how can I get my 7 month old to sleep through the night? self sooth?

Question

he's not waking up hungry or needing a diaper change...I've simply spoiled him. Sometimes he sleeps through the night...other nights he screams until I come to him and then he sleeps on my chest...I know I have to stop this...but I don't like to hear him cry. My fault I know :)

he doesn't cry for more than 5 minutes before mommy rescues him. But if he is simply complaining and making noise I will leave him alone.

Answer 1

Most babies do not sleep through the night until they are older than a year, particularly breastfed babies, but formula fed babies too.

You wouldn't expect a baby to walk before they are ready, you wouldn't expect them to talk before they are ready and you wouldn't think you could force them to do either of those things, so why do we think we can force a baby to learn to self-sooth?

He will learn to self sooth when HE is developmentally ready, and yes I know tonnes of people are going to tell you that they did this that or the other thing and their baby started sleeping through the night, but ask yourself if sleeping through the night and self-soothing are the same thing: obviously not right?

I would say that when he wakes up in the night, pick him up and snuggle him for a few minutes (not to sleep) but until he is nice and calm and happy and then do whatever you normally do to get him to sleep. But that probably will not always work. Some times he probably just needs mommy. He may be overtired, he may be gassy, he might have bone pain from growing, he may have strained a muscle. Who knows?

Remember that seperation anxiety starts up around 8 months too, your baby will realise that you are a seperate person and really start to realise that you are GONE when he can't see you. Of course you aren't gone, you are just in the other room. But he needs to make sure.

And what worked for me: Honestly ask yourself why you want to change things. Is it because people/books tell you it is wrong? Is it because you feel embarrassed by it? Is it because you have heard your whole life that you will spoil them or that they will never learn etc, etc. Or do you want to change because it isn't working for you and your baby and your family (I mean only MOM, Dad(or partner) and your other kids, not anyone else). Because honestly the only reason to change is if it isn't working for you.

Don't think you have to do it or he will never learn, or because it is wrong or whatever. He will learn. My baby is 8 months old, we co-sleep, and he still eats every 2-3 hours at night. About a month ago I went nuts researching into how to get him to sleep longer, and whatnot. Until I realised the only reason I was upset is because I had been taught is is wrong for babies of that age to wake that often. It isn't really wrong. Nothing bad will happen if I don't get him to sleep 8 hours without food. And I know how I would feel if I woke up tired or thirsty and I wasn't allowed to do anything about it.

If it is working for you and your baby don't worry he won't be taking you off to his college dorm ;-) And nobody but you has to live your life. Not the experts, not the books, not other parents, not your mom, nobody. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Answer 2

He's not spoiled he's loved. this is a critical time when he is learning trust. if you are ok with letting him fall asleep on your chest, do it. don't let anyone! tell you what you should or should not do for your child. different things work for different people. one suggestion I have if you like it is to put a pillow on the floor next to crib and lay down where he can see you and know you are there, maybe some soft music playing, hum along so he hears you, whisper quietly, and over time, slide yourself more and more out of sight, keep up t he whispering and music, then gradually do away with the whispering and he might start to associate the safety of mom with the soothing music good luck. I held my daughter and fed her til she was 8 or 9 months, all my friends said she should hold her own bottle. she could but i said time goes by so fast and if she likes it we'll do it and i will always remember those cuddle times. many parents want to hurry and see great progress as if it is a sign of intelligence, not in your case, i mean in general, but enjoy every stage cause soon you'll be dropping him off at kindergarden and you'll be the one crying inside wishing for those cuddle days. we all do. so enjoy that baby!!!!!!!

Answer 3

I had a problem with my son going to sleep because he just loves to sit and fights sleeping. Hes almost 7 months. I feed him rice cereal at about 7-8pm. It took trial and error to see when he would fall asleep. Because usually it would make him sleepy after being active. Then he gets breastfed before sleeping at 10pm. My suggestion is to let him sleep good naps during the early day and play with him as much as you can during the rest of the day. We use secret weapon #1- his walker or help him crawl/roll over on the floor too-not crawling yet though. Let him have short naps the later in the day it is like half an hour or hour. If my plan dosent work then I use the secret weapond #2 -fisher price aquarium cradle swing.

Answer 4

Try not to let your baby nap too close to bed time. If bed time is 7:30, don't let the baby sleep past 3 in the afternoon.. Some days it does get hard because they get so cranky and really want to sleep but find something to grab their attention. Playing on the floor, a fun bubble bath, anything to pass the time, hopefully your baby will go to bed tired enough to sleep through the night. And it does not hurt your baby to cry, he knows that this tool works for him. Be strong!

Answer 5

Is he showing signs of teething???
Try rocking him until he falls asleep, then put him down, and if he starts to cry, I always gave my son a 10 minute calm down time... and after 10 minutes, if he was still crying, I would rock him again, then put him down.... Try not to get him in the habit of knowing that when he cries, that means he will sleep with mommy!!!!
And if he is teething, give him some baby orajel....

Answer 6

Look it sweetie, he is your kid. I didn't let my kids scream either. They don't have sleeping disorders, eating disorders, or even separation anxiety (they are all grown now LOL). If don't want to pick him up then don't. Just make sure you go in there lay him down, soothe him with a song, rub his back, leave and hope that one worked. Just don't pick him up. Don't let him cry for more than 5 - 10 mins at a time before going in to soothe him. That is just forever to them!

Answer 7

Self sooth, bu to a point. Don't make him cry for hours. Listen to the crying, if it sounds like he is calming down, leave him alone but if he just keeps crying pick him up. Just don't let him fall asleep on your chest, because then you reward him of keeping up the act. Find another way of sleeping him.

Answer 8

try buying a mobile, or something that u can put somewhere that plays white noise or lullabies. i have one its called fisher price aquarium .. heres the link for a pic of it: if the link doesnt work, try to google it, it'll just come up. walmart is the least expensive.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?cpncode=11-16401829-2&dest=9999999997&product_id=3933930&sourceid=0100000012231186902498&srccode=cii_1038957

p.s - mine didnt sleep through the night till he was 1 and i was breastfeeding every 3 hours.

Answer 9

Teething can b 1 reason.. dont make him sleep too long during the day.. try rocking him to sleep. after all hes a baby, what does he know... !

Answer 10

When I was a baby my mum used to roll my pushchair over a slipper until I dozed off...

Don't worry if your baby doesn't sleep alot though, babies like to make trouble, however, if the problem continues for a long time you might want to see your GP, they'll give you good qualified advice as to what to do.