I have 7 month baby ...lately she keeps waking up 4 times a night...I'm a working mother..what can i do?

Question

what can i do to get her to sleep the whole night again. It is very difficult...I look like crap every morning because of no sleep. Mom's any suggestions.

thanks to everyone for your advice....My daughter slept all night from 3 months till last month.. I feed her regular formula milk be4 bed so I will try adding the cereal... daddy doesnt live with us right now but we' ll be getting together in 2 months....and then ..he'll be the one taking care of her at night..i had my longgg share of time.she is also teething..so that can be a factor..I got baby anbesol but it says not to use it more then 7 days in a row... so dont know about that...

ohh and daddy 's are welcome to comment..lol

Answer 1

Oh watch out for some of these answers. Benadryl is not recommended for babies under 1 year of age. Cereal is not recommended under 4 months of age (some say 6 months). And DON'T keep her awake all day.

One thing we know is that babies do NOT need to wake up in the middle of the night to eat after about 6 months of age. It is now basically only a habit.

Unfortunately the only clinically proven way is the "cry it out" routine, other than to just keep doing what you are doing and wait and see if she learns on her own. We did that (wait and see) with our first child and she finally slept thru the night at 18 months!

First of all, establish a bedtime routine (for example: what I call the 3 B's: Bath, Bottle, and then a Book). Whatever you choose, make it the same every night.

Next, put the child to bed awake, and without a bottle. And do not go back in the room unless the child is hurt or something is wrong. It's OK to check on her (whether you let her see you or not is up to you).

Set a goal initially of sleeping 6 hrs (most kids who can sleep 6 hrs straight will sleep 8 or 9 very soon). The first 2 nights are the worst, but whatever you do, do NOT decide to "give her a break just this once" - that resets the whole process. It may take up to a week, but usually 3-5 days is average.

A similar approach is called the Ferber method. You can read about it at:
http://www.pregnancyweekly.com/topics/ferber_method.htm

The problem with this method is that I think it takes longer since you are consistently reassuring the child every 20 minutes.

Whichever method you choose, be consistent. We did the "cry-it-out" technique with our second child at it only took 4 nights.

And whatever you do, don't start putting him in bed with you - then you will have 2 problems to solve!

Good Luck!

Answer 2

I have been pretty lucky, and my son has slept through the night since day one. Actually, I would have to wake him to feed him when I was breastfeeding. He is VERY active during the day; and we had a routine set by the time he was 3 months old.

However, he does sometimes wake up in the middle of the night. My husband and I both work....opposite shifts, so he's not home when I am, and vice versa. I have my son at night, so I deal with the late night/early morning wake up calls. Anyway....my suggestion: let your baby soothe herself back to sleep. There are and never were any monitors in my son's room....and when he wakes up in the middle of the night, I DO NOT go into his room at all. Only if he begins to scream like he is in pain (he is 13 months now). We went through the teething thing....never used baby orajel or anything like that. We also don't medicate...I'm strongly opposed to medications to begin with, let alone giving a child mediation that he/she does not need.

In the beginning, when you let your baby cry, you'll of course be awake and you'll still look "like crap" the next morning. Give it a couple of weeks...I think this is called the Ferber method, if you want a specific name for it, but don't quote me on that. Eventually, your little one will figure out that you won't come for her, and she will find a way to settle herself back down. Good luck to you!! By the way....ALL moms are beautiful....even if they feel like they look bad because of the lack of sleep. : ) I know, because I have gone a few nights without sleep.....and I am not out to impress anyone.

Answer 3

No but I have a quote "this too shall pass" --- my heart is with you. My youngest had colic - he cried for hours and hours and hours, I had to work - it was hell but ya know what? It will get better. I am a little surprised that she's 7 months and waking though. Are you picking her up EVERY time? I know that is difficult not to but can you try that for a while? I know it is still exhausting as you lay awake listening to the crying. Go in and reassure her, pat her on the back, blow a kiss and walk away. This way she'll know you are there for her. I can't swear it will work but it's worth a try. How late is she eating baby food? Maybe you can feed her a little later (if you are feeding her early). Do you feed her baby food yet? Some people wait a year - I never did that - they get hungry. If she's not on baby food, I'd put her on it.

Answer 4

I feel your pain! My 6 month old does the same thing. My first question is, does she have a binky? Because that was my mistake. My son wants his binky and can't sooth himself at night when it falls out. Another thing I have been told is that it's just best to let them cry themselves back to sleep. It might make for a horrible few nights, but she'll learn that she doesn't get a response when she does that, and she'll stop. I tried this, and it was awful. But he got about 50% better, which was good enough for me.
Also, I read that giving them a bottle to put them to sleep at bedtime can be a reason for her to wake up. Because she will only associate sleep with having a bottle first. It's best to lay her in the crib and let her fall asleep on her own.
Hang in there, mom! I know how you feel. The weekend is the best time to let her cry itout, so you can maybe take a nap the next day. Maybe by Monday she'll be sleeping for you!

Answer 5

Put about 3 tablespoons of rice or oat cereal in her bottle, give her a warm bath and then the bottle, mine slept through the night when they were 3 - 4 weeks old, and I have 4. She is more than likely not satisfied and that is why she wakes several times during the night. You may have to make the whole in the bottle nipple a little larger.

Answer 6

OK, med bombing your kid for sleep nis not right!

I assume she was sleeping, and her sleeping patern has changed. Something has to be causing it. Look into what that could be. Teething symptoms, stressful situation at the sitters, big changes happening in the home. My daughter gets like that when we are apart for too long, and she just needs some extra comforting. Finding the solution to her waking will mean finding out the root cause of it, and taking steps to fix/change it.

I recommend a book called "The No-Cry sleep Solution". It has some wonderful advice, even after having my fourth!
And NEVER be ashamed for napping. You need to make up for that lost sleep somewhere. Enlist family members to help whenever you can.

Answer 7

I think this is very common for moms who work. She is waking up at night to be with you to make up for lost time during the day. Do you have her in bed with you? That may be the best solution to getting more sleep. People will advise you against it but in my opinion why would you deny a baby of the very basic need of human contact? Are you breastfeeding? If you are this may actually be a blessing in disguise. Pumping won't stimulate as much as your baby's suckling so if she is nursing at night she is helping keep your milk supply up. Just remember, babies grow fast and this won't last forever. You can get through it!

Answer 8

Why you asking just the moms? Us daddy's deal with it too. My daughter slept pretty good when she was at seven months but if you really want to get her to sleep a little more, childrens medicine (tylenol) before they go to bed for the night. But don't make a habit of it especially if they are not sick. It can calm them a little longer through the night. Other than that, that's parenthood for you. It won't last forever. Hang in there, Mom!

Answer 9

You are probably breast feeding her. Try to either get her to eat more, cause at 7 months, they go up in their required ounces. Just feed her more. If you can, add formula to the diet, only at night time, The formula helped out baby sleep a good 6 to 8 hours through the night. Try that.

Answer 10

Have you started feeding you baby cereal or anything? Sometimes a bowl of baby cereal right before bed helps the baby sleep through the night, since they don't wake up due to hunger.