Babies: 6 - 9 Months

6 Month Old WILL. NOT. SLEEP. At wits end.

I am at my wits end. My 6 month old will not sleep. Will not nap. He has never been a great sleeper or napper but lately, when I say he will not sleep, I am not exaggerating. Here's a typical day: up at 5, I try to get him down for a nap about 8 when his eyes are so red they hardly stay open, he naps for MAYBE 15 mins if Im lucky, in the afternoon MAYBE another 15 min nap if Im lucky, I put him down about 6:30-7 and he will sometimes sleep for a few hours. By 10:00 hes up, and every two hours from here on out hes up. He usually doesnt need to nurse but once but hes wide awake and smiling. I give him his Nuk and rock him back to sleep only to be woke up in 2 hours. I dont think hes hungry...hes eating solids. He could be teething but hes happy when he wakes up. I dont know what else to do. I feel myself losing patience. My husband is deployed to top it all off so I dont have the option of handing him off for a few hours so I can take a nap. What can I do?!?!?

Re: 6 Month Old WILL. NOT. SLEEP. At wits end.

  • Do you have a bedtime routine in place? i know at this age teething and growth spurts happen so that could be whats going on...I know my son sometimes sleeps thru the night but also sometimes does what your describing. we've just recent start to sleep train....if I know he's fed,changed, and tired And just being stubborn. i place him in his crib, say my goodnights and walked away. He does give a fuss for about 10minutes if even but then he's down....
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  • We do have a routine and up until fairly recently, it was working well. He usually does fuss for about 10 mins or so when I put him down but then goes down-at night. While the nighttime problems are new, this little guy has never liked napping but hes really taken it to an extreme. He literally will not nap. He will go from 6 am-7 pm without sleeping! And then up every few hours at night. I am so frustrated.
  • Have you talked to your doctor about possible acid reflux? If your baby has never been a good sleeper its definitely worth looking in to. Both my babies had it, and with my now 7 month old she was the same as your son in terms of sleeping until she went on meds. She was first on Zantac and then Prilosec.
  • We have had tons of sleeps issues, both naps and nights, since day one. Now almost 7 months, still some issues but better. It seems that as he's gotten older, the things that help most for naps now are being really active and getting him really tired because he's got tons of energy. Then having a wind -down period. My guy is super social so he does a lot better when I wind down with him. If I abruptly leave him to take a nap, he just gets upset like he's abandoned. So after waking in am, get him up, make it a big deal, up and bright and play! My guy can only go for about. 45 min this first stretch, so you may want to watch for tired signs earlier than your 8 am nap. After play time, feeding etc, Take him to the room he sleeps in, with low lights. talk for awhile, nurse, read etc. One thing mine loves is I point to and name my body parts and point to/name his. Do this for maybe 10-15 min. Then lay him down to sleep. I wouldn't go in again unless he full out cries. If he fusses, let him fuss. Give him up to an hour. If after an hour he never slept, take him out and start over like he did sleep. It will help him understand napping cycles.
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