My 6 month old baby won't go to sleep on his own.?

Question

We have tried to let him cry it out and check on him periodically. He will cry for 3+ hours. Is this too long? An hour or two I can understand but, once he cries for hours on end I feel like it is too much for him. Any advice on this subject would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

i feel you there, my little girl is 6 months and used to not sleep and would scream when she woke up and found that i had put her down... she would scream for hours on end if you didn't hold her... she now sleeps by herself in her crib, and goes down with no fuss.. it turns out that she has some GI problems and would constantly have a hurting tummy, and simply just didn't want to be by herself.. the way i got her to sleep by herself was this.. i started out (during her day time naps) putting her on my bed (pillows surrounding her) and lying next to her. i would put her on her belly (she can pick up her head so not to worry about SIDS), which would help put pressure on her belly and relieve some of the pain and gas, and i would just pat her butt and back until she fell asleep... once she was asleep i would lie next to her for awhile and then get up and leave her there (checking on her frequently) once we accomplished this for all of her daily naps, i then started putting her down at night the same way... i have an aquarium thing that plays music on her crib, so i play that, dark room, and lay her on her belly and pat her back until she's sleeping.. i can now walk out and be a happy rested mommy that finally gets some sleep. hope this works for you.

Answer 2

Well before three hours are done, he has probably given up on ever seeing you again. That sounds like real misery of some sort. Is he teething? Is something else bothering him? Can you give him a CD player to play soothing music or waterfall sounds or something in his room and see if that helps? I am glad you don't let him fall to sleep with a bottle. I've seen kids with ruined teeth from that. He isn't cold is he? I am just thinking on my keyboard here.

It is hard. My daughter had colic, but that started way earlier. Hers was over at six months . She was so happy for years after that went away.

If this happens often, check with your pediatrician or nurse. A baby crying like that is unnerving to everyone. you must all be exhausted!

Answer 3

How was he from birth till now? I have alot of friends who have had boys this summer and they all say they have problems with putting their boys to sleep. I have a daughter so I can't really relate but I can suggest you talk to his Ped. and get some professional advice. I would also try Furberizing him. I am not sure of the spelling but my girlfriend Furberized her son and it worked. I think Furberizing came from a doctor. i should ask her for more detail. I heard it wasn't good to let your baby cry for that long because when they cry so hard it stops blood from flowing into their brain. I've never let my daughter cry that much, I've always gone to her to comfort her and she falls back asleep. My other girlfriend would go as far as sleeping with her son on a mattress and when he falls asleep she quietly put him back into his crib. I would do some research and talk to the ped. about it first. Good luck.

Answer 4

My daughter has the same problem, and here was some of the advice given and trial and error that works. (for the most part)
This wasn't a cure, but it happens less often.

-Time how long he wakes up on his own and when he finally goes to sleep. Then, in the morning don't wait for him to wake up, wake him up that many hours before you want him to go to bed.
-Make sure he as a nap or at least quiet time durring the day.
-Turn the TV off 1 hour before bed.
-Use Hylands Calms Forte (found at many health food stores)
-Use lavender oil in the bath water.
-A glo e dog (w/o story book)
-a white noise machine in his room.
-Be consistant
-I hate to say this but letting him cry won't hurt him (that came from my doc)
-After the first time you go in there don't pick him up or bring him out of his room. after the second time just go in and put him down and cover him up and don't say anything.
My doc says its a phase and we have to wait for them to grow out of it.
Hang in there sister, i'll be thinking of you while i am covering my head with a pillow hoping tonight my daughter will sleep. Good luck.

Answer 5

If he's waking interior the evening you could desire to nonetheless sleep interior the comparable room as him. My toddler is 6 months previous and likewise wakes for his dummy during the evening yet while i do no longer understand he's unsleeping for a on the same time as he in many situations continues to be unsleeping for an hour or extra yet as quickly as I notice directly away and supply him his dummy and blanket he is going directly back off to sleep back and in my view i think of 6 months is to youthful to sleep on my own of their room. It won't harm them to stay in with you longer. I lived in a one mattress room flat with my Mum until i replaced into 4... never affected me.

Answer 6

I will start off with saying I don't like letting babies cry it out - so pls ignore if you want! LOL! I was going a little crazy for a while there with my 8 m.o girl and left her to cry one night for an hour and instead of crying it out, she freaked out and became hysterical. I breastfeed her to sleep every night (bar that one night)- people tut tut me and say I have started a bad habit, but she is so content and happy with this situation and it takes me 5 mins to get her to sleep, pretty good if you ask me! Whatever works for you and whatever you feel comfortable with is what you need to do. Trust yourself.

Answer 7

He is only 6 months give him all the attention possible, some may say you are spoiling him, but oh well. It is better to make sure he sleeps better throughout the night and have a peaceful night than to let him tire himself out like that and honestly in my opinion that is to long for a six month old.

Answer 8

My gf was told by her pedietrition to slowly get them to sleep on their own. The first step is to get them to stop feeding to fall asleep. So she was told if she normaly fed for 5 mins. on the first night she would feed like normal, for 5 min, then take the food away and replace it with a soother. The next night for 4 mins and replace with the soother, all the way down to no food at all. So in a week he was off the boob for bed time. The next step is getting them to sleep on their own.
For this she was told to put him down, and let him cry for 1 min. After the min was up she was to go in and console him for 1 min. then extend for 2 mins all the way up to 5 mins. Once your baby has cryed for more than 5 mins they are to upset to put them selves to sleep. They say that it only takes 4-5 days to form a habbit for a baby. So it shouldnt take long, and once they put them selves to sleep and go without a boob or bottle, they are more likely to sleep all night. They dont need you to put them back down when they wake up. So Yes I would think 3 hrs is way too much, I cant believe you could listen to it for that long, You are a strong woman. I hope this works as well for you as it did for her. Her son was around 4-5 months when she did this, so you arent that far off of where she was. Good Luck

Answer 9

I would say try to get into a bedtime routine with your baby. Try and stick to the same time each night. Make sure he's well fed and changed, maybe rock him, read or sing to him and give him a chance to wind down ...and then lay him down. Try comforting him or pat his back if you have to return to the room. I just believe its better to be responsive to a child early on so he feels secure. Attached is a good article and website for parenting and child issues.

Answer 10

I would take your baby to the pediatrician and see if maybe there isn't something else going on causing your baby to cry like acid reflux. Your baby may just feel better when you hold it cause he is not lying flat down. Good luck