Thursday, June 11, 2009

You're killing me smalls.............

So anyone have any advice on how to get a 4 month old to sleep through the night?

He used to sleep 12 hrs no problem, but he just started waking up and wanting to play every night (starting on mother's day of course. haha.) Now we put him down around 7:30-8 & he wakes up at 11, 3, and 5. I try and give him rice cereal twice a day but I feel like it has made NO difference. We even put a little cereal in his bottle at night to try and get him to last longer. I give him about 3 different 1 hr naps throughout the day but sometimes he sleeps even less than that.

I'm so tiredy.

Yep definitely had an emotional breakdown last night when I heard Bryant slamming his feet down on his bed after I had just fed him and gone in his room twice to get him to go back to sleep.

I love Bryant. But man oh man. I want him to sleep better.




15 comments:

Chris, Deb and the Ava Jayne said...

try some soothing instrumental music. he is only 4 months old. so it's not rare that he's going to wake up still. it just takes time for the all night sleep to happen. which i know is so not what you want to hear. sorry.

Andrea said...

hehehe. I have a lot to tell u about this one. Here we go:

Treyson started doing the same thing about 3 weeks ago. I thought it was the food thing too considering he's sort of skinny. I read all the theory books (Read Baby Wise, the Baby Whisperer tetc). My pediatrician finally told me, babies DONT sleep through the night because they don't know the diff between day/night. They might have a great two weeks and the terrible week from hell. My best weeks w Treyson are weeks we stick to HIS schedule. I started watching him like a hawk and noticing when he started to get tired. It was about 10am and 230pm and 530pm. SO, I would feed him at 9:30 and lay him in his crib at 9:45. (Baby Wise says not to feed them to sleep, but trey did better eating before). At first, he would cry. I let him cry it out the first week for 20 minutes. Then, I'd go in, stick his binkie in and pat his belly (without him seeing me). Sometimes, it worked. Sometimes, it didn't. If he kept screaming, I'd get him up and go on with our day (more than often he'd konk out). After a week, Treyson was starting to nap like clockwork. 2 hour naps. I noticed when he napped well, he slept better at night too.

Just be aware that every baby is different. Consistancy is what works for Treyson. Also, please give yourself a break. Sometimes, as awful as it might be, you might need to let B cry for 25 minutes in his room with his door shut. For YOUR santity.
Hang in there. This mommy business isn't easy. Emotional breakdowns are necessary even if the men in our lives don't get it AT ALL.

Andrea said...

PS are u still breastfeeding or formula feeding? This could make adiff too.

Kathleen said...

My first child was my worst sleeper, he was getting up 4-5 times a night still at 6 months. That's when my Dr. said to let him cry it out. He said if I let him cry and then give in, it was telling him that if he cried long enough or loud enough I would give in and it would increase the intensity of his crying. He said his record was something like three straight hours of crying. Isaac cried for over an hour and a half the first time and it was absolutely miserable, but I was so sleep deprived that I was determined to give this a shot. The second night he cried less and the third night he slept through the night. I gave in sooner with my third child and did this at just over 4 months and it took a few extra nights, but she eventually started sleeping through the night. It seems really cruel, but it's important for kids to learn to sleep through the night on their own--now all my kids are good sleepers.

nat said...

yikes. wonderful birth control this blog. ha. I think you're already doing all of these comments so just keep at it bec. OR...make travis take a sick day. ha. (remember half his and all that. wha ha ha)

nbarnes2 said...

"healthy sleep habits happy child" by Dr. weisbluth amazing book and a lot of my friends used it too. i highly recommend it.

Marce said...

you are such a trooper!!!
and i have to say, you look SMOKIN' HOT with that new haircut and bangs...and man, when ellie wasn't sleeping through the night, i did NOT look that good :)
we should talk in person about this...i know everyone has their feelings and beliefs about letting their baby cry it out...but it worked for Ellie. i'm thinking of you right now...hoping you get some good sleep! if not, let's for sure chat about it tomorrow.
also, thank you so much for coming today and for being so sweet. i love you and am so glad we are friends!

Leah said...

I'm blessed Lucy has slept every night all night (minus 5 nights) since she was 4 months old. (She's almost two) My secret is simple, although hard to stick to, but I promise 1 week of possibly hard times and after that smooth sailing.
Daytime...doesn't matter let him sleep when he wants wake when he wants. Plenty o play and plenty to eat.
Here's the important part. Bedtime. set a time and stick to it!! No mater where you are or what your doing. (After like 4/5 months you can have exceptions) Anyway, routine! Ours was washcloth or regular bath, lotion, read or sing (with lights dim/off), turn on music (doesn't mater what just slow and pleasant), then bed. Let him cry whatever. Check on him every 15 when he cries but do not pick him up unless he's hurt/needs changing. It sucks the 1st night and progressively less from there. Holy long post batman! Sorry, but honest to heaven above this works. My kid is the best at sleeping and a few of my friends who have followed this have had well rested nights with all their little ones. Best of Luck and Sweet Dreams.

Tiffany Johnson said...

I'm with Marce! We should talk about this in person. I have some tricks up my sleeve. I also agree that you look AMAZING right now. I only wish I could look that good and dress so cute. Yeah right.. I feel those days are a thing of the past for me! :-)

K, here's a trick: Fans. Hailey would wake up at night like that ... till I got a fan. Now, the white noise in her room helps her sleep so well. I will NOT go on vacation without my girls fans. I'm no kidding. It's the greatest thing. ALso, my pediatrician told me that it actually has dropped the percentage of SIDS dramatically because A. it helps them get a deeper sleep, while keeping the part of their brain awake hearing the noise. (interesting) and B. the extra little air-flow helps them to breathe better.

So, there you go! I also never have to worry about stupid motorcycles or dogs waking up my kids! It's great!

I also slept with a fan most of my life. thanks to my mom! :-) Anyways, if you want to know what to get, if you want to try it.. I know the best one to get that travels well! :-) it's small but makes great white noise!

xoxoxox

Tara said...

hey...i got your blog from andreas list...im just a lurker :)

there is actually something called 'the 4 month wakeful' where a baby who was sleeping through the night, will start waking again and go back to what they were doing when they were a newborn.

here are a few links explaining it...its a stage, itll pass...

http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/4mo-sleep.html

http://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/blogs/0-6months/archive/2008/06/12/q-4-month-wakeful-period.aspx?MsdVisit=1

Rees and Becca said...

It seems you already have a lot of great advice, but I thought I would let you know what we do. Baby Wise - did save my sanity! Food schedules are easier than sleep ones! We have a sound machine that plays music and they still love it. Another thing I started was the 10 min. rule. If he is still crying after 10 min. then go in and soothe him, but don't pick him up just help him calm down by pating his back talking to him etc... then leave again for 10 min. Continue to do this until he falls asleep. It worked wonders for us. The first time it may take a while, but they learn pretty fast. It's true that it's normal for him to still be waking up in the night. I hope this helps!

Cheri said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Cheri said...

Poor Becca! I'm sorry! So hard! Sleep is like the one thing that when taken away seriously gives me emotional or mental breakdowns. For some reason my patience likes to leave with my lack of sleep or just listening to a lot of crying.
I have no advice... just to tell you that you have a huge fan club cheering you on and happy to give you a break if we can. I seriously would drive to Provo and give you a break or let you have time to take a nap if you ever need me too! i also know you have amazing friends ready and willing to do the same. Having been there... sometimes you just need someone who can give you the break.
Also I just had to laugh out loud... "You're killing me smalls" is the phrase I have used with my pregnancies and babies... lol so true!
So I think Travis has Mark's cell... I am more then happy to give you a break whenever you need one. Heaven knows I burst into tears the days Amy (my neighbor in Standford) did that for me. :) And my kids love to play with other babies. Maybe it is weird to offer since Mark and Travis know each other better then you and I ... but I do have 23 nieces and nephews and have watched a lot of them and multiples of them a huge number of times!
Hang in there, you are amazing!

Cheri said...

Also it is interesting to me how your own babies cries are much more emotional to you. I can handle any of my nieces and nephews crying or what not. But my own babies... especially 24-7... just make me emotional... sanity breaks are a must!

Jeni said...

Hi there! I am Travis's cuz, Jeni. I can totally relate! It sounds like your problem may be fixed, but in case it isn't my mom told me about baby boot camp that I have recently done w/ my baby girl. After 2 nights she has slept like an angel!

Put them to bed as you normally would and then leave the room. If they are still fussing after 5 minutes go pat their back and soothe them. Do the same thing after 10 minutes, then 20 minutes, then 30 minutes and then every 45 minutes.

Here's wishing you some true beauty sleep!