5 Month Old & Sleeping - Poplar,WI

Updated on March 30, 2012
E.B. asks from Poplar, WI
6 answers

I was blessed with my first son sleepign through the night alsmost from day one (except once a night to nurse). I thought I was going to be lucky with the second one as well. He slpet very well & was on the path to wakign only once a night to nurse until about a month ago. Now he wakes every two hours at least, sometimes more. Needless to say I have not had more than 2 hours sleep in a row for quite some time and I cannot handle it any more. We have tried having daddy try & get him back to sleep but the only thing that really works is nursing him.

He seems to startle himself awake or sometimes he just starts to cry in his sleep and we have to get him to open his eyes to make him stop. Music, white noies, night lights, complete dark, nothing seems to help except mommy.

Any ideas on how to get him back to a better sleeping pattern?? I would even be happier with him waking every 3 hours, anythign but every 1-2 or even less.

Preface,
Coosleeping is not an option. 1) I am not comfortable with it I cannot get a good sleep with baby next to me 2) Husband moves to much so baby would not be safe/comfortable 3) Baby does not like it. We have tried but the only way he will sleep with us is in a recliner which hapens often enough as it is.

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More Answers

S.L.

answers from Kansas City on

I would put him in his own room if he's not there already. He will not hear the movements from you or your husband and should do much better. My kids slept on their stomach and that helped so much with them feeling secure but I know most won't do that nowadays so I would let him try to go back to sleep on his own once he wakes and let him cry a little to see if he'll go back to sleep on his own. Sometimes they do wake themselves but he needs to learn to go back to sleep on his own.

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K.C.

answers from Texarkana on

since ur son is already 5 mths swaddling may not work for you if he's rolling over but if not that may help. With my first son he woke every hr it seemed like and it was driving me crazy what i ended up doing was bringing the pack and play in out room and put it next to my bed and i took a blanket ( i hope i can explain this lol ) folded it twice to where it was real long and rolled each side towards each other and laid it down it the P&P to where the rolls were facing down it made a bumper almost on both sides and i put my son in it and he started sleeping so much more, i think it felt like he was being held bc it created bumpers on both sides of him. I currently have a 10 wk old and i use this method w him too and it works like a charm. of course im very safe and i only put his body laying on the rolled blanket from his shoulders down and prop his head alil. Having him in the same room the first few weeks trying this eased my mind about him not getting his face in the blanket. If this doesnt make since ill send u a pic lol just pm me.

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D.C.

answers from Pittsburgh on

It sounds like there might be something going on here, if he used to be a good sleeper and suddenly stopped. If he is teething, maybe try some motrin before bed to make him more comfortable for sleep. If he is going through a growth spurt and is very hungry, maybe increase the number of nursing sessions during the day so that he isn't so hungry at night.

Also, please ask your husband to take both kids for a few hours this Saturday afternoon so that you can get some sleep. Some developmental issues you just have to wait out, and you can do that better if you have the chance to get a good nap every now and then.

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B.G.

answers from Champaign on

My first born was like that. Honestly, what worked for me was bringing him into bed with me. He almost always began the night in his crib. I brought him into our bed for the first feeding. I would put him in the bed between us, lie down, latch him on and go back to sleep. When I woke up I would do a quick check to make sure there weren't any blankets near him and go back to sleep. The next time he woke up, I would just latch him on and go back to sleep. I slept so much better after that!!!

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K.B.

answers from St. Louis on

My son used to cry in his sleep and it sounds mean, but I wouldn't actually wake him if he was still obviousl asleep to get him to stop. Most of the time, he would just stop crying after a minute or so (though it felt like forever) and resettle. Sometimes I would maybe brush his hair or pat his back if he started to cry to help but I wouldn't pick him up unless he woke himself up. Also, maybe try feeding him more then normal during the day? I know that my son always went through his growth spurts about 2 weeks earlier then the standard milestone, which 6 months is one.

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C.O.

answers from Minneapolis on

I was uncomfortable with co-sleeping so I had my husband build a bed frame for a crib mattress that was level with our bed. I had it on my side of the bed between the bed and the wall. I made it "pretty" and had the baby sleep there. She was next to me for nursing but never in my bed. I never had to even stand up to nurse her at night so I fell right back to sleep.
My girls are like their daddy...they just don't like to sleep...so I learned to accept the awakenings at night and made sure I caught a nap as much as possible during the day to save my sanity.

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