's just instinct, too.

Anyway, yay for longer streches of sleep! Hope your little one keeps it up! :)

Kim - posted on 10/04/2009

Hey Everyone! Just wanted to give an update!!! The first night i did this i comforted him for a few minutes and he was back asleep. The 2nd night i tried just his pacey and left the room but after about7 minutes he was crying still pretty l;oud so i held him for a little bit until he got still and laid him back down and patted his back and he was back asleep! Well the night before last he didnt wake up until 6am for a bottle! Then last night he woke up at 530 for a bottle and then fell back asleep til 11!!!!!! We are finally getting uninterrupted sleep!! Thank you soooo much for the advice! He is like a completely different child! My husband is amazed! He though i was crazy b/c i was soo serious about trying this idea but it worked and he gives me all of the credit!! Thanks again! Hopefully i will be able to get him out of having that ealry AM bottle too but for now not having the 2 or 3 AM bottle is good enough for me! Thanks again!!!

Gillian - posted on 09/30/2009

if he is teething you could try giving him some tylenole before he goes to bed. it will help him sleep an dit will take some of his pain away if in fact his teeth are whats waking him up at night. ive always been told that its the tough love you need to inforce on babies when it comes to sleeping. they have to learn how to comfort themselves at night time when they wake up and not depend on us there parents. when my daughter wakes up at night ive been told to lay her down rub her bakc and head so she knows your hear and then leave their room. they will most likely start to cry again you wait another 10 mins though before going back in there room and rubbing there head and back to get them to calm down. fi you like you can pick them up an dehold them for a couple minutes but then put them down agian. i did this with my daughter for about an hour. its really hard EMOTIONALLY hard. i wanted to go and comfort her but i new she need to learn how to comfort her self. she did eventually fall asleep and now she does sleep through the night every once in a while we will have to inforce some tough love but in the end it works. hope this helps

Sharon - posted on 09/29/2009

Well, you never know - he might surprise you with how long (or short, hopefully!) it takes him to fall back asleep on his own. He might cry for 5 or 10 mins, tops! Try it for a couple of nights, anyway. Yes, let me know how it goes!

Kim - posted on 09/29/2009

I should try that. I have tried the cry it out thing but i cant get past 5 minutes. :( Also, its hard for me to take the longer option instead of just a bottle and back to bed knowing i have to get up within a few hours of him waking up. I will have to suck it up and try this. Thanks for the advice! Ill let you know if it works!!

Sharon - posted on 09/29/2009

I just finished going through this! I feel your pain. Mine was sleeping wonderfully (11-12 hours straight), then started waking up once or twice at night all of a sudden. I know she's teething. At first, I felt bad for her, so I picked her up when she cried, gave her some Tylenol if she really needed it, and nursed her. After a few nights, though, she developed a habit and just woke up cause she knew she'd get fed.

So, a few nights ago when she woke up at around 3am, I went to her room, picked her up, gave her a soother and her blankey, and just cuddled her in her rocker for 15 mins. I didn't nurse her, even though she wanted to. She whined for a while, but gave in to her tiredness, and got very still and sleepy again. I put her down, and she went to sleep.

The next night, she woke again in the middle of the night, and I did the same thing (soothed her, didn't nurse her), but only cuddled her for about 2 mins. Just so she'd know I was around. I put her down again, and she wasn't happy. I let her cry. She cried for about 10 minutes, and fell asleep on her own. Now, for the past few nights, she doesn't wake up at all! I'm hoping this pattern sticks... :)

Good luck!