my son is almost 8 months old and he doesnt sleep. never has. most he’s ever slept is 4-4.5 hrs since birth (and thats a rare occasion). ive tried EVERYTHING and i mean everything i can think of (and that people have suggested) for helping him sleep, but nothing has helped. im seriously at my wits end. most nights i just want to throw a pillow over his head (NOT that i would ever do anything to hurt my son, so dont get any ideas), but 7 months of getting up every 1-2 hours at night will drive even the most sane person crazy. ….so im going to call the dr again tomorrow and ask if there is ANYthing i can give him (in the appropriate dose) to make him sleep. has anyone had a similar plight? any help with medication? please, im open to suggestions…
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23 comments ↓
Wow, sounds like both of my kids. You are right, those who haven’t gone through the insanity of no sleep CANNOT make judgements. Sedatives aren’t the trick. Unfortunately, crying it out is. If you don’t re gain some sleep you can have long term consequences. I had head tremors when my son was 8 months old. It looked like I was an old person because my head would shake constantly. When I almost drove off the road (w/ my son in the car) because I dozed off for the third time, I decided to read about ferberizing your baby. It definately was not my first choice, but I had no choice. I was becoming not the best mother because of the lack of the BASIC HUMAN NEED TO SLEEP! It really is hurtful when people with these easy babies that sleep great (and in my experience, that is most children) make judgements on you. I don’t think you should drug your baby in any way, because it could become habit forming, but just let him know, “hey, it’s time for bed. You can lay in here and play, cry, or sleep it’s your choice, but it’s bed time!” That’s just what I had to get through to my kids. It was tough but it worked eventually. They still get up all night, but they also soothe themselves back to sleep. Get a video monitoring system if you’re worried about his safety. Don’t worry about hurting or scarring him by letting him cry it out. My son is the best kid I’ve ever known (and I don’t see my kids through rose colored glasses!) and he did pleanty of crying. It was a matter of training him and it eventually worked. Best of luck!!!
It is common for children to not sleep through thte night until they start school. Welcome to parenthood. I feel for you though, my 11 1/2 month old JUST started sleeping more than 3 hours at a time.
Oh, you poor mom! My son did this….well he was premature and so he was a little different. What my husband did was this:
He set up a fish tank at eye-level from my son’s swing. Set my son in the swing. Go get some sleep while baby watches the goldfish and listens to the white noise of the pump. And voila…baby was asleep. I don’t know if this can work for you but I know it helped me immensely! Good luck, mom.
Benadryl, check label for proper dosage.
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Benadryl, or there are some sedatives, you should talk to a peditrician. Try this site, its pretty good on dosages.
thers really no setatives or sleeping pills you could give your child that are healthy,try a mobile and just let him lay till he falls asleep its ok if he crys ,he would have to learn eventully to fall asleep on his own.giving sleep meds could actually
make the opposit affect in small children,and i wouldnt give it
to an 8 month old,you could try giving him a bath befor bed with bedtime bath and lotion from johnson and johnson
it works for me my sons only 3 months though
good luck
Las Vegas – I am glad you recognize your own desperation. I think it is a good idea to call the doctor. I know this is a young baby but I have another suggestion. During the day when the little sweetheart wants to nap – don’t let him – annoy him rub an ice cube on the bottom of his foot – I don’t care what but don’t let him go to sleep. Make him tired. So every time he tries to go to sleep during the day. – don’t let him. when you put him down at night his little body will have to make up for the loss of sleep.
have you tried sleeping with him?
maybe some calming tea at night in a bottle.
i would not like to see him on medication.
Maybe he has gas.
it disturbes me that you talk about putting a pillow over your babies head…..hes a baby, take advantage of these times, cuz in no time he will be 18 and ready to go off to college. its a part of being a parent.
nope….. I have heard of people putting booze in a bottle, or dimatap, but i would not recomend it….. I guess some get desperate. I could never do that, but i have heard of parents doing it.
I would ask a family member to watch him so you could sleep for 6-7 hours, after a good sleep you will handle it better. Do that once a week if you can
both my kids slept all night so I feel for ya…
Are you saying that your son only sleeps 4-4.5 hrs. consecutively, or is that all of the sleep he’s getting per night. Because if that is all he is getting each night, then that is definitely a problem & you need help from your doctor. But, I’m guessing that he sleeps more than this & you are just getting up very frequently.
Anyway…I hear your pain. I have been in a similar situation with my son & he just turned 8 months. The sleep deprivation is VERY tough.
I’m not going to give you suggestions since you said you’ve tried everything. In terms of medication, is it possible that he is teething now and have you tried teething medication, like orajel to help with night wakings? Otherwise, your doctor is the best bet to talk to in terms of sleep medication. I personally would not recommend this for someone so young.
Best wishes & good luck with this! It is so hard to hear about other people’s babies sleeping, isn’t it?!?
natural pepermint starligts melt one on 4 oz. of water the mint sooths there bellys and puts them to sleep also or cat nip tea.
i have a question…does your baby sleep during the day? If he sleep more during the day it probably means that he has his nights and days mixed up. What you can do in that case is after his bath at night make him do a kartwheel. Believe me it works!
try to keep smiling
Ok so your baby sleeps pretty much the same amount as my son. I have a 11 month old and he has 2 …45 min naps. one in the morning and one in the afternoon. I really dont know what you can do ! But one thing is i wish you the best of luck and dont listen to what ppl tell you. You are concern and im sure you must be tired! I wish i could run over and bring him with me so he can play with my son and give you a break… but im sure thats not possible. I would talk to your doctor for sure. hopefully you find a something! Good luck
NO DRUGS FOR INFANT SLEEPING. HAVE YOU TRIED FEEDING HIM (FOOD OR WARM MILK WITH CEREAL IN BOTTLE). TRY OMMITTING ANY LATE EVENING NAPS. SAY KEEP YOUR SON UP 4-5 HOURS BEFORE YOU WANT HIM TO SLEEP FOR THE NIGHT.
I HAVE A 8 MONTH OLD AND IF SHE GOES TO SLEEP LATE IN THE EVENING, I MAKE SURE HER NAP IS OVER BY 7PM. I PUT HER TO SLEEP FOR THE NIGHT AT 11P. AND SHE SLEEPS TILL THE MORNING(LATE MORNING). THIS IS CONVIENENT FOR OUR SLEEP SCHEDULES AND WORKS FOR US.
If he is just waking up to wake up I would leave him in his crib and let him cry. Babies are creachers (sorry if spelling is wrong) of habit and he may need to break a bad habit. If you know there is nothing wrong, he has been feed, changed, etc. then let him cry. You still won’t get sleep but may help him stop the habit of having mommy at his side all night.
My 4 year old was like that for about the first year. Medications were not something I looked into.
What I ended up doing was making sure she was all ready for bed, putting her to sleep, going to sleep right when she did. When she woke up I would change and feed her, than lay her right back down, and if she cried for a while or was awake in her crib, I still knew she was safe and was taken care of, so I would catch a couple hours more of sleep. After doing this for about two weeks, she started going back to sleep really fast and within a month she started sleeping through the night.
I know how it is to be sleep deprived, I hope you find something that works for you. I really do not agree with looking into medications to deal with something like this, but talk to your Dr, they may have other ideas as well.
Yes being a parent means tolerating our baby. That’s just your child…have you tried changing the nightly rituals? Making sure he’s full, bathed, calm and warm? Does he sleep in bed with you? I would rather go that route and let my daughter sleep in the bed with me, then the sedative route. Even if that means every night til she’s 5. and yes, more naps during the day, means better sleep at night.
My son is still up that often and he is 13 months old, so don’t think I don’t understand because I do.
But the problem isn’t that your son is getting up, it is that you aren’t getting enough sleep. Seriously nap, go to bed early, etc. There is more than likely a reason your son is up that often.
yea my son has been like that from birth and he’s 19months now and only sleeps 9-10 hours a night, waking up twice and doesn’t have naps, i sleep with him, you kind of just gotta get used to it and have a nap when he does, i wouldn’t medicate my son, but there are sedatives you can give but they’re not really advised unitl 1-2yrs old, and sleepless nights are part and parcel of being a parent i’m afraid! ( i know all about sleepless nights don’t think i don’t lol i work and study and have my son all full time and i’m solo lol so i get an average of 5hours a night sleep) just make sure you rest when he does, and see if you can find trusted family members and/or friends to help give you a break ocassionally!
Don’t drug your baby or wife. Try alternating nights you guys are up. 3-4 nights of sleep are better than none. Once they start eating solid foods they usually start sleeping through the night (if not before then). Is there a friend or relative that could stay with you guys one night so you both can get some sleep? Wait until you talk to your doctor and walk away if you ever feel like you want to hurt your baby. Breaks are good for both of you.
Also try a night light or some music…it worked for my son.
you NEVER give a baby something like a sedative! what an awful thought. and sleepless nights are part of being a parent. suck it up.
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