8 months old STILL not STTN! HELPADVICE
Let me start by saying I have read ALL the books. Ferber, Baby Whisperer, 12 hours by 12 weeks, Healthy Sleep Happy Baby!!!!
I am not joking I read them all. My 4 yo starting sttn 12 hrs at 4 1/2 months still does!!! My 8 month old just won't he is still up 2-3 times a night! I am exhausted!! I can not continue this way but I don't know what to do. We tried CIO when he was 6 months and he screamed for over an hour. The next few nights were great but he slowly got worse again. He goes down for the night drowsy but awake I have never rocked or fed him to sleep even when he was a newborn.
Here is what his day/night looks like.
Wake up - between 5:30 and 6 am
Nap around 7:30 or 8 for any where between 45 min to an hour and a half
Nap around noon for any where between an hour and a half or two hours
Bedtime between 6 and 6:30
During the night he will wake 2 or 3 times the time is never consistent.
Any advice help anything is greatly appreciated!
Re: 8 months old STILL not STTN! HELPADVICE
I agree! Every baby is different and what works for one will not work for all. My LO doesn't STTN either so I know how you feel.
I agree too! EVERY baby is different. My DD STTN at 6 months and DS was STTN from 6 weeks until about five months. Since he started solids he is waking up 2-4 times a night. He eats B, L and D, so not sure what the deal is. He is EBF, and wants to nurse more and thats what I am thinking. He is a great baby and doesn't fuss much at night, he just wants boob. Hang in there.
Every baby is different, and what works for one baby might not work for another, even with sibs, and even with twins.
I get so much help from the books, but some have been totally off as far as what works. For me I used HSH, HC the most as far as timing for night sleep, naps, etc. The book is kind of funky the way it's written, but my copy is WELL read.
With DDs (mostly Audrey) we did CIO at about 6 1/2 mos and it went really well. Of course it was so hard, but the improvement within 3 days was incredible. She went from crabby, 11min napper to a well rested, and much happier baby.
Ferber was helpful to me with DS for nighttime ST, but not at all for naps. Having read Ferber pretty well, and Weissbluth very well I think they have different ideas on timing of sleep, how much sleep is necessary, and approach to ST.
DS now wakes once to nurse somewhere between 4-5:30am and goes back to sleep, usually till 7-7:30. Bedtime is around 7pm.
My DD didn't sttn until 10 months or so. My son is 6 months old and still wakes usually 2 times to eat at night. IMO there really is no rhyme or reason. I don't mind waking up with them though because I love those nursing sessions and I know it won't last forever. There is no way I could let my son CIO at 6 months. He is the size of a one year old so I know he is hungry when he wakes up. If you are having a hard time with, talk with the pedi about things you can do.
Mine isn't STTN either. And if we have a night with just two wakings I feel well-rested! He will wake up sometimes every 2 hours. It's pretty rough. I tried Ferber about a month ago, but I wasn't consistent and it didn't take. I'm thinking about doing it again (but more the HSH,HB approach) soon -- more for his sake than mine, although it would be nice to get some consistent sleep.
If you are really, REALLY desperate, you can always hire a baby sleep coach. I did that with my first because, like you, I'd read all the books, and I was just beyond exhausted. I needed someone to talk to, someone to kind of help me through it, and the sleep coach did all of that and more. It was all done via phone. Expensive, but really great. I'd do it again if I had the cash to burn. The woman I used was Vivian Sonenberg.
This exactly...though we're only 6 months... The only thing I can Think of is maybe try and stretch out your awake time before your first nap? If you can...maybe that will lenghten your first nap. Then you can do your last nap at like 2ish and have his awake time before bed a little shorter. 4 hours seems like a long time to be awake? I have no clue but it's worth a shot?