Help, my baby won't sleep.

[Laura17]

So my 7 month old baby has never really been a great sleeper, he won't take naps, and still isn't sleeping threw the night. It used to be I would nurse him and put him in his swing and he would be out all night and then he got to big for the swing. So we started putting him in his crib and he wouldn't have it so he was sleeping in our bed. Well, me and my boyfriend don't stay put when we are sleeping so I'm always afraid that I might roll onto him. He was sleeping fine in our bed though let me add. So THEN we finally got him to sleep in his crib and now all the sudden he won't sleep at all! I used to be able to nurse him to sleep and he would be out for a couple hours, now he wants to play and pinch and bite (even though he isn't teething, I've asked the doctor plenty of times and she says there are no teeth coming.). Also, when I put him in his crib now, he likes to stand up and just talk and yell and growl...everything but sleep. I'm so exhausted, I don't even get time to go to the bathroom because I'm constantly having to watch my son. And I'd like to put him on a schedule, but it's impossible. Please anyone that can help me, I need some sleep before I break down ='[

[Lillith's_Mommy]

I wish I could help out with this but unfourtuantly(sp?) my 6 month old daughter is the exact same. She hardly ever sleeps and I feel like a breaking down. She has only ever slept through the night 3 times. I wonder if she will ever sleep.

[Laura17]

Are you breastfeeding your daughter or using formula? Because I think a lot of it is because I nurse him, but I can't switch him over to formula because he refuses it. I even tried milk (whole, 2% and 1%) and won't take that either. It's really frustrating.

[puddin_pops_mama]

My 7 1/2 month old daughter is going through something similar, but I think it's due to teething. She used to take naps at 9 am, noon and 3 pm. Sometimes the naps would only last 20-30 minutes, but she would go down for all of them pretty easily. She would go to bed around 7 pm, and wake up one or two times during the night and be up for the day between 6:30 and 7:30 am.

For the last 2-3 weeks, her schedule is completely out of whack. She still goes to bed at 7pm, but now she gets up at 5 am, and that's after waking 3-4 times during the night. Some days I can get two naps out of her, but some of them last only 10 minutes, and she fights me when I try to lay her down, no matter how tired she is. Sometimes when she gets up around 5, I'll take her into bed with my husband and I. This used to work well (she might sleep an extra hour or two), but now she just smacks at us, throws her paci and growls/yells/cries.

I don't know if it's an exercise of will at this point, or if it's teething, dealing with solid food, or a mix. I'm not sure if she needs a later bedtime, I just don't seem to know anything right now when it comes to her sleep schedule!

I'm sorry to ramble on about my own situation, but I'm trying to give an example of what others are dealing with, too. I really feel for you - I know how hard this is.

Does your son take naps throughout the day? What time do you put him to bed? Do you have a solid bedtime routine?

[Laura17]

No you don't have to be sorry, it actually really makes me feel better knowing I'm not the only one having to go through this. I mean my son is wonderful, he is such a happy baby, but he won't sleep. He doesn't take naps and if he does it may be for 10 minutes, unless we are in the car then he sleeps longer. And he doesn't have a set bedtime or anything because it's impossible, my boyfriend works at night and they give him such weird hours, one night he could work til 7 and the next is 11, I can't win. I mean I know around 7-8ish my son gets tired, I can see it in his poor little red eyes, but he fights it, bad. I've tried doin the dinner, bath, story thing and it doesn't work, when my son gets a bath it wakes him up even more. I dump oatmeal into his dinners thinking it will fill him up and make him sleep all night...I was wrong. I really don't know what to do.

I thought it was teething that he was going threw but then everytime I asked the doctor, she said that there was nothing coming in, so I don't know what his issue is lol.

[Bec caV]

It's probably because he's used to sleeping with movement. You said for months he was sleeping in his swing. Then in your bed you and your boyfriend moved in your sleep so he might just not be able to adjust to the stillness.

Also, there is a certain 'womb like' quality when in a swing and between you and your boyfriend. He's probably used to having a snugness.

You're giving him oatmeal? What are you mixing it with (water, breast milk, formula, milk?)? Babies usually need a full tummy to sleep but it may not be agreeing with him.

I can understand your frustration. My son is the worst napper, and became the worst sleeper. I'm still trying to pin point (at 13 months) why he hasn't slept the night in over 6 months, but it's a long process full of trial and error. It's possible my son is lactose intolerant, though it doesn't explain it all (he was breastfed until 11 months).

Try looking at his diet, it may be gas upsetting his tummy making it hard to sleep. But mostly it sounds like the crib just isn't cozy and moving enough for him to sleep.

If you can get him to fall asleep, what you can try is put him in the crib but stay with him for awhile, patting his tummy or bottom (which ever is facing up ) it might keep him asleep for a bit. You will (not probably... you will) have to repeat this a lot during the night, but it might it might help. The most important thing to do is keep him asleep during his light sleep cycle (REM sleep, when he's dreaming). Most babies wake up when they are going from REM sleep to deep sleep, so if you can get him used to sleeping through these cycles, he might just start sleeping through the night.

[mommy00's]

Seriously wich mom hasn't gone through that i have two girls the oldest is 2 and the youngest is 8months. so this is my 5 tips to you:
1. be strong because it will be hard to put him in a routine. 2. you need to stop letting him go asleep after 2pm so he can go to bed at 8, just make sure he gets six ours of him being fully awake because the more hes up the less chances of him being up at night 3.need to wake him up early 7-8 am. 4. let him take naps throughout the morning if he wants.
5.need to make a commitment to do this everyday and once you do this for about 2 weeks maybe 1 hell get use to it and wont even bother you.

thats what i did and it works wonderful!

[Laura17]

Well we did have my son on an acid reflux medicine for awhile, and then kept spitting up which he didn't do when he wasn't on the medicine, so we took him off of that.

When I feed him before bed I usually mix the oatmeal with a fruit. Like yesterday, I was amazed I got two good naps out of him. One from 8:30 to 10 am, and 3:30 to 5:30 and both times after he woke up i fed him and then I fed him dinner at 7:30 (& i could tell he was tired because he was rubbing his eyes and they were red) and I had him asleep by 8. So i took him up to his crib and put him in it and he stayed asleep, but not even a half hour later he was back up and wouldn't go back to sleep til about 11/12. I'm thinking that what you said about the crib not being comfy could be it, so i was thinking maybe putting some clothes right out of the dryer on his bed to warm it up and then have a soft blanket for him to lay on when he goes to bed.

And we are trying so hard to get him onto a schedule, it's just difficult with work schedules and other kids in the house. My boyfriend and I are trying to work something out so we can attempt a schedule, it's just very hard at this point.

[Bec caV]

The clothes out of the dryer is a good idea. It's going to be tough, believe me, I'm still battling sleeping issues (but there's been a lot going on in our lives, we moved when he was 8 months old and that made a bad situation worse).
Just keep trying. Getting into a schedule... I can understand that, he's getting to the age where he needs one. But I always say start with a bedtime schedule. I got better results when I insisted he be asleep BEFORE 8:30 (My darling son disagreed he wanted to stay awake... ).
There's also a lot going on for them developmentally at that age. So that can make things harder. But it will be better for him to start sleeping in his own bed. Those habits he's in, they're hard to break... I know...

Oh and about the reflux.... try elevating the head of the crib a bit. This also works well when they have a cold to help them sleep. I just stuck a couple folded up baby blankets under the mattress. A slight elevation can keep the acid down. Fruit is kind of acidic, so maybe try mixing the oatmeal with just water.

[Jessica Handzel]

I think your baby may not have any visible teeth showing, that doesn't mean his gums aren't itching. teething is a long greusome process. a pediatrician once told me that if we experienced teething as adults we would rip our heads off. they have these homeopathic teething tablets at walmart, i would do some pain medicine also. doctors also say you shouldn't give a baby water either...they can choke on water, but seriously...a baby might be thirsty and milk just doesnt cut it. with my first baby i did everything by the dr's orders, with the second almost half went out the window. i gave my little girl baby food at three months...i experimented with her with table food...she never ate baby food again, she wouldn't. my daughter is now 12 months she has a 4 year old brother that gets home from school at 3 so she's up for the entire evening which works well. they take a bath at 830 and are usually out by 9. Ask someone about these 'teething tablets' i swear by them. they are all natural so there is no overdose, toys-r-us has a line of hylands homeopathic tablets...for colic and other things, baby is probably crying cuz of a wet diaper too...yeah luv may be cheaper..but you will run through twice as many as huggies. so they really cost the same. I use nighttime huggies for my baby girl...keeps her dry all night. there's no denying a good diaper, it's like a good bra or something. if your baby won't take regular milk try coating the bottom of the bottle with karo syrup, then stir, not shake to mix, it makes the milk a little sweet and keeps things moving on the poop end so baby doesnt get constipated by the regular milk. nightime orajel...even if the teeth don't seem to hurt at bedtime doesnt mean they don't in the middle of the night. just a few thoughts, these are little things I use. I am a single mom of 2 kids working 5 or sometimes 6 days a week...i need my sleep, babies just need a lot of tlc. my first one was like hell though, i didn't know crap, this baby girl has been a breeze