This Baby Doesnt Sleep...

We went through the same thing. Our ds had an iron deficiency which in babies can cause wakefulness. Talk to your ped and see if you can get his iron levels checked...especially since he's nursed. We just had to do iron supplements for a bit until levels increased and then had to learn some new sleeping habits. His ears aren't bothering him are they? That was another issue he was having and there weren't any other signs (such as fever). Hang in there! I know from experience how exhausting this can be.

At 5 months old, he is still too young for CIO anyway. Like S.H. said, make sure he is taking in enough milk with each feeding, then you might want to consider a pacifier. Babies find it very comforting to suck, whether they are hungry or not, and for us and our baby daughter, the pacifier was a Godsend.

I didn't have this happen with either of my babies. I don't know if it will help you or not. But you asked for ideas... so here is what we did:

First, I LOOSELY followed the order recommended in On Becoming Babywise. This order is eat, awake time, sleep, eat, awake time, sleep. So, when they nurse, you keep them awake at the end. First, it ensures that they don't snack and doze. They are awake enough to take a full feeding. And then you keep them awake for a bit. At 5 months, he should easily be awake for over 30 minutes after a feeding. Then, when he begins to be a bit cranky, you let him nap. Pacifiers are great for this, because they need to suck, but aren't hungry. They will nap for a good nap. Anywhere from 90 minutes to 120 minutes usually. Then repeat. The only time you do NOT keep them awake following a feeding is during the night. You nurse them, and while still awake but very drowsy, you put them to bed.

Following this ORDER of activities, my breastfed son was sleeping very well (7 hours or more at night) right about 12 weeks. I began introducing solids to him (breast milk and cereal) beginning at 4 months (that used to be the recommendation). He's always been a champ sleeper.

My daughter, we ended up stopping the breastfeeding very early.. .maybe at a month. But I did everything else the same with her. She was sleeping 7 hours or more at a stretch at 6 weeks. She is also a champion sleeper.

My son gave up his pacifier (on his own) at about 6 months old. My daughter was very attached to hers. But, she is mature for her age (always seems to have been this way) and traded all of them for toys on her 2nd birthday. Daughter turns 11 next week. Son will be 14 in 3 weeks.

They NEVER slept in our bedroom. Not in our bed (well, once or twice, but it wasn't on purpose and we didn't like it), not in a side sleeper, not in a pack and play. They always slept in their own room in their own crib/bed.

I would suggest you introduce a pacifier if you haven't, and make sure he is getting a full feeding each time he nurses. Don't let him fall asleep after 5 minutes.

Sometimes it's not so much the time, but the depth. In any case, if you aren't getting enough sleep because of it, you could try something that pet owners do sometimes and that is to put some article of clothing in with the baby so that your scent is 'detected'. If he sleeps when you're around, it's a very good chance it's a matter of 'mommy aroma'.
You can't take the chance that comes with sleeping with him;. That's too risky.

My oldest was like this. I learned how to nurse in the "side-lying" position and found that to be a lifesaver!!! I would pick him up from his crib, lay him down next to me, latch him on and go right back to sleep. When I woke up again, I would do a quick check to make sure there were no blankets or anything near him and then go back to sleep again. If he woke up to nurse again, I would just latch him on and go back to sleep.

Best thing I ever did!

I kept all 3 of my babies close to my bed in a bassinet to make breastfeeding easier. With my 3rd however, by 4.5 months she had a hard time sleeping in our room because she is a light sleeper. I swear she could smell me and it made her want me to pick her up. At this point, you might get more sleep if you move him to his own room. I didn't enjoy walking the hallway to feed her at night, but I did get more sleep as a result so it was worth it.

I also found my 3rd hates her pack n play. When we visit my family out of town she cries in the pack n play, but when she is home in her crib she's great. I know a 5 month old is so light, but I swear those pack n play mattresses are awful. Maybe you can set up a crib in your room?

Other suggestions: maybe you need to swaddle? I'd also try comforting but not picking up. Go to the baby and rub his cheek or something but don't pick him up. This will help him learn you are there but it's not midnight snack time. It's hard but if you can't let him fuss for a bit, it's another option that might help. I did this with baby #1 and it took a couple of weeks for it to work and it was hard to stand there waiting for him to drift off but it was ultimately successful.

I don't like the CIO method either, but you'd be surprised that some babies may only cry for 10 minutes or less. It seems a lot longer. Time it and give yourself at least that much time before you get up. The baby may not necessarily be in distress... he may just need to learn to self-soothe. In a couple of nights this sleep disruption could be a distant memory. Every two hours is a lot for a 5 month old... you should be able to get a 6 hours stretch in there somewhere! good luck!

I totally know where you're coming from. At about 4 months I was sick of getting up. Even with him in my room I still had to get up when he wanted to eat and just the act of getting up for a half hour 3-5 times a night was so tiring. We have one of those cribs where the side comes off so you can make it into a toddler bed. What I did was I put the crib right up next to the bed at the highest setting (it's about 1-2 inches below my mattress) and used some clamps and clamped the legs to the side of my bed so it can't slide away, scooted the mattress up tight to mine and shoved some older/harder bed pillows folded in half tight between the other side of the mattress and the crib side so everything is nice and tight and no chance of getting caught in any cracks or crevices. When he wakes up I just scoot him over and/or scoot myself over and nurse him back to sleep. Takes less time and neither of us has to actually "get up" and be fully awake, but it makes it so that he has his sleeping space and I have mine. :)

It should also help when he starts eating solid foods. I find my son still, at 15 months, sleeps much better if I give him some applesauce with some oatmeal baby cereal mixed in it right before bed. The time between dinner and breakfast is just too much time for a little kid sometimes. 5 months is a hard stage because you're not quite ready for solid foods but his little stomach is getting bigger and more ready for something with more substance than just liquids.

Hang in there mama. Not one mom out there will ever say that kids are easy. :)

I agree with others who say he may not be eating enough at feedings. He may also be a lighter sleeper and/or be sensitive to something in your milk causing him to wake up with maybe a gas pain, nursing and then falling back.

Have you tried a paci? Neither of my kids took them. my daughter never had anything as an infant. She'd just spit them out. My son found his thumb for 6 years.

Good luck. I am very familiar with sleep deprivation. It messes up your whole body. I hope you get rest soon~

Can you move a crib into your room instead of the pack and play? Those things are not very comfortable, and it's possible he's restless due to that.
My other suggestion would be to give him a pacifier. Some babies just need more sucking to settle down. My son was that way. You can always take it away later. Hope this helps.

My third child Cesar would wake up every 2-3 hours to get breastfed. Then one night around 4 months he woke up crying and fussy and would eat but seemed to just be uncomfortable. So what I did was massage his tummy as I talked to him and then gently grabbed him by his ankles and pushed them up towards his head. He would pass so much air. It was hilarious and I would laugh and he would smile. Just thinking about those moments puts a smile on my face. He's going to be 2 real soon and time flew by. But back to the point, maybe your little one is a little gassy and has a little tummy ache. My little Cesar would always just eat and go right back to sleep. Good luck honey and I hope you start getting more sleep.

It may be time to move him to his room. At 5 months he's old enough to be aware that Mom is sleeping right next to him, so it could be that when he wakes up he immediately wants you rather than learning to self-comfort and put himself back to sleep on his own. He shouldn't be nursing more than once at night (if even that) so while it's not as convenient to have to get out of bed it shouldn't be too bad.

Have you started solids yet. I know alot of people like to wait till 6mths, but he might sleep better when he has something more in his tummy, since breast milk doesn't stay in a babies tummy long. It might be a little late for this because babies start builing sleep associations by two months, but we have our daughter sleep with a Cloud B Sleep Sheep. It hangs on the crib and makes sounds like rain or ocean. We have turned it on every night when she sleeps and now she associates it with sleep.

1) Make sure you are producing enough milk.
2) Make sure he is latching on correctly.
If "no" to both of these, then he is not getting enough intake, and thus is seemingly "snacking."

Has he always nursed this way? Short and only a few minutes even as an infant????
It takes about 15 minutes, for an infant/baby to get to the "hind milk."

As as baby grows older, their nursing may shorten in duration because by then they are more efficient at suckling.

I would really make sure, you are producing enough milk and that he is latching on correctly.
The entire aereola should be in his mouth. He should not just be sucking at the tip of the nipple. Otherwise, a baby will not be getting enough intake per session. This happened to my friend's baby. And her baby woke a lot too... because it was always hungry. Not suckling properly and her milk supply was not adequate.

You can get him to sleep without CIO. My son was a highly demanding baby. He only slept a few hours at a time until I moved him out of my room at 4 months. He could sense I was there and I moved him out yet was still responsive to him and his needs. What I did was get him to take a "lovie" shortly before moving him and also got him a Ocean Wonders Aquarium that he could turn on and off himself. I would nurse him (you might want to start solids now, they will stay in his belly longer, especially before bed) and then nurse him in his own room with the music from the "aquarium" on so he could associate the music with bedtime. Then I would lay him down totally asleep (which didn't take any time at all) and then put my hand on his chest so he wouldn't wake during the transition. Yes, he would wake at night, of course. But I would let him fuss and see if he would settle himself down. If the crying lasted more than a minute or 2 or escalalted, I would go in and nurse him and put him back in the crib. After a week or two, I would only have to go in there once, maybe twice a night. As long as he senses you are sleeping next to him, he will not sleep through the night.

I would say feed him rice cereal before bed. Give it a week see if it helps. He's hungry but u also have fussy. So he could be having a bad dream or just feels unsafe that's why he attaches n wants to sleep with you. To be honest when I breast feed I loved sleeping Sid by side with my little ones. But they where much younger. Try also putting a shirt or something with your smells on it with him to sleep. Sometimes that helps with a full tummy. One other thing he might be breaking teeth or at least lowering down to break through. Non of my kids except this last one was real crabby about it just the ones coming down to. Break through! So maybe try oreal gel or Tylenol. Good luck!

My MIL who was directed to feed only every four hours, was having me feed as often as every hour or two. She meant well, but it was exhausting for me, and exhausting for the baby. Not every cry is a cry of hunger. Also, if they are eating that often, they aren't really eating well, getting sated, or having a chance to digest.

Our little guy was always eating, not sleeping, and crying all the time. We used Ferber, we felt we had nothing to loose. Ferber worked for us.

If you are opposed to doing CIO, consider playing pass the baby instead. Have anyone other than you take turns holding the baby for 10-15 minutes as you try to stretch the intervals between the meals. He might then be hungry enough to get a good feed, and a good sleep.

Good luck to you and yours,
F. B.