I know this is topic is discussed often and regularly. I realize the answer has probably already been told to other mothers but I guess i need personalized input. PLEASE.
My son is almost 5 months old. Due to our work hours (i work at 6:30am) I do not force a late PM feeding for my baby. He goes down typically around 8pm. Up until just recently he had no problems sleeping through the night. He would typically wake up around 5am, about the time i needed to start getting up, and would be ready to eat and such. NO PROBLEMS.
Approximately 2 weeks ago, he got a pretty good cold that left him nasally congested and a nice cough. During that time, he began waking up typically 2 times on average during the middle of the night. To eat. I didnt think he could be that hungry but on average he would drink approximately 5 to 6 oz every 4 hours, during the evening time. His cold has subsided, although he does have a little cough, but he still wakes himself up at least 2 times during the night. I had started what everyone recommended, comforting him, helping him go back to sleep or even allowing him to put himself back to sleep, to no avail. I knew he wasnt likely hungry, so i would hold him and let him suck on his pacifier until he fell back asleep. That would work out until he would wake himself back up approximately 20 minutes later and we would be back to square 1.
He is a stomach sleeper. Is he in the process of a new growth spurt (at this age) or has he developed a new habit or have i started something that needs to be addressed immediately??
I wanted to thank everyone for their input, words of wisdom and offerings of advice. To give some a little more background. Yes, he has been on rice cereal and vegetables for a month now. He usually gets that around 6pm. I honestly feel he has started teething, in this entire process also. He is very whiney, clingy and for a very happy baby is just MISERABLE. I have been using the saline drops, the vicks baby rub, the nasal sucker, the elevated head, the humidifier. Wow. What haven't i tried? Honestly, i feel like i have done and tried everything that everyone has offered to me. THANK YOU. It hasn't helped, not yet at least, but I'm optimistic we will pull through just fine. One of these days he will sleep thru the night again. :)
Thanks again everyone.
I highly recommend the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. Around 4 months, babies are no longer able to sleep anytime, anywhere. They must be put on a schedule/routine and parents must help them learn how to sleep. Seriously, sleep habits are learned. The book offers all sorts of real, practical suggestions.
He's most likely going through a growth spurt! I had the same thing with my twin girls, and also the cold probably threw off his sleeping pattern.... it should go away but might get another growth spurt at 7 and 9 months and need to eat more during the night... good luck!
He could be teething. Babies can have teething pain for months before the teeth even show up. It is sooo normal for babies to establish what we call "good sleeping patterns" in the first months, only to begin waking again around 5 or so months. It is your baby's way of telling you his teeth hurt, or he needs to eat more. At 5 months he very well may need some nighttime nourishment still. Though it is tiring, this is what we mamas signed up for, and this phase will pass sooner than you think. Some day you will miss the cuddles and nursing with your son at night. Listen to your baby. Let him guide you. There is nothing wrong with giving him lots of love, attention, and closeness. These gifts will make him an all-around happier and trusting little guy. Best of luck!
Sounds like he is going through a growth spurt. When they do that they typically eat more and wake up more often for feedings. Usually lasts a couple weeks to over a month, each baby is different. Mine would feed every 2 hours during a growth spurt. They usually get one around 6 mos. Hope this helps. You may try giving him some baby cereal.
it sounds like it could be a growth spurt, they usually hit about 2weeks, 6 weeks 2 months 6months,9months then again at 1yr, if is more less over his cold, iwouldnt worry to entirely much, before you put him to bed, make sure he has had a nice warm bath, and a full tummy and a clean diaper. it could also be him not getting to the REM stage of sleep which is the deep part of the sleep, if thats the case try putting a mobile of some kind in his crib and turning taht on, it may help.
Has he started eating solid foods? The way my husband and I could really tell our daughter was ready was when she got up at 2am for a feeding after she hadn't done that since she was 6 weeks old. He may just need some more nutrition beyond formula or breast milk. Hope this helps.
It sounds like a growth spurt / habit / comfort time... My son didn't quiet do the same thing... but after sleeping through the night he got a stomach flu.. causing diarrhea at night and I had to get up to change his diaper and the only thing that would get him back to sleep was to feed him.. I was breast feeding at the time... Anyway his flu went away after about a week and then I think a growth spurt came cuz he too started waking about every 3-4 hours for food... What I started doing was give him a bottle about an hour before dinner... then I gave him his dinner... I gave him oatmeal cereal... I knew this would keep him full longer... then I put him to bed about an hour later... He woke up but I had to let him cry... I tried the comfort thing it made it worse.. He would not go back to sleep if he knew I would come... So we let him cry after approximately one week he stopped and thank God he has been sleeping ever since!!! he is 8.5 months now. I will tell you that the crying lasted 30 minutes once and almost killed me... One thing I tried also was decreasing the amount of feedings... go from three to two to one.. then decrease the last feeding by half and then nothing.... I hope this helps...
Have you introduced cereals yet? Maybe your little one really is hungry. He may be ready for light cereals or heavier than formula foods. Consult your pediatrician.
I had the same problem a couple months ago. My daughters night time routine starts at 8 as well, and that's when we did a bath, bottle then to bed. What I started doing was at 8 feeding her solids and then doing our normal routine. We use to feed her solids around 5 or 6 when we were eating, but this seemed to work a little. The thing I've noticed that works great is letting her lay on the floor and kick & play from 7-8. I use to hang out at my Mom's house when I would pick her up after work and end up at home by 7 and then I had stuff to get taken care of so she would sit in her exersaucer or somewhere where our dogs couldn't lick her and I could get stuff done. We started letting her kick from 7-8, we (my husband and/or I) will sit in her room with her talking to her and playing with her, then we feed her, bath her, give her her bottle and off to bed she goes. Cross my fingers it's been working for a week. It's also great for me to block off that time with her.
As for the nasal congestion, if it's still lingering, Vic's baby rub stuff works great and so does the menthol bath stuff. Both helped decongest my daughter during the weeks of congestion. Also the Pedia-Cure plug in thing the help her decongest at night.
Best of luck to you, I can feel your pain!
C.
PS. i posted this similar question around November and I still have the link to the answers if you would like me to send it your way. Let me know!
Hi R.,
Try giving him a bottle before he goes to sleep. A full tummy may help him sleep through the night, and give him the cuddle time with you he seems to want in the middle of the night.
And/Or
If he wakes up, let him cry for 10-15 minutes so he gets used to putting himself back to sleep. Use a clock and don't get him before that. You may need to do this for 3 nights but after that he should be used to doing it on his own.
J. A
I had similar problems starting around this age (my little girl's now 9 months) after a trip to Tennessee. I thought it was the time change, but apparently this is fairly common that a change in sleep - which is normal for the age and development anyway - can be traced back to a start at some event...a trip, a cold, whatever. From everyone I've talked to (doulas, sleep experts, pediatrician, etc.) it was the combination of two things: 1. She was hungry and needed more than breast milk (or I'm assuming formula in your case). She was ready for solid foods. and 2. She was starting teething.
Once I added in solid foods, it got a little better for a while. I avoided using Tylenol or Motrin for as long as possible. I still don't typically use it at all during the day and can get by with Hyland's homeopathic teething tablets. But after a few horrible AWFUL nights, I started giving her Motrin (a relatively small dose for her weight) before bed. That helped a lot.
I would also suggest that maybe your little one is ready for less sleep during the day? The sleep expert I talked to said 3.5 hours during the day is good for a ~6 month old. Now we're down to 3 hours at 9 months old.
Good luck!
If you're a working mom, probably the best solution is to let your son sleep with you until his need for you subsides. When babies don't have their mom with them during the day, they often need to have the closeness at night. He'll grow out of the need when he once again feels secure, don't worry, you're not spoiling him, and, by meeting his needs, your son will not be left to develop survival skills, he will thrive.
Best wishes & Happy New Year,
M. Milos, RN
my son woke up every hour on the hour from 6 - 12 months. he didn't start sleeping through the night until about 6 years old, and then only a few nights a week. consider yourself very lucky to have had 5 months of post partum sleep; motherhood is a process of going with the flow. i do not agree with letting a child cry herself to sleep, it's a weird form of abandonment acceptable in modern societies.
