6-Month Old Still Wakes 3+ Times a night....tips?

Hi J.,
I am a HUGE fan of the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. He thoroughly explains biological sleep rhythms and how to sync your child's sleep schedule with them to produce the best, most restorative sleep. My daughter's sleep schedule at this age was: wakeup at 6:30-7am, morning nap around 9am, afternoon nap around 1pm and bedtime around 6pm. You may find that the earlier bedtime will eliminate some of the night waking. Dr. Weissbluth encourages 1-2 night feedings (if needed) until 9 months old. When you continue to respond to every night waking, it can develop a night waking habit that is very hard to correct and fragments her sleep. Fragmented sleep is unhealthy sleep. I didn't believe it until I started seeing it in my daughter. Even now, at 2 1/2, Paige will wake at night if she falls asleep too late and usually wakes up earlier for the day. Another positive thing about eliminating night feeding is reducing the risk for early childhood caries. If you are interested in Dr. Weissbluth's methods message me.
Sincerely,
L.

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Your daughter is most likely capable to sleep from 7:30-5:30. My daughter could go from about 7:30-6:00 without eating. She was formula fed after 4 months, but at 4 months she was sleeping from about 9PM- 6AM without eating. After about 6 months old she no longer had a night bottle and just had dinner/bottle with the family. I think the one problem is that you are soothing her back to sleep in some way. The key to a healthy sleeper is for your baby to be able to soothe themselves back to sleep. She may have to cry a little bit, but that is the process you have to take to let her learn how to put herself to sleep. I think feedings in the night are out of habit and not hunger (Is your daughter over 15 pounds). My friends baby didn't sleep very well until she stopped breastfeeding and stopped the night feeding habit. Just because your daughter is crying doesn't mean they are hungry- they can be lonely or cold etc...

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Hi J.,
7:30pm to 2:00am is great. Many babies this age actually go down later (10 or 11) and still wake sometime between 2 and 5. It sounds like your daughter has developed a pattern that works for her and is appropriate for her age. Unfortunately it sounds like it is in conflict with your desires. As she grows she will continue to change and probably start waking later.

I am a little confused why you don't feed her after 2:00. Are you certain she isn't hungry and that is why you use other techniques? Remember for many mothers there milk supply is strongest early in the morning, she may be naturally responding to take advantage of this. That too will change with time.

K.

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It is hard to function during the day when you can't get a good nights sleep. My 8 month old son is just getting out of the same pattern as your daughter. You have to do what feels the most comfortable for you. I have a 2 1/2 year old too. Both my kids didn't know how to put themselves to sleep. I was so exhausted by the time my son was 6 months it was easier feeding him each time he would wake up. I was nursing him 4-6 times a night. He was dependent on me to put him back to sleep. I would not suggest feeding your daughter every time she wakes up. Starting solids did not change my children sleeping habits. My kids just wanted me to hold them while they slept. With both my kids I tried what you are doing currently, co-sleeping, music, taking turns with my husband, interval crying, and lastly crying it out. Crying it out works. Tonight will be the 4th night with my son and last night he slept from 8:30pm to 5:15am. I think crying it out should be the last option. It is hard. But for it to work you have to be strong and do not go into their bedroom when they are crying. I do a bedtime routine and put my son in bed drowsy but awake. He cries and then falls asleep. If he wakes up during the night I let him cry until he falls asleep. Every morning he wakes up happy and ready for his breakfast. I believe good parenting is not just taking care of our children but taking care of ourselves too. May you have restful nights soon.

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Ditto what Love said. my daughter is 7 mo and sleeps from 8 to 1 or 2 most nights then a short feeding and is out until 6:30.

Healthy sleep habits is a great book.

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Nursing babies require more feedings. Have you considered pumping and storing for bottle feeding at night? My son is almost 7 months old and he wakes similar to yours due to teething and night wakings. I'm currently reading No Cry Solution and it talks about sleep patterns, methods and such. Very good book. Might want to try it. Keep us posted.

T.

I had the EXACT same experience as susan w. it is more common than we think i am starting to realize. we too finally resorted to CIO and it totally works. my son used to wake up 4-6 times a night and now sleeps thru the night. he was in the HABIT of waking, THAT IS IT...a habit that needs to be broken. there are people who are against CIO and i think to each their own. I believe a little CIO never hurt anyone (i would go in the room and pat his back during CIO), my son is happy as can be and sleeping thru the night. good luck.

i cant imagine stressing too much over a 6-mo-olds sleeping habits as things do change so rapidly at this young age. i also think it is hard to decline food when they are not getting soilds to hold them over. it sounds like your girl is 100% normal for her age, and you should try to roll with her schedule as much as you can. that being said, it is never to early to think about what sort of relationship you want for your child with sleep and nursing and attachment needs. i would encourage you to read the no cry sleep solution book as it is written by a breast-feeding co-sleeping mom, and it sounds like the healthy sleep book is highly recommended. my feeling at this age is give your baby as much as you can because you have a whole lifetime of trying to get your child to fit into a grown-up world and nurturing a babys needs is the most wonderful thing in the world. so good luck and know that this stage will be over soon as kids do change all the time!

Is she eating cereal now? if so make sure she has a good dinner before going to bed. Maybe she is getting cold in the early morning and that is making her sleep lightly. I found that was happening to my children once I made sure they could stay warm enough all night they usually only woke once to have a midnight snack and then settled in.

good luck, just remember this too shall pass.
that's what my momma always says..:)

Sounds like she is relying on you to put her to sleep. You need to teach her how to fall asleep/go back to sleep on her own. I know it will be tough, so gear up now--you will have to let her cry it out a few nights. My son is 8 months old and has been sleeping 11 to 12 hours a night since he was 3 months old. I read one book--The Baby Whisperer. This has the best method for getting babies to sleep all night. Within 3 nights of this method, my son was sleeping like a baby!!
Good luck!
Oh, and I cluster fed starting about 3 hours before bedtime so I knew he wouldn't be hungry.

Hi J.

Have you read the book: "Twelve hours' sleep by twelve weeks".
Great tips in there.
All the best, O.

Maybe she is hungry. If she is not yet on cereal I would start now with just a teaspoon of Rice cereal before bed then if she wakes up don't turn on any lights just keep it dark and find a radio station or CD with soft soothing music put it on and go back to bed. Both of my kids were sleeping all night at 2-3 months and were eating cereal.

I had the same problem with my daughter up until she was about 10 months old. I was feeding her solid foods and still breast feeding to supplement, but she still wouldn't sleep very long. When she did sleep she wanted to be sleeping on me or with my arm around her. I was scared to let her cry it out until she falls asleep because I had tried it before, and the next day she wouldn't look at me or smile at me, and she is normally a very happy baby. I think she thought I had left her, and had separation anxiety. I got too exhausted and decided to let her cry it out again one afternoon for her afternoon nap. She cried four hours and never fell asleep. She kept sounding like she was starting to calm down so I didn't go into the room and then she would start all over again. I felt like such a bad mother. I talked to my sister who has a daughter 6 months older than my daughter, and she said to put her in her crib when she is tired and let her cry for 10 minutes, then go in the room to let her know you are still there, and talk to her, hug without picking her up, stay for only one minute, tell her you love her, and walk out. When she cries again, wait 15 minutes before going in the room and repeat. Each time extending the time before you return.

I did this the next day, and she only cried for an hour and a half, then she fell asleep. It was such a relief. The next night I did it again thinking she would cry for the same amount of time, but she only cried for 10 minutes then was asleep. It was such a relief. Hope this helps. Good Luck!

I would also suggest feeding her at her early morning awakenings.
Not sure if you've started her on any solid foods yet, but it may help her sleep a bit longer if her tummy is full. A good dinner with some cereal or baby food may turn her 2am wake up into 4am. Then nurse her and she may sleep until 6 or 7.

Try nursing her each time she wakes up