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My 8-month-old doesn't sleep. Help.
My 8-month-old has never been a good sleeper. Now he has given up napping in his crib.
He is fine if he is in my arms or in a moving car or stroller. If I try to put him in his bed he's up as if he's slept all night.
He also still wakes up three times a night and only goes back to sleep if I nurse him.
Needless to say, I'm exhausted.
The ped says it's time for tough love. I am too tired to sit up and listen to him cry and cry and cry and cry. I figure that the sooner I get him back to sleep, the sooner I get some sleep, too.
Any suggestions?
Comments
I hate to say it, but tough love is probably the best. We had to do it with my first at around 10 months. Same type of problems you are having. Your baby is old enough to miss you!
It killed me for a few days...maybe it was even a week...but in the end, he slept. You can check on him after 5 minutes, then 15 minutes, then 30, etc...do the reassuring thing. Now, mine went for almost an hour. It was so hard. I sat outside and cried, feeling horrible about what I was doing. But it was the best thing.
You may be even more tired for a while, but in the end, you are doing him a favor, because he will be well rested. Good luck!
OK. I've been doing it. I've been better about putting him down for naps and leaving him - even if he cries for a little. Usually, he'll only complain for about a minute and then he passes out.
The good part is that since he's been napping more during the day, he's been sleeping better at night. He's actually slept through the night for four nights!!
He was up all night last night, but he had a fever. I'll cut him some slack.
Thanks for the encouragement!
I agree tough love! I'm glad your doing better now!
So glad you tried it and it went well. We just started with our 6 month old, and it only took a day. I cried the first time, but now that I've had 2 full nights of sleep, I know it was worth it!