Will he ever sleep through the night? - Infant Care (up to 18 months old) Message Board

Sara20 · 04-29-2007, 06:44 PM

DS is 9 months and still sleeps the same as he always has..he goes to bed around 9 usually..sometimes hell stay up til 10 or even 11 though..but hes still up 2-3 times through the night and up for good around 6:30 every morning...a lot of my friends babies who are 5-6 months old, some even like 2 months old sleep through the night...are there any ways to help him sleep through? i get so exhausted...i try to just give him a pacifier when he wakes up and hope he goes back to sleep but it doesnt work...he pulls himself up on the sides and screams..any help on this?!?!

KeltoKel · 04-30-2007, 06:10 AM

It seems a lot of us have been posting questions on sleep lately (including me). My son is almost 6 months and we have had sleep issues for the past 2 months, however, things have gotten better the past 2 weeks. First off, is your son teething? I sometimes give my son Tylenol before bed when I know his teeth are bothering him. How is your son napping during the day?

Also, I learned that babies naturally wake several times at night, but most know how to sooth themselves back to sleep. I have been working to get my son to sooth himself back to sleep lately, and it must be working b/c he is now waking less.

I put him in his crib awake when I place him to bed. I let him stir a bit, give him his "Taggies" blanket, his pacifier, and pat his back for a bit. THen I walk out and usually he falls to sleep on his own. If he cries, I let him cry for a few minutes before going back into his room. He normally falls asleep before crying now.

I also have a white noise CD that I play all night in his room (on repeat). We used it when he was a newborn and had to dig it back out when he started waking again. The CD seems to work wonders. Don't know why it works, but it does.

I hope things get better for you b/c I know how awful it is to wake several times a night. You might have to try a number of things until it gets better. Good luck!

prairie_dawn · 04-30-2007, 06:21 AM

Not quite sure about why people are tyring to keep babies asleep at this age. But babies still get up at this age for food. Usually till about 10-11 months. When they go through a growth spurt or teething it happens as well. when they learn how to creep or crawl or stand. When they wake at night that is what they try to do and practice.

i know everyone is different about the whole forcing them to stay asleep thing. So i wont have a debate over it. its my opinion that they still get up at night for food and the other reasons i mentioned. I have a 12 year old and that is what we were always told. now a days well the books even say that the kids are dong thing at a much older age then before. Like sitting up comes later on and talking does as well but in books from 12 years ago it was different. Time do change and my youngest is 9months old and has slept through the night since she was 6 weeks old. But sleeping through the night means a certain amount of hours notwhen we want it. I was so tired because baby would go to bed and I didnt go to bed till like 12am or 1am. then baby would be up at 5am. (stupid me) when I started sleeping when baby did at night it was much better.
She does go to sleep at 7 till about 10 then up again and eat then goes back to bed and up at about 7 or8am She was up at 4am because she had to burp. So dont forget about the burping, even though they are older they still need to be burped at times. She was fussy after that but her teeth hurt.

good luck...Babies are so great!

bap104 · 04-30-2007, 05:50 PM

I had the same issue with ds. He slept through the night at 10 weeks (from 7 to 7) but then stopped at 4 months. He was waking up 2 to 3 times a night. By 6 months I had it. I was exhausted! I wasn't too big on the "crying it out", eventhough that's what my dr. said to do. I felt bad not feeding him because I knew he was hungry ( he was downing 4-6 oz at each feeding during the night) But by 6 1/2 months I was willing to try anything. The 1st night he cried on and off for an hour, the 2nd he did the same and by the 3rd night he slept from 7-6:00. Whew! You just have to do what you are comfortable with. Read up on the crying it out, it's not for everyone but it worked for me.

Cookiem26 · 04-30-2007, 07:44 PM

Maybe you can try putting him to bed earlier than 9. I have read a lot about how babies naturally get tired around 6:30-7 at night but you can sometimes miss the cues. Maybe watch to see if he gets sleepy earlier in the night and put him down. Or maybe try to back his bedtime up 15 minutes each night to get it to an earlier time. It sounds funny but it's true from everything I've read and heard and from personal experience, if you put a baby to bed earlier he/she is likely to sleep later and sleep better. I am not sure if this will help but something you can try.