8 month old still not sleeping through the night!

princessmia14 · March 2014

my 8 month old still not does not sleep through the night while he only wakes 1-2 times a night for a feeding i'm wondering am i feeding him enough during the day is there something different i could be doing at bedtime?

taraleanne · March 2014

Could be several different things going on. He might still need to eat overnight for sure! Are you nursing him to sleep or can he fall asleep on his own? Do YOU think he's eating enough during the day?

FWIW, my 8m old was sleeping through the night and now at 8.5 months he is not- there's a lot of developmental milestones being met around this time and it reeks havoc on sleep. If only nursing my LO would make him go back to sleep at 1am….I would do it! He wants to stay awake for hours and literally NOTHING works

cinderin · March 2014

My DS is 7 months and still wakes 1 - 2 times per night. I think it is pretty normal.

I nurse him to sleep and nurse him back to sleep when he wakes up.

Like the PP mentioned, when he wants to stay up and play (at 2 AM) is the worst!

I would just feed him (JMO). He will sleep when he is ready.

mikeANDjen448 · March 2014

DD is 9 months and has started waking to eat 1-3 times a night. Each day is different. But I agree with PP about the milestones….. it can change things.

mrsnorthernbell · March 2014

Ds is 8 month and still wakes twice. He goes to bed at 7, gets up around 11 and then around 3 and up for the day by 7.

YellowLily2013 · March 2014

mrsnorthernbell said:
Ds is 8 month and still wakes twice. He goes to bed at 7, gets up around 11 and then around 3 and up for the day by 7.

Do we have the same baby? That's what my ds does too and is 8 moths old.

ASmallWonder · March 2014

Mine is 9 months this week and still wakes at least once, but most often twice a night to eat. I suck it up because he does NOT eat enough during the day, no matter what we do.

mrsnorthernbell · March 2014

YellowLily2013 said:

mrsnorthernbell said:
Ds is 8 month and still wakes twice. He goes to bed at 7, gets up around 11 and then around 3 and up for the day by 7.
Do we have the same baby? That's what my ds does too and is 8 moths old.

Ha. That's funny. He's pretty consistent too. It's 6:58 here and he's crying to go to bed.

hollandmama · March 2014

I think it's fairly normal to wake up for eating. Mine SSTN for the first 6 months and now wakes up twice per night. So yeah...

BelhurstBride · March 2014

DD1 didn't start STTN- at all- until she was nearly 3 years old.

DD2 has gone from STTN to being up every 2-3 hours.

jesuisfatiguee · March 2014

I would not expect a baby to STTN at 8 months. It's totally normal for babies - even toddlers - to wake multiple times a night. DS is 12 months and still wakes a few times to nurse. I wouldn't worry about it. It won't always be this way

pantsarella · March 2014

Yep, 8 months old here and waking up 2x per night to eat and usually one more that she just needs to be held until she falls back asleep. She's had good night and bad nights. It's all normal.

What depresses me is knowing that it probably won't be over for me for a while. I have a super high metabolism and DD is built exactly like me. I woke up to eat at least once a night until I was about 15. I used to keep a loaf of bread in my room so I didn't have to get up to get something to eat.

coco0723 · March 2014

My LO is 8.5 months and she still gets up 1 to 2 times a night. She sucks down a bottle each time she wakes and I started to think that she needed to eat more during the day but she is a total snacker and I couldn't seem to get her to eat more, so I guess she still needs to get up. There are nights where she will STTN, another night up once and another night up twice. I'm begining to think there is no rhyme or reason, that is just how it is. Fortunately, after she has her bottle she goes right back to sleep.

PrimRoseMama · March 2014

Every time I read one of these I think, "and? :-?? ..."

OP-- babies will STTN when they are ready. Even then you are not home free in the sleep department. There is no arbitrary age where babies "should" STTN. My 2.5 year old still has an off night every now & then. So, yeah.

This is not to say I don't understand the desire for uninterrupted sleep. I get it. I do, but honestly you need to make your peace with this not being in your control.

You aren't a bad mom.
Your LO isn't a "bad baby".
Nothing is wrong.

Babies gonna baby, yo. ~O)

TaraLynn14 · March 2014

My son is 8 months old and does not sleep through the night. Every once in a while he will. When he turned 6 months old was the first night he slept through the night but the next night, he was up to eat twice. Maybe twice a week he will sleep through the night. Not sure if I am feeling him more or less or if he was just really tired.

keyshahart · March 2014

I truly think every baby is different. My LO is months now and sleeps 12 hrs straight at night. All depends on if they are eating enough during the day to last them through the night. My LO has been sleeping through the night since 3 months old but she is formula fed and was eating 6oz every 3 hrs. I also taught her to self soothe. I would highly recommend it. There are numerous ways to do it. I think the biggest thing to make sure your not nursing your LO to sleep because that is what are using that as their soothing technique to go back to sleep so they aren't teaching themselves how to sleep. For my LO she needed white noise and a pacifier. For a while she would wake at night just for her pacifier but know she knows how to put it in herself. You will find what works for you and your baby!

coco0723 · April 2014

I am in the same boat! My LO will wake up 1 -2 times each night and each time she sucks down her bottle. I was wondering if I wasn't giving her enough and I tried to feed her more, but she would only eat what she wanted, so I stopped forcing her. My LO is also a terrible napper, she will maybe nap 20-30 3 or 4 times a day, she will sleep longer if I hold her but that isn't always an option. There are a few rare nights where she will sleep through but they are few and far between and then I try and figure out what I did that day for her to sleep through the night, so I could repeat it but it turns out there is no rhyme or reason. I do all of the things that "they" say you should do, but each night is different. She gets a bath, a bottle, a couple books, snuggles and then she goes down in her crib with a paci in each corner as she moves all over the crib at night and white noise. I have learned that every baby is different and don't be discouraged by the moms who tell you their LO has been sleeping through the night since 3 months old or even earlier.

TexasGirl81 · April 2014

Yep, same here. 3 times a night. Every night!

kalsteen1 · May 2014

Mine is almost 8 months and still wakes 2-3 times per night just to nurse then goes back to bed. I think it's perfectly normal and healthy.

charmcity82 · May 2014

My LO is 8 months old in two days. He goes down for the night at 7pm, wakes for a feeding around 3am, and is up for the day at 7am.

He has dropped night feedings on his own over time, so I'm hoping he drops this one sometime soon, but since he just wakes up, nurses, and goes right back down I'm not pushing him to stop. He also doesn't have any teeth yet so the worry of sleeping with breast milk in his mouth is not a worry for us yet.

proctorcookie7 · May 2014

I used the Babywise Philosophy and my baby was sleep trained by 7 weeks and she loves naptime/bedtime. She actually goes into her crib quietly and gives us a smile when we turn on her mobile and falls asleep independently.

PrimRoseMama · May 2014

proctorcookie7 said:
I used the Babywise Philosophy and my baby was sleep trained by 7 weeks and she loves naptime/bedtime. She actually goes into her crib quietly and gives us a smile when we turn on her mobile and falls asleep independently.

Baby wise only works for a certain temperament. Also, @proctorcookie7‌ , you need to hear this: all the above-- tack on a huge "for now".

Don't count your chickens.

cagoldi · May 2014

proctorcookie7 said:
I used the Babywise Philosophy and my baby was sleep trained by 7 weeks and she loves naptime/bedtime. She actually goes into her crib quietly and gives us a smile when we turn on her mobile and falls asleep independently.

OP, please don't take this piece of advice seriously. The AAP has warned against this method. It's led to serious issues like dehydration and failure to thrive. The man that devised Babywise has no credentials whatsoever.

MauraLou25 · May 2014

keyshahart said:
I truly think every baby is different. My LO is months now and sleeps 12 hrs straight at night. All depends on if they are eating enough during the day to last them through the night. My LO has been sleeping through the night since 3 months old but she is formula fed and was eating 6oz every 3 hrs. I also taught her to self soothe. I would highly recommend it. There are numerous ways to do it. I think the biggest thing to make sure your not nursing your LO to sleep because that is what are using that as their soothing technique to go back to sleep so they aren't teaching themselves how to sleep. For my LO she needed white noise and a pacifier. For a while she would wake at night just for her pacifier but know she knows how to put it in herself. You will find what works for you and your baby!

Ditto all of this. DS started sleeping through the night around 3 months, once he started on solid foods. Now at 7 months, most nights are 7pm-7am. He's had seven teeth come in and when they're cutting he needs momma at night. Other than that he's pretty consistent. He's on a schedule, but it's based on his needs and I adjust it as those needs change - now he needs a shorter morning nap and goes down earlier in the afternoon.

You'll be able to find what works for your LO.

luvmygirlss · May 2014

what does your schedule look like, and how does he fall asleep?

Carmen101613 · May 2014

My sleep philosophy varies greatly compared to other moms on here. I actually believe sleep is important for babies. Its like food for their brain. If you feel crappy after a broken nights sleep, imagine how your baby feels when they need almost twice the amount of sleep you do. We do what we can to help our babies reach their growth milestones, why wouldn't we help teach them how to sleep. I don't think it is a good thing for an older baby/toddler to wake multiple times a night.

I'm not saying do anything extreme. We don't do CIO or anything like that. Just make sure they are eating enough during the day. Do it is small increments. If they are bottle fed, try to add another Oz to their bottles and see if they take it. Simultaneously take an Oz away from the MOTN feeding. Redistribute their food so they get it all during the day.

Another thing that is helpful is not feeding to sleep. Babies sleep better when they fall asleep independently of a prop like feeding. So we eat, play and then sleep. Also, once teeth start coming in, its bad for their teeth to nurse them to sleep.

By following a predictable routine of eat, play, sleep, he started putting himself on a schedule. My LO is like clock work. We eat at roughly the same time each day now. He gets up at the same time everyday. Its like he knows what he is supposed to be doing. That makes sleep natural to him. Here is what we do:

7.30- eat, play, nap around 9.45

11- eat, play, nap around 1.30

3.00- eat, play, nap around 5.30

6.00- eat, play
7.30 eat, story, then bed around 8

Good luck! The baby whisperer has lots of good advice.

Unknown · May 2014

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GinaK119 · June 2014

Welcome to my life

my twins are almost 9 months and each still wake 1-3 times a night, I never sleep!! They drink a bottle each time 2-4 oz and go right back to sleep. They eat a lot during the day, I can't force them to eat more. I just started not rocking them to sleep they go straight in their cribs and to my surprise fall right asleep ...so until they are ready to sleep through the night I will continue to live off coffee and wine

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8 month old still not sleeping through the night!

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