Sleep Issues in a 5 Month Old

My son was about 5 MO when we switched him to his crib. I also had to swaddle and hold the binkie in his mouth to get any sleep. I read the Ferber Method book and did his strategy. Basically you do your routine and then lay the baby down and come back in to comfort w/o getting them out of bed an increasing intervals. It helped me to be able to go in after a couple minutes and pat him tell him I loved him etc. I will say that the book says it only takes a couple nights for most babies to learn to self soothe. My LO took over a week BUT now at 2 1/2 he still sleeps great and rarely gives me any trouble at bedtime. Everyone in my family comments on how great a sleeper he is. Also, maybe don't let the baby play too long before bed. We do a snack, then bathtime, then lotion and prayers. We used to do a book but it got to be too long a routine and so we read during the day instead and I just sing a couple songs. The lights are out while I sing and pray and then he gets laid down in his bed. I promise you that the Ferber method is amazing. It is not as harsh as just letting the baby CIO because you go in and comfort and even though I cried right along with my baby the first couple nights, he woke up smiling and happy letting me know I was not ruining our relationship. Get this book, read it, stick to the schedule, and soon you all will be sleeping better.

Oh and one last thing, if she isn't holding the paci yet, just get rid of it, she obviously doesn't really like or need it and it is way easier than trying at 2 or 3 to get rid of it. I got rid of all those at the same time. And if she rolls over to her belly and cant get over and it makes her more mad, just go in roll her back over without comfort or talking (unless it is time to go in and comfort) but my LO slept on his tummy some of the nights since that is how he fell asleep. He found his thumb within the first week and that was his comfort. We also got a small comfort item (a doggie blankie) that he still has and loves. and we put a sound machine in their so that there was a bit of noise. He loves these items and they can go with us even when we are away like at grandparents.

Good luck! and sorry for the long post.

Could she be hungry? My son used to do the exact same thing and I found that if I just fed him, he would go straight back to sleep. I then made sure that he had a good feeding immediately before bed time and he slept better throughout the night. She is still very young and may need a night time feeding. Infants normally cannot go throught the night without feedings until aroung 8-9 months old. Good luck to you:)

My personal opinion is much different from some of the others expressed, so I hope it doesn't come across the wrong way.

She's only 5 months old. She really doesn't have the capability to be taught to sleep so early. Some babies are miracles and sleep through the night at a few weeks old. Neither of my children were those babies. Both of my kids woke-up at least once if not multiple times/night until close to a year old.

Yes, it is a lot to lose all at once. So, I'd work on one at a time. Babies need a soothing mechanism. For our son, it has always been his thumb and his favorite blanket. Even at 3.5, he still needs both to fall asleep. For our daughter, it's her pacifier.

Our daughter slept with us in bed until close to 12 months. I was diagnosed with cancer when she was 10.5 weeks old, and it was the easiest way to address her needs when I was undergoing treatment. At a year, she moved into her crib and has been a ROCK STAR sleeper ever since.

Our son still doesn't sleep in his bed all night. Our pediatrician simply says, different kids, different circadian rhythms, different needs.

I'd ask your pediatrician what form of sleep teaching they recommend. I personally hate the CIO method and haven't ever used it - especially not at that age. Babies will continue to go through major changes in their sleep patterns as they grow and have more nutritional, developmental and physical needs (such as teething).

Yes, it is too much at once and if you want her to develop good sleep habits you have to teach her how to sleep. You can't go from giving her all this comfort in the middle of the night to "boom you are on your own cry all you want for the next x minutes because I'm not coming back till the clock says I can". Talk about confusing for a tiny baby.

First-You have to teach a baby how to sleep. They don't know how automatically. Take a look at Dr. Sears Baby Sleep Book and The Baby Whisperer. I was able to glean really valuable sleep info from both and develop a nighttime routine that worked for me and my babies. Leaving a little one to cry floods their system with stress hormones. Not good for baby. And obviously not good for mom if you are saying it breaks your heart. I never, ever left either of mine to cry it out and they both learned to sleep thru the night just fine.

Second-why unswaddle her? Is she comfy that way? Feels secure? You can get swaddle blankets with velcro so you don't have to worry about a regular blanket getting bunched up. Both my babies liked to swaddled till 6 1/2 months and about 5 months. Nothing wrong with it.

Yes, there will be some tears and yes, you will have some lost sleep while teaching her about night sleep but you both will be far better off than leaving her to cry in her bed when she has no clue why she's there.

People will tell you not to rock her to sleep etc. I always rocked mine to sleep and they learned to self-soothe and go back to sleep if they woke in the middle of the night but it takes time. If they woke up and it was obvious they weren't going back to sleep I would go in and place my hand on them, soothe them, keep my head down on the side of the crib so they knew i was there but couldn't see my face to get any real interaction. If they were really upset, I'd pick them up and get them calmed and back to sleep. But I never had to do that often.

I haven't hit that stage yet since my baby is only 3 months old - but my intuition tells me that 5 months is still a very scary age to be left alone in another room (from the baby perspective). I also think that crying is communicating like we talk, and who are we to ignore when our babies are 'talking' to us. But then, I am NOT a fan of crying it out in general. I know that if I was crying I wouldn't want to be ignored - I would want to be cuddled and reassured.

My advice is don't worry about "good sleep habits" at 5 m/o. Babies are small and helpless and sleep best (most of the time) when they are with their mommies. She's being perfectly normal; it's our society's weird emphasis on not letting babies be babies that is not.

My son at that age was teething and once he could roll over there was no stopping him. That's how he wanted to sleep... on his tummy. At first I was freaked out about it, but if your daughter can lift her head she will be fine on her tummy. Just make sure no pillows or stuffed animals in the crib or thick blankets. Before then when we were first putting him in his crib, we used a crib wedge. Sometimes I'd have to wrap a blanket around him AND the crib wedges for him to fall asleep. Once he learned to roll over the wedges, we had to retire them.

Those I think were my most sleepless nights because we had a great schedule going, and then BAAM baby wasn't having it! I felt helpless and couldn't figure out what needed to be done, but slowly I got the hang of it. Try everything first from diaper check to gas drops or tylenol(if teething) and etc. before you feed her. I hated the crying too and didn't let him do it for long, because at that age they are testing you too. They want to make sure you'll be there to comfort them when they cry and this builds trust. Some nights my son just wanted to be in his mommies arms rather than his crib. I promise you things will get easier... Hang in there!

Maybe try taking away one thing at a time, rather than doing it all at once. Try getting her to sleep in her craddle all night without bringing her in bed with you first. Once you get that down consistently for a week, try moving her to her room. Then work on taking the swaddle away (assuming that she is ready and is unswaddling herself at night).

Also, just a thought but your baby may be waking up for the pacifier, not to suck like you said but to teethe on. Have you tried teething tablets (Hylands are great) before bed or when she wakes at night. It might help take the edge off for her so that she can sleep, if she is teething.

And finally, I know some people will disagree but you don't EVER have to do CIO. It's a leftover 1970s behaviorism approach that is really unnecessary and out of date with current child development practices. A good book if you want to get more info is the No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. It helped me to wean my baby off of rocking her in my arms to sleep without letting her cry. Hope I was helpful.

I'm no expert, but I think you should eliminate the play time, because your getting her worked back up.The play time should if any be before bathtime- then read her a book- then lay her down- if she needs her paci- then put it in her crib, she'll search for it when she awakes. If u go get her she will continue. Try ignoring her cries, she'll lay back down. (start timing how long u leave her before u get her to soothe) Once you hear the silence (which may take a while, just go check on her (but don't let her see you) Every night increase the time by 15-20 mins which will allow her to self soothe herself back to sleep. I'm making this suggestion, because I did what your doing now, to my first son, and he at 3 still won't sleep throught the night until he gets in my bed (which my husband will let him fall asleep again and take him back to his own bed).- but my 18 month old- He started the same way but by 5 or 6 months he would wimper but not wake up. I always check on them through the night- but try it. 15- 20 mins. 30 days of continuous practice becomes learned. good luck.

Hi~
For the sleep have you tried Dr Karp's 5 S’s to calm to sleep? http://www.happiestbaby.com/
• Swaddling - Tight swaddling provides the continuous touching and support the fetus experienced while still in Mom's womb.
• Side/stomach position - You place your baby, while holding her, either on her left side to assist in digestion, or on her stomach to provide reassuring support. Once your baby is happily asleep, you can safely put her in her crib, on her back.
• Shushing Sounds - These sounds imitate the continual whooshing sound made by the blood flowing through arteries near the womb. This white noise can be in the form of a vacuum cleaner, a hair dryer, a fan and so on. The good news is that you can easily save the motors on your household appliances and get a white noise CD which can be played over and over again with no worries.
• Swinging - Newborns are used to the swinging motions that were present when they were still in Mom's womb. Every step mom took, every movement caused a swinging motion for your baby. After your baby is born, this calming motion, which was so comforting and familiar, is abruptly taken away. Your baby misses the motion and has a difficult time getting used to it not being there. "It's disorienting and unnatural," says Karp. Rocking, car rides, and other swinging movements all can help.
• Sucking - "Sucking has its effects deep within the nervous system," notes Karp, "and triggers the calming reflex and releases natural chemicals within the brain." This "S" can be accomplished with breast, bottle, pacifier or even a finger.
GREAT video clip with Dr Karp: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6KnVPUdEgQ

Crying: I feel she is still too young to let her "cry it out". try calming her with the 5 s's

Rolling: In general rolling front-to-back is around 3-4 months and back-to-front around 5-6 months. If she can’t roll front to back yet make sure you are practicing A LOT of tummy time. You can encourage her to roll into side lying first and then all the way over.

Good luck!

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