OK, my son is 4months old he still only sleeps for about 1 1/2 to 2hrs at a time at night. I just can't take it anymore. When he wakes, sometimes he is up only for a few minutes, long enough to give him a pacifier and rock/walk him alittle bit. and other times he is up for hours on end. I also have a 3 yr old that dosen't nap during the day so I literally have lived off 3hrs of sleep for the past 4months..... I've tried the old wives tale of flipping him over the crib and that hasen't worked. Last night for example he fell asleep at 8pm, was awake by 930 and stayed awake til 12. he then woke again at 130 til 220 then again at 340 til 430 then woke again at 6am. I try to keep him up as much as possible during the day, but to be honest, there is only so much crying one can take til you give in and let him sleep for a bit. my 3yr old is so attention deprived that he does everything and anthing to get my attention. Sorry to vent so much, but does anyone have any tips to get my LO to sleep??????
Bright_Life_Toys
12-16-2008, 02:01 PM
First off, :hugs:
Is your LO breast or FF?
At that age, it is still very very normal to wake up every couple of hours, especially if baby is breast fed.
How many naps is your baby taking during the day?
If you are nursing, have you considered doing side-lying nursing so that you can get rest while you feed the babe?
Hang in there!
:hugs:
avidreader
12-16-2008, 02:16 PM
:hugs: I just wanted to say that anytime my lo didn't get enough sleep during the day, he actually slept worse at night, not better. it was like he was overstimulated or almost like he was delirious from lack of sleep. So I would encourage you to keep up with the daytime naps- they need rest during the day as well, not just at night. Also- I'm a huge fan of routines for babies (not schedules) and I have seen it work wonders in my guy and other little ones. So if you are routinely putting him to bed and down for naps around the same time each day, his body begins to expect that. Also- are you feeding him at night when he wakes? I know some babies wake up because they are actually hungry, but others do so out of habit and we found what worked the best was to not turn on any lights or offer any stimulation whatsoever at night. If our lo was just waking out of habit not hunger, DH would hold him and get him to settle back into sleep. After a few nights of this, ds was sleeping long stretches of about 7 hours or so. He was on a routine for eating as well and this helped regulate his sleep- though I definitely fed him if he was hungry even if it wasn't on his normal routine. I hope this helps some!
flobee76
12-16-2008, 02:31 PM
I was also going to say that if daytime sleep isn't sufficient, then nighttime sleep will be just as bad. I would definitely look for signs of sleepines in your 4mo and take advantage of those naps. Babies at that age should still be getting at least 2-3 naps a day.
If you are breastfeeding, you LO could be hungry. Babies digest BM faster than formula. You could try "tanking up" your baby during the day, but since babies grow so quickly, some actually need to wake up and eat that often at night. *My DD woke every 2 hrs. for the first 5 mos.*
Have you tried swaddling?
Have you read No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley? It's such a great book. I highly recommend it.
togg_mama
12-16-2008, 02:34 PM
I was also going to say that if daytime sleep isn't sufficient, then nighttime sleep will be just as bad. I would definitely look for signs of sleepines in your 4mo and take advantage of those naps. Babies at that age should still be getting at least 2-3 naps a day.
I cannot agree more. At that age, my DD was getting up at 7am, napping 9-11, 11-1, 3-5, with an occasional cat nap from 6:30-7:30 then down for the night around 8:30. If I skipped naps at all, I paid for it with being up all night with her. I know it seems bizarre, but it's true.
nini02
12-16-2008, 02:45 PM
I agree with the others, keeping him up during the day is probably the worst thing you can do - it will actually make him sleep less at night. As for waking a lot at night, that is normal at that age. He is just getting to the age that some (but definitely not all!) babies are able to go longer, like 5-6 hours at nigh, without eating. If you get him sleeping more during the day, he might still wake up a few times at night, but he likely will be easier to get back to sleep. Hang in there, I know it's hard! :hugs:
Picklesmom1
12-16-2008, 03:08 PM
Thanks for the support/advice. He is on Neocate formula since he is allergic to dairy/soy/wheat. I tried to keep this out of my diet and I dried up instead, he also wouldn't latch so I constantly pumped instead. He still sleeps during the day, but its more like allday if I don't entertain him to keep him awake abit. When he wakes at night I always try the pacifier first even if I make a bottle he dosen't always drink it, sometimes he just has 1-2 sips and thats it. Seeing that Neocate is $150.00 for 4cans I try not to waste it... I guess I'm just used to "easy" babies, my younger brothers and sisters, and my 3yr old were all sleeping 7-8 hrs by 1 1/2 months at most.
eileenAKAmommy
12-16-2008, 03:20 PM
I feel ya! My oldest woke up almost every 1.5 hours until he was 2ish? Still now, at 5 years he gets up 2-3 times a night!
Try keeping him up all day, not many naps.... hard I know, but he should make up for it at night, not right away, but he will.....
Oh and will insurance pay for the formula? They should pay for at least half! We have BCBS and they paid for half until he was 2! (He was on Nutramigen and has a ton of bad allergies!)
Picklesmom1
12-16-2008, 06:51 PM
My insurance will cover the neocate once we have met our 3000 deductable for home supplies, that is what BCBS lists the formula under.
Liddle1
12-16-2008, 07:20 PM
my LO is 10 weeks old and starting to sleep through the night. He was up every hour or two for weeks and finally I couldn't take it. I put him in summer onesies and cloth diapers during the day to keep him up (the cloth diapers wake him up when he gets wet) and I'll let him sleep for an hour at a time whenever he wants to sleep but then i wake him up. an overtired baby will sleep less so if he's still fussy after a nap i'll let him sleep another hour then wake him up again. it might not work for everyone but it worked for us! good luck mama :(
if all else fails, I would have someone over for the night shift with some pumped milk?
sukhayogi
12-17-2008, 08:01 AM
I would recommend Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby by Weisbluth. At this age you can start introducing a sleep schedule and stick to it during the day and night. figuring out nap times with my DS was the key to getting good night's sleep. GL mama!
wonder_mom82
12-17-2008, 08:08 AM
I would try making LO's sleeping atmosphere more comfortable. Find out what works for them and keep doing it. My DD2 needed to be propped when she was a baby. That's the only way she'd sleep. DD1 needed to be swaddled tightly and liked white noise.
:hugs:
MCR
12-17-2008, 09:45 AM
I've had a 4 mth old do this too me too (foster parent here) When it went on for more than a few days, I started to use the swing at night when he'd wake. I did it for about a week and he went back to his usually good sleep pattern of only waking for a few minutes to be flipped over and tucked in tight.
I hop you find a solution soon. :hugs:
