How can i sleep at night?

How can i help my 5 month old son sleep better through the night... and also sooth himself to sleep?

• My 5 month ould son had a routine that usually goes like this: 6am awake. 7 onz bottle. 7;30 1.5 - 2 hour nap. 9;30ish. awake. bottle. 11. nap 1.5 hour nap. 12:30. bottle. 2:00. use to nap. but lately fights its but is cranky if he doesnt. i wait untill 3-3;30. give him his bottle and lay him down right after and he falls alsleep for 2-3 hours. 6:00.. bottle.8:00bath. bottle. bed for the night. he was fighting going to sleep at night last week but now he goes right to sleep but only wants to sleep 2.5-3 hours and wakes up. i can only get him to go back to sleep with a bottle but i dont want to do that all the time because i dont want him to depend on a bottle to go back to sleep at night. he keeps waking every 3 hours or so and sometimes i can give him his soother.. sometimes he cries for a bit and other times he needs a bottle again...... im lacking lots of sleep.... its been 5 months and i am very tired. Also he uses a soother every time he goes to sleep. He will not go to sleep without it. I would love tips on getting rid of the soother....it is so hard but my goal is to have him fall asleep on his own without his soother by 6 months. i guess that the recomended age to get rid of soothers. i would love lots of responses.

• Answer:

  Okay first I am pro soother until at least one years of age. I know there are lots of cons but soothers have been proven to prevent cot death as when the baby sucks they breath. Some people would disagree but everyones entitled to their own opinion. You could always just teach him that soothers are only for bedtime. When he gets up just say okay now your soother has to stay in the cot. He might not understand this now but its a good habit to get into. Your routine is pretty good but he could be waking up at night because he is not tired enough or he thinks its just a nap. At six months old your baby should be sleeping about 11 hours at night and should be having two naps that last 3 1/4 hours altogether. So at the moment it looks like your baby is having about 6 hours every day. This is possibly too much although its true that every baby is different. This is just a guideline. And he isn't quite six months yet. Here is a routine that you might like to try. I am not sure if you are giving him food yet but i think he is old enough so i have included mealtimes. I say baby rice but you can use whatever you want obviously. 07:00 Wakes Up and has Bottle1 08:00 Breakfast (Spoon or two of Baby Rice) 09:30 Nap for 1 and a half hours without bottle 11:00 Wake Up and have Bottle2 12:00 Lunch (Spoon or two of Baby Rice) 14:00 Nap for two hours with Bottle3 16:00 Wake Up and Play 17:00 Dinner Time (Food and Bottle4) 19:00 Bath Time 19:30 Bottle5 20:00 Bed Time Here are a few points to explain this. - If he wakes before 7am then just keep giving him his soother (if possible without lifting him) until it is seven. It will eventually become a habit that he doesnt get up until seven. - For the nap at 09:30 he shouldn't need a bottle if he has had baby rice at 8:00. It may take a while for him to get used to falling asleep without it. He will be hungry when he wakes up from this nap so once he is fully awake you can give him a bottle. - The nap at 14:00 will be his afternoon nap that he will keep till he is two to three years old. This is why it is so important. Even if he is wide awake and does not want a nap you should still try your best to get him to sleep. At first you might have to just leave him in his cot and keep going in and out lying him back down. Try to keep him in there for two hours. Eventually he will learn that he may as well go asleep. If he really won't sleep then reduce the earlier nap to an hour. - At 17:00 he should have his dinner and then his bottle. If he is too hungry to eat dinner try and give him an ounce or two of bottle first and then try him with food again. - It may be hard to keep him awake till 20:00 but you should try your best as this means he will be tired and will hopefully sleep for the recommended 11 hours until 7am. Okay I hope that i explained everything clearly and that i answered your questions. There may be a lot of tears from you and him while trying to get used to this but it will be worth it. He needs the sleep just as much as you I hope it all works out. Good Luck !!!!!