7 Month Old-sleeping Issues

Instead of swaddling, try a blanket sleeper (a sleep sack with sleeves). It may be that he is getting cold in the night. Swaddling would warm him up but when it comes loose, he may be up again because he is cold again. Also, try a little hat (you know like the kind they use in the hospital). My brother wouldn't sleep without one as a baby. He was born in February and would get cold and wake up. This may not be the problem but it is a quick easy thing to try and may bet you a night's sleep.

Anyhow, hope this helps.

If you want to try cry it out, we played music in my three year old's room to block out his brother's crying. Worked pretty good, except now he "needs" to have the music on to sleep. Trade one problem for the other...

At 7 months he should definitely be sleeping through the night. You may not want to hear this, but I am afraid that the only way to get him to start sleeping through the night is to just let him cry it out. He needs to learn to comfort himself. Right now, he is relying on you to comfort him to sleep. Until he learns to comfort himself, you will not get past this.

Good Luck.

Hi C.,
I have a 15 month old daughter who also had severe sleep problems. She woke up every 45 minutes or so throughout the night. She now sleeps through the night, unless she's teething and then she wakes only once. I found the "No Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley to be invaluable! It's a great resource anytime I need it. She walks you through steps of improving sleep and it really works. My daughter had reflux, which impacted sleep. She responded to the head of her crib being raised (we just used wood blocks) in addition to the suggestions from Pantley's book. Now, even though her reflux has resolved, she still sleeps better with her crib at an angle. Pantley's approach is gentle. She points out that improving sleep takes either time or crying. It did take a little time, but even 1 week in there was relief. Good luck!!!

My pediatrician said that once on solids BF babies don't NEED feedings during the night. But they will certainly go for it if offered. Just ask me! If you would consider it you may want to try the CIO method. True, some babies are just really difficult to get to sleep through the night. But every hour is just too much for you and the baby does not NEED to be swaddled every hour or two. I know what you're going through...my 12 month old does not sleep through the night. I've tried letting him CIO and it did help (although he would only sleep until 4 or 5am), but sicknesses and stuff keep tripping us up.

I am the mother of 4, none of which slept through the night until at least 7 months, my youngest not until 2 yo. After the first child, we started co-sleeping with each one to some degree or I would have lost my mind, with the youngest in our bed almost all night everynight. (She bf untill she was over 2 years was totally out of our bed before age 3) Some BF babies need to eat at night, some more than others at this age too. My daughter was too busy to nurse during the day, so she got most of her nutrients at night. Maybe your little one needs the night time feedings. Even if he is getting adequate calories during the day, maybe he needs to nurse to feel sucure at night. If something is bothering him, he might just want to be close to mom, and nursing is how he knows to do that. It's also possible that he is getting ready for a growth spurt, which would necessitate the need for extra night feedings too.
I am totally against CIO for many different reasons. Mostly because at this age, they need to know that you will respond to their needs quickly and consistently.
I hope you find something that works for you and your family soon.

Some things we did: At 7:30pm we give my son yogurt w/rice mixed in to fill him up, this helped a lot. We also discovered my son does not like being in the dark, we removed the crib bumpers from his crib & put in a brighter night light. He also sleeps better with background noise (like the air conditioner or a white noise machine). Also, his room needs to be the right temp (just about 70). Your son may not really need to be swaddled, he may be getting cold. We also brought him into bed w/us after the first wake up. Then when he would wake up latter in the night he would go right back to sleep b/c he was in bed with us. This work ok for him, but he moves a lot so that wasn't so fun for my husband and me. I finally got so frustrated that I did the cry it out method. It worked great. The first night he cried for about 30 mins, (I also did CIO for naps). The next night he cried for about 20. By the 3rd night he didn't cry at all. Now sometimes he cries, sometimes he doesn't. But he sleeps SOOOO much better. He sleeps through the whole night w/o any wake ups now. He is much happier & well rested. It was really hard for me to do, but after it was done I felt a bit guilty for not doing it sooner, b/c he was so much happier afterward.

First, I have to tell you that we have 4 kids. 3 were fantastic sleepers, child #4 didn't sleep through the night until kindergarten. that was really tough for 2 working parents, but we survived.

2nd, I'm wondering when your litle guy eats supper . . . .try pushing it back some -- give him cheerios or something to hold him off while you eat dinner, and feed him closer to his bedtime. Sometimes people don't sleep well because they don't have the energy to stay asleep. That sounds wierd, but when you are hungry, you wake up. So do babies.

Other than that ? Well, we cheated, cuz we needed to sleep. We brought the fussy ones into our bed so they were comfy and we could go back to sleep.

Have you read Ferber's book? I think it is the most sensible sleep solution (it isn't really CIO, but that's what everybody calls it.) Do you have someone or somewhere you could send your older son to for a couple of days? Or put a loud fan in your older son's room to cover up the noise? Your baby has just gotten in the habit of waking up, and it is going to take a couple bad nights to get him out of it, but hey--you're already not getting any sleep, right? At least read Ferber's book and then make up your own mind...

One other issue to consider is either breaking him of the swaddling (he's really too old to need it) or the pacifier if he is losing it and calling for "room service" to get it back. It would take a couple of miserable nights, but he will get used to not having them...

C.,
Can you get O. of those sleep vest type things instead of the swaddling? It might feel similar and stay put better.
Also, do you play music in his room at night?
If you do CIO, be prepared for a few awful nights (but it sounds like your nights couldn't get much worse than they are!) but after about 3 nights, he'll be good to go.
Make sure he is getting a snack & milk before bed so his little tummy is full before bedtime!

There are some great answers here, but I do not agree with CIO, particularly at this age. If you have always responded to your child's needs immediately, and you suddenly stop, it will make him feel abandoned. Good luck.

I'm sorry you are going through this. I know for me, sleep made such a difference! My son is 6 1/2 months old. He started sleeping through the night around 3 months and was a breast fed baby. My sister has a 13 month old who still does not sleep through the night, so we've compared notes.
I can tell you what I did and hope it helps. I'm not sure if it was how I handled him at night that got him on such a good routine or if I just got lucky with a baby who figured out the daily routine well on his own.
At 2 months we switched him to his crib in his nursery from the bassinet in our room. This is when I started a nightly routine that I stick to everyday. I have a nightlight that I turned on and kept on through the night. I followed his lead as to when he seemed to be getting tired at night and started to begin his nightly routine everynight at that time. He get's tired early, so we start around 7pm. He gets a bath, then a lotion massage and pjs, then lights out (with just the night light) and we rock in the glider with a bottle while I sing to him. We are on a bottle now bc he was diagnosed with a milk and soy allergy, but when I started all of this he was still nursing, so he would get my breast verses the bottle. I put him down awake unless he passes out during his feeding. He does need his binky to fall asleep. The first few weeks we did have to rub his back for a while to calm him down, and may have had to go back in several times to do this as he would get really upset (crying). Listen to your pediatrician, but ours told me that he was eating enough throughout the day and he could go up to 8 hours even at two months without eating. So, through out the night if he woke up, I just went in rubbed his back, put the pacifier back in his mouth and tried to calm him back to sleep. This was hard at first and didn't always work. If he started to really scream, I would take him out and nurse him, but only for a few minutes, as I was told it is simply a comfort need and not a caloric need. This way, they don't become dependant on 6 ounces of milk/formula in the middle of the night.
I think a big key to our success was repetition and routine. As well, I found it very important, no matter how hard it was, to never talk to him and never turn on the lights when he would wake in the middle of the night. And remember the food is just a comfort and habitual thing at this point.
Good Luck! I hope you found something from this helpful!

I haven't had this exact problem but at 6 months I tried the "3 night method" and that worked for both of my boys. Basically they cry it out for 3 nights (meaning you don't go in at all!) and after 3 nights both of my children slept through the night. It's worth a shot but if you don't stick with it for three nights it won't work. - S.

I have a 16 month old beautiful son who also had sleeping issues. My mom gave me a sound machine with static, water, etc and he sleeps with it every night! We can not live w/o it! We also play the Nora Jones CD and restart it if he wakes up in the middle of the night. Worth a try! Good luck!

S. Mahoney

I totally understand what you're going through! My daughter started sleeping up to 12 hrs a night by 4 or 5 mos. My son (who is almost 15 mos old) just recently started sleeping through the night consistantly (except for when he's teething!).
One thing that helped me tremendously was co-sleeping! I got SOOOOOOOOO much more sleep when he was in bed with me! He could nurse as often as he wanted/needed to & I'd just doze right through it! What a lifesaver!

Hang in there & just take one night at a time! I know how hard it is--especially with an older one to take care of, but it won't always be this way.

I just went through this with my daughter about a month ago. I decided it was time for her to sleep through the night, as she was eating tons of solids during the day, but was still waking up to nurse a few times a night. I had the book "The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems", and used her PU/PD (Pick up, put down)method. You can probably get the book at the library if you don't want to purchase it. I thought the method sounded crazy at first, but I was desperate and tried it and it really worked! I just stuck to it for a couple nights, and now my daughter sleeps 11 hours a night! She also nurses better during the day since she isn't doing it all night long! I also did not want to let her CIO, just not right for us...this method allows your child to know you are there for them and they are not abandoned. If you get the book and try the method and have any questions for me, please feel free to send me a message! Good luck!

It really depends on the kid. My daughter is 2 and she still doesn't sleep through the night. But at 2, its a little easier, she color a little bit and fall back to sleep pretty easily. And it sounds like, at least with sleeping, you had it pretty easy with number 1! I'm not sure what to do, I guess this is just to let you know that you're not alone. I guess letting him cry it out would work....a binky maybe :-)

One thing that worked for my son with the swaddling issue was to put him in one of those sleep sacks where their feet are contained but able to move around (mine kicked himself out of the swaddle and would wake up). Then I had one of those Swaddle Me blankets with the velcro that I would just wrap around his arms very tightly (but not put his feet in). This way he didn't kick out the swaddle and I could wrap him a little tighter with his arms when I went to bed. He could roll a little bit and keep his binky in this way without coming untangled. Hope this helps you and you get some rest! Oh, and I'm sure someone already suggested this, but a sound machine of some sort might help your 3-year-old sleep if the baby does cry at all, may not work for full CIO, but could give you a few minutes lee time.

Hi C.,
I am NOT a supporter of CIO. I know a lot of people have had success with it, but I have lots of reasons for not liking it. Something I have found to help is to look at the daytime activities. Maybe your son is sleeping too much during the day and so he wakes up at night and doesn't feel sleepy enough to go back to sleep. The nighttime feedings are completely unnecessary at this point, as is the swaddling. The hard part is stopping it because he has come to expect these things. I cannot tell you a "fool-proof" way to handle it, but what I would do is stop both immediately. When you go in, (and I say when because your son is now in the habit of waking up and being comforted), pick him up and soothe him. As soon as he is calm put him down. Do that as many times as needed until he will stay in his crib and then leave. Give him a binky instead of nursing, or allow him to suck on your pinky...but slowly phase that out as well. It sounds like he just wants comfort since you have been providing that, so give him that comfort but only at the minimum level needed. Like I said before, take a look at your daytime schedule as well and see if he might be sleeping too much. Everything I have suggested has come from reading "The Baby Whisperer". I know others have suggested books so there's another one to add to it. I really learned a lot from this book. It's about more than just getting the baby to sleep and I think it has helped me tremendously. I know I said a lot. If you want to ask me anything please feel free to contact me. Good luck!

Neither of my BF children slept through the night until they were weaned at 2 years. Every child is different. My oldest also needed the closeness so co-sleeping worked for us.

Hi C.,
I am in the same boat and have an 8 month old son who is not sleeping through the night. He is also a breastfed baby and I stopped nighttime feedings about a month ago. I have tried everything under the sun and even resorted to the CIO method which I don't agree with. It was awful and definetly didn't work for us. In fact, it only made things worse - my son has never liked his crib for some reason and when we tried the CIO method - it set me back to square one with trying to get him comfortable in it. It upset him, myself, my husband and it was awful. It might work for some people but not for us. A friend of mine told me to buy the book "The No Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley and we have been having success with it. My son was up every so often like your son and since we have been following the book's advice - my son now only wakes up once or twice. He has been waking up at 4am (strangely this just started last week) but our pediatrician told us it is very common for infants to do this once they start reaching new milestones and their sleep becomes lighter. For our son, this made perfect sense since the milestone he was hitting was beginning the process for crawling (last week he started to get on all fours and push himself along). Anyway, the book is very good and has been helpful for us. There are two camps out there regarding the use of the CIO method and just like you - I had everyone telling me the same thing about CIO. There is nothing wrong with not using that method and that's what I liked most about the book. Just know you are not alone and there are other alternative methods. Another book a couple of my friends told me about is "The Happiest Baby on the Block". I just picked it up last week but haven't had the chance to read it yet. My friends swear by it. Hope this helps!

I was in the same boat as you as of last week! My son is 6.5mo. old, and have started to let him cry when he wakes up at 9pm. I put him to bed asleep between 7:30 and 8pm, and he always wakes up around 9! I WAS going in, giving his binky and holding him if I have to, and sometimes I'd be in there 3 or 4 times before midnight! It was getting way too bad. So we let cry one night for 20min, and did that for a couple nights. Then my husband made me wait longer than 20min, and I was FREAKING out! Well after 6 more min (26min total), he fell asleep! Then last night it was 23min, so I am hoping it gets better. He does still wake up at 3am every night, but I like to change his diaper then anyway since he is always so wet. Eventually though, I will have to let him cry then too, after diaper and nurse if he wants, because sometimes it takes an hour or so to get him settled, and he will wake up again between 4:30 and 6am! I know it is really hard, and believe me, I was totally against it too. But sleep is SO important for both baby and mom, so any extra hours you can get are worth it! He may have a few tough days but it will slowly get better!!