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Babies: 3 - 6 Months
jewels_025
member
How do you get your LO to sleep at night?
jewels_025
member
DS has had teribble colic and just now is starting to improve. We havent been able to establish a proper bedtime routine b/c were just in survival mode.
Right now he can ONLY fall asleep while eating and in our arms and we would really like him to be able to go down "drowsy but awake" so hes not dependant on eating to get to sleep. Also hes waking multiple times at night and our Pedi said its because when he falls asleep hes got a warm body, heartbeat, food and music and when he wakes up hes got none of those so he thinks " well i shouldnt be asleep...wheres my mom and food !"
How are you getting your LO to sleep and what methods did you use? Ferber, No cry sleep solution....
THANKS !
This discussion has been closed.
Re: How do you get your LO to sleep at night?
Check out the book "Bedtiming" (https://www.amazon.com/Bedtiming-Parents-Guide-Getting-Child/dp/1615190155/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262730359&sr=1-1). It is written by two Canadian developmental psychologists and is entirely research based. It is a fairly short book.
Basically they review the pros and cons of all the popular sleep training methods and then help you to determine when the best time is to begin sleep training your child.
It is for those of us who would prefer to do "no cry" but may end up with CIO or whatever else will work for us and our LO.
My pedi said sleep habits don't really start to form until 6 months, so if you have to spend another month rocking or feeding your baby to sleep, so be it. My DD is just over 4 months now and usually STTN but I just started trying to get her to fall asleep oon her own. She has done it twice so far.
When she was a terrible sleeper, we swaddled and put a sound machine in her room, as well as leave the fan on all night for extra noise. I also left a lamp on all night because she slept better with more light. Last night was the first night she STTN with only a nightlight.
I suggest swaddling and using a sound machine and give your baby a couple more weeks before you try putting him down drowsy. Also he might be in a growth spurt so he will need to eat more often for a few days.
At 3 months, I think it is too early for him to have a set "schedule." He's going to wake up. That's just what they do.
I give your pedi's comment the side-eye.
Being consistent is key. Set up a bedtime routine that makes sense for your family (when we were bfing it was lotion, pjs, nurse, swaddle, bed; now it's lotion, pjs, bottle, bed) and keep at it. Also, pay attention to his eating habits. If you see that he gets up at 3am but only eats for a minute before falling asleep, chances are that he is comfort eating. Find another way to comfort him, whatever way is comfy for you. We used to rock, then it went to patting her back (when she became a tummy sleeper).
DD STTN now but didn't before at all. She slowly started eliminating meals herself overnight. I would normally give her a 5oz bottle but her 2am bottle went from 5oz to 2oz before I cut it off. Same with the 10pm.
GL.
We started a routine when he was about a month old. Diaper change, pj's, nurse, bed. The lights all get dimmed so he knows it's bedtime. He used to fall asleep nursing, but that isn't working anymore. Either DH or I will rock him to sleep.
A friend told me quiet and dark doesn't work for all babies. It saved us. We have a night light in his room and a sound machine. I think he hears his machine and knows it's time to sleep.
Thankfully, we haven't had to try any methods yet. Our pedi told us we could at 5 months, though.