STILL not sleeping through the night!

amanda@anbcomp.com · May 2013

My eight-month-old daughter is still not sleeping through the night. We've had a couple of fluke nights that are bliss, but for the most part she's up twice per night. I'm at my whit's end! She wakes up for feedings, which I'm finding out she needs more for routine's sake now. I have tried to pick her up and soothe her, then put her back in bed. This just makes her scream louder. Her bed is in our room, and every time she ever goes to sleep we put her in bed while she's still awake. I'm trying to figure a way to do this without her shrieking waking everyone else up (hubbie who works in the morning and a toddler).

I usually will try to stuff her to the gills with food right before I go to bed, so I know that she can't be THAT hungry. We did try a crying-out method, which I regret, because she screamed for about an hour before I finally said "enough is enough". I don't know what to do and my days are about to start a lot earlier with taking care of a friend's 6-week-old while she goes back to work. I'm tired as it is! Help!

MomtobeNJ · May 2013

Not all babies sleep through the night - even at 8, 9, 12 months. If she's screaming until she is fed, then she is hungry.

You can do some research on night weaning and try to reduce the amount in her bottle very gradually. But trying to cut out a bottle (or 2) cold turkey is not going to go over very well, as you can see.

SeaRae17 · May 2013

Try a big bowl of cereal a little` before her last bottle of the day...or try to increase the ounces in her bottles throughout the day.

mben1119 · May 2013

Babies won't STTN until they up their total daytime intake to cover those night feedings. "Stuffing her to the gills" before bed helps no one. If she's still eating a good amount during those night feedings, then she isn't ready to STTN yet.

amanda@anbcomp.com · May 2013

She mostly eats solids supplemented with bottles. And plenty of snacks. She eats three 6 oz jars of food, along with a couple of bottles. If that still isn't enough daily intake, then she's going to eat us out of house and home! lol Anyway, I think that she's doing it more out of routine than anything. Both of my kids are very strict about their routines and it is the end of the world if we ever try to deviate from it. I'm wondering if I should try giving her solids when she wakes up and see if that helps with the rest of the night. Even during the day a full bottle will only keep her happy for a couple of hours at the most.

ASmallWonder · May 2013

amanda@anbcomp.com:
She mostly eats solids supplemented with bottles. And plenty of snacks. She eats three 6 oz jars of food, along with a couple of bottles. If that still isn't enough daily intake, then she's going to eat us out of house and home! lol Anyway, I think that she's doing it more out of routine than anything. Both of my kids are very strict about their routines and it is the end of the world if we ever try to deviate from it. I'm wondering if I should try giving her solids when she wakes up and see if that helps with the rest of the night. Even during the day a full bottle will only keep her happy for a couple of hours at the most.

She should still be getting the same number of ounces (give or take just a little) as she was BEFORE solids were introduced. Solids themselves don't provide very much in the way of calories so my guess is that she's truly hungry because she's not getting enough calories during the day. Revert back to a full bottle every 4ish hours and supplement with the solids - not the other way around. But even still, she may not STTN, as others said.

greeneyedjess · May 2013

Does she have her own room? DS didn't sttn until I put him in his crib, in his room. I think that having him right next to my bed in his PnP caused him to wake up whenever I turned over or made a noise in my sleep. We still have an off night here and there but I attribute that to teething.

mben1119 · May 2013

amanda@anbcomp.com:
She mostly eats solids supplemented with bottles. And plenty of snacks. She eats three 6 oz jars of food, along with a couple of bottles. If that still isn't enough daily intake, then she's going to eat us out of house and home! lol Anyway, I think that she's doing it more out of routine than anything. Both of my kids are very strict about their routines and it is the end of the world if we ever try to deviate from it. I'm wondering if I should try giving her solids when she wakes up and see if that helps with the rest of the night. Even during the day a full bottle will only keep her happy for a couple of hours at the most.

She needs to be drinking mostly bottles, supplemented by solids. She's hungry, that's why she's waking up for milk.

MomtobeNJ · May 2013

amanda@anbcomp.com:
She mostly eats solids supplemented with bottles. And plenty of snacks. She eats three 6 oz jars of food, along with a couple of bottles. If that still isn't enough daily intake, then she's going to eat us out of house and home! lol Anyway, I think that she's doing it more out of routine than anything. Both of my kids are very strict about their routines and it is the end of the world if we ever try to deviate from it. I'm wondering if I should try giving her solids when she wakes up and see if that helps with the rest of the night. Even during the day a full bottle will only keep her happy for a couple of hours at the most.

Exactly. Even if it is routine, she is used to having those 2 bottles at those times. It's like if you eat breakfast at 9 am every single day, eventually you're going to feel hungry at 9 am. Do you absolutely NEED to eat your breakfast at 9? No. But you need to adjust to eating at a different time.

Whether it's routine or not, she needs to be gradually weaned to eat a different time.

pb_bride · May 2013

Just to echo a couple of points mentioned by PPs:

1) Make sure that your DD is getting enough milk/formula during the day. Solids (esp fruits & veggies) don't have much calories and aren't as filling as BM or formula. DS has been on solids for almost 2 months now, but he still nurses 8x a day (he STTN)

2) Once you are sure your DD is getting enough calories during the day, you can try night wean her. Ferber's book has a chapter on night weaning. I highly recommend you reading it before you start. If at all possible, move your DD to her own room at night.

3) Once you decide to night wean, be consistent. If you do CIO, you need to stick with it. If you end up going in to pick her up, you are undoing everything and all the crying she's done so far is all for nothing.

GL!

Raserei · May 2013

Almost 9 months and still not sleeping through the night either. I just count my blessings that it's only 1-2 times a night now (until 8 months it was every 2-3 hours). Did Ferber to get to the 1-2 times, we figure when she's ready she'll drop the other feedings (EBF). It's normal for some babies to not be STTN yet.

LouRN09 · May 2013

We were in a similar boat. DS was up multiple times a night for a paci, and always eating once. We were at our wit's end when he went several days with being up for several hours in the night and not being able to go back to sleep. My son simply didnt know how to put himself back to sleep without his paci. He needed to learn how to do it. Period.

Before you attempt just any ol' CIO, please read Dr. Ferber's book, "Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems". He covers SO many topics such as night feeding, paci weaning, sleep associations, etc. I knew DS got plenty to eat during the day and that his MOTN bottle was simply out of habit. I read the book from cover to cover, put on my big girl panties, and we are currently in the process of teaching DS how to put himself to sleep without the paci, which has also weaned him from MOTN feeding.

First night, he woke in the MOTN and cried for 45 minutes. But I didnt just leave him in there to cry. I did the checks as Ferber suggests, let him know he wasnt alone, and that I loved him. Once he was asleep, he slept until 7 am.

Second night he fell asleep fine without the paci, but at his first wake up he cried for 30 minutes. Back to sleep on his own.

The third night (last night), I laid him in bed awake and he whined for maybe 5 minutes and was out. I didnt hear a single peep out of him until 6:30 this morning when he woke up playing happily in his crib. He used to be awake at 5:15 so this 6:30 wakeup the past has been great!

It is ironic how the so-called CIO method as gotten my son, so far, to a very quiet, no-stress, no-frustration, no-cry sleeping routine. One thing I was so nervous about was DS crying and waking my older son. I put a white noise machine in my older son's room and low and behold he never flinched during those crying nights (I watched him on the video monitor). A few nights of crying is well worth many more weeks, and months, or crying.

If you choose to attempt a CIO again, I highly highly recommend you reading Ferber's book. It explains so much and helps you learn why your baby is doing what she's doing, and how you can help her fix it.

Good Luck!

bubblewrapjk · May 2013

1. Most of baby's nutrition should be from bottles, not solids

2. Be consistent with whatever method you choose

3. 2x a night sounds pretty good!

vettymama · May 2013

Almost all of her nutrition needs to be coming from bottles yet. Supplement with solids. Up until a year solids are only for learning how to eat.

If she doesn't stop crying until you feed her, she is hungry.

Be consistent with MOTN wakings.

Some babies don't sleep through the night until they are over a year. And technically if she sleeps something like 7 or 8 hour stretch that is sleeping through the night. My LO goes to sleep at 8 and doesn't wake until 3 or so to eat so I consider him to be sleeping through the night.

[Deleted User] · May 2013

bubblewrapjk:
1. Most of baby's nutrition should be from bottles, not solids2. Be consistent with whatever method you choose3. 2x a night sounds pretty good!

This.

byrne15 · May 2013

ds#1 STTN @ 17 months old

so it's no surprise that ds#2 is still getting up 2 times/night @ 8 months old. i'm not getting my hopes up

swgal · May 2013

amanda@anbcomp.com:
She mostly eats solids supplemented with bottles. And plenty of snacks. She eats three 6 oz jars of food, along with a couple of bottles. If that still isn't enough daily intake, then she's going to eat us out of house and home! lol Anyway, I think that she's doing it more out of routine than anything. Both of my kids are very strict about their routines and it is the end of the world if we ever try to deviate from it. I'm wondering if I should try giving her solids when she wakes up and see if that helps with the rest of the night. Even during the day a full bottle will only keep her happy for a couple of hours at the most.

I would definitely cut out some solids and focus more on BM or formula. Sounds like she is not getting enough to cover her nutritional needs. Solids are not the way to increase intake at this age. I really wouldn't give her solids overnight!!

ETA my daughter eats maybe 1-2oz of solids twice a day but nurses frequently and she STTN. Solids are not the answer at this age.

princessyetz · May 2013

I am in the same boat. DS still wakes up at least 2x per night and I am exhausted. I had tried "No Cry Sleep Solution" and I found that helpful in getting him to sleep as part of his bedtime routine, but it has never worked for us in the middle of the night. I just started reading "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" today due to a very enthusiastic endorsement. I know not one single thing works for everyone but we are going to try this next. It is intriguing already. Hopefully I am rested enough to have patience to put it into practice!

puppy_love6969 · May 2013

Have you thought of sleep training?

GIJoLana · May 2013

My ped told me when I started my son on solids to be sure not to give him a large amount. Food is to let them explore taste and texture, nutrition needs to come mostly from breastmilk or formula before 1 year. I don't know how true it is, but I trust my ped. Maybe you should ask your ped if they feel she is not getting enough milk and too much food. It's not always about staying full, but having proper nutrition. Plus there is nothing wrong with a baby not sleeping through the night the first year. Society pushes mothers to think they are doing something wrong if their baby doesn't STTN. Some babies need food through the night. But I do think you may have something with it being habitual. In the end, you are mom and know your baby better than anyone. Don't let people tell you what your little angel needs to be doing. She'll STTN when she's ready. It could be something she's not emotionally ready to do. She's only a baby once and as hard as it is for us to lack sleep, it will be over all too soon. Hang on and try what you can, but don't be too tough on yourself. :

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