CALLING ALL MOMS!

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momof26
momof26 Posts: 83
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I need some advice! My 8 month old son absolutely will not sleep in his crib for more than 4 hours a night. It's been like this since his 6 month check up and he got shots. I've tried everything..almost. I've moved his crib, moved the night light, rocked him to sleep, pat his booty when he wakes up in the middle of the night, I play his mobile everytime, I've slept on the couch with him, slept in the recliner with him, put him in our bed, and even gave him Tylenol to help him sleep. The only thing that I haven't done is let him cry it out because we have a 3 yr old and neighbors (we live in an appartment). We have a set bedtime routine every night and I don't know what else to do! I'm getting hardly any sleep and it's taking a toll on me.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!
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  • bovbjerg
    bovbjerg Posts: 172 Member
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    Not what you want to hear but you likely need to let him cry it out. My son is almost 13 but I still remember those days vividly. It took only a few days (it seemed like forever while it was happening) and since then he's always been really good to go to bed where ever we are!
  • Jacquelyn913
    Jacquelyn913 Posts: 300 Member
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    Does he still get a bottle at night? I had the same problem with my little one, once I took his bottle away at night he started sleeping straight through the night. If you dont give him a bottle at night maybe try putting off bedtime like an hour and maybe that will tire him out and he will sleep better for you. Best of luck!! :flowerforyou:
  • reslere
    reslere Posts: 7
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    My doctor advised me that when you are trying to form a new habit, you have to continue it faithfully. With that being said, if you let him cry it out on night #1, it will get slightly better on night #2, etc. When trying to teach my daughter her nap times, it was rough at the beginning; however, she never made a peep from day four on. If you allow him to cry it out, he will learn to put himself to sleep and will no longer depend on you. My daughter has slept though the night (12+ hours) since she was three weeks old. It worked for us, so hopefully you will find some resolve!
  • x3mommy
    x3mommy Posts: 73 Member
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    So frustrating! I hear you! My little 5 month old has decided that she would like to eat in the middle of the night again... we were doing so good...

    My only advice is to let someone else put him down...and go to him if he wakes to reassure him. My kids wake up way less when their dad does all the night duties... they know they can push my buttons.

    I doubt your neighbors or other son would notice much either if you did let him cry. This is tough, tougher on mom than on baby though! Hang tight, this too shall pass!
  • leomom72
    leomom72 Posts: 1,797 Member
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    they say lavendar & chamomille ( i think i spelled both of those wrong ) are supposed to be soothing to young children..try buying bath wash or baby lotion scented with that..my kids slept soundly after the ages of 3 months, and before that they both only woke up once a night to be fed and changed, so i am not knowledgeable with that in particular ..best of luck to you, and feel free to add me if you like
  • Meggie_pooh
    Meggie_pooh Posts: 316 Member
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    my daughter went thru that stage. she was teething...BAAAAAD! we eventually gave in and let her cry. it took her about a week, but she got over it. we also discovered that Gripe Water works well to calm her down.
  • JulieBoBoo
    JulieBoBoo Posts: 642
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    With my eldest when she was little I could get away with just putting the shirt I was wearing during the day into the crib with her. She needed the scent of me and it seemed to help. I co-slept with my second. She didn't sleep through the night until well after her first birthday but I was also nursing her exclusively so I think that made a difference. Good luck.
  • catwoodard
    catwoodard Posts: 22 Member
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    My second son co-slept with us for 14 months. While I have no problem with co-sleeping, it wasn't what my husband and I wanted to do. We tried everything to get him to sleep in his crib. The only thing that worked for us was crying it out. It was hard, probably harder on me than anyone, but it worked. And quicker than I would have thought. We also had a 3 year old at the time. He slept through through the crying no problem. But we had talked to him about what was going on so he would be prepared if he did wake up. If nothing else works and you want to try crying it out, talk to your neighbors. Let them know what is going on and maybe they will be understanding. If crying it out just isn't an option, I would encourage you to be patient. This too shall pass. :) My son is two now and sleeping like an angel every night in his toddler bed. It was a hard first 14 months with him, but I hardly remember the bad stuff now.
  • dawn2
    dawn2 Posts: 7
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    From my personal experience, m advice would be to be consistent at whatever you do. Right now your child is seeing that after 4 hours sleep it is fun time - a multitude of things can happen for him after 4 hours of sleep!!

    I personally committed to the crying it out strategy. Not everyone agrees with it. Given your situation with your 3 year old and neighbor, if you try that method, I would warn them about it. If you fully commit to the crying it out method the crying will decrease noticably within a couple of days and probably be done in a week or so. You have to be completely ready to do it though because it is tough for that first while and if you aren't ready to do it then it will just teach your child to cry harder and longer to get you to eventually come in.

    Many other methods I'm sure will work as long as you are consistent with whatever you choose. Good luck!
  • alandry1203
    alandry1203 Posts: 12
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    My son is just turning 15 months old and I remember all too well the same exact thing. He was waking up and still taking a bottle. I was LUCKY to get a 4 hour span of sleep. I just could not continue to function like that trying to work also. I know you don’t want to hear this but we had to eventually let him cry it out also. When he would cry I would go in there, NOT pick him up but reassure him. I would leave the room and let him continue to cry about 5 min, and go back in, same thing…reassure, did not pick him up. I did this about 1 or 2 more times and then eventually he would cry himself back to sleep. I have to admit, it was horrible to feel like I was not soothing him but it really helped. He was a much happier baby when he would actually get a decent stretch of sleep! And I was a happier mama!:wink:
  • MichelleFirestone
    MichelleFirestone Posts: 212 Member
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    my son did that, and he just didn't know how to put himself back to sleep. It took 2 weeks of letting him cry it out, and every night it got better and better.
  • heatherlfulton
    heatherlfulton Posts: 37 Member
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    I have a 3.5 year old and he had a small stretch where he would wake up during the night. Try getting some sleep when he first goes down. Even a 30 minute nap will help recharge you. Then, when he wakes up, keep him up for about an hour with food (my son wakes up even now if he didn't get enough to eat) or reading to him and such. Then do the bed time routine again. You should get another full 4 hour cylce out of him at that point. I tried this with my son when he was having difficulties and found the information in a couple of different books for "no cry" solutions. It seems the little ones just sleep more soundly if they get a one hour wake cycle once they wake up. If he can entertain him self during that time you could get some extra time to workout, read, ... clean, etc. for that hour. If not, then you have extra time with him.

    Also, have you tried no night light? My son can't sleep solidly with light in the room. Any change will start waking him up. For the room, look around and see if there is anything else on a timer that could be waking him up. We have a space heater in the room and the timer clicks over and over throughout the night. Wakes me and the cat up upon occation. :)
  • rebecky27
    rebecky27 Posts: 842 Member
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    We had this problem too, with all three of our kids, starting right about this same age. I would go in and soothe them when the first started crying, and then put them down. Then if they cried again, would wait about 3 mins before going in to soothe them, and put them back down. Then if crying started again, wait about 5-6 mins...not pick them up, but let them know I was there. Repeat this process as nesessary doubling the time, but usually by the time 10 mins hit...they'd settle back down themselves.
  • spcopps
    spcopps Posts: 283
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    No help from me..I have twin 3 year olds and I still sleep on the sofa with 1 and DH in our bed with the other...all started with them sleeping with us just 1 night when both had high fevers when they were about a year old...
  • AHealthierRhonda
    AHealthierRhonda Posts: 881 Member
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    I was one of the moms that when baby woke up, she came into bed with us and we all were happily back in dreamland with in minutes of doing it. It worked for us. Sometimes hubby would get "kicked out" by the baby. That baby is now going to be 12 in May and will ask every once in a while if she can sleep with me. We always let dad decide if he wants to sleep in her bed alone. (queen size, bought that big for this purpose!)
    I always took her in with me because I know I can't function with lack of sleep and I was a nanny when she was an infant. I needed my sleep! It worked for us. I have a home daycare and tell all my paretns, who ahve all gone through this, to follow what your gut/heart,... tells you to do. IF it says let them crawl into your bed to sleep the rest of teh night then do it! If everyone gets sleep what's the harm?!
    My daughter stopped coming in nightly by the time she was 3 yrs old. At that point it was maybe 1-2 times a week or early in the a.m. By age 5 it was rare. Now she never comes in at night.
    Follow whatever your heart/gut tells you to do! You are an expert with your own child!!!!
  • joanie775
    joanie775 Posts: 24 Member
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    Get him up in the morning try to keep him awake all day with out a nap then at nite give him a warm bath that should knock him out :smile:
  • bekachelsey
    bekachelsey Posts: 13 Member
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    Agree with all the other mommies! I have a 13 month old and he is my 2nd so I baby him but am learning to space out his naps and also maybe give him some cereal before bed to make sure he has a full tummy and them let him cry it out. Its all about routine and say thing everyday. :) Thinking of you! Go take a nap!
  • manymuses
    manymuses Posts: 162 Member
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    Yes- cry it out is the answer. Don't be afraid to be strong. You're the mommy- it's what we do. Letting your little one adjust is only a night or two out of your whole entire lives and will be for the best for everyone concerned. Be brave, Both of mine had to get past this stage and both were sleeping all night in their own cribs by 4 or 5 months. Please don't think it will affect your baby's loving bond or "attachment" to you, it won't. My children are the sweetest, calmest most loving little people- no scars, I promise! And they are now, at ages 7 and 3, much better able to get to sleep and stay asleep in their beds all night without needing an adult to intervene. You can do this!
  • MamaReebs
    MamaReebs Posts: 240 Member
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    Do you have soothing sounds or music playing in the room. For both my kids I have had sound machines in their room since they were born. Helps them to stay asleep and helps them fall back asleep if they do wake up. But I had to do CIO with both of my kids when they were between 3 & 5 months. Like some other posters have said, it really only lasts a couple of nights. And even now when my kids do wake up during the night, they only cry/fuss for a few minutes and then fall back to sleep on their own. I hope it works out for you.

    Edit: When I did CIO, I never let my kids cry for more than 15 minutes or if they were just totally losing it I went to them. But most of the time by 7 or 8 minutes they had already fallen back asleep.
  • MamaReebs
    MamaReebs Posts: 240 Member
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    Oh yeah, I recommend taking the night light out. Studies seem to have found that children sleep better and longer without one. Neither of mine have ever had a nightlight in their rooms and I also have black out shades on their windows to keep it as dark as possible.

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