5 Month Old Not Sleeping Through the Night

Hello!

You should feed her again before YOU go to bed. 8:30 pm to morning time is a long time for a 5 month old to go. If you feed her before you go to bed,then it will stretch the time a bit and she can go posiibly until morning.

Hope this helps.

I do not think it is too young to let her cry it out, but crying it out is NOT for the faint at heart. I have had times with all of my 3 children where I have had to do it. It is good to know that she is getting plenty of food, so she is probably waking up out of habit. Make sure you are not drinking any caffeine as this can really effect a baby's sleep - especially if you are drinking caffeine at night, but I have noticed a change even if I drink a little caffeine. I also try to promote a sleep environment. I always have a white noise machine that I turn any time they are sleeping including naps, so they equate it with sleep and I always put them in their bed and have it very dark in the room they sleep in. Also, you may try having her sleep in a different room than you, so she cannot smell you - especially if you are going to let her cry it out. I also find natural remedies can be calming. Have you ever heard of Gripe Water - it is not misspelled it is GRIPE Water, and it is wonderful natural stuff with camomille in it and helps with any indigestion, teething, sleeplessness, etc. It is a staple of our house up to toddler age. Also, colic drops from usually any drug store (tummy ease, etc.) also have camomille in them. I know you can feel crazy living on a few hours of sleep at night, and even if you can get 4-5 hours in a row, you will feel like a new person. Good luck!!

maybe you should try feeding her a little cereal when she wakes up during the night. That is what I had to do with my daughter. Breastmilk may not be enough to satisfy her hunger. Also, you may try keeping her up a little later, maybe until 9 or 9:30. That may help her sleep longer. Good luck; usually, you just have to find out what works best for you.

Hi A.! I didn't read all the other responses, so forgive me if someone has already suggested this. I've heard a lot about the book "The No-Cry Sleep Solution" Gentle ways to help your baby sleep through the night by Elizabeth Pantley. I just started reading it and I am liking what I'm reading. My problem isn't that he won't sleep through the night, it's getting him to go to sleep without fighting it for an hour or more. But it sounds like this book would be a good read for you. Best of luck!

I think it really depends on the baby and your routine. Thankfully my twins started sleeping through the night around 11 weeks. We used the techniques from The Happiest Baby on the Block. We swaddled them at night/nap time (we just stopped swaddling last week), give them a paci to sleep, and have nature sounds playing in their room while they sleep. They are also formula fed babies, which they say that helps them go longer between feedings. I've also been told that once they hit around 14 lbs., they should start sleeping through the night (that's when it happened for us). I would say make sure you follow a routine to settle her into going to sleep. If you're not against the idea, maybe try some formula at night before bed. Or try a paci or some sort of "security blanket" to help her learn to self-soothe to help her fall back asleep. It seems like you are getting some good advice from others...just try some ideas you feel comfortable with until you find something that works for you and your little one. Good luck, hope something works out soon!

my daughter didn't sleep through the night until she was 11 months and my son (7 months) still doesn't sleep through the night he wakes 1- 5 times... depending on what went on during the day, how much he ate during the day, if he is teething (right now he is)... even my daughter wakes regularly, but around 11 months she quit needing us to solve her night time issuse about 90% of the time... there are still occasions where she still needs us, poop accident, doesn't feel good, etc... I have to admit even I don't sleep through the night most nights... never have and I'm 32. Breastfed babies need to eat more often than bottle babies. I personally think 5 months is too early, but thats my opinion so take it for what it is worth. I just resigned myself to the fact early on with my daughter that I'd be up more than if I gave her a bottle... I never let her cry herself to sleep... it just didn't feel right. Some may say I broke lots of the rules about getting kids to sleep on their own... I just had to believe that if it took me nursing, rocking, wearing her to bed to help her I would do it... she didn't need assistance every night, but most... for a long time, but despite what they say she didn't have trouble teaching herself how to fall asleep when she was ready. We did establish a night time routine early on... we started diming the house lights about 30 mins before bed. We read a book, feed the fish and watch them eat then say good night to them and turn their light off, we say good night to our toys as we put them away, then go to her room say good night to her favorite animals on her shelves, to her monkey lamp and turn on her twilight turtle (it is a night light that stays on for 45 min... we found that most nightlights kept her awake if she woke up later) then we would turn on her FP Ocean wonders Aquarium and we sing alon with it as we put her in bed with her taggie and tell her night night... she would watch the aquarium and fall asleep. It didn't work EVERY time, but it worked more and more over time... now we just ask her if she wants to go to bed and if she is tired (she normally is around 8pm) now she will walk to her room and get in her bed. So When the books say not to nurse to bed that it is a bad habit, I totally disagree... I did that with my daughter for most of the first year along with our routine... over time she out grew it.

With my son I keep him in the arms reach co-sleeper and feed him or snuggle him when he wakes up. It doesn't disrupt my sleep near as much and truth be told I sleep better with him next to me. I do not believe that it prevents them like I said before from learning to settle themselves when they are ready... I know from experience with my daughter... she isn't 2 and most of the time she will settle herself. I believe that by responding to them early in life they have developed a sense of security that the cry it out method doesn't provide and as a result have more self confidence and more trust in us.

My best advise is listen to you heart.

No it is not too early. Just be sure to time it just right. Your a mommy and you can now know what type of crying is important to get up for her. She is at that age now that she knows if she cries you will come to her rescue but then in order to get sleep you will have to grit and bear it. It will be hard it was for me but it paid off in the end.

Can you change your routine so that you feed your baby a little earlier for bed and nurse before you go to bed at night? This might give you a few more hours of sleep. Can you nurse her without her waking completely up so that she will go back to sleep easily? Or change the diaper and then the feeding something that will make it easier on both? The key as others have mentioned is a routine. How is your diet? Are you eating the proper nurishment? If you are eating low fat and skim milk you may need to change to regular milk. Eat lots of veggies and things and take the vitamins. Try these things out and make a journal so you know what you might have to change to get extra sleep. Good luck to you. The other S.

My daughter was four months old when we did the "cry it out" or Ferber Method and it worked wonders. Just like the book said 2-3 days and she was sleeping through the night, now she was not breastfeed, she was bottlefed. Also we did not just let her cry and cry till she fell asleep, we closly followed what the book said. I know some parents do not believe in this method, feel that it is cruel. I am not in that category. What I felt was cruel is that she was not getting the quality of sleep she was needing, therefore she was a cranky baby and quite frankly I was a cranky mama. It was something that I needed to do for both her and I, I needed to be a better mother to her and I wasn't at that time on just a couple of hours of sleep. I do not feel that it has damaged my daughter in anyway and she is two now. I like you was exhausted, my sweet little girl was getting up almost every hour on the hour, mama wasn't sleeping. Something to look into, like I said it isn't for everyone, it worked for us!!

You will get through this, I promise!!

Good Luck!

By 6 months she is big enough to cry it out (unless she was a born premature or has other health problems). If she is sleeping 5 hours then the docs consider that sleeping through the night. I wasn't brave enough to try letting mine cry it out until she was 12 months old. It only took us one night- boy I wish I had tried sooner!5 months is probably old enough. Make sure you have a regular bed time routine and you can get her attached to a toy or blankie to help comfort her while you are gone.

Try a "dream feed" with a bottle of expressed breastmilk at 10:00pm or right before you are ready to go to bed. This is the trick that got my son to sleep through the night. He would go to bed about 8:30pm after a feed and then I would get him up at 10:30pm, take him out of his crib, sit down and feed him all with him barely awake. Do not change diaper unless it is a dirty one or completely soaked through. The "dream feed" bottle should be the same size bottle they normally eat and if you don't know because you nurse, then aim for about 5 oz. When finished, no need to even burp the baby. They are so calm when they eat they do not gulp any air. Put them back in bed and see if your baby can make it to 5am or later. Try to do this all with out talking. If you have to talk keep it short and sweet and of course keep it dark in the room. It worked for us and my son slept through the night since 7 weeks old. You cannot do dream feeds until 6 weeks and you should not continue them forever. I weaned my baby off them slowly and within a month he didn't need them anymore. For more info, check out the book "The Baby Whisperer". Good luck!

I do not think it is mean to let her cry a while. For your sanity, its worth a try. My son would wake up for a while around five months after I decided no more night time feeding. I would let him cry for about 5-10 minutes, depending upon how long I could take it and then I would go put a binky in his mouth and pat him to let him know I was there. I would never take him out of his crib though. I might get mom darts thrown my way, but I read "Baby Wise" and followed the steps in that--which my doctor pretty much agreed with word for word. You might give it a look. I read it from cover to cover and its very controversial for some reason. I never once read in that book where it says to let your baby cry for long periods of time, but anyway, it made total sense to me.

I may be a mean momma myself but it worked for me and I certainly couldnt have made it any longer than I did without sleep, being a working mommy. He is now a great sleeper!

Good luck! Oh, and if you feed her in the night, she will of course expect to be fed. So you might have to wean her off that night time snack. I have read that once a baby is 12 lbs or 3 months, they are physically ready to go all night.

Here is a "schedule" that might help. Its kind of a lot of work but the payoff is priceless:
http://www.babycenter.com/0_baby-sleep-training-cry-it-ou...

Hi A. - my first did not sleep through the night until she was 13 months; my second did at 8 weeks. In my little experience, it really depends on the baby. Some people swear by giving them cereal; others say it never made a difference for them. My only advice is to try and make sure your bedtime ritual is consistent...example: bath, bottle, story, bed...make it the same every night so she knows what to expect. A book that really helped me was "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer" by Tracy Hogg. Even though my first didn't sleep all the way, she had a very structured routine. It was every night at 2 am, she ate a bottle, went right back to bed. I slept-walked through it most nights!! Other moms on here will give you other good advice too. Be sure whatever methods you try, that you try them for a good week at least. Then, switch to something else if it's not working.

I saw on your profile that you were looking to meet some new people. I have organized a mom's group if you're interested. We have moms with all ages - from pregnant to 17! Our link is at http://workingmoms.meetup.com/5/

Good luck - I know how frustrating this can be!!!

Hi - my daughter had her 1st daughter in November so she's just a bit older than yours.....anyway, we give Addyson a pacifier to go to bed with and on occasion she has lost it in the middle of the night - we just go in give it back and pat her back a bit - no talking, no bright lights nothing else, just the pacifier.....but she's been using one since birth, it works really well for breastfed babies, they are comforted by the suckling motion. This worked well for me when my girls were infants (they're in there 20's now) and seems to work well for my grandbaby. Perhaps you should try more activity for her in the early evening and we found keeping the baby up until 9pm is better for some reason. She is still asleep no and it's 7:40 and she'll be up somewhere between now and 8:30 or so. But I think we're also very lucky!