How can I get my baby to sleep through the night?

Question

He is 5 1/2 months old. I have to rock him to sleep and be very gentle when I put him down or he wakes up. Crying it out isn't working. I've let him go for over an hour and I felt like I was being cruel. I basically have given up and he sleeps most of the night with me, but I think that disturbs both of us. My 2 oldest boys weren't this stubborn. Tips anyone?

Answer 1

here's some good articles on how to get your baby to sleep, this is a great site for other concerns too ;)
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/7/T070300.asp
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/7/T070900.asp
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/7/T070400.asp

We cosleep, it is safe! People always tell stories of suffocation, etc-well if you do it right you will have no problems.
SAFE CO-SLEEPING HABITS EVERY PARENT SHOULD KNOW: DO'S AND DON'TS
No matter where you have your baby sleep, be sure you provide a safe sleeping environment. If you decide to share sleep with your baby, and this arrangement is working for your family, observe these precautions:

DOS:

Take precautions to prevent baby from rolling out of bed, even though it is unlikely when baby is sleeping next to mother. Like heat-seeking missiles, babies automatically gravitate toward a warm body. Yet, to be safe, place baby between mother and a guardrail or push the mattress flush against the wall and position baby between mother and the wall. Guardrails enclosed with plastic mesh are safer than those with slats, which can entrap baby's limbs or head. Be sure the guardrail is flush against the mattress so there is no crevice that baby could sink into.
Place baby adjacent to mother, rather than between mother and father. Mothers we have interviewed on the subject of sharing sleep feel they are so physically and mentally aware of their baby's presence even while sleeping, that it's extremely unlikely they would roll over onto their baby. Some fathers, on the other hand, may not enjoy the same sensitivity of baby's presence while asleep; so it is possible they might roll over on or throw out an arm onto baby. After a few months of sleep-sharing, most dads seem to develop a keen awareness of their baby's presence.
Place baby to sleep on his back.
Use a large bed, preferably a queen-size or king-size. A king-size bed may wind up being your most useful piece of "baby furniture." If you only have a cozy double bed, use the money that you would ordinarily spend on a fancy crib and other less necessary baby furniture and treat yourselves to a safe and comfortable king-size bed.
Some parents and babies sleep better if baby is still in touching and hearing distance, but not in the same bed. For them, a bedside co-sleeper is a safe option.
DON'TS:

Do not sleep with your baby if:
1. You are under the influence of any drug (such as alcohol or tranquilizing medications) that diminishes your sensitivity to your baby's presence. If you are drunk or drugged, these chemicals lessen your arousability from sleep.

2. You are extremely obese. Obesity itself may cause sleep apnea in the mother, in addition to the smothering danger.

3. You are exhausted from sleep deprivation. This lessens your awareness of your baby and your arousability from sleep.

4. You are breastfeeding a baby on a cushiony surface, such as a waterbed or couch. An exhausted mother could fall asleep breastfeeding and roll over on the baby.

5. You are the child's baby-sitter. A baby-sitter's awareness and arousability is unlikely to be as acute as a mother's.

Don't allow older siblings to sleep with a baby under nine months. Sleeping children do not have the same awareness of tiny babies as do parents, and too small or too crowded a bed space is an unsafe sleeping arrangement for a tiny baby.
Don't fall asleep with baby on a couch. Baby may get wedged between the back of the couch and the larger person's body, or baby's head may become buried in cushion crevices or soft cushions.
Do not sleep with baby on a free-floating, wavy waterbed or similar "sinky" surface in which baby could suffocate.
Don't overheat or overbundle baby. Be particularly aware of overbundling if baby is sleeping with a parent. Other warm bodies are an added heat source.
Don't wear lingerie with string ties longer than eight inches. Ditto for dangling jewelry. Baby may get caught in these entrapments.
Avoid pungent hair sprays, deodorants, and perfumes. Not only will these camouflage the natural maternal smells that baby is used to and attracted to, but foreign odors may irritate and clog baby's tiny nasal passages. Reserve these enticements for sleeping alone with your spouse.
Use common sense when sharing sleep. Anything that could cause you to sleep more soundly than usual or that alters your sleep patterns can affect your baby's safety. Nearly all the highly suspected (but seldom proven) cases of fatal "overlying" I could find in the literature could have been avoided if parents had observed common sense sleeping practices.

Answer 2

Go to the website http://babysleepsolution.com and download the 35 minute audio tips and instructions for how to get your baby to sleep and stay asleep. I did this about a month ago after I was so exhausted and frustrated from lack of sleep and not knowing what to do. It worked wonders for us!!!!! There are 18 tips you can pick and choose what would work for you and then there are 5 solutions to get your baby to fall asleep on his own. I chose one method and used some of the tips and the first couple nights were a little rough, but since then my son falls asleep in his crib every night by himself. Good luck to you!!

Answer 3

Hello,
First let me ask a couple questions.
Is he teething? If so rub a little ambersol on his gums right before bedtime or use a freezer pop to let him chew on to numb the pain. This worked with my oldest daughter

When does he take his afternoon nap? Maybe move up his nap-time to an earlier time, or give him a shorter nap time.

This may help also try giving a warm bath 1/2 hour before bedtime and allow him to stay up a 1/2 hour longer. As some children don't require as much sleep as others. May also get him up earlier in the morning about 1/2 hour.
As this worked with my youngest daughter.

For both girls of mine another thing that helped was to feed them some baby cereal right before bedtime about 15 minutes.

Both my girls are grown up now but these were things I used to help with sleeping problems, this advice was given to me by a elderly doctor. I hopes this helps.
isabelle

Answer 4

Please be careful letting your young baby sleep with you. So many babies are suffocated that way.
I understand how it feels when your baby won't stop crying and there is nothing you can do.
Have you spoken to his doctor?
Anyway, what worked for me was to change my daughter to nestle good start soy formula and right before I went to bed I would mix some formula with a small amount of cereal and feed it to her. After that, I would give her a quick warm bath to relax her, turn off all lights and TVs that weren't being used (basically calm the house down best I could) and put her to bed.

Also, maybe when you put him down, don't walk off immediately. Put him in his crib and leave a hand on him until he settles back down.

Answer 5

Read the book Healthy Sleep Habbits Happy Child.

I have a 5 month old that used to only be able to sleep laying on me. Now he goes to bed so easily it is unbelievable!

Answer 6

umm.. try putting a boppy pillow in your sons crib or playpen, put a blanket over it and posistion it to where his bottom will be in the middle of it. since he will be sleeping at an angle any allergies will flow and also he will feel like he is bing held. boppy pillows are generally only 20 dollars.it worked for my son who is now 18 months old, and i am due with my daughter in 11 days, and i wil take my own advise. GOOD LUCK!!!

Answer 7

Try feeding him infant cereal before laying him down. it works for my 4 month old she slleps all night