i have a 6 mth old girl that still thinks she needs to eat around the clock! My son started sleeping 9-5 at 6 wks old and only really woke up during growth spurts to eat and then went back to sleep. This little chicky likes to wake up about 12-1am after going to bed at 9, then gets up again by like 4-5am or wants to play in between.i've tried letting her cry it out, (doesn't really seem to work) i've tried keeping her from sleeping during the day with cat naps, doesn't work, tried a bed time routine, doesn't work... i'm out of ideas! help if anyone else has some suggestions! she'll play in her bed for about up to 30 minutes just talking and wiggling around in there, but eventually it ends and she's no longer happy and wants out!
thx moms, i feel better knowing its common for this age... the girl weighs in at 18lbs so know that i'm starving her at all!!! hahaha i let her kind of do whatever she wants to do b/c she's not a scheduled baby like my first one so i was just curious!!! it just seems like when she cat naps more during the day she's up at night and when she takes good naps during the day and nightish she's still up so i was out of ideas! thanks so much! i'll just keep up with what i've got going on knowing it will soon be good sleeps for me! haha
My daughter did the same thing until 11 months. It was driving me crazy. I finally started feeding her mashed potatoes before bed and she slept through the night - her tummy was not waking her up. It worked great!
Good luck;
M.
www.justamom.morethanonemoment.com
Our 6 month old wakes up between 3 and 5 times every night. She takes 2 or 3 naps a day (I wouldn't suggest playing around with her nap time.. better to let her get the rest she needs during the day) and is pretty much out for the night by 7/7:30. Between her bedtime and when she wakes for the day at 6:30, it's a nightmare! At this point, my husband and I have decided to simply wait it out. We've decided against any hard core sleep training (that's not to say that there aren't times we let her cry or fuss, or we soothe her without putting her to the breast, etc), and we're just waiting it out. Like your little one, ours also can play for up to 30 minutes in her crib, babbling, looking at her toes, etc, but eventually it turns in to fussing and crying, then outright screaming. I always thought by 6 months our baby would sleep through the night. She's breastfed and on solids but she doesn't take a bottle or pacifier...still, I thought the solids would fill up her belly and help her sleep longer. Now I know that it's a myth that solids help babies sleep longer (at least not our baby!).
You're fortunate that your first was such a great sleeper, so I can imagine it's difficult with your little girl. Hang in there and know you're not alone. I'm sorry I don't have any better answers---I think some babies just take longer than others.
Some babies are just like that. My 2 year old started sleeping through the night at 20 months and she's still not consistent. As an infant, she was up every 1 1/2 to 2 hours. She took cat naps. I tried many different things and she still did her own thing. My 2 month old is a sleeper and he came here that way. He sleeps thru the night while my 2 year old still wakes up.
I don't have any suggestions but I am in the same situation. My daughter is 1 years old and she never really slept the whole night. If I put her to bed at 9 or 9:30. She will wake up around 2 to 3. I will give her a bottle and she goes right back to sleep. I have tried warming up the milk, putting cereal in her milk to make her full and that didn't work. I need help as well on how to make her sleep and let mommy sleep as well.
I would say move the bedtime back to about 7-7:30 PM. I know it seems like keeping her from sleeping or having a later bedtime will help her feel tired and more likely to sleep at night, but this has the opposite effect. Babies that are overtired will have trouble staying asleep at night, and will wake up more often. Also, don't cut out naps, as this just adds to the problem. I think when my son was this age, we started the bedtime routine at 7:00 with him being in his crib at 7:30 or so. He would sleep solidly 11-12 hours. Now, he is 3 and his bedtime is 8:30 PM, so I definitely think that at 6 mos, 9 PM is too late. Hope you get some relief soon!
Most 6 month old babies needs to wake and eat TWICE between a 7pm bedtime (with a bedtime feeding) and 7am wake time. Please do not withold food from your baby. I agree that you should move bedtime earlier to 7pm. And feed her 2 times between putting her to bed and getting her up in the morning.
As for the periods in which she plays and doesn't go back to sleep, I would let her cry it out. Some Moms don't have the stomach for this approach, but it worked like a charm with both of my healthy, happy children. This approach resulted in my 2 children sleeping 12 hours through the night with NO waking by the time they were 10-11 months old. (9 months is when most babies no longer need any night feedings.)
No matter what you do, best of luck!
This is a familiar story. my 2nd child (now 15) ate around the clock and i'm talking every 2-3 hours at night 6-8 oz. Like he was starved! It drove me nutz as I was exhausted from getting up for so long. Finally at 8 months, my inlaws came to watch the kidz while my hubby and I went on a cruise. She never "heard" him in the middle of the night. Well that's all it took!
Hang in there!!
Go on vacation! ((smiles))
unfortunately, some kids are just like that! my daughter didnt sleep the night through until she was 9 months old and my son didnt until he was 13 months! even now, he is 16 months old and he only sleeps the night through 2-3 nights a week! you may just have to wait it out, as hard as that is!
This sort of waking is VERY normal at 6 months. 6 months is full of developmental milestones and growth spurts, so please do feed her. Her stomach is the size of her fist and just doesn't hold much. I would suggest moving her bedtime earlier as other have suggested. Also, let her nap during the day. This is very important at this age. A well rested child generally sleeps better than an over tired child -- which may be what's happening here. Good luck!
At 5 1/2 months my son wakes 1-2 times a night.He also is eating solids and bottle my understanding is that it is quite typical at this age for waking in the night ....and if they dont consider yourself lucky.Best of luck will keep watching myself to see if there are any good tricks to try.
Since my daughter was one month old, she has slept at least 8 hours at night. Since she was 2 1/2 months old, she has slept 11-14 hours, if I let her sleep that long. Routines and schedules are essential! I owe it all to this book...
http://www.amazon.com/Sleep-Ladys-Good-Night-Tight/dp/159...
Hope it helps!
