I have an amazing almost 5 month old baby girl. Latley her sleep pattern has changed though. She used to sleep from about 9:00, 9:30 pm till about 4:00 or 5:00 am. She would eat for about 10 minutes and sleep for maybe 2 or 3 more hours. Now she is going down around the same time but she wakes up around 12:30, then at 2:00 then at 3 or 4 and so on and so on. The other night she woke up almost every hour. She is teething, I think, but she doesn't seem super fussy when she is waking, she is just really fidgety and moving all over the place. I also think she is eating to much because my first reaction is to nurse her back to sleep. The last few nights I used a pacifier when she wpke up the first time but that only worked for about two hours. Does any one have anything simalar happening or any advice. I'll take anythiong right now, I NEED SLEEP!
they change patterns all the time and once you think you know it, they change. Is she crying each time or just fussy? if just fussy leave her alone. If you think teething try little tylenol when she wakes up and see if she then sleeps through the night.
Hi N.!
Boy, these little ones sure keep us on our toes! Just when we think we've got them figured out..........
Well, it sounds like a growth spurt. Especially with all the extra feedings. It should take care of itself within a week or so. But if it is going on for more that a week it may be something else.
I will tell you that around 5 months my little girls' naps and night sleep all of sudden became non-existent. I got the Sleepeasy Solution by Jennifer Waldburger and decided to sleep train her. The book was super-easy to follow and if you stick with it the program really works. The book deals with every imaginable sleep issue from 4 months -5 years old so I know I'm covered if something changes!
I had to adjust my daughter's bedtime earlier and was very consistent with a nap and night time routine and within a week she was sleeping 6:30 pm to 6:30 am. She is still an awesome sleeper and she's almost 10 months now! The book is amazing.
I hope this helps you out. It's no fun when they don't get the sleep they need!
Good Luck.
R.
Hi N.,
Congratulations on your little baby girl! I'm sorry that you are having a difficult time getting her to sleep lately, but I can assure that you it is most likely just a phase. She is probably teething and she may also be going through another growth spurt, so nursing her when she wakes is a good thing and she may need that extra nourishment. She is also at the age where many babies start to become much more aware of their environments. So many babies who have been sleeping well will start waking at night. They always used to wake slightly, but previously would just go back to sleep. Now that they are getting older and more aware, when they wake up at night they "realize" that they are alone and they want to make sure you are still there. The best thing you can do is to comfort your baby and let her know you are there to meet her needs. In a few weeks or so, she should be on her way back to good sleeping habits again.
J.
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You could be right about the teething. She could also be stretching (which requires more food) and can be painful. She could have gas from her feeds. And/or, she could just be changing her sleeping patterns.
My daughter went through a period where she was awake from 10 pm to 4 am!
I think if she was eating too much, her tummy would spit up more food than normal when your burp her.
It is jarring to our sanity when their patterns change for the inconvenient, but I'd give her a little bit more time to find the right pattern again rather than attempt to force anything and end up making her feel insecure.
te.
Sleep patterns change all the time. My 3 year old still changes....currently she wakes up about 2am every morning and falls asleep on the floor outside our door. The door is open I dont know why she does that, but anyways. She will change all the time. Do you feed her ceral at all? When she was 6 months she went to bed good then was up by 12 for the rest of the night. At 1 she wouldnt go to bed at all. My oldest daughter was up all the time eating, every 2 hours all day and night, the dr told me to give her a small amount of ceral before bed and it helped her sleep all night by 5 weeks. He said some babies just need to eat more than others. So your first reaction might be right but maybe the milk just isnt sustaining her anymore. Hang in there it will get better.
GROWTH SPURT!!! Feed her as much as she'll eat, there's no "too much" with itty bitty ones. My 10 month old has always been a wonderful sleeper: 4 hour stretches as a new born, 6 hour stretches at 1 mo. and sleeping through the night by 2 months. Every now and then she would (and still does) go a night or several waking up numerous times. If her pacifier doesn't hold her off very long I give her a bottle and she drinks it up only to wake up a couple short hours later wanting more. It sounds like what you are going through is totally normal, especially for teething babies (my daughter also adopts a crazy sleep pattern when teething).
The key to babies sleeping through the night (I learned this too late with my first who didn't sleep through the night without nursing until she was ONE!!!! But my 8 months old has been sleeping solidly thru since 3 months with this advice:) Overstuff her in the day time! Never go too long between feedings, offer her food even when she doesn't "act" hungry, make sure she eats a lot all day long, NOT only right before bed. A cereal thickened bottle at night may definitely help, but she needs to eat more all day long. Babies will never overeat, but they may eat too little without showing signs which makes them wake up hungry at night. Try this! My step sister got all 12 of hr kdis to sleep thru the night early this way! It takes a few days for it to kick in and her body to realize it's full, but it really helps. The teething may complicate things a bit, but it will still be an improvement.
She may be having a growth spurt....are you feeding her plenty of rice cereal during the day?
With her teething I would check with the pediatrician and see if you can give her some infant tylenol. My son began cutting teeth at 6 months and the doctor told me how much to give for his weight. She may not be the fussy kind of baby, but still in enough pain to wake her up. This might help her get back to sleep. Also maybe wait a little longer before you go in and check her, she is at the age where they can learn to soothe themselves back to sleep, especially if she has a pacifier in her crib. Good luck, mine is getting ready to walk so he wakes up and pulls himself up in his crib and screams so I know what a return to no sleep after being used to sleeping through the night is like.
I would suggest giving her cereal before reverting to medication for teething, like tylenol. She may in fact be teething, but she also may be just going through a growth spurt. Better to take your chances first with the cereal since it is nutritious and valuable to her health rather than medicine that should be used more as a last resort.
When both of my boys did this at this exact age...our ped told me that it was separation anxiety. The baby enters a new developmental phase where they miss you when you are not with them but they need to learn self-soothing. We let them cry it out and it worked perfectly...therefore we knew it wasn't teeth, hunger, growth, etc. Crying it out isn't popular with some Mom's but it sure beats the heck out of the horrible effects of lack of sleep. When you are not healthy due to lack of sleep, you aren't the best Mom that you can be.
Hi N.,
Sorry you're getting so little sleep right now. It happens. Could it be that she is growing through a growth spurt and really is waking up from hunger? If it is, it may pass soon. Does she nurse/take a bottle before bed? If you're pumping or supplementing at all, maybe you could try upping the amount of her last feeding and see if it helps. If nursing her back to sleep works for both of you, then I'd say just do it. With my first baby I was very concerned about keeping her on a schedule. By the third, I realized they have their own schedule and sometimes it's easier to just adapt to it! Best of luck!
Hey N.,
I have a 5 month old girl and I am experiencing the same thing. I thought we were on a good track with sleeping through the night, but she is very restless (kicks her legs up alot during the night). I am waking up every few hours to go put her bink in her mouth, she'll fall back to sleep & a few hours later she is back up kicking those legs. I was told to bulk her up on formula during the day & she would sleep, but this doesn't really work. She has also been very stuffy and has had difficulty breathing so I use the vaporizer & prop up the mattress a bit. She seems to be the most comfortable either in her swing or sleeping in her boppy pillow where she can't flail around. I am sorry to say I do not have a remedy for you but wanted to know you are not alone in your plight for sleep. I am hoping this is a phase just like any other.
I know that's really hard! I'm still going through it (and not to bum you out, by DS is 13 mos old!).
I think it really sounds normal. Teething can be really hard & most babies are bothered by it a LOT more at night than during the day.--If you've ever had a toothache that kept you up at night, then you know what I'm talking about. You're just too distracted to notice it that much during the day, but at night, it feels painful & throbbing.
Hyland's Teething Tablets can work wonders & so can co-sleeping during these times.
Just remember that, although it is really hard, that it IS a phase & that it will NOT last forever! As you already know, her "baby" time will be over before you know it!
Hang in there!!!!!!!!!
