Friday, January 22, 2010

Help...

Does he look a little mischievous? He might be a little, my baby will NOT sleep. He wakes up 3 to 4 times a night still. I stopped pumping a few weeks ago (thats a whole other story, so sad about it) and kind of thought that maybe the formula would keep him a bit more full. Not the case. Everyone I know that has a baby around Jude's age is sleeping through the night or only getting up once. What is the secret? Mister is truly the best, happiest little boy...I would just love a little sleep in the night. Please let me know any and all suggestions. Now that all 8 teeth are fully through Im ready to give things a try.

21 comments:

Anjanette said...

hey. I'm totally a stalker here. My boy is 8 months & last night he woke up 4 times (each time with a poopy diaper). So sad. I'd love to hear the secret, too!

Lisa and Mark said...

i mean, this isn't anything new, but i let my baby cry it out. i know some babies are really easy sleepers in the beginning and can just be placed in bed, but most babies i know like that grow out of it around 6-10 months. don't know if that's your baby, but crying it out could help. it's not fool-proof. my baby still wakes up when she's not feeling well or on vacation, but otherwise, she's done pretty well since we started that 3 months ago. it broke my heart. it took her almost an hour and a half the first two nights, but it was downhill from there and was falling asleep immediately after like 4-5 nights. we still have glitches here and there, but she's a really great sleeper now.

good luck! no sleep is no fun. :(

ed and brooke said...

The crying it out never worked for us. He just wouldn't give up. (I'm talking... an hour and a half of screaming and he was still going strong). Our little one is 4 months now and is sleeping through the night-finally. Have you read Babywise? That book saved me! Seriously, the only thing.

Amy said...

Yes, Babywise ROCKS. I did it with both my kids and they slept through the night {8 hours} at 8 weeks. The schedule throughout the day is the key. My son took to it perfectly and was sleeping 12 hr nights at 12 weeks.

Now my daughter...she's a different story. Super light sleeper and although she does normally sleep through the night {10 hrs at least}, she wakes up all the time for various reasons {teeth, noise outside} and then she gets stuck in a rut. We let her cry it out. Sometimes it takes an hour or hour and a half, sometimes shorter. And it really works if Daddy can go in and work with them because we mean food {whether on the bottle or not} and sometimes they won't settle down. You just have to keep letting them know you are there while they cry, go in every ten mins, etc. And have a limit on how much you are willing to let them go. But it does really work, if you are consistent.

Sorry, sleep is so tough to live without! Good luck!

{lizzythebotanist} said...

here, here to babywise! my kids both slept through the night by 6-8 weeks. we used babywise with our second, but with the first we just let him cry it out and it worked great. you have to give yourself a long weekend-usually it takes three nights of crying it out and then they catch on to the sleeping thing. it's worth it-sleep makes everything better! amy's advice is right on.

sarah marie. said...

you know what i have to say. cry it out.

Amberli said...

hey there - sorry to hear about the sleeping whoas! not the easiest part of parenting, although it helps that your little guy is so incredibly darling :) but sleep is still needed! we did the cry it out with atticus at about 5 or so months - worked like a charm for him. two nights of crying for about 30 minutes and he got the hang out it. i think he was grateful we toughed it out and kind of let him learn to put himself to sleep because he's been a great sleeper ever since - although teething and traveling always screw up the sleeping and we'd always have to do a mini cry it out session to get him back on track for a night or two. the cry it out is definitely not for everyone though and for sure not for all babies so don't feel pressured if you're getting a lot of advice about it, it just happened to work well for atticus which was such a relief. we'd do bedtime routine, then rock him for a bit in the dark, sing, etc. and then put him down and then we'd do a three minutes check, five minute, seven minute and by the ten minute check he was always asleep. resist the temptation to pick him up when you go in for the check. just talk to him, pat him, sing to him, hand him his blankie or whatever. darek actually had to time me so that i'd only be in there for two minutes at the check. it was hard for me to listen to him cry but it helped to have darek there so we'd stay the course. i tried to do it one night while darek was out of town and i totally caved. we were also still swaddling atticus at that age which really helped him sleep. i don't know if you swaddle jude, or if he's too old to start swaddling but we love the "swaddle me" wraps, kind of like a sleep sack but velcros across their chest to keep their arms swaddled. also, has jude started eating solids? if it seems like he's getting hungry at night maybe a good dinner of solids would help...just some thoughts. sorry for the long post. good luck!

Hannah said...

Another vote for babywise. Crying it out is the way to go, if they are hungry they'll learn to take more in through out the day. Just remember you'll be a better Mommy if you get the sleep you need. I also recommend white noise. My husband and I had put it on our ipod and just put it on repeat its amazing how soothing it is, in fact my husband now wants it playing when we go to bed.

karyn said...

wait... i thought jude had been sleeping through the night for a while? if he already has slept through the night, you know he can do it, so you have to just let him cry it out. i'm sure it is just a phase though. julian just randomly started sleeping through the night about a month ago. but i'm sure that is just a phase for him, and he will return to getting up 3 to 4 times a night. i feel like i read every book, tried every trick and he still didn't sleep through the night until seven months old. if you don't want to "let him cry it out" at least wait a little while before you go in there and get him. is he eating solids? i've learned with babies that as soon as you think you have a good routine down they will change it.

Sarah boo said...

Cry it out. My daughter cried for more than 2 hours the first time, but we just stuck with it and it really works.

Amberli said...

hey again - sorry for another message but i just came across this blog dedicated to answering questions about babywise. maybe it will be helpful to you:
http://babywisemom.blogspot.com/

Lindsey Jaye Parry said...

I remember taking my 8 month old to the doctor, crossing my fingers for an ear infection, then the doctor said she was fine and there was nothing wrong with her. AND I CRIED! That was my low, crying over my healthy baby. I then had to do the second hardest thing as a mom (chilbirth being #1) and let her cry it out. It was hard. But the good news is they catch on real fast. May the force be with you.

Dkole said...

You don't know me, but I thought I could maybe help. I have three kidlets. I have a baby boy that was born just before Jude. He is crazy sleeper. 10 to 12 hours a night. I never had to do the cry it out with him. I did do it with my second. It took three night and she was done. With all three of them, I have given them an oatmeal bottle at bedtime. I swear by it. We just mix oatmeal in with there night time bottle. You want it thick enough to where it sticks to the sides. We cut the nipple of the bottle so they can suck it out. Hope it helps.

Shelly said...

If letting him cry it out seems like it will be hard to do, you might be surprised at how quick it will pass. I took a gradual approach where I would let Ryan cry for 5-10 minutes, then go in and sooth him and give him his binky but not pick him up, then the next time I'd wait 15 min and then I'd stop going in period. I don't think he ever cried more than 30 min. and it only took two nights of this before he got the hang of it. (We've had to repeat the process after he's been sick or we travel...) One thing I remember reading that helped me was how you're doing your baby a favor by teaching him to sleep through the night because it's much better sleep and healthier for both of you. I know I'm rambling but I remember being in your boat and wanting any and all advice from other moms! Good luck--Jude's so cute!

kate said...

i hate the term "cry it out." it sounds so mean. what we are really doing is allowing them to learn self-soothing and allowing them to enjoy a good night's sleep too. they need it! and they are so much happier all day when they get it. but it's not fun in the process. i wish you luck!

Bethany said...

Hi Ann! Your sweet baby jude is so precious, I can't get over it!! I just had a long, most wonderful talk with my pediatrician about this (who i adore and respect more than anything), and here's what she said. Lots of babies eat once or twice a night, sometimes until they are a year old. Some babies just need a feeding or two to get them through. However, partial awakenings happen every 1-2 hours, and they might wake up crying, but that doesn't mean they are hungry or need you. They will probably stop crying within a few minutes. Also, babywise is crap. I'm not a big baby-book lover since they all profess to be accurate, but I promise- if you were ever to read a book on sleep, this would be it: "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child," by Weissbluth. It doesn't preach rigidity and schedule, it teaches healthy sleep habits. It just makes sense. It doesn't force you to do anything that goes against mother nature. We just need to do what's best for us and our babies! Good luck! :)

Julie Kaye said...

I'm new to YOU! !st time mom about 5 months ahead of you! I struggled with this too.......but my baby didn't do so hot with babywise. I think it has some good concepts though. I ended up reading parts of "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child," by Weissbluth, (it's a huge book) Then I just kinda went with it! The underlying point that I got, and that has made all the difference in the world for my baby girl is:
Don't wake a sleeping baby.....the more sleep they get, the more they will sleep!
We started putting baby girl to sleep earlier, and she slept LONGER!! The better she slept at night, the better her naps, and visa-versa! AWESOME!
The other thing that helped was the Cry-OUT! It made me cry....it was so hard to do! But I have a client who is a pediatric psychiatrist and she said to stand outside their door, don't go in, but just tell them you are there and that they are alright. Then wait 2 min and say it again. Then wait 3-4 min and say it again. Wait a few min longer each time and eventually they will fall asleep. It should progressively take less time to fall asleep each time. He said it should take no longer than a week. Baby girl respnded in 3 days and only cried 8 min on the 3rd day.
Last tip: time their cry. They usually aren't crying as long as you think. Good Luck!

Julie Kaye said...

P.S. maybe you could tell me the secret to teeth.....like I said Baby Girl is 5 months older and only has 2!!!

Meg said...

Hi, total stranger here...but I think you and your boy are adorable! We did the cry it out for our kiddo at 4 months...worked like a charm. She's almost 3 years old and we've never looked back. And just for some piece of mind for you, I can guarantee that most of those mom's that say their babies sleep through the night are lying.

Christian T said...

Cry it out... It's super hard! I had to let my son cry it out at 14 months! Yes, I went 14 months without a solid nights sleep! As long as you know he's fed, dry, not in pain, ect... crying it out is well worth it.
I also read the No Cry Sleep Solution and learned that sleep encourages sleep. SO, good naps = a good nights sleep.

elsa bags said...

Oh the joy of no sleep! I think our babies are about the same age. We just started to let her cry it out last weekend Seems like it's working. I was told it could take up to 2 weeks, but I don't think it's going to take that long. Yeah!

It's tough to here them crying but it's worth it when you all are well rested. Also I keep a fan on in the room so she can't hear every little noise that's going on in our old creeky house. I can't sleep without one myself.

Hope this helps. You may already have it down. I didn't see how old this post was...