Newfound Bad Sleeping Habits and Nursing...

It was about at this age that my son went through almost the same thing; he was too big and squirmy to rock, sing, bounce, walk (etc) to sleep. I found a method that wasn't as horrifying as crying it out. Now my son sleeps like a champ. I found that it was easier for my husband to do this technique (easier for me and possibly for my baby, too, because they know Daddy can't nurse them!) You may have read about this technique before: First 3 nights set a chair right by the crib, stay with them as long as it takes them to fall asleep. If they stand up, lay them back down. If you need to pat them on the back or soothe them, do so every once in a while. If you need to pick them up for a quick hug and kiss, fine, just don't rock them until they're asleep. Keep talking to a minimum. Following 3 nights put the chair half way between the crib and the door; next 3 nights, chair at the door. Actually, we didn't make it past the first step: first night it took an hour, the next night 30 minutes, then 15. It's been 5 months now; he might take 15-20 minutes to fall asleep, but he doesn't cry; he just "talks" to himself. He actually gets upset if you go in to see how he's doing, so once we say goodnight, we let him sort himself out.
I also kept this routine for his naps: 2 a day (he's awake 3 hours, then naps, awake 3-4 hours, then naps again, awake 3 hours, goes to sleep for the night (11 hours straight)
I hope this helps! Good luck!

A couple things we've tried with our little girl when she was going through that were:

1) Baby tylenol (she was teething)
2) Swaddling her to get her to sleep. We'd quit swaddling her as a little baby because she kicked it out, but when she started fighting it about 7 months we started swaddling her again. Because it's hot now, you could probably swaddle her backwards, then loosen it up and open it when you put her down. (I did that some with my daughter too). My husband was really good at getting her to go to sleep unswaddled, but he held her tight and she fought, but went to sleep after a bit.
3) I'd put her to bed and sit by her crib and pat her back till she went to sleep. Sometimes that took a while.

It got to the point, when she was teething (she had 4 teeth come in a week or so) I'd give her tylenol if she woke up in the middle of the night, then snuggle her really good in bed with me till she went to sleep (to keep her from moving.) I don't like sleeping in bed with my kids, but at this point I was SOOO exhausted that I did that, and once she went to sleep good, I'd lay her in her crib and she'd sleep through the night. I think the combination of tylenol keeping the pain down, and the feeling that she would be with mommy the rest of the night (even though I ALWAYS put her back in bed) helped her sleep good. Now, at 11 months, she cries herself to sleep in a matter of 5 minutes or less usually for naptime, and I'll rock her to sleep most nights and then put her down and let her fuss back to sleep if she wakes up.

It just depends on the baby, but definately get dad to help if he can. My husband has ALWAYS been able to do things for the kids that I can't do, and they respond better to change if he's initiating it.

Good luck

I have always had just as much trouble getting my babies to sleep. I bought Fisher Price rocking chairs and I rock them to sleep. With thumb & blankie in hand, rock, rock, rock and sing til they sleep. If she can't settle down, I sometimes would pat steadily on the chest; that creates a rhythm that is calming. Will she take a bottle? Can you give her a bottle when it's bed time? good luck to you.

It sounds like she may be teething. Sometimes it even hurts for them to nurse. Try giving her some baby motrin or teething medicine. It will help a little bit. My daughter recently went through the same thing. Once one tooth popped through, we had a couple weeks of a break before it would start all over with the next one.

I actually had this same situation with my son. My friend (who is a nurse) said he was teething and suggested Benadryl. I know, weird, right? She said that it relaxes him and allows him to use his binky or eat comfortably to go to sleep. My son was around 20lbs at 7 months as well and I gave him 1/4 tsp and it did the trick.

Good luck :-)

And part of the fun at this time is because they're learning so much and doing so many new things, they don't want to sleep as much cause life is SO interesting! LOL! Maybe a backpack or carrier might help to calm her a bit - that way you can still get stuff done? Good luck!

Hi Bethany,

First of all I wanted to say that your child only wanting to nurse every 4 or so hours is exactly where she needs to be at this age. You should make sure you're nursing her before you give her solids though - because it's the best nutrition she can get.

Concerning the sleep issues. I did a lot of studying on this subject before my first baby girl was born. And it sounds like your little one has developed what's called a "sleep prop" - being that she requires nursing before she can fall asleep. What I did with my 6 month old - was from 2 weeks on - never nursed her to sleep, except at bed time. During the day I would have her on a schedule of nap, wake up and nurse and then play time. Except at nighttime bedtime - this was always our routine. It helps teach them to self sooth themselves to sleep without requiring mommy to do so. It worked fantastic - my little girl slept through the night by 8 weeks old and at 61/2 months now sleeps 12 hours solid each night. I read your other responses and the one from Sarah F. sounded great. The book I read, Teach Your Child to Sleep - recommends this technique, called gradual retreat - for those who aren't able to deal with the "letting them cry it out" way. So I wish you the best of luck with it. Just remember that helping your baby girl to get enough sleep - is as important to her health and development as breast feeding her. So stay strong and know that you are doing the most loving thing you can for her - even if she doesn't feel like you are at the moment when she's crying. After all, loving our children is not about giving them what they want but rather what they need. D.