How to get your baby to sleep through the night or even a portion of the night?

Leigh - posted on 10/28/2008

Thank god, I thought it was just me, I've finally got my 11 mnth old boy to wake only about once during the night now. What I did was cut out his morning sleep, only lunch time sleep only nows, and I won't let him sleep longer than 3 1/2 hrs. That way he was really tired come bedtime. I also let him eat a few extra snaks throughout the day so he was really full, lastly I stopped going to him each time he cried.

Kelley - posted on 10/28/2008

I have to say I was VERY lucky. Both of my girls slept thru the night at 7 weeks. But, as they got older and they did want to get up for a bottle I let them cry. She is old enough to not need a bottle in the middle of the night. But, she knows if she cries you will come and feed her. They are smarter than you think. My girls are now almost 8 and 5. Hang in there, but know that you MUST get good sleep to function well the next day. It is SUPER hard to let them cry, but if you can get thru 2 nights than you should be ok. Don't get me wrong. I cried and cried and fought with hubby over it...but it ended up being the BEST thing I could have done. Plus, I felt like super-woman after the first full night of sleep. Good luck and remember you are the Mom and you know BEST!!!!

Heather - posted on 10/28/2008

This may sound awful but maybe you should try to let her cry. Of course make sure everything is okay, but don't pick her up and then leave the room. Give it 15 minutes. You might be surprised that she goes back to sleep. Other mom's told me about this! It was hard for me at first, but it worked with both of mine. After a couple nights we were all sleeping!!! :)

Brittney - posted on 10/28/2008

Hey Shelley. My first daughter still has a hard time sleeping. I think she wakes up hungry.. still and she is 2 1.2 and then my youngest is 15 months.. She has been sleeping all night since she was 3 weeks old! I just made sure she was very warm, and had enough to eat before bed. Even in the summer she would wear warm PJS and if I would stick her in a shirt, she would be up all night! SHe needs to warm when she sleeps at night. Some kids like to be cool when they sleep! I dont turn on lights if she does wake up. I just give her 10 mins only and see how it goes! Well good luck.. Let me know!!

Rene - posted on 10/28/2008

i have 7 kids and none of them did thing when they were supposed to most of them slept through the night at about 7 to9 mos then theres our littlest one shelby shes 4 and still wakes up sometimes 2 nights ago she came in and touched my cheek and scarred me to death i put her back to bed 3 times that night

Erin - posted on 10/27/2008

well... i'm sure you've heard all this before but, when mine were little and I was trying to get them to sleep through the night, these things seemed to help. First, when Evie wakes at night, dont turn on any lights, dont engage her very much (dont laugh or talk to her very much), dont change her diaper unless its really necessary (the cold on the rear seems to wake them up more), lay her down on the bed with you and feed her while you close your eyes and rest. Also, during the day, try to keep her up as much as possible. It may be hard if you are tired from the night before, but it will be worth it if it works. I'm not sure if this will help, but I thought I'd tell you what I had done. Hope it helps!

Kristina - posted on 10/26/2008

Try the book, On Becoming Babywise. author Ezzo It is controversial as you do have to let the baby cry a little bit. I has worked VERY well for us. Both of my girls have been sleeping through since they were 7 weeks and 10 weeks old. I did not let them cry long, 10 min was my limit, and even then it was hard. Good luck! Kris

Amy - posted on 10/26/2008

I stopped turning on the tv and radio or anything else. I keep the light on and she talks to her animals for a while, gets fussy for a few seconds (she is really nosy and doesnt like to sleep), then drifts off to sleep. Do you feed her something heavy at night before she goes to bed like cereal or something else before or after her bottle? I give mine a an ounce more then the daytime bottles. Yours may also be going through a growth spurt. I know all heck breaks loose around my house when mine goes through a growth spurt. I also make sure Gillian is really doing her "i am upset you better come pick me up" cry before i even go in her room. Then I try picking her up and burping her, giving her some gas drops (a lot of babies mistake gas for hunger), and rocking her for just a couple of minutes until she calms down. If none of that works, I feed her. she just all of a sudden started sleeping through the night on her own. scared me the first time of course. i must have checked on her five or six times. i dont have a lot of experience, but i hope this helps. It may also be a teething issue at that age as well. Have you tried orajel or something else, even if you can't feel a tooth breaking through yet? They make a night time formula. Hang in there!

Erin - posted on 10/24/2008

I also have a 7 mo. old. He is sleeping through the night, but is definitely not a natural sleeper. I had to "teach" him how to sleep. I stopped getting him up every time he cried and I know it is hard to let them cry, but I think he would still be waking up every couple hours if I hadn't. I stopped giving him bottles at night and only gave him his passifier. Eventually, he just started sleeping all night. I always am reading articles online, for whatever I am wondering about. My first baby NEVER had any problem sleeping, so my son is a huge challenge. I also know one of my good friends, just lets their daughter sleep in their bed all night and she is almost 9 mo. She said that is the only way she will sleep through the night. Good Luck though, on getting her to sleep, letting my son cry, was sooo hard, but it was a must or I wouldn't have ever gotten any rest. I think all babies are different, so do whatever it takes depending on what your baby needs!!