Will she ever sttn?!??!

egsulaiman · December 2012

So here's the deal. I keep hearing and reading that by 6 months your LO should be totally fine to STTN... and before this, I was totally fine with her not STTN, because it wasnt expected... but now things are getting worse.. ever since we transitioned her to the crib, she seems to wake up more and more, and every single time she does wake up, she will drink an entire 6oz bottle. Then she'll go right back to sleep, but just wake up again 2-3 hours later.. its almost like I have a newborn again!

We used to swaddle and she slept in a RNP next to our bed all nice and snuggled up, and it just seems like there is way to much moving room in the crib for her. She also sleeps with white noise on which she's been used to since she was a newborn.

So, I know not all babies are the same, and that they all develop in their own way... but I'm really nervous that by not sleep training her, that I am not teaching her how to sleep properly. She eats plenty during the day (between 24-30oz a day, and we are slowly starting her on solids, she eats MAYBE 1-2 tablespoons of solids.) At night, she actually eats more frequently than during the day because she'll wake up and want a bottle. She is decent at going back to sleep once she is done eating, and she is decent (but still learning) how to fall asleep when we put her down for the night.. although we have had some whiney/crying episodes where I go in every 5 minutes.

Anyways, my question is... should I do a strict sleep training... meaning let her cry in the middle of the night. wean her off of the formula by diluting the formula at night, or should I just wait it out...

at this moment, I am ready and willing to wait until she is 8 months old, get her teething and 6 month growth spurt out of the way.. and see where she goes from there.. BUT i am worried that by 8 months she might be able to stand up and she might hurt herself more...

I'm really confused if I am teaching her that its okay to wake up 3-4 times a night for a full bottle.. I'm worried I am teaching her that THATS normal.. i feel like I should be teaching her that night time is for sleep and day time is for food, which is honestly what I thought I was doing until we moved her to the crib... its been about a month since we started putting her in the crib, so I'm guessing that this is where all the waking up is stemming from...

HELP!! Will she ever STTN without me sleep training her??

lhgd1989 · December 2012

Are you sure your LO is not going through the 6 month growth spurt? Are you still swaddling? We stopped around 5 months because LO started rolling over on his tummy in it and it took him about a month to get back on track with sleeping. He started waking up a lot more often as well. Now he eats more solids (3 meals) a day and we upped his bottles to 6.5 oz. Both of those plus letting him CIO a bit helped him sleep way better... mostly 9 hours straight then two more hours after a bottle. Also he was going to bed around 6:30 previously and we pushed it back to eight at the earliest per pedi and that seemed to work as well because he was more tired and ready to sleep at night. HTH! GL!

yepyepsms · December 2012

Other than my son being breastfed, this was us a month ago until we did sleep training. I wasn't planning on sleep training but after almost three months of no sleep (him waking up 3-6 times a night, crabby baby, etc) I hit a breaking point and was desperate. We did CIO and after night three, he was STTN. Prior to sleep training, the only way he would fall asleep was nursing and rocking. We now lay him in bed after his bedtime routine and he rarely fusses. If he does, it's maybe 1 min or less. Same for naps. It was the best decision I've ever made. He is a happier baby, and I am a happier Mom/Wife/Manager/Employee/Friend with better sleep. If he is sick or teething, his has sleep regression, but once recovered, is right back to self soothing and sleeping through the night.

Good luck!

beany02 · December 2012

taking a full bottle 3-4 times a night seems like a lot....maybe she is just wanting the comfort of sucking and is only taking bottles to suck. have you tried a paci?

ELF4321 · December 2012

We went through this with DD when we transitioned her to the crib at four months. After a month of her waking every hour or two and taking 3 bottles in the MOTN, we did Sleep Easy at 5 months . I weaned her down from 3 MOTN feedings to 1. Then at 6 months I weaned her off the final one.

She goes about 12 hours without eating at night now and puts herself back to sleep when she wakes up in the MOTN.I chose Sleep Easy over Ferber specifically because I thought their weaning plan would work well for DD.

pinkmoonlight · December 2012

I am in the same situation. DS wakes anywhere between 2-3 times a night sometimes it is more. At his 6 month appointment on Monday the doctor told me he should be STTN. That I should wean him off of the night time nursing and be putting him to bed awake. However I just don't feel right letting him cry it out. It breaks my heart and causes me stress. So until I can figure something else out I am going to keep doing what I am doing.

aliena · December 2012

please don't dilute formula, because it can throw off their electrolytes. Just decrease the total volume if you choose to go that route. Hope you are getting more sleep soon!

mben1119 · December 2012

Sounds like a growth spurt to me. If she's really eating that much, and not spitting it up, then I would try feeding her more during the day, so she doesn't need as much at night. That's when DS started STTN-he upped his daytime formula intake to cover what he was eating overnight.

addam&tara · December 2012

Our LO is 9 months. She wakes between midnite and 3am to eat and takes a full 8 oz. If she wakes up earlier, we let her CIO bc she doesn't eat but an oz or two at that time.

As PP said, it may also be a growth spurt.

acbfreire · December 2012

kbruington:
I think the most important thing you can do it throw all your expectations out the window. People read things or hear from other people what their child "should" be doing at a certain age and it will just drive you crazy when your child doesn't actually do it. I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just trying to help you save your sanity because I used to do the same exact thing. Unless some miracle happens, you have to sleep train your child. Babies need us to teach them everything...sleeping included. You have to know that until your baby is at an age where she can actually understand what she is learning, STTN isn't really possible. Some kids don't STTN until after a year old. 6 months is asking a lot. And also, teething goes on for months and months and months. I'm not sure where you are getting the "8 month" age from but my son is over 9 months old and things are still hard. I just hate seeing people have such high expectations and then get frustrated when things don't go according to how they thought they should because of what they read on the internet or in some book. Let your daughter be a baby and help her learn as she grows.

This.

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