Sleeping issues (7 month old infant) (parent, play, son, health)

[Sudcaro]

Routine is key, so do the same thing every evening, over and over - same bedtime, same story, same rituals etc
And it's imporant not to feed him during the night!
They need to find a way to soothe themselves without a parent going "to their rescue"...
Of course, all this takes a little time, but once you've found the perfect "recipe" for your kid, it's fine!

Just a question, though. Have you started giving him solids or a little formula? He may really be hungry, that's why he wakes up so often. Cereal in the bottle at night and your pumped milk may not be enough... he probably needs to be spoon fed bigger quantities, and maybe variety too.
I know many mothers want their child to only get breastmilk for several months, unfortunately it's not always enough for the child.

My daughter is 7 months old and has been sleeping through the night for several months now (about 8 hours/night at first). I nursed her for 6 months but because of her increasing needs we complemented her with formula every evening from about age 4 months - that's when she started sleeping all night, not needing a night feeding.
She started solids at 5 1/2 months old, and has slept an extra couple hours each night since then.

[misplaced1]

My kids slept through the night by then. I did my best to keep them up closer to bedtime so they didn't get too much sleep in the evening, I made sure their tummy's were comfy, and when they woke up in the night I tried to keep it as dark and as little stimulating as possible and would rub their back or hair lightly or whatever that particular child liked for soothing and I tried to get them back to sleep until their little bodies just started sleeping through the night. Of course if they needed changing I'd change them or feed them if they seemed hungry but I worked on soothing them back to sleep each night until they were able to just wake briefly and drift back off and it became the norm for them.

I also never did keep it particularly quiet in the day so my kids were not accustomed to waking up to every slight noise or activity, they just got used to a little normal noise. Might have been bad because now at 22 and 18 they sleep through anything.

[rezfreak]

He gets 1 to 2 oz of solids during the day (1 oz lunch 1 oz dinner)

He's a mix of breast milk and formula, depends on the time of day that he gets formula - my supply cant keep up with him currently. I know he's not hungry at night because I'll offer a bottle and he eats like an oz maybe 2.

[Sonata36]

I agree with all the replies to this post. I want to highlight a few ideas, though:

--Routine, for sure
--Teething, probably
--Hungry, maybe, maybe not
--Don't intervene every time the baby wakes up
--This is just normal for your 7 month old.


I have a friend who has a 13 month old and does all the "right" things and her kid still wakes up 4 times per night. BUT, she doesn't need intervention every time she wakes up. Our first slept through the night by 6 months, or second is 6 months and if he sleeps through the night by the time he's a year, I'll be happy!

[rezfreak]

For what its worth, people have been telling me he's "teething" for months now. I gave that excuse up awhile ago.

I dont always respond to him waking up though, only when he is really wailing. I'd say half the time he will go back to sleep within 5 minutes, the other half its 20+ mins and i give in to the bottle.

[somebodynew]

The number of times per night he is waking up really does not sound like hungry to me. A 7mo would not be that hungry consistently unless he was having a massive growth spurt. How long has this been getting worse?

The just got back from vacation thing is huge. If you went to extra measures to get him to sleep in a different place, he may have grown accustomed to those measures. If he uses a bottle to FALL asleep, he may have developed a sleep association. An extreme example of how this works. Imagine falling asleep in your bed. During your regular sleep cycle, you come partly awake so that you base instincts can make sure there are no saber tooth tigers about to eat you. But instead of being in your bed, you are on the couch. Not at all where you fell asleep! You would come all the way awake.

Imagine you fall asleep with a bottle or a breast in your mouth which you find quite comforting. During your partial waking, you find it is not there. You wake all the way up. And DAMMIT I want to fall easily back to sleep with the aid to which I have grown accustomed.

If that sounds like your scene, I would suggest a trip to the library for Ferber's book.

[rezfreak]

He's never fallen asleep on the bottle or to the bottle. We have a routine where he gets a bath at night, then a bottle, and then while he's still awake-ish, I put him down for the night shortly after that.

[aidxen]

Are they supposed to sleep through the night at 7months.?

[Crazymomof3]

I have an almost 6 month old that has started this as well...she's been sleeping through the night (8-10 hours) since she was 2 mos. old...I find that spending a good deal of time outdoors during the evening helps. I'm also giving her solids at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This girl's hungry! She's also teething, so she's drooling like crazy and waking more often.

I'd:
feed more solids ( I have 4 kids, I do what works for us; the food allergy thing and and "your baby's not ready" is totally up to you-I have an old school pedi, and he trusts my instincts)
Spend time outdoors, walks, etc.

Some babies teethe forever, too....

[hypocore]

There are numerous reasons babies wake during the night.

Sure, he may be hungry, which would be fixed with him staying satisfied all night. That may be by adding in more solid foods or by more feedings. Being hungry can be a growth spurt or it can be his system digesting faster than before. This one is one of the hardest to declare as the reason as their eating cycles are constantly changing right along with their sleep cycles.
-One daughter needed some sort of protein before bed in order to last all night without feeling hungry.

He may also simply be uncomfortable. His waking could be due to being too hot/cold, on a surface that is too firm/soft, in a room that is too quiet/loud or dark/light. Take a night to see what his surroundings are when he wakes and make adjustments if necessary.

-One of my daughters absolutely hated being covered, yet she would get chilly during the night. Problem solved by dressing her in footed PJ's even in the summer.

-My son simply could not sleep in a total quiet environment because he heard every single noise. Car doors shutting, dogs barking, heavy trucks driving by, conversation in the other room or the wind blowing. Problem solved by playing the radio just loud enough to mask most sounds.

He could be looking for comfort and hasn't quite learned to self soothe. Soft music, low lights, good room temp and fulfilled hunger needs will help him sleep longer, but none of those will help him go back to sleep if he wakes. Most babies acquire a 'lovey' of some sort, though not all. Some use the breast, some use the bottle and some use pacifiers. Others use blankets, pillows or toys. The best solution is something that is safe for him to have in the crib with him and that stays there.

-My oldest had a toy that hung on the side of her crib that she would wake up in the middle of the night and spend 5 minutes or so pushing, dinging, tweaking etc it and be happy as a lark. No need to even enter the room.

-My second wanted me and there was nothing else that would satisfy her. Nothing.

-My third would rotate amongst very small stuffed characters/dolls. Sometimes it was Barney, other times Laa Laa, then there was a specific rag doll.

-My son used the seam of his pillow to twiddle with for calming himself down. So as long as he had his pillow and could reach into the pillow case to find the seam, all was good.

And of course it could be a physical reason. Teething is a long term thing with the aches coming and going. Some kids gnaw like crazy when it's time to cut teeth while others refuse to put anything in their mouths. However, the build up to cut that tooth can be a long drawn out affair.
Growing pains can cause aches that linger and are hard to figure out.
Ear infections can disrupt sleep as can stuffed up noses, or runny ones.

A little tylenol can help with the teething or growing pains along with perhaps some bedtime massage.
The right meds can clear up an infection or congestion too.

The consistent routines, right sleep setting and nutrition will all work wonders for getting him to sleep, however they will do nothing to help him go back to sleep or sleep through whatever is waking him up to begin with. Focus on figuring out why he woke and he can figure out how better to help him.