seriously. How much does your baby sleep?

[Drea Adgent]

My 8 month old son hasn't "slept through the night " since he was 3 months old. I was teased those first few months of his life, and even bragged to my co-workers and friends. Serves me right because I'm up once sometimes twice a night for replacement pacifier or feeding. In the beginning the bottle took at least a half hour to get down, now it's only 10 minutes (thank God). Ethan tends to go down around 730. Then sometime between 11 and 2 he cry's. Then again around 4am. Usually by then I just need to replace pacifier or pat him on the back and he'll go back down at least until 6. If he's too fussy I feed him again at 4, but then he sleeps until 630. I know what your thinking. start by stop the night feeding, replace the pacifier, then begin to let him 'cry it out'. I really want to do this, but my mother lives with us ( briefly) and she won't let that happen. And he's only in the 25th percentile for weight, I kind of want to feed him any time he wants.
Please share your night time schedule. I want to feel like I'm doing what's right, or normal.

[Julia]

Actually the research shows that children who CIO have a higher inceidence of stress-related emotional disorders when they get older than choldren who were never left to CIO.

[pkb]

you are describing the exact schedule of my 7 month old. up until about 2 months ago he was sleeping through the night and i was bragging all over town about how well rested i was. karma has come back to bite me! my little guy goes to sleep around 7:30/8pm then wakes up between midnight and 2am ...then again around 4/5am. i usually let him cry a little bit to make sure he's not just being fussy and almost always end up nursing him back to sleep. i'm not down at all with the 'cry it out method' and think this is just a phase. he's in the 98% percentile for height and weight so is a pretty voracious eater. if he's hungry and crying, i'm going to nurse him, regardless of what time it is.
i don't think anything you're doing is abnormal.

[gretchen]

My 8-month-old sleeps from about 7:30 p.m. to 6 or 6:30 a.m. We did use the "cry it out" method when she was about 3 or 4 months old, with great results. But I read that after a certain point, that can be a hard method to introduce because the baby is already used to another routine. It could be that your son is waking up because of routine, rather than because he's hungry. I understand wanting him to eat as much as possible, though, so that's tricky.

My baby does wake up many nights around 10 and makes a few little cries, but goes back to sleep quickly. I have a friend whose daughter did this for months, too. When your son wakes up, how long do you wait before going to get him? I had the hardest time ever hearing her cry, but found out that sometimes she just makes noise for five minutes or less before settling back down on her own. Of course, other times, she gets herself wedged in an uncomfortable position in the crib, and then she really does need some help to get comfortable.

I've read that breastfeeding babies can need to eat more often during the night, but I haven't found that's true for us. She just eats for longer before bedtime than before naps. I'm sure it varies dramatically from baby to baby!

[likethegum]

My baby has slept from about 8:00 to 7:00 am since he was about four months old - and takes three or four half-hour naps over the course of the day (these are lately getting shorter, though...which is a drag). We work on getting him ready for bed (starting a bath, having the rocking chair ready) by 7:30, and sometimes he's down by 7:45.

That still doesn't mean that my wife and I are well-rested, though...it means that we've got 90 minutes or so after he goes to bed before we're punchdrunk ourselves.

[Petra]

You need to do whatever is best for you, but my suggestion is trying to put him down a little earlier (I know it seems weird, but babies under a year really need a LOT more sleep than we think they do) and he might sleep better during the night for you. If he is overtired when you put him down, then he won't get a restful sleep and will wake frequently. Does he nap well during the day? At least one 2-3 hour nap? That could also help him sleep better at night. At 8 months, my daughter slept from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. (straight through the night from 2 months old - NEVER woke up, even through teething and illnesses) and took a 3 hour nap from 12:30-3:30 every day and she was the happiest, most well-rested baby. Maybe it is something worth trying? It can't hurt right?

Just my two cents! Hope it helps!

[Jenna Murphy]

My almost 8 month old son does the exact same thing, almost exactly. He's also low in weight section but eats ALL THE TIME--food and rice cereal bottles. My husband and I were trying to cut out the middle of the night feeding but all it did was get us less sleep rather than helping us get more (we had to replace the pacifier almost every hour). We're continuing to do the middle of the night feeding simply because we want to. I'm sick of people telling us what we "should" do and we're doing what we feel like is necessary for our son.
He goes to sleep around 8, wakes up around 12 or 1 for a bottle, maybe around 4 for a pacifier, then up for the day around 6:30 or 7. He's crawling and standing up early and he's a happy baby. We're doing what we want.

[Lullaby Luna]

At 8 months old your son needs to learn how to soothe himself to sleep. It is natural for him to wake during the night, now he needs to learn to soothe himself and not have you step in. In all honesty, your mother-in-law is going to have to get over it. Many times this problem does not get better as they get older but worse and more difficult to deal with.

What is the rest of his sleep schedule like? (Naps, etc.)

Contact me for more help.

Courtney, mother of 3, sleep consultant, sleep blog writer LullabyLuna

[Jack Wills]

It's pretty normal scenario, at least for me lol :D And I totally agree with this said by Zicea Becks:"the hardest part when parenting is when dear ol' mom, or mother-in-law has their own way that is different than yours."

[ signature: online criminal records ]

[John L. Miller]

My daughter is 10 months old and routinely sleeps through the night and takes a few naps during the day. She normally goes to bed for the night around 9:30 or 10. I know that many people say that this is late but she sleeps until around 8 or 8:30 A.M. and this works for our schedule. Remember that it will work best for you and your son if the schedule fits both of you. Before bedtime she always takes a cereal bottle with 5-6 ounces of formula, a couple tablespoons of rice cereal, and a stage 1 container of applesauce. As for the weight dont worry about it. My daughter is only in the 10th percentile for weight and eats everything and anything she can. I hope this helps

[Jessica Lieb]

It's completely normal for babies to wake during the night sometime until they are almost 2 years old. You know when you wake up during the middle of the night and just roll back over and easily fall back asleep. Well babies don't naturally know how to do that. My son on an off would sleep through the night from the first few weeks. However he's never consistently slept through the night until recently (he's a year old). But even then we occasionally wakes up due to teething, gas or even hunger. Also, all babies are different. You can read a thousand books and get tons of advice from other mom's but in then end do what feels natural to you and work for you and your baby. Just remember you're not alone, hundreds of other moms faces these same challenges.

I say, hang in there mama. Eventually, he'll learn to sleep better and you may even miss those late night get-togethers. Although you'll greatly appreciate a full night's rest.

[Julie Groya]

What has your ped. said about this? Mine just told me that I would be able to skip the night feeding, but my 9 m.old is over the 25% ptle in weight - you should check with him/her. And I agree that your mom could help out at night, if she can't stand the crying. (Mommy needs sleep) The crying really, truly only lasts a couple to a few days - can you put the baby in your room so she can't hear?? lol Good luck!

[marie klimczak]

Hi. I also have an 8 month old. she also hasn't sleept through the night since what feels like an eternity. Mine goes down around 8 or 9 and gets up between 1 and 4 for a feeding, and then gets up for the day around 7. Up until about a month ago she was getting up twice, and 1 and 4 but has stopped the second on her own, so I feel confidant that the 1am feeding will stop when she is ready.

I can tell by her crying that she really doesn't need the feeding. She is eating solids for dinner, last night she had a whole banana and half an avacado so there is no way she was hungry but I feed her because that is the only way I know to get her back to sleep. It is soothing to her and maybe it is just that she wants attention but I firmly beleive that YOU CANNOT SPOIL A BABY. I refuse to "let her cry it out". There is a reason she is crying and if it is for mom time I will not tell her no to that. I should also say that she is only 8 months and she will not get whatever she cries for when she is 2 years old, but for now, she cannot understand/be reasoned with so these are my thoughts.

I am a single mom. I was living with my mom at the time my dd was born and I feel less stress since I have moved out because I feel that I don't have to do what she want's me to do with my baby but what I feel is right. Don't get me wrong I am appreciative for her, but It is just less stressful :)