Pacifier / night waking issues - any advice?

[713abc]

My DS is just about to be 6 months and his sleeping has taken a turn for the worse. He usually wakes up between 1 and 3 times a night and I give him his paci and he goes right back to sleep.

The last few nights he has been waking more frequently (last night every 1 1/2 hours!) and when I give him his paci it doesn't always get him right back to sleep so I have to pat him or rub his back.

I'm not sure what to do. The way I see it I have a few options:

1) Keep going in each time he wakes up and give him his paci /get him back to sleep, and hope he will soon be able to put the paci in his mouth himself

2) Stop using the paci altogether and use CIO to teach him to fall asleep on his own

3) Continue to use the paci as we have been (only for going to sleep, and some fussy times at day care as needed) but discontinue giving him the paci during the middle of the night / do CIO to try to get him to soothe himself during the night

To be honest, none of these options is appealing to me, and I have no idea what to do. Any advice would be appreciated!

Robin

[LarsMal]

I went through this with both of mine. I'd say it took DS a few weeks to find the paci himself and it wasn't that bad. DD is 8 months now and we're STILL having to get up at least once most nights, sometimes even more! She will sit herself up but for some reason can't find the thing. If we go in and she's sitting up we know it's going to take longer to get her down.

I'm just trying to stick it out and hope that she will soon figure out how to soothe herself or find the stinking thing! My friend couldn't stand it, though, and decided to take it away all together. She said it was rough for a few days, but her DD quickly figured it out and now she sleeps through the night with no problems. DH works with someone who also decided to take it away. They picked a weekend to do it, knowing they wouldn't get much sleep. I believe they were good to go by that next Monday or Tuesday.

I guess it's really just up to you and what you're comfortable with, and what you think the baby can handle.

Sorry, not a whole lot of help! Good luck!

[BeachBum]

I just wanted to chime and say that I don't think that your child's night wakings are unusual or out of line for a child of that age. I mean, it sucks but I think it is pretty normal.

My son discontinued use of a paci around that age, maybe your child is too? Our technique was to continue to go in and sooth him however he needed.

Perhaps your child is hungry? I think that HSH,HC states that most kids eat at night until 9 months? Maybe try feeding him at one of those wakings and see if that helps?

[HannaAddict]

This sleep stage is no fun for anyone! It seems like most babies, at least all that I know IRL, have all sorts of things going on at 5-6 months of age. My two both went from sleeping to being up just like your little one at the same age, but they did not like pacifiers. We just went with the flow, rocked and nursed and got up with them for the few weeks (okay, a month!) of night wakings and the that developmental stage passed and they both started sleeping better again. They didn't learn bad habits by being comforted, they needed the comfort at that stage in their life, and when they started sleeping well again, it was like a *presto* I am more peaceful and don't need to wake up and be held every hour or so. THANK GOODNESS!

I think from my experience and what I've heard, seen, read with others, that most sleep issues are really just the normal ebb and flow of an infants sleep patterns. I don't think you can train a child the way the books claim. I also think that it is a lot to ask a baby (less than a year or even more) to self soothe the way a preschooler or toddler or adult can. They are just babies. :) Listen to your instincts and though you are exhausted I would keep comforting your little guy and you will both get through it. I think pacifiers are actually recommended now for babies under a year as their use is related to reduced SIDS risk. We actually offered our now 11 month old one because of that, but she had no interest. I would explore other options before doing CIO. He's still really little and this is a totally normal developmental phase (the waking up deal!) and will pass. Good luck, there aren't any good options that will help you get the rest you need. Hang in there and I hope he is able to start sleeping for longer stretches soon.

Kimberly