My 6 Month Old Is Waking up Every 2 Hours

What I noticed with my kids is that became dependent on me soothing them to sleep-

eg with my newest she would be held and gently bounced till she passed out then put in her bed. She started fully waking at night- and it's likely because she wasn't being comforted anymore. So, I would wait till I saw her rubbing her eyes, and would put her into her bed (still awake), and sit in my room on the bed. I wouldn't look directly at her and would do stuff on my laptop or watch TV. The idea is no eye contact. I would only to go her if her crying was distressed. Fussing I didn't budge for. Now- she will roll around in her bed when I put her in there and eventually pass out on her own. For naps and for bedtime.

You might want to get a copy of Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. I can't recommend it enough. It's been a lifesaver for me and helped me understand how to manipulate my children's sleep patterns to optimize my ability to sleep as well as theirs.

I second S.H.! She gave you the reasons babies wake at this age.

Parenting doesn't stop at night, doesn't stop because we have to go back to work, because we are sick, tired, have things to do. There are many more sleepless nights, days where you are so tired you think you'll drop to come but being a mom that's what we do and what we deal with.

Babies are in a constant state of growth and development. They are going thru huge changes in this great big world. It's our job to provide for them and comfort them during this very busy time. Follow her lead and give her what she needs-because that's what she has right now-needs not wants.

The Baby Sleep Book and The Baby Whisperer all have great ideas and advice and information about baby sleep and how to help baby learn to sleep. With that information you will be better equipped to maneuver thru the blips in baby's sleep patterns. I highly recommend both of them.

She's hungry.
6 months is a growth-spurt time... and in conjunction with that, it is also a time of TONS of developmental changes and hitting milestones. So there are MANY things going on in a baby at this age. It does tweak their sleep.

You need to feed on-demand. Intake has to keep pace with them & their growth, which you cannot control.... hence eating every 2 hours. Every 2 hours is not a lot... because, when a baby is growing, they ALSO go through what is called "cluster feeding" in which a baby even feeds every.single.hour.or.less.
BOTH my kids did that as babies. I breastfed. It is arduous. That is how it is.... .especially when baby is hitting growth spurts and developmental changes.

It is real hard to "make" a baby sleep or longer. Because it is reflecting a baby's natural growth patterns and intake needs and physical/cognitive changes. We cannot extinguish that.
Some do crying-it-out at this age...but he is too young for that and I really don't believe in that method. :) And people mostly do it because they don't want baby to wake anymore. Which is really not natural if a baby is having growth-spurts etc.

Maybe have Hubby get up and feed her?
Are you breastfeeding? If so, you also need to make sure you are producing enough milk? if not she will always be hungry.
Is she latching on properly? If not, she will not be getting enough intake, either.

ALL through babyhood... sleep is NOT static nor finite and it ALWAYS changes. A baby, much less an adult, does not sleep the same throughout their life.

ALSO, it could be teething.
Or separation anxiety as well.
MANY things at this age, which comes up. We cannot stop their development or hunger/growth spurts.

Have a consistent daily routine everyday... for naps and bedtime. At this age they typically take 2-3 naps per day. Over-tired kids do.not.sleep.well nor fall asleep well, and they wake more. They actually sleep worse at night. So naps are very crucial.

Just some reasons that at this age, affects a baby.
It is really normal and typical.
It changes all the time.
She is hungry. She needs to eat.

all the best,
Susan

My kid did that. Don't worry. As they grow sleep habits change. What helped me was co-sleeping. I found that he slept better in my arms, and then I could also just nurse him easily while half asleep (without fear of dropping him whereas if I had to pull him outa the crib to nurse him and then put him back I'd fall asleep and drop him! eek!) so he was safe.

Now he's 21m and sleep is much better. His sleep is about the same as other kids. Yea! Good luck!

My son did this starting at 5 months and it lasted until about 7 months. Then he just started sleeping much better. Is she starting to do a lot more things, like sitting up? I've noticed that whenever my son started doing something new (rolling over, sitting up, crawling, standing, now walking) sleep was disturbed. I've tried everything, but I just find that within a few weeks it all goes back to normal. I did let him cry it out at about 6 months due to sheer exhaustion on my part. It helped after 3 nights. Good luck, and know that there are lots of other sleepy mamas out there who feel for you.

Has she gotten any teeth in yet? She may be teething. Symptoms would be excess drooling, excessive fussiness, broken sleep patterns, and chewing on everything in site. If this is the case you can use the Hyland's teething tablets and the teething gel. Just drop 2-3 pellets in a tsp. of water and they'll dissolve. You can give her the liquid with a medicine syringe. With the teething gel just put a dab on your finger and massage the upper and lower gums. You can put it on every 15 minutes so don't hesitate to give it to her if she still seems like she's in pain.
Another option could be that she may be going through a growth spurt. If this is the case you can nurse longer (5-10 minutes more) or give her an ounce or two more formula to see if this helps to satisfy her.

I consulted w/a sleep expert and here are some things she told me that might help.
At this age, your baby should be eating:
4 - 8oz bottles a day (one at wakeup, one at 10:00, one at 2:00 and then one at bedtime).
Solids - b-fast puree/cereal and dinner puree/cereal (add lunch around 8-9 months)
Eating and sleeping go hand in hand.....your daughter can absolutely sleep 12hrs/night right now w/o eating.
My babies slept 12hrs/night from 12 weeks on but eating was key. You didn't mention what time she goes to bed but she should go down between 5:30p-6:30p at night (depends on what time she wakes up - if she wakes up at 5:30am, put her down at 5:30p - if she wakes up at 6:00am, put her down at 6:00pm.......keep her on a 12hr 'awake' cycle....make sense?)
She is probably taking 3 naps a day (two long then one short in the afternoon or has dropped her short nap and is now doing 2 naps/day).
If you want more information on Davis' program, go to www.3daysleepsolution.com She is amazing and not only have my babies slept GREAT but so have me and my hubby! :) Get her DVD and you will throw all your other sleep books out (if you have any)! :) Good luck!

She can start eating solids, so that might help. Also, though I hesitate to suggest this, camomile tea really helps with sleep. You don't want to give too much, or too often, as they can get dependent, but it is a good go to thing when you are just done...
We finally got the 'no cry sleep solution' by dr. jay gordon. That helped a lot, so I recommend it.
Good luck!
R.

Is she teething? Maybe she is going through a growth spurt? I think babies sometimes regress in their sleep pattern. My son is 10 month old and he's never slept through the night.

It could also be that she is reaching a new milestone. When my son began to crawl he would wake up every 2 to 3 hours.

Hope this is just a phase that your daughter is going through.

HI A.,
I feel that if your daughter is waking up to feed, you may be "training" her to do so. Don't feed her, it's as simple as that. If you feel like she needs to eat, then pick one of those times to feed, not all of them. She needs to be sleep trained. I have a great on-line book you can have if you want it. It's called "Sleep Sense Program". My email is ____@____.com. After reading this book, I realized all of the things I was doing wrong, and as soon as I changed my habits, my daughters habits changed as well.
I hope to hear from you soon!

26 is a wonder week. Hang in there. I was ready to jump out a building. It will pass. ;-)

Only feed twice a night, btw. If you feed her more, she will expect to be feed at those times after this period is over.

My son's sleep was really bad for a good three weeks. Now he is doing a 9.5 hour block before eating once a night.

Sounds like teething may be waking her at night. First teeth start to show up between 6 and 8 months and are felt for awhile before they break through. Try a small dose (as directed) of infant Tylenol right before bed and see if it helps.

If that isn't it, is she on solid foods yet? Try feeding her right before putting her down for the night. Might fill up her tummy better.

http://mamasoncall.com

Sounds like she may be teething. She also could be experiencing a growth spurt, which would account for the need for more nourishment. This too shall pass - hang in there!