I'm waiting them out

What do you think my chances are of waiting out my 9 month olds. They go down like a dream but just can't sleep through night. They're each up at least 2 times, we feed them once.

We've tried every experts system and none have worked. My little Annalise was so upset last after crying for 45 minutes and she was also so mad at me. It was 4 am and all she wanted was a snuggle. I just can't do it.

Have any of you done NOTHING and they eventually sleep through on their own? My SIL swears all 5 of hers just did it on their own by a year. The Ped says if I don't sleep train, they'll NEVER sleep through.

I'm just so tired of it all. I would be thrilled by 4 hours of uninterupted sleep. Any experiences, suggestions, sympathy accepted

 

What do you think my chances are of waiting out my 9 month olds. They go down like a dream but just can't sleep through night. They're each up at least 2 times, we feed them once.

We've tried every experts system and none have worked. My little Annalise was so upset last after crying for 45 minutes and she was also so mad at me. It was 4 am and all she wanted was a snuggle. I just can't do it.

Have any of you done NOTHING and they eventually sleep through on their own? My SIL swears all 5 of hers just did it on their own by a year. The Ped says if I don't sleep train, they'll NEVER sleep through.

I'm just so tired of it all. I would be thrilled by 4 hours of uninterupted sleep. Any experiences, suggestions, sympathy accepted

 

how much do you feed them at night when you do? what about trying to wean them off that bottle. for example if you were giving them 6 oz. do that for 2-3 nights, then go down to 5 oz. 2-3 nights, etc. that is what our pedi suggested. after that, we would only let ours cry for 5 min. and they usually fell back to sleep.

 

Jen, I wish I could help you. They might be eating out of habit. Start watering down the formula more and more every few days and eventually mabye they'll decide it's not worth it .... just a thought.

I thought I had great answers to sleep questions for a long time, then I took care of my nephew full-time during the day for a few months and he wouldn't sleep and would be put down, so all my theories went down the toilet

I hope it gets better soon!!

 

My pedi told us at their 4 mo appt that the nighttime feeding was for comfort probably not for hunger. We stopped the feeding and for one daughter it was a piece of cake. She started sleeping through instantly. For the other one it was a week and a half of sheer torture, lots of screaming. I was just about to give in and try again in a couple of weeks but decided to give it one more night and it was suddenly better. It has been a month since we started that routine and they both sleep right through for 11-12 hours.

 

I could have written your post! Actually, I think I did about 2 weeks ago!! Ours are 9 1/2 mo and have JUST this week begun to sleep...but they're still getting up once a night around 3am...and it's just to snuggle. They're not wanting to eat, they just want a hug and snuggle until they fall back to sleep. It is so utterly exhausting, both physically and mentally! We finally had to do the cry it out and hope for the best...we have tried happiest baby on the block, no-cry sleep solution, healthy sleep habits, healthy child, babywise, Dr. Sears...you name it! What it finally came down to is that they expected me to do it, so I did. It kills me at night to listen to them cry and scream (b/c they get MAD when I don't come!) and it's been hard on my older two, but it HAS gotten better. Know that someone else is in the same boat, and sending BIG HUGS to you while you wait them out!
Best of luck...PM me if you want to commiserate!!
Nicole

 

Im offering you my sympathy. I am in the same boat as you right now. Mine are 5 months and everyone keeps telling me they should sleep through the night by now. Easier said than done. I would love for everyone who tells me what my twins should be doing by now to come over and take care of them for a day so they can have the experience of being a REAL mom.

 

I'm the minority... but when mine cried at night, I fed them. It always worked, and they were back to sleep. To me, it was much easier to feed them, than let them cry for hours, with no one getting any sleep. If they woke up once, I fed them once, if they woke twice I fed them twice. I honestly believe mine were waking out of hunger, because they gulped it down quick... had they been waking out of habit, they would have taken a few sips, and went to sleep... BUT mine only did that for the first 6 months or so, and yours are 9 months, so maybe it could be habit forming?

Or maybe you have a baby who just needs your touch... we do, Jackie. He was like that since the day he was born... he had to have somepart of me touching him at night in order to sleep... so he has always slept with me. We bought a king size bed, so we all fit comfortably... to each their own, right?

I hope you get things figured out soon.

 

quote:
I'm the minority... but when mine cried at night, I fed them.

I'm with you. I still feed them when they get up. Yes, I said when. Audrey gets up more than Clayton does, but they do still occasionally get up and I breastfeed them.

 

im right there with u. mine are a little over 9mths and still wake sometimes. it drives me crazy. but i let them cry for about 10 mins and if they dnt stop than i feed. they go right back to sleep than.

 

Mine still wake up at 13 months (10.5 adjusted) I feed them if they seem hungry, too. It's only been the past couple of weeks that they seem not hungry at night, and only occasionally do I give them some milk. Many times they just refuse the bottle altogether. I won't do CIO (the one time we tried to not pick Katie up and just pat her to sleep, she was hysterical for 30 minutes and so upset she pooped ) and the No-Cry Solution didn't seem feasible with two, so we just bring whoever needs us to bed with us and call it a night. Sears says a need met is a need outgrown, so I am going with that.

 

I can't even tell you all how comforting it is to read all of your posts! I keep thinking, "maybe tonight!" Our boys are almost 6 months and still wake and feed every 3 hours. Like pp said, they don't snack, they take a full feed everytime. But the do go back to sleep. I would just live to sleep longer than 2 1/2 hours at a time, but I keep telling myself that this babyhood thing is a blip on the radar of motherhood, and although it sometimes seems hard to appreciate all of it, it will end soon as they grow to be toddlers. SIGH!

 

For me, this was one of the hardest decisions. The deciding factor: I was going back to work and HAD to get more sleep. My DD especially would get up multiple times night and would drink a ton!!! My ped at 6 month appointment that teaching your children how to sleep is a gift. She was in the 75% for weight and doing very well, so I knew she didn't need the extra milk. FOr my DD, sleep training was a gift because she is so much happier now. The crying was torture, but honestly I feel like a whole new person with all the sleep I am getting sleep. They still sometimes wake up and I have to judge if they may be hungry or not.But overall, they are sleeping through. For my sanity I had to do it.

 

I'm a mean mom I guess. I figured when they were around 9 months or so that they weren't hungry in the middle of the night. Mine have always been champion sleepers and I CIOed around 6 1/2 to 7 months and they slept through starting at about 4 months.

I figured if they woke up fussing in the middle of the night, it was either they were teething or not feeling well. Even now if I hear them fuss, I wait it out for a few minutes because sometimes they are not really awake and if I do in, it makes it worse. So if they don't stop, I have gone in and snuggled for a minute or two then put them back down. I don't feed them because I don't want it to become a habit and if it's teething, I can't do anything but give them a little motrin.

 

I'm glad I'm not alone. Thanks for all your thoughtful replies. I'll be thinking of you all - sleepers and not, when I get up tonight.