6 Mo. Old Waking Every 2-3 Hours in the Night

Hi Birdie

I have a 9month old daughter (breastfeed her exclusively) who I co-sleep with. I really didn't want to co-sleep but I found it better for me to have her in bed with us VS feeding her getting up to put her in her play pin hoping she stayed asleep. Having her in bed helped a lot I could feed her while I slept & she ate while sleeping.

Have you given her veggies yet? along with her cereal? that might also help. When you get to the dinner foods that will also fill her up.

Hang in there mommy.

She is hitting her 6 month growth spurt. She's telling you what she needs right now. This is very, very normal and it will settle down! I promise. A breastfed baby gets your supply regulated by around 6 weeks and that's the amount they usually eat for the next several months. Then around 6 months of age, the ramp up their nursings again to get you to make what they need for the next few months.

How will you make? Just like the rest of us do that have ebf our little ones. We mommies are amazing things and we push thru and get done what needs to be done.

I had a 3 year old and a newborn. Baby proof a bedroom, lock the door, let the 3 year old watch a vid in the same room with you and you and the baby nap.

Sleep deprivation is so tough. Hang in there! I would agree that she probably really is hungry. I also brought my son to bed with me after the first waking of the night. Best decision I ever made! I would bring him to bed with my, lie down, get him latched on and go back to sleep. I would wake up later, make sure he was ok (no loose covers on him) and go back to sleep. When he woke up again, I didn't have to get out of bed. I just latched him on again and went back to sleep.

He's now 4 1/2 and is a great sleeper (in his own bed ... no interest in ours.)

Hang in there! I know it's tough. This will pass, and it will get easier.

Growth-spurt.
Feed her.

Or it is teething, which crops up at about this age.

Or gas. With gas pain, they cry/scream in a very tense high-pitched manner. And hysterical. Being 'upright' helps the gas pain. Maybe that is why she liked when your Hubby carried/walked her around. Gas pains are worse when lying down.

Or it is ALL of these things. Many times, it is several things going on at the same time, for a baby. Tweaking them.

How come you cannot get her to nap during the day just because you have a 3 year old?
My eldest, was 3 almost 4, when I had my second baby. We ALL napped at the same time. My Eldest, would nap in the afternoons, when her baby brother was also napping. And then I got rest too.
I breastfed also.

At growth-spurts, a baby's intake has to keep up with them. If not, they are hungry all the time. Crying it out, will not solve that.
Also.. babies do what is called "Cluster feeding" which means they also need to feed every single hour. Normal.
They are growing and changing so rapidly.

My kids as babies, woke about every 2-3 hours, all night. Sometimes more often when having growth-spurts. They had GINORMOUS appetites. Yes, it is tiring. I don't know how I survived.
I really don't.

MAYBE your baby is teething.
BOTH my kids, started teething at 6 months, AND had major growth-spurts at that age too, AND were hitting major developmental milestones at that age. So, 6 months was a rough age... for me. Because a lot of things were tweaking my kids. It is hard for them too.

It will pass.

Or have your Hubby give baby a bottle of pumped milk and have him do the night duty.

Hi Birdie,
You sound like such a caring and concerned mother. Your baby sounds like she is going through a growth spurt and needs to be at the breast more often than usual to build up your milk supply. I talk to many moms whose babies are going through the same stage at 6 months. I would like to suggest you feed your baby as much as possible during the day at right before you go to bed. You might also want to consider bringing her into bed with you at night (for at least one more of the feedings) so that you can get some needed rest. Also, during this growth period you will need to get as much rest as possible during the day. It is very difficult to parent on little rest/sleep. I wish you the best, Birdie, I know you will get to the other side of this stage :)))))))

L., MA, RD, IBCLC
www.VirtualBreastfeedingHelp.com

I just want to add that one thing you need is some praise for being such a great mom and following your heart. I am soo relieved that we never did CIO, because every time we thought about it, we'd find a new tooth or realize that he had some physical ailment. It's probably not what you want to hear, but I would suggest just making the sleep deprivation it like a spiritual practice- it is quite ego busting to go with much less of everything than you ever thought possible! You will come out so much stronger inside- and the love and trust between you and your little one will be even deeper. Our first son had severe colic and GERD for the first 11 months of his life. For the first SEVEN months- yes!- he never slept for more than an hour at a time!! I think I am still recovering from the experience, but we got through it- and you will too. Can you get a sitter to get you some time to sleep during the day? I have found that very helpful.
All the best to you,
S.

First babies.... wrap you around their finger.

Does she eat any solids yet? Maybe she's ready to eat more during the day. I notice that when my twins are going through a growth spurt, they need more food during the day or else they are up a lot at night.

She most likely is not waking to feed, our kids all did this while teething, yes she is most likely getting ready to push a tooth out, it takes time 5min or so but she just needs soothed back to sleep, my hubby was usually the one in charge of soothign baby back to sleep at night when it wasn't time for a feeding. 5 minutes seems like an eternity in the middle of the night but it almost never took longer then that. tylenol will help if need be. You will get through this my daughter did this for a while and is now back to sleep 8+ hours at night at 9mo old. Hang in there. *hugs*

To me it sounds like teething. Try giving her some oragel for babies and rub it on her gums, and maybe if you have one place a pacifier in her mouth. She might be nursing on you to relieve some of the pressure in her gums. Other then that she might be cold and waking up more to snuggle for more heat against you. Try giving her a bath in warmer then luke warm water and lavender soap right before bed, then put her in some footie jammies. When she starts to get fussy at night give her a pacifer and place a hot water bottle on the side of her. See if she curls towards the water bottle... if she does then you know that she woke up because she was cold.

If none of that work, I have one more trick... email me

My guess would be the 6 mo. growth spurt or teething. Or both. If you think she's teething, give her a little pain med before bed. You can also try a dream feed, where you feed her before YOU go to bed, but after she's gone to bed. Don't even wake her. She'll nurse in her sleep.

And remember, these phases pass. It is really hard when you're in them, but they do pass. Try to catch a nap when you can.

There were many nights when my DD was little where I fell asleep on the couch while nursing, with her tucked carefully under one arm where she wouldn't get hurt. You just muddle through sometimes.

Don't give up yet. If you feel you must trade some of these night feedings with your husband, pump milk instead and let him give her that in the middle of the night.

kellymom.com might have more tips.

It'll get better. Really.

I had a baby boy...same way. My doctor told me to give him babycereal mixed with formula. I also only wanted to brestfeed, but he was very needy, and hungry. You could try it at night and see if it fills her tummy. Is she colic? If so then there may other issues,like I had with my daughter as a baby. Let me know if i could ____@____.com

Crying it out is tough. But if you decide to let them cry it out then you can't pick them up when the crying gets too intense. Babies are a lot smarter than we give them credit. The will learn quickly that when they crying hits a certain pitch or intensity you will pick them up and then the crying will hit that pitch or intensity sooner than later. Give it a few nights and she will learn that crying will not make you pick her up and she won't cry when you put her back down. Of course make sure she is in a clean diaper, not hungry etc. Does she have a music box, glow worm, or CD that you play for her when she is going to sleep? My grandson had a glow worm, every time he was laid down to sleep he had his glow worm. It had a soft light and soft music that has a motion dector and if he would get restless it would start to play the music and lull him back to sleep. They cost about $10 and are well worth it.