Exhausted mommy needing tips

Tiffany - posted on 04/29/2012

If he still drinks baby formula do u put baby food mixed in the bottle as well? sometimes a warm bottle at night with some baby food in it will do the trick

Stifler's - posted on 04/29/2012

This is just a stage . Both my kids went through it. My 11 month old is going through it now with the teething and waking a lot.

Kate - posted on 04/27/2012

My older 2 Are great, slept right through the night from the beginning......my 3rd had been in NICU for 3 1/2 months due to diagnosis & 3 surgeries later has been home for 3 months.....he doesn't sleep through the night (at the time he was getting used to being at home and he couldn't hold much formula down....) now he kinda starting to...... he was getting up every 2 hours...

Give a bath, use the lavender lotion or body wash, then give him a bottle and put him to bed. Do this literally right before bed....if he has to be in bed by 10, then at 945 give him a bath get him a bottle, feed him then put him down.....I do have a battle just in case he wakes up

What I do is only feed him cereal in the AM for breakfast & then for dinner, so that I could hold him off with the bottle until I wanted him to go to bed
Good Luck!!

Michelle - posted on 01/22/2012

My daughter is coming up on her 2nd birthday the most she has slept through was 5 hours and that was 1 night, other than that 3 hours is her max, its not uncommon

Jen - posted on 01/20/2012

my daughter is 22 months. we've been through colic, backwards night/days, at one point she didn't sleep at all for 2 weeks straight! i cried daily from exhaustion. but, at around 15 months old she started sleeping through the night! it may be insanely hard but they're totally worth it! besides, now you have more to hold against them later in life! j/k

Andrea - posted on 01/20/2012

Thank you everyone for all of the suggestions..I'll give them a try but he is going though a period were his sleep is really good.

Darylann - posted on 01/19/2012

Our daughter was the same way when she was under a year old...our pediatrician suggested a book which literally became my bedtime bible until she was sleeping on a regular routine. Its called Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. Its such a great book....it explains how children who have an inturrupted sleep pattern become way overtired and each day that it goes uncorrected adds to crankiness and being unable to be soothed and sleep for longer periods of time...the tips the book gives on how to reverse this are great and begin working immediately....the book is under $20 and is definitely worth it!!!!!

Tracey - posted on 01/18/2012

When my 2nd was little, I was recommended the most wonderful book - The Contented Baby by Gina Ford.

Some people find her rather strict, but stick with it ... within 3 days my baby was sleeping through and ... just as it said on the cover ... contented! So was I!

Good luck honey ... it will get better ...

Lisa - posted on 01/16/2012

I ditto Christine's comment, but wanted to add that trying to comfort without even picking him up might help during this transition, too. I would try that first if I knew it wasn't a hunger or teething issue. I would pat his back and say "shhh" quietly over and over or sing a soft lullaby. If that failed, then I would pick him up. Eventually, the patting started to work on its own, but I would slow it down and pat lighter and lighter, then just keep my hand on his back for a minute instead of just stopping and walking out. He finally learned to put himself back to sleep. It just took a lot of patience, but was worth the extra time & effort. Mine never took a passy either, but did like "white" noise. Hope this helps.

CHRISTINE - posted on 01/15/2012

When your son awakes at night whatever you do DO NOT MAKE IT A PLAYTIME. if you feel it is a hunger issue, then feed him, but do not speak to him and quietly put him back in bed. Stay in the room with him until he goes back to sleep, but each night sit closer to the door when you do this. Try not to turn on the lights speak or make any noise. (I know it's hard). I had these problems with all 4 of my boys and found with the third one that white noise would help so I got the clocks with the rain sound to put in his room and he started sleeping through the night. Good Luck.

Tiffany - posted on 01/15/2012

With my daughter i had to make sure she didn't have too many naps during t the day, and if she did, they were always kept short. Also we got a bedtime routine, warm bath, snuggle, feed then snuggle and rock. Also make sure that he's not too cold or too warm. That can be a very easy solution!

Timora - posted on 01/15/2012

You do have to find what will work for you and your child. I hated the idea of cry it out but by the time my daughter was 13 months, we were both exhausted and I could tell she was just waking up to try to play and out of habit. I knew we'd both be happier if she slept through the night and finally had to let her CIO after first eliminating all night time feedings. After about 3 nights, she was sleeping much better and was a happier child. For her it was about setting boundaries that it was bedtime, not playtime. I did read this book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. I didn't like everything he said, but he offered good ideas for every age range. I think I found it in my local library.



Some ideas - anytime they wake up at night, keep it as uninteresting as possible - no lights, no toys, no food, limited or no cuddling, only water to drink. Maybe put him in a pack'n'play in another room for a while so you can let him fuss more without waking other people up. Having some kind of bedtime routine and regular bedtime is helpful too if you aren't already doing that. Mine is simple - get dressed/brush teeth, read one or two books, turn out lights, sing 4 or 5 lullabies always ending with Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and into bed. Calming lullaby music or a white noise machine sometimes helps.

Summer - posted on 01/15/2012

Sometimes they just have to learn to sleep through the night on their own. My daughter was 3 1/2yrs and my niece was 4yrs old when they finally slept through the night, my other niece was only 2 days old . Now my son is 19 mo and sleeping about 4 hour stretches (woohoo), so each child does it different. It's a habit they have to develop. But I'm also not one to let them cry it out, I think they need to know that you will come for they if they need you.

Renee - posted on 01/14/2012

i had bought an air purifier while i was pregnant because i was scared there was mold in my crappy house i lived in. so when i moved and my little one was born i used it next to her bed and it is a light humming sound and it drowned everything out like barking dogs, loud cars, the ac kicking on, anything that would wake her. i think it helped her sleep. she is almost two and i still use it and it cleans the air of pollen, viruses and mold, so its pretty good. also, dont keep too many lights on, like night lights or lamps, it maybe destracting. i left the hall light on and cracked her door so it wasnt pitched black. i cant leave her tv on or night light on she will be up all night now and was always like that. so try a desk fan circulating or an air purifier to make soft noise if you cant buy anytihng turn the radio to classical music really low or turn the dryer on. make sure he has a full tummy too before bed. hope it works.

Samantha - posted on 01/14/2012

My Son Is 10 Months Old And I'm Having The Same Problems, He Take a 2 Hr Nap from 1pm-3pm While My Daughter Is At School, At 8pm I Feed Him Baby Cereal With Fruit Baby Food, Give Him A Bath Give Him A Few Minutes Of Cuddle/Kiss Time, Give Him A 8oz. Bottle And Lay Him In Bed, He Goes Right To Sleep, But THEN Every Two Hrs From 11pm-8am He Gets Up About Every 2 Hours, I've Tried Letting Him Cry Hisself To Sleep But He Just Gets So Upset And Gets Sick, He's Not Hungry, Everyone Says Its Because I'm Like His Binkie Or Blanket(he never would take a bink) But I Don't Know What To Do Because I'm So Wore Out, I Keep My Patience With Him,I Just Feel Likke Crying I'm So Tired At Nights, And My Daughter Has Slept All Throught The Night Since She Was 2 Weeks Old.. She's Now 5!

Lani - posted on 01/14/2012

My little one is nearly 2 & still doesn't sleep through. Last night we saw every hour. I envy those whose kids sleep through!

Consider their diet- for example if my little one eats the wrong fruits during the day our nights are worse. If you are formula feeding you could try a different formula, if breast feeding watch what you eat. Good luck.

Michele - posted on 01/14/2012

I have the same problem with one of my sons. I have twin 13 month olds and one still does not sleep through the night. I co- slept with them for a while due to reflux and spit up problems but by 4 months one of them went into the crib like a champ, put him down the first night, he rolled on his side and slept the whole night! My other son, he is a PITA, would never take more than 2 hrs in the crib. He naps during the day in his crib, but @ night will not stay put! I have to put him in the pack n play and if I move him asleep he will either wake right up or wake an hour later. They started teething early on and now have 10 teeth each and the molars just starting to appear so I know that's been challenging for him and part of the reason he is waking @ night. I'm hoping after some of these molars break through I can get him in there, I can't let him CIO because they share a room and even if they didn't he is so loud I'm sure he would disturb his brother from right next door. Any advise?

Michelle - posted on 01/13/2012

My youngest was up every 2 to 4 hours up until a week or two ago. I didn't do cry it out because my girls share a room. It was keeping my older daughter awake. But I let her cry it out a bit in a play yard in our room which worked as long as she slept in our room. But she finally started sleeping through the night mostly now that she's almost 14 months old. My other two slept through the night from 4 months too. This last one has been a challenge.

Andrea - posted on 01/13/2012

I try not letting him cry it out because he shares his room with his older brother(who been sleeping through the night since he was 4.5 months old)also my father in laws room is right across the hall

Jenna - posted on 01/13/2012

By 9 months they should be able to make it at least 8-10 hours without needing to eat anything, so perhaps start cutting back on the food by giving him formula only without the cereal and then cutting back on the bottle? Also, if he's fussing but not really screaming, I would leave him in there and let him fuss a little. He might go back to sleep on his own. And have you looked into a stomach issue? reflux, gas, constipation, etc can all interfere with sleep.



My 9-month-old has had a lot more sleep issues than my four older children. Basically the older ones slept just fine through the night since they were 4 months old. This one has been much more difficult but he's had intestinal issues that have affected his sleep, mostly gas and reflux. If he fusses, we leave him in there and often he goes back to sleep. He usually goes down around 8 pm and wakes around 5 am. We do give him a bottle at that time and he'll go back to sleep for two more hours. However, we try not to go to him at night unless he's really, really screaming. then we go check to make sure there's nothing really wrong. Some nights are worse than others, but for themost part, he's learning to sleep on his own.

Andrea - posted on 01/13/2012

He is all the above Some nights he is more fussy more then others. Depending on his cry I either feed him(8oz w/cereal every 4hrs), give him medicine(hes teething)and if none of those works and he is wide awake I let him play a little because he won't sit still with me

Jenna - posted on 01/13/2012

Before I could really answer this, I would need to know what you have been doing when he wakes at night. When he wakes, is he fussing or is he crying and screaming? How often do you feed him during the night?