How can I make my 7 months old DD sleep through the night?

mimimimimiiii · January 2014

my 7 months old DD keeps waking up 3-5 times a night and she keeps wanting milk all the time. What can I do to help her sleep through and not drinking milk in the middle of the night?

taraleanne · January 2014

Yah, is she eating enough during the day? Are they full feeds or is she just snacking to put herself back to sleep? You can't make a baby sleep through the night and 1-2 true feeds could still be required but otherwise you could help her learn ways to self sooth when she wakes by helping her learn to fall asleep independently at the beginning of the night. (basically a form of sleep training you are comfortable with)

mimimimimiiii · January 2014

I'm feeding her 5 times milk (4oz each time, she doesn't want to drink more than that) and 3 times solid food a day.So how can I get her to drink more if she refuses it? She used to sleep through the night when she was at 6 months. But when she turned 7 months she starts waking up in the middle of the night again. Sometimes she would just snacking like 1 oz to put herself back to sleep.

amie444 · January 2014

I spoke to a nurse at my pedi's office. She told me to send in my DH. Do he goes in and calms her down and comes back to bed. It has worked for 2 nights now. LO knows you have milk so when they see you in the night that is what they want. Good luck

cyprissa · January 2014

If she's breastfeeding, 20oz during the day is plenty because I'm sure that does not count feeding first thing in the morning, evening and before bed. OP, can you give more info?

taraleanne · January 2014

20 oz, if formula, doesn't sound like alot to me either. Instead of upping the bottle, trying adding in a 6th feed and perhaps increasing solids intake too, especially if you think she's waking up truly hungry. If she is just having a snack to put herself to sleep then as I said before, a form of sleep training that you are comfortable with so she can self sooth to sleep instead of needing to snack. I agree you could send DH in to try to sooth her as well.

ASmallWonder · January 2014

My son is 7 months and eats 16-20 ounces a day and wakes up over night. He just maxes out on how much he'll drink at any one time so until he takes in more or his solids is diet is extremely well rounded, I will continue to feed him overnight. However, once you're confident that they don't really need to eat (i.e. they wake and snack to sooth vs eating for hunger), you can offer an ounce of water. Sometimes that helps them realize that the "good stuff" isn't coming and night waking isn't quite worth it

It certainly doesn't work for all kids but it does for some.

evelyntaylor · January 2014

You can't make a baby sleep more. It's totally normal for infants to wake often. I have had to keep reminding myself of this as my 7mo DD also wakes up several times to nurse. I'm exhausted and it's hard but normal. Also, until babies are1yr, 24oz in a day is decent , averaging 1oz an hour. Per the la leche league. 20 oz as long as 6/8 wet diapers in 24 hrs is fine.

vvolek · January 2014

mimimimimiiii said:

I'm feeding her 5 times milk (4oz each time, she doesn't want to drink more than that) and 3 times solid food a day.So how can I get her to drink more if she refuses it? She used to sleep through the night when she was at 6 months. But when she turned 7 months she starts waking up in the middle of the night again. Sometimes she would just snacking like 1 oz to put herself back to sleep.

I know the feeling

My daughter slept thru the night from 3-5 months and when she hit 6 1/2 months she's been waking up too! She drinks about 28-32 ounces of milk a day with 3 meals (lunch is just a small portion) and we are waking up during the night for a bottle as well. I don't know why. I know she is teething so I don't know if that's it or if it's a phase she's going thru!

TheTamedShrew · January 2014

If she isn't going to sleep on her own at bedtime that could be your problem. So, yes, you can in fact teach babies to sleep longer at night. The problem is object permenance at this age. If she is waking up to a scene that is different than the one she fell asleep in, then it scares her and she hasn't learned how to put herself back to sleep. I had a relatively good sleeper up until she was around 6 months because I nursed her to sleep every night and that eventually stopped working. This is what we did:
https://www.troublesometots.com/how-to-cry-it-out-bedtime-edition/

She now sleeps 10-12 hours straight every night and going to sleep in her own. It only took two evenings of crying and the third night she put herself out in 5-10 min. Now she rarely cries, will maybe fuss for a minute or two, and then falls asleep on her own. I put a lovie in her crib with her and turned on loud white noise to help her soothe (a paci can help too, but she never took one). I realize most moms aren't comfortable with this method (I was one of them for months), but if you give it a try I'm pretty sure it will work for you.

GL!

HelgaFunk · January 2014

The best thing we ever did was to turn off our monitors. We don't rush in every time OJ wakes up and she's been sleeping through the night since I went back to work and taking multiple naps during the day on top of that. Turning off the monitors makes it easier to not rush in anytime she makes a peep and instead we only go in if she's truly upset and needs us. Most of the time she wakes up and makes a few whines and is back asleep within five minutes. Good luck.

PrimRoseMama · January 2014

lizabethann06 said:
You can't make a baby sleep more. Make sure they're eating enough during the day but expect night wakeups. Even after babies start sttn, they will go through periods of time where they wake for growth spurts, sleep regressions, teething, illnesses, etc. Sleep during the first year or so is variable.

Yep. I vote the ride-it-out method. Works 100% of the time.

ScarletOflaherty · February 2014

HelgaFunk said:

The best thing we ever did was to turn off our monitors. We don't rush in every time OJ wakes up and she's been sleeping through the night since I went back to work and taking multiple naps during the day on top of that. Turning off the monitors makes it easier to not rush in anytime she makes a peep and instead we only go in if she's truly upset and needs us. Most of the time she wakes up and makes a few whines and is back asleep within five minutes. Good luck.

Or turn it down. Ours goes up to 5 but I keep it set at 3 so I hear him if he whines or cries, but don't hear every time he snores or turns over. Keeps me from waking up at every breath, and disturbing him if he's not really waking up.

How can I make my 7 months old DD sleep through the night?

Re: How can I make my 7 months old DD sleep through the night?

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