How to get my 6mth old to sleep thru the night?

Sorry,

Just saw your other post. I see your lo is 9 months already hahaha
I thought she was still 4.5months old.

I do agree with your paed. She will show you what she likes & doesn't like.

Baby led weaning is definitely something to try with her. I know a lot of mothers worry if their children don't want to eat, but let her guide you.

Her milk is still her most important meal up until 1. So you can definitely relax and breathe.
She will not starve herself

Do you find that she doesn't like certain textures or doesn't she want to eat overall?

You can always just leave snacks for her around the house. She will eat as she goes along. Give her some of your own food & let her feed herself with her hands (rice, soft butternut or pumpkin that are cut into small pieces - it doesn't have to be pureed. Banana, peas (very good for pincher grip). Ag, the list is endless.

There is a baby led group on fb as well

xxx

If you can, read the links below & then decide for yourself

It is all about the virgin gut & yes, there will always be a debate about this topic. Some will argue that you can start solids from 4months & others will say only to start from 6months. The WHO(World Health Organization) only recommends starting from 6 months & that food before 1 is just for fun.

Avoid most cereals, especially rice cereal. It is just loaded with sugar & has no nutritional value. How much does your lo eat during the day? If it's not a lot, then try & leave it for now & rather just up her milk in take. Does she only get breast milk?

Babies really don't need anything other than milk until about 6 months of age. I never looked at the growth charts because that was basically based on formula fed babies. I looked at things like, head growth, growing in length, weight, how many wet/dirty nappies he had & overall well being in my son. He was a little fatty but started picking up weight slowly from about a year. He is still smaller than his peers BUT he is happy & healthy, because each child is different.

www.thealphaparent.com/2011/07/virgin-gut-note-for-parents.html

kellymom.com/ages/older-infant/delay-solids/

www.drmomma.org/2010/10/virgin-gut.html

Also, google baby led weaning. It might be something you are interested in <3

Thank you very much. It is reassurance I need more than anything.

And yes she is on solids although she isn't a fan. And that is another post I have just started because I do think I am pushing her to eat when she actually isn't keen. I am just worried that she will not grow properly. She isn't a big baby, is 1.8kg under the norm for her age. But paed has confirmed that she is in no danger and there are no issues other than she is a small baby.

But do think I need to relook at the feeding / solids. In case that is the cause. The paed said I wasn't feeding her enough protein so off I went and made all sorts of beef and chicken pureed meals for her. He assured me that would make her sleep better....

Thank you for your help.

Hi there jomoore

Firstly, let me just say, Well done for listening to your mommy gut & doing what you know is best for your baby.
You are definitely not doing anything wrong. Some people(friends/family) might tell you that you are spoiling your baby, but what they forget is that your baby was inside a cozy space for 9 months & that you "rocked" her to sleep every single time you walked up & down while doing your daily tasks She is in this big wide world now & she needs your comfort & security.

A lot of parents think that a baby needs to sleep through from a very early age & if they not, then something is wrong. The "normal" age for babies to start sleeping through is actually between the age of 2 - 5yrs. Every child is different. Some sleep through from early on & others need time to learn by themselves to sleep through. It is a developmental milestone they need to reach.

I'm also very anti CIO (cry it out method). I don't believe in it or any form of sleep training. There is always but always a reason a baby cries or struggling to sleep. It can be hunger, thirst, too hot/too cold, illness, allergies, cramps, ear ache, reflux, teething, growth spurt, developmental milestone etc. We just need to figure it out

Both my kids were high need babies. Both had some form of reflux & terrible cramping. My daughter basically slept in our arms for the first few years day & night. I had to hear we are spoiling her etc, but I did what I felt was right. She slept in our bed until she was about 4yrs old. She is a very independent girl now (9yrs old). She sleeps in her own bed. My son is 4yrs old now. Still sleeps with us & I still bf him. He was a bit easier than my daughter. Both slept well during the night - luckily! I could lie him down more, but there were times when he just wanted to sleep in our arms during the day. My mother looked after him when I went back to work & she had to sit for 2-3 hours a day with him sleeping on her chest hahaha, but she loved it! THEN, when he turned 1, everything changed. She could lie him down & he slept for 1-2hours straight. Where as before, if she tried laying him down, he would even sleep for 45mins.

So yes, things will get better. I'm assuming she isn't on solids yet, which is a good thing cause that can cause sleeping problems in some babies. She might be going through a major developmental milestone (sitting on her own for example). Also google Wonder Weeks. There are 10 of them that happens before they turn 2yrs old. It is usually spot on. You can also download it on Google Play Store.

I'm also a firm believer in Chiropractors, especially in csection babies.

I hope this helps a bit?

Hi Blessdmom

I wonder if you could share with me some of your experiences. My LG slept through from a very early age ( first time I kept waking her up cause she was only 8 weeks old), but then at 4.5 months it all changed. She woke twice a night, then 3 times a night and now there are nights when it is every 20 minutes.
She is now almost 9 months - sleeps in her own room, we have tried co-sleeping and room sharing.... made no difference.
And I am worried that I am the one who has caused this problem.
I feed her to sleep at night, we have a lovely routine every night and she gets into this dream state as soon as we start it. It is so special. I work during the day and really need that special time with her. At night when she wakes up crying I pick her up and cuddle her and will feed her twice during the night. I do also rock her or walk with her if she isn't falling back to sleep easily. This usually takes 5 to 10 minutes. When I feed her she usually goes down for a longer period than if I don't.
Last night she slept from 7pm till 9:30 and then woke every 15 minutes till 1am. After that she slept through till 4 am. I think her room might have been too hot. But there have been other similar nights.... could have been the heat, could have been teething. I really do not know.
Basically what is worrying me is that I am the cause for her restless nights. Because I refuse to let her cry (to me a baby who cries needs something, letting her continue crying is out of the question). Really I just want to know that I am not lining my daughter up to have problems for the rest of her childhood with sleep. A friend of mine has the same ideals and pretty much did the same with her son who never slept well. Then at 11 months he just all of a sudden started sleeping through.
I don't mind if it happens to my baby at 11 months / 15 months / 20 months, just that it does and that I haven't caused long term sleep issues.

I know that this is not something anyone can guarantee....

But do you have any experiences you could share?

Hi Alexia I am new to moomie.co.za and have read your post and was wondering if you have any positive feedback. I know it is a long time ago, but my LG is almost 9 months. She slept like a dream until she was about 4.5 months and then was waking twice a night, then 3 times a night, and sometime (like last night) almost every 20 minutes. I think though she was too hot.

But I would just like to hear about what you did and how it worked?

Hi AlexiaL,

My Pead suggested to use "Good night baby" sleep coaching company.

The lack of sleep in our house has become what I believe a health hazard to our family, since driving kids to school and hubby driving 3 hours per day on the road with 3 -4 hours of interupted sleep per night for months is really dangerous in my opinion. I don't see if our family is not functioning well (and alive) that it will benifit my baby. We simply had to do something. Co-sleeping wasn't going to work for our bed and our sleeping habits. (However we do room share with our baby).

We started a sleep coaching plan (based on suggestions from the Sleep Sense book (Anne Richardson & Megan Faure) 5 days ago and I can only kick myself for not doing it sooner. My 10 month old is doing so much better and I am totally blown away by the positive results. I am sooooo relieved to get more sleep but ironically I think my baby is benefiting the most by having learnt to fall asleep by herself. She is clearly more well rested and less niggly during the day. Her appetite has literally doubled and her day sleeps almost doubled in length as well. She is happy and relaxed during the day with no signs of stress or anxiety at the moment.

Sleep coaching can be a contentious subject and I think each one must follow their own heart with what suits their family and baby best.

If you want to minimise your baby's crying to the absolute minimum you could consider one of these methods, although they can take weeks or months:

The Fading Sleep Training Method

This is a very gentle, no-cry (or very little cry) method of sleep training. With the Fading method, you continue to help your baby fall asleep (by rocking or feeding to sleep, for instance), but over time, you gradually do less and less of the ‘work’ to put your baby to sleep, and your baby does more and more. For instance, if you normally rock your baby completely to sleep, you may shorten the amount of time you rock each night, until you are rocking for only a few minutes. This method requires lots of patience on the parents’ part, but it’s great for families who want to minimize crying as much as possible.

The Pick-Up-Put-Down Sleep Training Method

This is another gentle technique. The PUPD method works just the way it sounds: when it’s time to sleep, and your baby is fussing in his crib or bassinet, you pick him up and comfort him until he’s calm and drowsy. Then, you put him back in his crib to sleep, repeating this cycle until your baby is finally asleep. PUPD is another method that requires lots of patience, and it won’t work for every baby; some babies find being picked up and put down so often overstimulating, and they gradually become worked up, instead of relaxed.

Hope you find a solution for the whole family. x