5 Month Old Not Sleeping at Night

5 months is a common time for a growth spurt and babies need to eat more often during those times. Don't be too rigid with your feeding schedule. She may truly be hungry! I also would try giving her solid food earlier in the day and not too close to bedtime.

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I don't let my baby cry herself to sleep because I think "how would I feel"? I nurse my baby to sleep. I wait until she is in "deep sleep" before I move her (slowly) to her crib. I hold her tight and make little stops (stand still) if she gets restless on the way to her crib. Signs of "deep sleep" are even breathing, unclenched fists, and limp arms and legs. Sometimes this can take an hour but it's worth the long sleep afterwards to just wait it out. Sometimes (because I was so tired and wanted a break) I was tempted to put her to bed in the "light sleep" stage only to have her wake up and have to nurse her to sleep all over again so I recommend just sticking it out until the deep sleep stage. I have read that the food thing won't make her sleep any longer or shorter so don't worry about that. Also, I have found that all of this changes every time you think you have a schedule but I still keep my day time schedule as much as I can. Good luck.

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since you just started introducing solids before bed, it makes me wonder if she is having tummy issues that is keeping her up. she might have acid reflux that is keeping her awake. the heat from your body will sooth her, and that is why she is able to sleep in your arms but not in bed. both my boys went through this and it was a nightmare until we got it figured out. good luck mama.
D.

Hi A.,
I'm a registered nurse. I as well, have tried everything to get my 9th month old son to sleep. You name it, we have tried it. Other info I have gathered from other mothers going through the same thing is that eventually, someday........they will sleep. He is my first biologically child (i'm 39), so I admit he is a little spoiled. His crib is in our room, so he probably knows that mama will rescue him no matter what. Sometimes he just wants a bottle. Which worries me, once he gets teeth. Anyhow, I can relate. I don't have the right answers, I've wondered at times if it's something I am doing???? I'm just taking one day at a time. I love that boy. Good luck.
Patti

I loved the DVD, Happiest Baby on The Block by Dr. Harvey Karp. He gives you 5 easy things to do to increase sleep times, and it immediately worked for my baby the first night I tried it. Things like white noise made a huge difference for us. Teething or sickness always throe a wrench in the routine though. Good luck!!

Hi A.,

My daughter did the exact same thing with the throwing up. My other daughter is 9 months old and she went through the same sort of thing. The thing that worked for me was letting her cry for about an hour or so, going in and patting her on the back, but do not pick her up! If she is wet change her diaper in the crib but again DO NOT PICK HER UP. Then leave, and let her cry for another hour or so and do it again. It took my 9 month old about 3 nights and she quit crying. You might also cut her naps down to 2 or 3 hours. Once she gets alittle older like 1 and if she is still doing it I would just leave my older daughter in bed even if she threw up and she would eventually go to sleep. I think this happened a like 2 times and then she stopped because she did not want to be in the crib with her throw up. Hope this helps :) While she is little though try the patting without picking her up I promise it will work.

K.

sounds to me like she may be teething - are her gums sensitive and/or swollen?

Wow, I heard that if their not sleeping through the night it's because they don't know how to put themselves back to sleep. Most babies wake up through the night and it's the skill of going back to sleep. But for my son, he doesn't sleep through the night if he doesn't get enough sleep during the day so this is what worked for me: I would put him down for a nap 2 to 3 hours after waking up in the morning and would make sure he would sleep for at least 2 to 3 hours, sometimes I would sleep with him because that was the only way to get him to sleep that long. It took 3 days but then after sticking to the schedule (a key point) he then started to sleep. I would have to play with him through the day to get him to be sleepy and feed him too. Before bedtime I would give him a big glass of milk, I heard warm milk works to. But my son has to stay on a schedule because I work and go to school. If he wakes up during the night then try letting him cry and learn to put himself back to sleep. It's hard I know but well worth it in the end. Hope that works.

I had a friend who recently went through this and after doing many of the things you have already done, they decided to feed her solids further from her bedtime. It did the trick and she finally went to sleep and stayed asleep. Having the cereal just an hour before bed might be upsetting her tummy and keeping her up for hours after. good luck. C. B

Have you tried a heart beat sound in her room? They sell different types of items that have the heart beat, we use a clock radio. I too stay home with my now 10 month old and she would wake at night and cry just because I was not there. We tried leaving her in her crib and touching her (rub, pat whatever) then we would put her in her swing in the same room with us and she would fall asleep. But what worked best and kept her in her room & bed was when we used the heart beat. She always puts her head on my chest where she can hear the beat and she listened to it prior to birth. This trick is still working today. Good luck and most of all remember each child is different but no child should cry until they are sick.

She may be starting to teeth. My six month old boy just went through something similar and then I noticed he is getting his first tooth. I gave him baby motrin for a couple of nights to help with pain and it also helped him sleep. Now that the tooth has broken through, he is back to his regular sleeping patterns.

try a warm bath before bed and a maybe a soft toon.

Hi A.
I am a mother of 2 who are now 11 and 9 yrs old. My first didn't sleep through the night until 18 months old - at which time I spent a week of nights going into her room and reassuring her I was there and everything was all right in response to her nonstop screams. The second time around I followed the book "How to become Babywise" by Dr Izzo. My second one slept thru the night at 12 weeks old. I swear by this book. I think maybe the solid food should be given alittle earlier - she may have a hard time digesting so late in the day. My thoughts and prayers are with you!
Blessings
K.

Try co-sleeping! It rocks! We did it till our baby was 11 mos.

I have nursed three babies and all three had a sleep change around 5 months. Your baby will not sleep the same way at 2 months that she will at 5 or 8. I would suggest reading The No Cry Sleep Solution by Pantley for some suggestions and also make sure you are eating well so your breast milk is feeding her well.

And if it is teething, all that ever worked for us was more nursing. It was the only way ANYONE could get any sleep! Good luck!

My son did very much the same thing. He was my second child and I though I knew what I was doing. I nursed him and he would wake every hour during the night and scream for 1 hour then sleep in my arms, if I rocked him, for about 1 hour, then scream for another hour. I tried everything. I would nurse him. I would rock him. I would walk with him. I cried with him . . . everything I could think of. My son is now 28 and I can tell you what I think it was and hope that will help you.
I think my milk was not letting down like it needed to. I think I was starving my son. He obviously was getting something but wasn't getting enough. My advise would be to put him on formula, and see if he gets any better. I would only do it with my doctors advice. I would get a recommendation as to the formula.
During the day I would feed her every 2-4 hours and keep her awake for most of the day. Then fill her up with whatever solids your using before bedtime and sooth her to sleep. I know that this is trying . . . but it does pass.

Do you feed her a bottle at all? Maybe putting a little bit of cereal in a bottle before you lay her down for the night will help keep her asleep. I am breastfeeding my 4 month old too and everyone keeps telling me that it is 'on demand feeding' and to let her suckle for as long as she wants. Maybe just letting her do that, even if it hasn't been 4 hours, will soothe her enough to put her to sleep for the night. Do you think maybe she isn't getting enough and that's why she is waking up? I know I have had that problem in the past.
Or, I remember with my first child, she would wake up in the middle of the night screaming and I found out that she had an ear infection. She's 10 now though so I don't really remember how old she was when she got her first one.
Also, do you think maybe it could be gas? My little one gets that and is not a very happy camper at all. It seems like that just starting happening recently and mostly at night because she falls asleep nursing and I just put her down. We give her gas drops and that helps tremendously.
Good Luck!

Ugh! It's really frustrating I know. I would think she is either hungry or teething as others have said. My son did the same thing and he was on a bottle. He was already sleeping throught the night without eating, so I didn't think he was hungry. Well 1 month later when I began cereal, he immediately began sleeping through the night. It was so frustrating because my doctor told me it was night terrors. I didn't let him cry it out because of that and obviously he was just hungry. Milk supply is lowest at the end of the day so it's possible she is needing another feeding. Especially as she grows.

Wishing you more sleep!

I am wondering though if part of the problem is that she is hungry at 11pm when she gets up, even if you fed her at nine. Milk supply is lowest at the end of the day and I find that I am nursin gmre frequently at night, and some nights, Brooklyn is up at 11 to eat again. And she eats! LOL.

As far as the self-soothing, have you looked into the Ferber method? I know it has worked well for a few friends of mine that have had similar problems.

I wish I was more help....good luck!

I can't help but I feel your pain my 12 month old has been going through the same thing for about 10 weeks. Hope it gets better for you.

She may be teething. My now 6 mos old son did this same thing ALL last month... and about 1 1/2 weeks ago popped two bottom teeth. Since the teeth broke through the surface, he is now back to sleeping soundly through the night. Try giving her some Tylenol when she wakes up and see if that helps. There's also Baby Orajel, but that didn't seem to help at all with my son.

first gut feeling: she may have an ear infection that hasn't shown the usual signs such as stuffy nose or cough.
my experience with my own children has been that when they stop sleeping at night it was because they weren't feeling well. heck, that is my own experience now that i think of it! when i am feeling poorly i wake up in the middle of the night unable to fall back asleep.
since this is something new to her (and she's done well in the past) that is what i suspect, although when a child has the same schedule 3 days in a row it pretty much becomes his/her new routine.
hope this helps~ :)

I would bring her into bed with you. You will both sleep better. I have done this with all of my children. It actually makes them more independant as they get older and confident to sleep alone. My four yr old and two yr old go to bed by themselves now and rarely wake up. Just my take on sleep :) You could also try to put her in a co-sleeper next to your bed, that works too.
I really hope that even if my advice is not what your looking for you get some rest soon. I know how hard it is to be a tired momma! She might also be teething ??
Good Luck!

Have you started giving your baby cereal? I found that my daughter had a voracious hunger, at five weeks she would drink 16 oz of formula every two hours...not normal. Pediatrician said keep giving it to her, pretty much scratched his head on this one. I started her on rice cereal and her formula consumption dropped to 4 oz every four hours and she slept through the night. Can your baby be hungry?

My son, now 11 months, was a terrible sleeper when he was a babe.
The only thing that worked for him was to swaddle him. He slept so soundly then.
I swear by the "Miracle Blanket". It's the only brand that he couldn't work his way out of.

Good Luck!
K.

A.,
I have an 8 month old little girl, boy does that bring back memories. It did not consistently help my daughter, but have you tried a small amount of warm chamomile tea or a warm bath before bedtime with lavendar soap and/or lotion. I also purchased a projetor like thing at Walmart. It plays lulibies and it projects on the ceiling in a dark room, she loved that and it put her right to sleep. I hope that this helps. Please keep us updated!!! K. S

Maybe she is teething? Try some oragel right before putting her to sleep. My 9 month old went through a few phases like this. You could also try putting a shirt that you recently wore in bed with her. This worked like a charm for me. Your daughter may just be reverting back to the constant need for you to hold her especially since she is still breast feeding. It was cute, I would go wake my daughter up in the morning and she would be hugging the t-shirt I left on her bumper the night before.

I once had a doctor who had raised 8 of his own kids who told me around 4-6 months babies who are sleeping through the night will stop. When that happens, it's time to start giving them food. It worked like a charm for our boys. It was nice to have such an easy solution. I think they both went to sleep all the night the first night. GL