5 Month Old Going Backwards on Sleep

I had a doctor (who had 8 of his own kids) tell me that between 4 and 6 months a baby who has been a good sleeper will stop sleeping. It's time to start giving them food. I breast fed all my kids, and started giving them food at this point. It was an instant fix to the sleeping problems for all 3 of them. We started with cereal and went from there, depending on the baby's appetite. GL!

First off, PLEASE ignore the posts about starting solids. The AAP (among others) recommends that you not start solids until AT LEAST 6 months. Waiting longer is just fine. And there's no evidence to show that it helps with sleep. IMO, you'd be increasing the chances that he'd be gassy or something from a food by trying solids.

He might be teething, even if you don't see/feel anything yet. Teething has disrupted sleep over here for several weeks at a time. (Ugh.) It could be developmental. Our 1st son was ahead on a lot of his physical milestones and I used to joke that it was because he had all that extra time to practice since he wasn't sleeping or napping like all the other babies do. ;) But, really, around 5 months he might be getting ready to sit up or something... and that could keep him up.

There's a book ("Good Night, Sleep Tight" by Kim West and Joanne Kenen... also see sleeplady.com) that addresses sleep issues by age/developmental stage. Babies' sleep patterns/needs are different at different ages. And she's not a cry-it-out type. I found that my 2nd son slept way better than my first. Not sure if it's because we co-slept more (though I co-slept with both at naptime) or just 'cause he's a different kid. But co-sleeping might help a lot.

Hope you can find a way to get more rest! Best of luck!

My 5/6 month old did the same thing... she was exclusively breast fed as well... we weren't sure if it was an a) comfort thing to get up every 2-3 hours and "feed" or if b) she was truly hungry. I started on a schedule of feeding her cereal at around 7:00, getting her in jammies, "topping her off" with one last night time feed(but not letting her fall asleep while eating), reading a book, singing a song while rocking and then into her bed. My little girl now 7 months is now sleeping from 8:00 until 4:30-6:30 depending on the day starting the 2nd or third day we did the routine once she figured out to comfort herself. Now even if she wakes up in the middle of the night she usually makes a couple of noises and falls asleep on her ow. So getting him on a schedule and having him comfort himself by whatever means works for you and your baby might work. I also had a good friend who tried "sleep sense" program and it really worked for them. I have glanced at the book/program and it looked pretty similar as far as routines and letting the child start to learn to comfort themselves to fall asleep (not necessarily through crying it out). Good luck!!

It sounds like a developmental milestone! He's starting to be more aware of things around him and has interests other than sleeping. Go ahead and take him into your bed if it seems to help him (often it can be soothing, plus it makes any nighttime feedings easeir). Just make sure to get rid of any extra pillows, blankets, fluffy stuff, etc. And DON'T do this if either of you have a sleep disorder or take medication that makes you a heavy sleeper (for his safety).

I would also start introducing solids. Start with rice cereal mixed with breastmilk. I always fed the cereal in the morning, but you can do it at any time during the day. It might help him sleep a bit better.

At grandma's, check out where he sleeps. Is it similar to his room at home? Maybe he needs it to be darker, or maybe it's too noisy, or too quiet. Maybe it just feels different. See if you can adjust the environment there. Of course, it could be that he is more interested in other things, but he still needs his naps.

Last thing - if he is uncomfortable or squirms a lot when you put him down, he could have gas or acid reflux. You may want to mention it to the doc at his 6 month appointment, she may have some suggestions to help there

I'm not a fan of cry it out methods either... I have a 33 mo old and 17 mo old, and as you know they are all different. One thing they both LOVED as babies was either music or a sound machine in the room when they slept. I have used baby genius classical music, relaxation music and also sound machines. Over time, they associate the sound with sleep... at least it seemed that way. I do believe routines help even the smallest ones to signal sleep time... for ours music and sound were very helpful! Good luck.

I'm sure I'll get flak for suggesting this, but have you tried putting him down on his tummy (as long as he doesn't have cushy bumpers or blankets/animals in his bed)? He should be definitely old enough to pick up his head and turn it. It made a big difference in sleeping for our little guy when we let him sleep that way. I would definitely figure out the grandma nap thing, too - without a doubt, the more sleep they get during the day, the better they sleep at night, and it certainly can't hurt when dealing with his nighttime wakings to make sure that's not an issue.

The other thing to remember is that, unfortunately (as you probably remember from your first!), they just go through different phases. He might be getting a tooth, going through a growth spurt, or just more aware of what's going on. Chances are good that he'll go back to sleeping well soon!

Hi, I have to say that my 5 month old baby girl is also the same. She is hardly taking naps even, it is very worrying. I have tried to put Lullaby's for her and then I try to calm her down by rocking her that puts her at ease and she likes that. Anyways, I think this stage will soon pass, it is just amazing that they are blessing to us....yet during times like this it is frustrating....:)

Just one piece of advice (and I'm sure you'll hear this from more moms than me!): "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weisbuth. You should have things working smoothly within a week.

Please stay away from "Baby Wise." You will find some people swear by it - and it does work - but at what cost to the child? There's lots of controversy about it.

Good luck!

Most mom's will tell you that between 6-9 months of age their kids get harder. That is when most kids start getting their 1st teeth so they are grumpy a lot. Then at 6 months, the seperation anxiety starts, too. 4-6 months is ususally when they need the solid food to help them feel more full and satisfied longer. But on the other hand, the new food can make them gasey, so they have trouble sleeping because of that, too. It's just kind of a hard sleeping time for both you and the baby. (At least that was how it was with all of my kids)
Anyway, do what you can do to alleviate the pain of teething, popcicles, melba toast and such. Do rice cereal before bedtime to help them feel full. I'm a big believer in schedules, so stick to a routine. Your baby will feel more secure if knows what to expect every knight. Lots of mom's swear by infant massages or lavender baby wash in their nighttime bath. I still exclusively breast feed my 10 month old & I've found it helps if they can sooth themselves with something, other than your breast. Try a Binky now, even if he's never liked one before. Sometimes they just want to chew on something when their teeth hurt. Rub their blanky by their face when going to bed, so they associate that with sleep. Eventually, they will do it on their own, while in bed. Good luck! You may be tired for awhile, but I promise like most stages in the babies life. This too shall pass. :)

L.,

We had a similar situation with our son. What we did was first get his day time feedings on an every 4 hrs schedule. Once this was done I started to decrease the amount of time I allowed him to nurse two minute every three days with the earliest night feeding until it was gone. Then I approached the next in the same way until we only had one night feeding. I could have done that one too but I did not mind it and he seemed to enjoy it. Good luck, let me know if you need more info.

Jess

My daughter who has always been a great sleeper (8-91/2) hours a night) did the same thing at about five months. It made me so tired and exhausted. I have read that if they are ready to hit a milestone in their development that it can interrupt their sleep patterns. For my daughter I think it was a couple of things. She is/was exclusively breastfed. I wondered if it was time for her to start solids but we really wanted to wait until 6 months, more especially because her daddy has lots of food allergies and she has a dairy allergy, but she seemed to be so hungry and I just couldn't give her enough at night. So I supplemented with my storage of breast milk and made sure to pump every morning to have extra in the evenings. If she had enough to eat she went to bed fine, if not she cried and would wake up early. But the hard thing was that she was also not wanting to nurse very much. She seemed to take it way better from the bottle (pumped breast milk). This I think was for two reasons: one she was teething.(this also I think effected her naps, I finally got some orajel) She has her first tooth now:) And the other was that we found out I am pregnant again, so I don't think she liked the new taste. WE ended up giving her solids (homemade brown rice cereal) five days before she turned 6 months. Since I am pregnant I am having a hard time keeping extra milk on hand and she was losing weight, so we felt it was time. She is back to her normal sleeping routine, and she is even going to bed earlier.

I think its a phase. Good luck. Investigate teething. Maybe its a growth spurt and he's just extra hungry.
One other thing to consider is your diet, has anything changed that might be giving him a tummy ache or bad gas?

p.s. just curious, which sporting events to you run?

I am in the exact same boat! My little 5 mo old used to sleep 7-8 hours a night but lately her sleep schedule has changed to her waking up every 3-4 hours. Guess what?!? Teething! Not sure if its the same for you. I havent seen any teeth yet but the drooling and hand chewing is more progressive than before. I have been giving her a colic ease before bedtime to sooth her night times. She isn't colicky but it still works. I am also having her co-sleep with me to help me-not her- during the occasional wake. i have also switched binkies that stay in the mouth while she sleeps. She is not dependant on it but it helps. Her daytimes are as random as yours as well. Some days she will sleep all day and others not at all but they have never affected her sleep schedule.

I forgot to mention... I am going to start introducing cereal in her bottle to help the food last longer in her system so she doesn't get hungry as often. I will let you know if that, also, helps. based on the previous responses, sounds like a good plan.