I have decided they are NEVER going to sleep thru the night

At five and a half months old I have now decided they are NEVER EVER going to sleep through the night. Okay, so they only get up once each and I know some have it worse; however, it just is not getting any better. In other words, we are at a standstill and I had assumed it would at least change a bit. They go down between 7 and 7:30 and Lily gets up first sometime around 3 or 4am. She eats four ounces and goes right back to sleep. Jack then usually gets up around 5 or so and he eats 4 ounces. Lately, he has been yelling after the 4 ounces for more! I offer him 8 ounce bottles during the day but he does not finish them so I do not know how to get more in him during the day. Anyway, Lily then wakes up for the morning sometime between 6am and 6:45 (I don't really know because I turn the monitor down and ignore her while she plays in her crib) and I usually have to go in and wake Jack at 7 or 7:15 when I give in and get her up.

It is impossible to ignore their night time cries as they SCREAM until you get them and I do not know how to soothe them - rocking, holding, patting, and paci's have never worked.

I have tried weaning them down to less than 4 ounce bottles at night but they just yell until you give them more. For a little while there Jack was eating around 32 ounces during the day and STILL wanting 6 ounces at night.

I do believe DH and I will be feeding babies in the middle of the night until we are 75 years old. This also means we will not be sleeping in the same bed until we are 75yrs. old - as I have posted before, their nursery is a million miles away from our bedroom and we take shifts in the guestroom next to their nursery.

Thanks for letting me vent about the rut we are in regarding night wakings.
How does it happen when they start sleeping through. Does it just all the sudden happen one night and then they do it consistently? About a month ago we did have them alternating nights that they slept 7-7 but even that is out the window now. Jack did get two teeth, but I don't believe anymore are coming in and it really seems they are waking out of habit or to eat.

Amy

 

They will sleep throught the night, it seems that they just do it all of a sudden!! Hang in there!!!

 

They will get there, hang in there. :hug99: Mine didn't sleep through until around 6 months and it was all of a sudden one night they didn't wake up!

 

Mine woke once a night from about 5 months to almost 9 months. It sucks, but they will get there in their own sweet time.

 

Have you considered just letting them cry it out? I know it's horrible to listen to, but I would think at that age they probably don't need to eat ... you really need to do what you as a parent feel most comfortable doing. If you aren't ready for cry it out, just keep up what you are doing, and eventually they should get there.

Good luck!

 

Amy – I just typed a super long post to you and realized that I wasn’t logged in and lost it all – UGH!

Anyways, I was just about to post yet another cursed sleep topic about my early risers and how I’m growing weary of night wakings! I have to believe (or at least pretend to for my sanity) that we are just on the cusp of a breakthrough and some great nighttime sleep!

My two don’t wake to eat anymore, and when they wake they really aren’t even crying, so I can’t let them CIO. My two wake up to talk/play!! It’s so frustrating because I could feed a hungry baby or console a crying baby, but I cannot make a wide awake happy baby go back to sleep (believe me I’ve tried). I’m afraid to turn the monitor too far down in case they really do need me (we are pretty far away too, and with the white noise in their room I can’t hear w/o the monitor), and I can’t fall back to sleep when they are wide awake.

For the past few weeks, Henry has been waking up at 4:45am ready to start his day. He even managed to keep on track with the same exact wake up time despite the clock change –go figure! Ellie has been a bit better, but she was up at 5:30am today, and no amount of re-nuking would put her back to sleep! I’ve tried different bedtimes, fresh air, Motrin for teething pain – pretty much everything I could think of – and nothing seems to affect the early wake up time.

So, again, I’m of no help other than to let you know I’m right there with ya! Let’s hope that six months brings us some GREAT nighttime sleep AND some consistent daytime nappers! Suzi

 

QUOTE(SusieQ @ Nov 13 2007, 03:31 PM) [snapback]493540[/snapback]
Amy – I just typed a super long post to you and realized that I wasn’t logged in and lost it all – UGH!

Anyways, I was just about to post yet another cursed sleep topic about my early risers and how I’m growing weary of night wakings! I have to believe (or at least pretend to for my sanity) that we are just on the cusp of a breakthrough and some great nighttime sleep!

My two don’t wake to eat anymore, and when they wake they really aren’t even crying, so I can’t let them CIO. My two wake up to talk/play!! It’s so frustrating because I could feed a hungry baby or console a crying baby, but I cannot make a wide awake happy baby go back to sleep (believe me I’ve tried). I’m afraid to turn the monitor too far down in case they really do need me (we are pretty far away too, and with the white noise in their room I can’t hear w/o the monitor), and I can’t fall back to sleep when they are wide awake.

For the past few weeks, Henry has been waking up at 4:45am ready to start his day. He even managed to keep on track with the same exact wake up time despite the clock change –go figure! Ellie has been a bit better, but she was up at 5:30am today, and no amount of re-nuking would put her back to sleep! I’ve tried different bedtimes, fresh air, Motrin for teething pain – pretty much everything I could think of – and nothing seems to affect the early wake up time.

So, again, I’m of no help other than to let you know I’m right there with ya! Let’s hope that six months brings us some GREAT nighttime sleep AND some consistent daytime nappers! Suzi




I AGREE........ THE SLEEP AROUND OUR HOUSE HAS BEEN HORRIBLE....

 

I'd say just go with the flow. If they're still hungry after 4 oz during the night, it sounds like real hunger and not just habit. If they were just lazily taking an ounce or two, I might say CIO, but under the circumstances I'd feed them.

It stinks, I know! :hug99: I've felt the same way too sometimes, like I will be getting up in the middle of the night to feed them when they're 12 yrs old! But I know this too shall pass. And probably when they're 17 and it's 2 am and I'm up wondering where they are, I'll long to have these days back again...

 

They will do it eventually! :hug99:

 

they WILL do it!

Hang in there!

 

Have you tried rice cereal in the formula at nite? Or if you are already doing that try giving a little bit more..

It will happen!! One day you will wake up in the morning and think " did i sleep thru the babies crying???"

 

hang in there i know that it can be tuff... Beau started around 3.5-4 months and about 4-4.5 months Savannah followed... I think that she needed more weight on her, how big are they? Eating solids ( i think this helps none to be honest), teething? I felt that SAvannah woke at night but if i brought her to my bed with her paci and no bottle she was fine. I learned that i was going to start a pattern with the eating if i kept doing it so i stopped and she got over it and started to sleep all night. it will happen i am sure...

 

I'd just give them time but they will do it eventually. :hug99: Many babies need nighttime nourishment until 6 months old. We didn't start weaning the girls from their nighttime bottle until 7 months old and then I did it very slowly by watering down the formula and then decreasing the amount in the bottle. It took a couple of months but they were finally sleeping through the night consistently at 10 months old and we never had a problem after that.

Don't ask me what to do about a breastfed baby though. Dax still wakes up 2-3 times a night to eat.

 

good Night sleep tight by the sleep lady Kim West got our girls sleeping thru night around 5ish months.

 

Hang in there Amy, they will eventually sleep thru the night. Mine slept thru from 6 weeks but then as the teeth came in started waking up again for a cuddle. now it is back to sleeping thru again. Funny thing is, I am not sleeping thru, now i have to learn how to again.

 

Eventually....EVENTUALLY they will.
Mine have just started THIS MONTH sleeping from 11-6. Whew! They're down at 8 like clockwork, hungry by 11-12, then sleep till morning. I feed them again, they sleep till 8 or so. It's been AWSOME.
Hang in there!

 

It will happen.. eventually. Ours started sleeping thru just in the last couple of weeks. Hang in there.. and until then, caffeine is your friend.

 

It will happen I promise.

I know of a couple moms over in the 1-4 who have mentioned their's still not sleeping thru!

 

They will get there. :hug99: It's pretty normal to wake once a night at 5-6 months. As someone else said, mine slept thru from 6 wks, then around 4.5 months started waking again. Then around 7 months, sleeping thru again. I think teething and my return to work (inconsistent napping) had a lot to do with it.

 

Have you tried waking them to feed them before you go to bed and putting them back down right away. Then they might not get so hungry. Mine will sleep from 9 -6:30 or 7. I know if I put them down earlier then I would have to get up and feed them. This way at least you wouldn't have to get up again.

 

Amy--
I found Moms On Call which consists of two nurses (and moms of twins) who have developed a great system to help your kids sleep. We used it and went from our 7-week old twins sleeping 3 1/2 to 4 hours a night to over 6 hours a night. They are now 13 weeks and sleeping 10 hours every night.
Basically, we have a night time routine where we bathe them (not using soap every night, but just putting them in their tub and using a washclothe to put warm water on them. We then put on their PJ's (just another onesie), and give them their bottle in a darkened room with a nice lullaby cd on. Then (and this is the real trick), my husband swaddles them very tightly (I mean, I can't even watch it because it seems so tight, but it works!), and then each of them have their own sound machine with white noise. I am telling you, the Swaddling and the white noise is like a drug to them...puts them right out. The white noise is loud enough for us to hear it on the other side of their door, but not too loud where we couldn't hear them if they cried.
I am telling you....10 hours every night. (Now, sometimes my DD wakes up after 7-8 hours because she has "escaped" the swaddle, but I just re swaddle her as best I can and she goes back to sleep).

It is worth a try.....

GOOD LUCK,
Ingrid