Another sleep question!

[tamarag]

Ok DS just turned 3 months...He STILL wakes every hour to hour and a half at night! I am at my wits end and cant take that many night wakings!

Any thoughts? Tips and helping him sleep better. He is EBF and co-sleeping isn't an option because of how restless he is!

[BeastMasterMama]

It's not recommended by peds., but I have a good friend who put her boys to sleep on their bellies. She swore by it. They slept better and didn't wake as often.
Obviously, not everyone is comfortable with this option. Have you considered using a co-sleeper or the crib/bassinet by the bed?
Hope you figure it out, it's not fun being sleep deprived...

[tamarag]

We have the co-sleeper by the bed and what I do is put him in it and then when he wakes I sit up, nurse him in bed and "try" to put him back in. Then he lays there quiet for about 5 minutes and then starts crying....Thus starts the whole routine again. Eventually he falls asleep and will sleep for about an hour!

[Beaker]

I could suggest a couple of things, but I'm not sure it will work. I would try wearing him during the day in the sling. Put a shirt or breast pad (that you've worn) in the bed with him. I can get my 10 weeker to go a bit longer if I push cluster feeding in the evening. I try to feed him every 30 minutes from 7ish to 10. GL mama!

[CamilikinsMama]

Have you had baby's daddy try going to him at night? Sometimes DS will settle down for DH without wanting to nurse. We also put DS down on his tummy, which I know isn't recommended, but it helps him sleep well. Does he take a paci? You could try getting him to cluster feed before bed. And I've also tried not to associate falling asleep with nursing. DS very rarely nurses to sleep. It helps him fall asleep without needing to do that.

Good luck mama! DS goes through sleep phases and I KNOW how hard it is to be so tired. DS gets up still a few times between when he goes to bed at 6 (early, I know) and gets up at 6 (early, I KNOW). Hang in there, he has to grow out of it eventually

[clb]

how well is he sleeping during the day? sleep begets sleep, so a baby who is well rested during the day will actually sleep better than a baby who is awake much of the day (because they become overtired and hormones kick in to keep them awake - what we call a "second wind"). If it were me, I would monitor his day sleep and make sure he was awake for no more than 2 hours after he first wakes up in the morning, then getting a nap every 2 to 3 hours after that. I know lots of folks are anti-paci, but they are comforting to babies and I would try offering that at bedtime only.

[greek4]

You could try moving him out of your room. My kids both seemed to sleep better and longer away from me. Of course, it took me a long time with both to (re) figure that out.

[cathrynapple]

Some babies wake more often than others. My child woke every hour, at least, until she was ten months old. You could try swaddling and some white noise while he's sleeping, and sleep on his sheet for a few nights so it smells like you.

I would definitely think hard about putting him to sleep on his tummy before he can roll that way himself and back. The reason SIDS is reduced when a baby is on his or her back is because of the deep sleep produced from tunny sleep, which in turn can cause apnea or make the baby"forget to breathe." The truth is, babies aren't meant to sleep through the night until their a bit older. Hang in there, mama.

[MamaWillow]

I can't give you much advice since DS woke up every hour and half to two hours until he was, um, 14, 15, maybe 16 months old.

When he was tiny though, swaddling helped a lot. He also spent many a night in the swing, we just moved it into our room. Good luck mama!