Trying to Get Our 6 Mo Old to Sleep Through the Night

My son has struggled with the same problem. He is now 9 months, and occasionally he will sleep 5-6 hours, but usually it is 4-5 at most. I would also like to hear how people get the babes back to sleep without nursing. The only thing I have found that works, is to send in my husband :)

I wonder, is your baby teething, or starting to crawl? I know that teeth make Charlie sleep shorter than normal hours (2-3 at most when teeth are coming in), and read that before any big developmental change you can expect disruption in the sleep patterns.

Best of luck!
J. (mom to Charlie - 9 months)

I'm sure you will get tons of advice, so here's my two cents worth: when our kids would wake up after normally sleeping we tried to comfort without picking them up, if there is someone else that can go in there for you, let them.... but we would first go in to make sure everything was ok, then leave, then return in a few minutes, then leave but after like 15 mins we would give in and pick them up. Not that effective, but what really worked was to make sure that they weren't too hot or cold (our oldest would wake up too hot, our youngest was always cold....)so you could try either warmer pj's or cooler pjs, but ultimately, you cannot feed them--unless they're having a growth spurt, but then the night waking should end quickly.. sorry, i started to ramble... just do what your gut tells you to do, you know your child best =) (my sister would just pretty much ignore any night wakings altogether if she knew the kids were ok)
good luck, and hope you get some sleep!
H.

Your lucky, I was nursing and my son was waking up all through that to nurse. You always read to get them to eat as much during the day so they get their calories in and not need it during the night. My doctor suggested to give my son a bottle of water when he wakes through the night that way he will eat more during the day. It took three weeks for him to catch on, but IT WORKED!! We have not had a problem with him waking through the night at all. Now at 2 he is a really good sleeper. If you think its just for the time with you thats a different story, I had that happen with my other child when I started working more hours. I know she was just getting up through the night because she hadn't seen me all day (worked retail over Christmas). But that passed pretty fast.

HI! I am not a nurse or doc; however, I nursed my daughter for 9 months. She went through the same thing and it was horrible working full time and being tired. I had to make sure she was fed more while at day care, then I fed her some breast milk with ceral in it. Her activities were increased at day care also. Not sure if this will help, but I just thought I let you know what worked for me. Thanks

Hi M.,

There is an excellent book out there called "Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child" which I read in the first few months my child was born. Initially I didn't need to use any of the advice because our daughter would fall asleep with about 5 minutes of soothing every night. However, by about 6 months (which is where you are at)it would take us close to 45 minutes each night to get her to sleep and we would fear if she woke up in the middle of the night because it would sometimes take her 2-3 hours to get back to sleep. This is when I started to follow the advice of the book....

I would go through our normal bedtime routine including a bottle of breast milk and then put her in her crib for bed. She of course would then cry. I let her cry the first night for 45 minutes. It was excruciating to not go in and comfort her but she eventually fell asleep. The second night we did the same routine..this time 5 minutes of crying. The third night.. no crying! All of our lives improved tremedously! She no longer woke up in the middle of the night and if she did she would quickly put herself back to sleep.

This is just one of the solutions the book suggests but they also offer others and realize that not all children are alike and that you may need to try more than one solution.

If you have any questions, just email me. I don't have the name of the author with me at hand but if you can't find it in the bookstore I can try and pull out my book to find the author.

Good luck! I hope the book works for you as well as it has for me.

Hi M.,

I have a 7 1/2 month old, and he has been sleeping through the night since he was 3 months old. Occasionally, he will wake up in the middle of the night if he's not feeling well or has an exceptional amount of pee in his diaper. :) I think when my son was around 6 months old, he went through a period of 3 weeks of waking up around 1:30am, but he had a cold that lingered on. I never feed him when he wakes up in the middle of the night because I don't want to get into that habit (and I heard that after 4 months, they don't need to eat in the middle of the night, anyway). I just change his diaper if it feels really wet, or snuggle for a little while to calm him down (only he's not feeling well, of course). And sometimes my guy will wake up crying and go right back to sleep. So maybe wait a few minutes before you go check on him... but I personally don't let him cry if he persists, because he doesn't cry unless something is wrong.

Other things to consider, is he eating solid foods, and if so, what time does he eat "dinner?" Whether you're nursing or not might make a difference, as well. If he's teething, maybe some tylenol will help.

So hang in there, maybe he just has a cold, or is teething. I wouldn't worry if it's only been a couple of days.

Good luck,
E.
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This is not necessarily a permanent new trend. It could be that your son is about to have a growth spurt, so he's extra hungry right now. This might just last a few days, and then he'll sleep a lot for a few days while he's growing.

Has his daytime behavior or schedule changed at all in the past few days? Is he sleeping too much during the day and is just not as tired at night?

Also - could he be teething? There's so much going on with babies that it's hard to know just why they wake up.

If you really think he doesn't need to eat again, then try to go in and not pick him up when he cries. Rub his back or tummy and maybe hum or sing softly.

Remember, things change constantly at this age. Just when you think you're settled into a pattern, good or bad, something will change. Usually every couple of weeks something new will come up. Even if you don't feel like anything is working to help with this issue right now, it too will pass. : )

Hope that helps at least a little!

At 6 months if they have been sleeping through the night and then not, it's time for cereal. Talk to your doctor first, but I think you will get the same advise.

Hi M.,

I am sorry that I don't have any advice for you> however, I am having the same problem as you. My daughter (who I breastfeed during evening and morning hours> at daycare she's supplemented with a bottle) used to sleep through the night is now waking every 2-4 hours again for feedings. I am not sure if I am producing enough breastmilk for those night feedings?? May try a bottle before bed if this continues...but would appreciate any advice you receive too if you wouldn't mind forwarding it my way. Thanks so much.
Ramona in Minneapolis

M.,
I fell your pain! My daughter slept through the night at four months and back slid around six as well. First of all, Check to see if she's teething. She may be waking out of pain rather than hunger. Tylenol before bed can help her get through eight hours. If that's not the case, you just have to be strong about not picking her up. I know I struggled with it so badly. I would go in, settle my daughter in with her blanket, etc, and then walk out. I would let her cry for three minutes before I went back in, working my way up to 10 minutes before I went back. Or, you can stay in the room, but don't make eye contact. My daughter cried for 45 minutes the first night, ten the second night, and never got up in the night again. I know it's hard, and obviously don't trying crying it out if you're not comfortable with the ideas but it really does work. My pediatriciation told me that by 6 months, night waking can be habitual, more about cuddling than food. Let me know if you have any questions or I can help in any way.
S.

Hi M.. The same thing happened with my daughter, but a bit earlier -- around 5+ mos. I tried for about 1 month to get her to go to sleep on her own. I must admit I was at the end of my rope; I had gone back to work full-time. I swore I would never do this, but I did the "cry-it-out" method, and it was like a miracle.

Pick up the book by Dr. Ferber and read it with an open mind. When I read it, he was describing my daughter to a T. It was rough the first night, but after that really not hard to do. After I did that, I have heard the same from many mothers - it's really the only thing that works to get babies to sleep on their own -- unless you want to do it when they're 5 yrs. old.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do. It's really a tough time, and you may not want to hear this now, but enjoy those precious moments in the middle of the night with your babe!

This is just one of the many phases this child will go through. At 6 months, I say snuggle with him. When he is older he will learn until then a child needs to know (to be secure later) that you are there. I allowed my mother-in-law to tell me different, finally my third child I did it that way and she is very secure.

We had simmilar problems with our son (now 22 months) and I found a lot of great ideas in the book "The No Cry Sleep Solution - for infants" by Elizabeth Pantley. The author nursed her children, and she has a lot of options for ways to encourage your child to sleep through the night. Good Luck!

Hi M.. My girls are now 4 and 7, but I remember going through the ups and downs of nighttime feedings. When my girls' had bouts of nightime wakenings that I thought were'nt related to hunger, I would not go to them right away, I would wait a few minutes to see if they stopped on their own. If not, I'd go in, rub their back and reassure them, then leave again for five minutes. Usually, they would soon stop crying and fall back to sleep. However, your baby is only six months old and could be going through a growth spurt and maybe does need to eat more frequently. Just some things to think about, but I would also consult your pediatrician.

I had a daughter who did the same thing at about 6 months. I have read that they go through a growth spurt around 6 months so he/she may go back to sleeping more after this spurt. I tried rice cereal right before she went to bed to add some more bulk toher last meal. I also tried to let her cry it out a little so she would learn to comfort herself. It is very hard...especially if it is your first, but you may be surprised by how fast your baby may go back to sleep. If it continues some have told me to let them cry for 5 minutes, then come in so they see you and pat their bakc and reassure, but do not pick them up and then come back again after 5 minutes, ect. You can increase the time each night and they supposedly will learn to comfort themselves. I was lucky and after a several nights she would go back to sleeping longer. I am not sure if that helped, but I wouold say if your baby stays with the 3-4 hour after a week to try letting him/her try to self soothe. Let me know if you have any luck!

Hi M.,
I have a 2 year old and I nursed until he was 18 mo. Your child could be going through a growth spurt and need the extra nutrients. I would go with the feeding and probably it will only last about a week and he will go back to sleeping more. I could never just let my baby cry, I fed him on demand.

My son did this every few months, and the doctor told me it was normal and to feed him more.