My 8 month old NEVER sleeps?

My son was the same. We got in the habit of waking up and having a bottle at night, sometimes up to 3 times. By 9 months, I was like "This is ridiculous!!". But if I tried not giving him a bottle, he'd be up for hours. Some nights, felt like I had a newborn again. He was 9 months old!

At one point, my husband took me on a date overnight to a hotel so that I could get a full night's rest. My son hadn't let me sleep in a long time and I really needed it. I prepared my mother in law for the late night battle and explained everything I did.

Guess what? He slept all night while I was away!! We tried it another time, and got the same results. Turns out, he only fussed when it was ME who was around. At this point I figured out that this was all part of his cunning plan. lol He liked it when mommy rocked him all night. But if mommy wasn't there, then he didn't bother waking up.

So at 10 months I did the dreaded "crying it out". It only took 1 night. He woke up at 12am, and cried until 2am. He's never woken up since then. (19 months now.) Why didn't I do this sooner!!!? lol I realize that I got lucky and it usually takes more than 1 night. But my sister in law was the one who told me the "rules". She had to do it with my nephew when he was the same age. It took her a week.

But it really works!

So if you've already done it 1 night, you should continue. When he/she wakes up, just tuck them back in and leave. Go check on them ever 20 mins (or however long you can stand it). But don't pick them up. You HAVE to stick to the same rules, otherwise you'll confuse the baby. If you pick them up once, but not the next time, it just angers them more. So don't pick them up whatsoever, unless they pooped of course. In which case you'd change them, and tuck them back in.

I promise you, you'll have results. They are smarter than we give them credit for. They'll figure out that you don't want to play at night anymore. And they'll sleep. Better he/she gets the point now, rather than try and fight about it when they are toddlers and able to get out of bed! lol

Good luck!!

Edit: My son was well fed too; So it def. wasn't hunger waking him up. Like you said, you're no rookie and you'd know it if that was the case. It's basically just a habit at this point. They don't need night feedings at 8 months. I don't care what "expert" says I'm wrong. It is ridiculous to still be getting up that much with a baby of that age. Once, sure. But 3 times or more? I don't think so.

I also nursed my son. But I quit after a few months because I was so sleep deprived and was losing my milk. I thought formula would keep him full and asleep longer. But it didn't work. It was just a habit we had developed and he wanted me to rock him all the time.

My 8 Month Old

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My 8 month old NEVER sleeps?

First I have to say this is my third baby so I'm no rookie when it comes to raising babies. Next Wednesday my son will be 8 months old and since he was 3 months old he has been waking up 3-6 times a night (needles to say I am completely exhausted). We've talked to his pediatrician and ruled...

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i have a boy almsot 9 months and he still wakes every 3 hours or so and wont go back to sleep without a bottle, i've been to a sleep doctor, but their advice was to feed him more during the day (impossible, he already eats heaps) and to let him cry during the night, none of which worked, so i figure he'll stop waking when he's ready, i'll be seeing what other answers you get though, maybe we could both use the advice : )

I don't have an answer for you but I am interested to see what other people say because I am in the same boat as you! My daughter is only 5 months (next week) but she is a horrible sleeper! It doesn't matter where she is or if it is day or night she is very restless and doesn't sleep for long stretches.

I also do not support letting her cry it out so any other ideas you get I will be willing to try!

Good luck!

Have you ever tried sleeping with a sound machine on? Like one of those machines that make white noise? I find in our house it's to quiet at night and my children sleep better when there is some noise in the background. I have a fan going on at night just for the sound. I face it away from us but my 9 month old is still in our room in his crib and he sleeps all night. I've done this with all 3 of my children and they have no sleep problems. My 4 yr old doesn't need the noise anymore to fall asleep. I've also purchased a sound machine from Graco from Toys R Us and I use that one in my 2 year olds bedroom. He likes it. Sometimes I forget to turn it on and he reminds me to turn it on. The only thing I hate about it, is if the power goes out you have to turn it back on. There is no battery backup. But he sleeps even if it's off. Worth a try.

Just because you have 3 kids don't mean you can't be inexperienced. Not all kids are the same was we all know...or so I thought we all knew. 3 solid meals is a lot for an 8 month old. As others have already said, there are fewer calories and less fat in solids so he's not filling up. And why not nurse whenever he gets up? For someone who is trained in breastfeeding I would think you should know that nursing on demand is the way to do it. Not just for food but for comfort. People are trying to give you advice here but it seems the only advice you value is your own...you know....since your so experienced here. Good grief!

Actually 'up to 6' nursing sessions is a bit on the low end for a baby this age, and 3 solids meals is very high. I'd guess that he's hungry-- solid foods have less fat and fewer calories than breastmilk so if he's filling up on applesauce and cereal and not nursing enough during the day, he's going to be hungry at night.

Also, what time does he go to bed? If you're putting him down at 6 or 7 and expecting to sleep 12 hours, that's probably not realistic.

If you nurse him when he wakes, odds are good that he'll be satisfied and settle down again for at least a few hours.

EDIT: Thank you for clarifying. I did read the question, and was asking for a few clarifications. I would agree that 6 wakings in 8 hours is a lot, but 3, especially if he WAS going to bed early, would be quite normal.

8 nursing sessions is about average; 6 is on the low end of average.

(The fact that you are 'not a rookie' doesn't mean that your expectations are necessarily reaonable. If, for example, you had raised your last 2 children on Gina Ford or Ezzo, then you might well have unreasonable expections if THIS child doesn't conform to their requirements. )

I'd also wonder a bit about a doctor who believes that big babies need solids earlier. Breatmilk, as noted has more calories and more nutrients than solids, and a big baby isn't necessarily more advanced in his digestion.

Pippin's advice is solid, sorry. That's not a lot of nursings; he's still wee, make with the milk.

I dunno what is meant by "don't nurse him every time he wakes (like I said I'm no rookie)" -- that sounds more "battleaxe" than "experienced, loving." Just make with the milk instead of playing little games that probably make him wake more often in the long run. Clearly not making with the milk is not keeping him asleep, so why do it?

"All my babies were born big (10 plus pounds) thus needing more solids sooner (researched this and talked to my doctor about it)"

There is NO research suggesting that large babies need solids sooner; that's a total old wives' tale.

"lets move on to someone who has actaully had this problem....."

Not everyone views this as a problem, tho. You co-sleep; kid wakes, you roll over and nurse, and then roll back and back off to sleep. Problems come from _fighting_ the kid's biological programming, not from rolling with it.

"trained peer breastfeeding counselor through my state. I work with the WIC program here"

For the record -- loads of nursing problems discussed on here have their start in a bum steer from a (I am not American and not entirely familiar with what qualifications are involved, though AFAIK it is not IBCLC?) "WIC breastfeeding counselor." Paraprofessional experience is nice but it is clear to the rest of the world that WIC is not providing adequate training there. Pediatricians are also not at all well trained in breastfeeding management.

"And lots of time you don't need an article written by a researcher to watch and see through years of experience that bigger babies need solids sooner"

Yikes. This is exactly why articles written "by a researcher" are so useful. Because: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias

"Like I said before I am seeking the advice of people who have gone through this and not people who think they know it all"

Ah. Well, perhaps if you are lucky, somebody who knows as much as you do will come by and answer!

Unfortunately, I think the doctors and sleeping experts are right. Most people who use variations of crying it out start earlier- around three months, so that it's not so hard for the baby to get the hang of it. An eight month old however will probably put up more of a fight. I know it's upseting for you at the time. But after he learns to settle himself to sleep (it might take a few weeks of crying) he will be a much better sleeper, and much happier baby.