My 5 and a half months old baby boy has had a routine since 4 weeks old. He sleeps three naps a day, morning 9am, after lunch 12, and a power nap around 5. He goes to bed a 7.30 in a dark room, has a bottle and sleeps (he likes his thumb and does not take a paci).
He breastfeeds four times during the day and eats solids.
He is however still waking up during the night every three hours; but I had left him soothing himself during the last week and he now sleeps from 8:00pm to 1:00 then I nurse him. But he is waking up at 3:00 am since he turned 3 months old and he is not hungry, I try rocking, singing. He rolls over, and keeps doing it for 30 minutes then he gets angry so I take him and calm him, then bed but he cant sleep, he starts crying and he does it for an hour until he sleeps again. I was taking him to my bed and there could he sleep until 5am. So his father could also sleep and we avoided the crying.
Its been 2 months since I have been taking him to my bed so I decided to stop this because I cant sleep with him next to me and if he sleeps in his bed he sleeps until 7am (after the crying).
I dont know what to do so he can sleep without waking up at 3am, it seems he is used to it, and he likes to be moved to our bed and feels me close but I know he even does not sleep well in our bed because he moves a lot.
I had let him cried for an hour until he sleeps in his bed, but its been like that for a week and it does not seem to change. I need to rest! What can I do??'Help!
Drop that power nap at 5. He'll be cranky for a couple of days but doesn't need that 3rd nap anymore. Just play with him at 5 and don't let him sleep.
Before you know it he'll be one and will go to one nap only.
You are giving him a power nap at 5:00 and then putting him to bed at 7:30. He's not a newborn anymore. You are expecting a lot more sleep out of him than a 5 month old is supposed to be getting. Time to drop the power nap and put him to bed later. Push back his bedtime by 15 minutes over a two week period so that he is finally going to bed at 8:30. Again, NO 5:00 power nap.
Stop putting him in your bed. He doesn't need all the sleep - that's why he's moving around. He's wanting to start his day. You can't let him start his day because it's in the middle of the night for you. He just needs to be put to bed later so that he'll sleep later. Once you've gotten him to go down at 8:30, don't nurse him until 3:00 am. There's a much greater chance that he'll sleep until 6 or 7 this way.
When he starts eating cereal, give him cereal before he nurses at 8:30. That will hold him longer and help him sleep better.
He is growing up so his needs are changing. I see a couple of things. First, if he is eating solids and breastfeeding then he should be sleeping through the night. Look at how you are feeding him and when you are feeding him. He is conditioned now to wake up at that time.
In addition, he is getting too much sleep during the day. The power nap needs to be eliminated OR his bed time needs to be pushed back. He is waking at that time because he is ready to start the day.
I would not bring him to the bed at night. Go in sooth him then leave. BUT do not wait an hour. That is too long.
I agree. Nix the late afternoon nap and opt for an earlier bedtime. Say 6:30 or 7. Hope this helps.
Drop the 5:00pm nap and for our child, the minute we quit breast feeding, she started sleeping through the night. This meant last bottle at 11:00. she slept till 6:00.
He's a baby, it's what they do. You just have to get up and take care of him. He may wake up several times per night until he's 2 even. Some kids just wake up like that.
If I got up at 3am and someone rocked me, sang to me, fed me, and then let me sleep next to them, I think I would cry until I got that again. When he cries, be sure to go in after 5 min, then 10 min, then 15 min, etc. to reassure him that you have not left him. Do not pick him up, sing to him, etc. Just repeat the same boring thing over and over, "Go back to sleep. Mommy loves you." Then walk out. He will learn to soothe himself.
And yes, cut out the last nap. Play with him, talk to him, etc. even if he looks sleepy.
He's probably hungry & going through a growth spurt.
Breast or tottle feed him at that time.
Make sure he doesn't have gas pains (Mylicon drops can help w/that).
Go to him, pick him up, soothe & feed him.
This will happen a few times (diff cycles) as he grows but it will soon be
over just power through it.
He's crying to let you know he needs something.
Keep the room dark, change him quickly & quietly then feed him.
Rest during the day whenever you can. Let things go that don't need to
get done.
I would cut out all those naps in that THREE sounds like so much to me.. Maybe it does to me because my son was never a napper.. If you won't cut out the naps, then don't put him to bed so early.. 7:30pm really sounds way too early after he had all those naps...
If he needs the power nap let him have it. You can't keep a baby up if he needs sleep. I would try not to nurse him until 3am. Keep him out of your bed. Is he in your room. When he wakes at 1am so not pick him up. Pat his back just try to soothe. See if you could hold off feeding until 3am. Whatever you do just be consistent.
Our pedi told me that children have a hormone surge anytime between 2-3 am. Both my LOs would always wake up around then or become more restless. It was also the last part of their sleep cycle to get through - they would fall asleep around 7:00, wake up at 2-3 am, go back to sleep and wake up around 7:00 am. When they turned 2 is when they were able to sleep through that time period.
maybe he only needs 2 naps now...morning one around 9ish ans somehow combine the afternoon ones (aka lose the 5pm powernap) and instead of noon go down a little later and then an earlier bedtime at night...good luck
I refused to put my kids on a strict schedule until they were much older. If he is already eating solids, he may be having gas pains. None--NOT ONE--of my kids slept through the night until they were over a year old, and they slept just fine next to me. They would wake up, nurse and fall back to sleep. But then, we wanted them there. I could never leave a baby that young to cry alone, but that's me. Obviously, other moms have differing opinions on that.
What I learned after four kids is to expect that routines change, there is a reason they cry and need to be held even if it doesn't make them stop crying, they need the comfort. Putting babies in a separate room to sleep at this age is a relatively new phenomenon, they really aren't meant to be apart from their mothers for such a long time. I know some babies do fine with it, but then again, every baby is different. So if someone tells you "I did this and my baby slept through the night so that means if you do it, so will yours," it's simply not true. Your baby is your baby and at that age you cannot spoil them with too much attention nor "train" them to do everything you want for your comfort. I didn't get a full night's sleep for a full decade and I don't regret those late nights one bit, as hard as they were at the time.
Try skipping one of the naps and see if that helps, but be prepared for him to fall asleep much earlier than usual for a few days. They also go through a big growth spurt around 6 months and need extra calories, so they often wake more often to eat at night right before the growth spurt. Don't restrict nursing at night at this age if he needs it. I found that if I followed their cues and nursed on demand they were happy healthy babies. They didn't sleep through the night, but I didn't expect them to. We coslept happily with our children for many years, it didn't harm them in any way, but if YOU are having a hard time with it, maybe moving him into your room where you can reach him and console him without taking him out of bed (unless he needs it) is a better idea.
Good luck. The first baby is such a learning experience, don't beat yourself up for not knowing what to do or making mistakes. We all made mistakes.
