Hi Mommies. 

My son is 6 months.  We have just started him on cereal twice a day.  I thought this would help improve his sleeping habits, but it's not.  Julian goes down for bed at 9:30pm and by 2am, he's up.  Then up every 2 hours thereafter.  I am still nursing him, however, I try not to nurse  him through the night.  How can we train him to sleep through the night?

Thank you.

Patricia Leon wrote:Hi Everyone! I am mom to a 3 month old son. He was jaundiced for the first 8 weeks of his life (had light box treatment total of about 4 days). While he was jaundiced, he slept a lot and I never had trouble getting him down to sleep. Now that he is no longer jaundiced, putting him down for naps has been a struggle. I can tell he is tired and able to get him drowsy but cannot get him to stay asleep for more than 20 minutes. I've read a lot on different methods to help infants sleep but not having any luck. Does anyone have any suggestions?

 Hello Patricia.

You had a very interesting post.  I just joined the group so it may be a little off to give some suggestions now noting the post date March.  But I hope you and your little boy has crossed the bridge already, sleeping soundly through the night.  Otherwise, I had some tips earlier that could probably work for you too.  There are some other approach if it doesn't, but we can discuss that later.  Take care. 

::Nina

I agree with everything Claire said.  I had been using the no-cry method for Denise for the first 5 months of her life.  We co-slept during that time until I realized she's waking up every 1.5-2 hours even when she's not hungry.  At this age she doesn't need to be fed every 2 hours anymore.  I gradually transferred her to her crib and still using the no-cry method.  I ended up having to go in there every 2,3 hours.

2 weeks ago I bought this book called Healthy Sleep Habit, Happy Child by Dr Marc Weissbluth.  It's a great book.  One thing I find interesting is that, parents always make the same mistake by keeping the child up later in hopes that the child will wake up later.  This is not true.  When the child is overtired, they don't sleep well, and result waking up early.  You have to watch your baby's drowsy sign and get ready to put him/her to bed.  If you follow Dr Weissbluth's guide, you will have a well rested and happy baby.  Now Denise goes to bed by 7pm the latest, feeds around 1am, then again at 5.  Gets up at 7:30, and goes back to the crib for her morning nap by 9am.  Don't overlook naps.  They are very important for babies.  Once you have a fixed schedule for nap times and bed times, it will be much easier for your baby to fall asleep and stay asleep.

I highly recommend this book.

 

Claire (Alexia) Zlobin wrote:

Julia Lee wrote:

I need some advice on helping my daughter fall asleep on her own in her crib.  She doesn't like to fall asleep in her crib so I always have to nurse her until she's alseep then put her in her crib.  If she wakes up as I'm putting her in the crib, she'll cry.  But, once she's asleep she'll sleep for 11-12 hours straight. 

We have a daily routine before she goes to bed but she just doesn't like her crib.

Hi Julia,
How old is your little one? If she is under six months she may still need you for comfort before falling asleep.  yes, it's a good idea for her to start learning to sleep by herself, however please keep in mind that by doing this you may disturb her sleep pattern for a while. So unless it's taking you very long to put her to bed and you are not getting enough sleep yourself I really wouldn't change this too much. 

She will eventually learn to fall asleep without you... 11-12 hours of straight sleep is AMAZING!!!  Seriously, don't worry too much if she cannot fall asleep without you at this point.  Unless this becomes a a pattern where she is waking up in the middle of the night wanting you to nurse her back to bed, I wouldn't change at thing.

-Claire

Thanks Claire for the suggestion!

My daughter is just over 8 months old and I definitely don't want to disturb her sleeping pattern.  Especially now that she sleeps for so long without waking up in the middle of the night.  It usually takes her about 45 minutes to fall asleep so I just thought that there might be a special technique to help her fall asleep alittle easier...wishful thinking I guess.

Thanks again!

Julia

Julia Lee wrote:

 

Thanks Claire for the suggestion!

My daughter is just over 8 months old and I definitely don't want to disturb her sleeping pattern.  Especially now that she sleeps for so long without waking up in the middle of the night.  It usually takes her about 45 minutes to fall asleep so I just thought that there might be a special technique to help her fall asleep alittle easier...wishful thinking I guess.

Thanks again!

Julia

Hi Julia,

You can also try the "pick up, put down" method but this does include a little bit of crying as well. Basically, when you put her down to sleep if she wakes up, you can pat gently stroke her hands, head or tummy and just talk to her gently or sing a lullaby, after 2-3 minutes leave the room, if she is still crying wait 2-3 minutes and then go back in, you can pick her up if she is still crying when you enter the room, but as soon as she settles, put her back down and do the exact same thing again and then leave the room... you may have to do this a few times before she falls asleep, but like I mentioned this may disrupt her sleep... if she has been a good sleeper, she should be back on schedule within a week. 

Another option is to use this special time after you feed her to tell her a story with dad and as she is getting sleepy, put her in the crib and then leave the room.  I'm not sure what you're bedtime routine is like... but it's very important at this stage to have a structured bedtime routine so that your daughter knows that the day has ended and it's now time for sleep.

It's a good idea to start the routine 1 hour before bedtime. So if you are putting your baby to sleep at 7:30, an example of a routine would be as follows

6:00-6:30 dinner
6:35-6:45 clean up, bedtime preparation
6:50-7:10 bath/massage - after the bath, give your baby a nice relaxing massage
7:15 - last night feed
7:25 - story or lullaby
7:30 - put baby in the crib, say good night and leave the room

You do not have to follow exactly to the minute each night... this is more a guideline for a structure routine than a schedule.  Having the same routine each night will help your baby to know what is coming next, she will know that after the last story it's bedtime. 

Just b/c she knows what is coming doesn't mean she will not complain a bit before going to bed. Just remember mommy and daddy are baby's best friend...  if given the choice she will want to spend as much time as possible with you.

These are a few books that are great to take a look at in terms of sleep. 
Secret of the Baby Whisperer by Tracy Hogg
The Happiest Baby on the block by Harvey Karp
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy child by Marc Weissbluth

Take a look at all your options, decide what you feel you are comfortable with and then make a decision that you feel will work for you and your family