Having a hard time getting my 6 month old to sleep

[fernie momma]

My son is 6 months old and I'm having a really tough time getting him to sleep.  he's constantly fighting it, for naps and especially at night.  I used to be able to nurse him to sleep, but lately it has turned into quite the battle to get him to sleep.   I nurse him and he keeps pulling off or biting, so I take the boob away and he screams because he wants it back, and it goes on like this forever.  I try rocking him, singing to him,reading but he screams until I give it back to him, then eventually he falls asleep, but won't stay asleep if I take my nipple out and try to leave the room.  we co-sleep but he can't seem to stay asleep without me in bed with him (for naps it's the same story)

Most nights he's not sleeping until past 11 up to 1 am.  Even then he still wakes up often to nurse throughout the night.  The bedtime process starts around 7:30 or 8, so I end up spending the whole night trying to get him to sleep.

He's sticktly breastfed, I haven't intrduced solids yet.  Not sure if that would make a difference. What time do 6 month old babies typically go to bed and when does the bed time get earlier? Just wondering if anyone has any advice to make the bedtime process any easier...  thanks!

[rachael07]

Hi -- you might try putting him to bed earlier in the evening. It sounds like he is getting overtired. We actually start our bedtime ritual at around 6 or 6:30, and our little guy usually falls asleep by 7. Anything past that and he's *super* cranky. He sleeps until 6:30am (though he wakes up a ton... but it seems to be worse if we put him down later)

Good luck!

[rachael07]

Oops, p.s., my son is 6 months old, too!

[Blessed1]

Funny.  My little one started doing the same thing at 6months. She would pull off and then get back on.  She would look around, kick her legs, move her arms and just be all over the place.  She didn't seem like she wanted to sleep.

At first I thought she went through that weird "stage" because I was letting her get overtired. But her wake time was only 90minutes long so I knew she really couldn't be overtired.

However, I realized that the 90minutes of wake time wasn't cutting it for her anymore.  She could stay awake longer and wasn't ready to sleep at the 90minute mark. 

I read about the 2,3,4 sleep pattern on here and we tried it and it worked! Every day is different depending on when she wakes up..sometimes we sleep in.  But typically her wake time is now about 3hours.

This is her routine these days:

Wake at 7am

Nap from 9-930am

Nap from 1230-130pm (if she sleep until 2pm or later she will usually skip her last nap)

Nap from 430-5pm

Bedtime at 7pm (sometimes later if we are going somewhere)

Her naps are typcially 30-45minutes long and if I nap with her, she will sleep for 1.5hours.  If her nap is longer than an hour, she will usually skip the last nap and be ready for bedtime around 630ish.

She is not on a schedule, it's just the natural routine she naturally falls into. 

She is also very flexible and I've realized that she can handle more awake time.  There are times she stays awake for 4 hours or longer WITHOUT being cranky.  All I have to do is nurse her and she conks out within minutes. 

I say play with your babes awake time and see if it helps him fall into a better bedtime routine.

Good luck mama! :)

[fernie momma]

Thanks for the replies!

Last couple of nights have been a little easier but still very late nights, at least he sleeps in until almost 10 some days.  What is the 2-3-4 sleep pattern?  How do yor babies nap? Are they nursed to sleep?  thanks again! 

[rachael07]

Oh, one more thought -- any chance he's getting upset by slow milk flow? My DS gets super frustrated if I pump too late in the afternoon (I work outside of the home) and there isn't enough milk at bedtime -- pulls on and off, tugs, won't settle. I've noticed my milk production has really slowed in the last few weeks. I still make enough for him, but he has to work much harder in the evenings to get his fill.