How can I make my 4 month old son sleep through the night?

Question

I've tried feeding him some pablum at night thinking that it would fill him up and sleep all night but it doesn't work. I've tried letting him sleep with me thinking he might be too cold in his bed but that doesn't seem to be the problem either...can anyone help?

Answer 1

you cant
babys that young do not normally sleep through the night (and if they do they are at an increase risk for sids http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/solids-sleep.html
see in particular the research of James McKenna, PhD) also note "seelping through the night" is 5 or more hours not 8
co sleeping may help a bit, but its not always a good option
you can also introduce a bedtime routine like a bath and massage

as you have found giving cereal at night has no effect on babys sleeping patterns (it can also malnourish your infant and is not recommended before 6 months)

Answer 2

Well there is no real way to "make" a baby sleep through the night. My son is 3 months old and has been sleeping 6-8 hours since he was 7 weeks old. I put my son on a schedule. This has helped in just about every facet of day to day routine. I recommend trying this for about a week and see if it helps any. Also try not to let him sleep more than 1 1/2 at a time during the day. Some babies just don't sleep as much as others. I think the schedule should help by creating a bedtime routine with a set bath time, story time, play some sleepy music or sing to him. Create a night time routine that works for you and your son. He may still wake up but, maybe it will help you get more rest as well. The routine I use I got out of a book called "The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems (by teaching you how to ask the right questions)" By Tracy Hogg. Hopefully this is helpful, and good luck!

Answer 3

My daughter had a hard time sleeping at night when she was that age she always wanted to eat 2-3 times a night. So I asked my daughters doctor what i could do just to get her sleep a little more and he said to put a little bit of baby's cereal in her bottle at night. I tried it and it worked. I only gave it to her in the bottle she ate right before bed and I only gave her about have of a scoop for a 6 oz. bottle. I used the scoop from her formula. After about a month of doing that she slept all night and that was from 10pm till about 9am, and I didn't have to put it in her bottle again. She is know 1 and she has slept threw the night since she was 3 1/2 mons. You can try this but it may not work. every baby is different. Another thing i noticed with my daughter was that she would wake up in the middle of the night and not want to go to sleep even after a bottle. In that case we would give her, her bottle or her pacifier and turn her mobile on and usually within 5-10 mins she was asleep. Oh by the way with the cereal if you do decide to give him some watch him, because some babies poop will get stiff and they will have a hard time pooping. Good luck. I hope you are able to figure something out to help you.

Answer 4

Feeding the baby pablum at night won't make him sleep through the night. It doesn't fill them up like some people think it does, that is an old wives tale. I have a 13 month old that doesn't sleep through the night. My eldest didn't sleep through the night at 2 years old. There is no way to make babies sleep through the night, it is something that they will do when they are ready to.

Answer 5

You can't so stop trying. What time are you putting him down for the night. What time do you go to bed. When my daughters were that young, I expected to put them down around 7:00 and that they would be up again around 11:00. I never went to bed before 12:00.

The worst thing you can do is let him sleep with you. Even at this young an age, you could start developing traits that you will regret in a major way later on. Habits start forming now - however they have no real retention. The more things are repeated, then they become a habit. The first thing you need to start right now is a routine with his bed time and keep it constant every night. When and if he does wake up, if you're still up, do the normal things. Check his diaper, if it's wet change it. Unless he's crying his hungry cry, don't feed him as this will again form that habit and his body will expect to eat at some weird hour. Go to him and lay him down in his crib. Rub his back or stroke his head and talk to him very softly or sing. He will go back to sleep. Decrease the amount of time you do that. Again, it will form a habit and his sub-conscious will start to expect it.

The very first thing I would do before I even start heeding my advice or anyone elses here would be to talk to his doctor and I would buy "what to expect the first year". The book is awesome and filled with helpful advice and hints. It will also confirm some of the things you will be noticing are normal. Good luck sweetie. I found the first year to be one of sleep deprevation and pure joy and it just keeps getting better.

Answer 6

At this age its normal for him to be up when you should be sleeping but what I would suggest is try puting him on a schedule... sleeping and feeding schedule. So give him a feeding before bed maybe at a time that is constant, then again say 2 or 3 am...whenever your morning feed is and don't always jump up for ever noise. If you do decide to get up just rub his tummy or back for a little while till he doises off again. But I must say it may be a month or two before you can successfully get him to go through the whole night. Hope I was of some help.

Answer 7

The first year will be filled with nights of no-sleep due to baby being ill, new developmental milestones, teething...etc... And just when your precious little one sleeps a little longer than usual, he will go back into a pattern of not sleeping again.

Some babies begin to sleep a little longer between 4-6 months; although it may not be consistent for quite some time. I would always get really excited if my son slept for 5 hours at that age! 5 hours is a really good amount of sleep for an infant this young.

What you can do is start a nightly routine and you can also introduce some kind of soother for your baby. My son would not take a pacifier or his thumb and hated his crib at this age. We put him back into his co-sleeper until he was 6 months old. I felt better knowing that he was right there by me and able to meet his needs within arms reach. He also slept longer and sounder right by us in his co-sleeper. When he was closer to 5 months I gave him a soother, a bear blanket that he nuzzled with and that also seemed to help him go back to sleep. We gave him a bath, rocked and nursed him. Some nights he slept about 5 hours and others he woke every 3-4 hours. I took naps on the days that I was really exhausted and had my husband help me in the evenings with him until I was caught back up on sleep.

When your baby wakes at night, you still need to check and see if he is wet/dirty, too hot or too cold, or maybe has gas or needs to be fed again. If none of the above apply and your son is wide awake and wants to play (this also happened with my son) I would recommend his naps not be too late in the day and make sure he is not overly tired. Some babies wake more when they do not get enough rest during the day.

Has he started to roll yet? If he is trying to roll, he may not sleep well until he masters that task. When babies learn new skills, they tend to want to practice until they master whatever task they are trying to accomplish. You may start to notice a trend when your baby rolls, pulls up, learns to crawl and learns to walk. They do not sleep well during these stages.


I never did the cry it out method, but I started a routine around 4 months with my son and eventually he slept for longer intervals. He is now a year, and sleeps about 7-9 hours at a time. Every once in awhile he will sleep 10. Some babies simply do not sleep as long as others.

I know it is frustrating when you are sleep deprived. Hang in there, it does get better eventually. Good luck to you.

Answer 8

There are a few things you can try but know that every child is different and it may take longer for some kids. You can try keeping him up a little later and not let him have a nap any later then 3-4 hours before you want to put him down for the night. Try and establish a bed time routine. Such as last feeding, bath time, story time and then put him to bed awake. You can have some quiet music if you like if he finds that soothing. He may cry a little and that's okay. Check on him after 20 minutes or so and then leave the room. Sometimes babies just need to cry and it helps wear them out. I also found that if my daughter don't get enough activity that she wasn't as tired at night. You will get many answers on here and people will criticize every answer but theirs. There is no right or wrong answers here. Try what you feel is right or try something that no one mentions. You never know what may work for him.

Answer 9

You have to form a technique with your baby. My baby will be three months tomorrow and he has been sleeping throughout the night for almost a month. That is because i would let him stay up and play all day, feed him and then when it comes around my bed time, i will feed him and he'll go to sleep. That's our routine. Babies can't talk or think like us adults but they can catch on fast. My baby knows when it's time to go to sleep because he gets fussy! And a warm bottle may do the trick.

Answer 10

Routine is the key. My 5 mth old has been sleeping through the night since 3mths. You didn't say that he is bottle or breast fed, it is easier to monitor how much food they get with a bottle but also if breast feeding they say that babies can wake in the night out of habit rather then needing a feed, try getting him back to sleep first, try a dummy, and if that doesn't work after 1/2 hour feed him. another way is to feed him before he wakes so that he gets used to sleeping all the way through as doesn't wake. Is he getting enough food and stimulation during the day? All babies are different but all of mine started on solids 3-4 mths, used a walker, belly play and floor play. Just try different things, be patient and remember it will get better.

Answer 11

Good luck on that one, its your babys choice, I was lucky with both of my 1st two children when they would actually sleep through the night once in a great while around that age.

Their stomachs are small and get hungry more often at that age. You just need to wait this out til a couple of more months.

This is a baby, this is what they do.