7 mo has slept 10 hours today

[DevaMajka]

That's 10 hours in the last 24 hours. That's nowhere near enough, right?

He's sick and didn't sleep well last night, but he still doesn't sleep much more on "normal" days. He sleeps about 8-9 hours at night, usually. Currently he's going to bed about midnight and getting up between 8 and 9.

He was going to bed earlier (9-10) but was waking up to play about 3am for a couple hours. Now, when he sleeps at 9, he wakes up until midnight.
It takes a while (and some fussing) to get him to sleep at bedtime. I've tried everything- nursing (that often makes him actually cry), rubbing his back, shushing him, bouncing, rocking, etc. It seems like what works one night, makes him cry the next.

He doesn't sleep long for maps either- rarely more than an hour. It's the same whether he sleeps on my lap or in the bassinet.

I'm not sure what I'm looking for...

How much sleep do 7 month old's need?

Any tips that I may not have already tried?

[Xerxella]

Ugh. It's possible you have one of those babies that doesn't need that much sleep. The books say 12 -14 hours a day, I believe. But, of course, every kid is different. He may be one of those kids that needs a solid routine. Bath at 7, music on, lights just right, nursing then down to bed.

I'd just try switching up whatever you're doing. (Because, whatever you're doing isn't working, right?) If you're cosleeping, try putting him in his own room. (My DD would just play in the middle of the night if I was there. In her own crib, she plays for a few minutes, decides it's no fun to play by herself in the dark, calls out for me, I come in, nurse her back down and put her back in the crib.) Whatever you're doing with solids and/or nursing, do something different. (My DD will stay awake staring at me if she's hungry. She won't cry she'll just be awake til she has a full belly. With other babies solids will keep them awake because of discomfort or reflux or whatever.)

I hope that helps.

[DevaMajka]

Originally Posted by Xerxella

I'd just try switching up whatever you're doing. (Because, whatever you're doing isn't working, right?)

That's very true, and a really good point. He does't have much of a bedtime routine, so maybe that would be a helpful change. It will be a huge change for me- I'm awful at routines!

But you're right- something I'm doing needs to change.

[Xerxella]

Good luck. It's always easy to say change, but it's harder to do. I know!

[DevaMajka]

I've been thinking for a while that I should do something to encourage bedtime right after I put ds1 to bed. This might be the push that I need.
Thanks for the "good luck". I'll need it!!

[KarlaC]

I'm horrible at routines too.

What's helped me best was to set a time for bath about a half hour before he usually gets a little sleepy & that was it(less beating myself up or feeling harried trying to keep up with a stringent routine).

After bath then it's into jammies, nurse & see if he's going to sleep from there. Most nights he does.

[DevaMajka]

Just wanted to update to let you know that I put him to bed much earlier last night- right after ds1 went to bed. I played the white noise machine- hopefully those two things will be "routine" enough to help trigger the "it's bedtime" response.
He was in bed for 12 hours! He woke up 2 hours into it for an hour long play session , but we stayed in bed, and he eventually fell back to sleep really easily. He woke frequently for a few moments at a time, but I think that's related to a different issue.

So just last night, he had more sleep than he did in the 24 hours I originally posted about. I'm very happy, even if this doesn't become an all the time occurrance. But hopefully we stick to it!