6 Month-old Baby Waking up Again

Updated on January 24, 2010
R.S. asks from Raymond, ME
7 answers

My boy had been sleeping like a charm when he hit the 4.5 month-old mark... after many weeks of torture due to his reflux. Holidays were wonderful, him going to bed at 6:30 and getting up at 5:30 for a quick bottle and back to sleep until 7:30. Jan 3rd, everything started to go downhill. Thomas started waking up again - 3,4,5 times a night. 2 weeks later, two teeth came out. But as I thought things would go back to normal now that his teeth were out... he's waking up again and again and again. Yesterday, he went to bed at 7:00 and litteraly woke up every 1.5 hours until morning. He is 6.5 months old.

I find that the best way to calm him to sleep right now is to give him a bottle. I change him afterwards so that he is awake when I put him back in bed. He then falls back to sleep on his own without fussing... I tried giving him Tylenol before bed or when he woke up... and put Oragel on his gums.

Any suggestions?

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So What Happened?

Yes - my boy has started solids since 4.5 month due to his reflux (recommended by his ped) and slept through since them... Don't know what is going on. I'm trying to change him in a bigger sleeping bag and change his bed a bit. He's been moving so much, I'm thinking he might not like his bed settings anymore. We had placed a rolled towel to support him from sliding down the bed because of the incline on his bed for the reflux. He's been jumping over the bump lately... maybe that's it... ???

More Answers

D.B.

answers from Providence on

What about co-sleeping? Or if you'd rather not, then perhaps lie down with him until you know he's asleep then transfer him back into his crib. I see no problem with him taking a bottle, 6.5 months is still a little baby in my eyes and it's natural they may be hungry at night. It may not be his teeth at all, he may simply be waking up because he's hungry or wants to be cuddled by mommy.

My son, who's 3 and half, and I have been co-sleeping since his birth and we both get a full nights sleep.

Good luck.

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A.L.

answers from Providence on

My 5 mo old was having a similiar problem after breaking a tooth and after doing some research/reading, I realized that I was interrupting her too often in the night. When I heard her, I would go in right away and that is what she came to expect. We started waiting longer periods of time before going in to check on her, and now, after a few minutes, she goes right back to sleep without us checking on her at all. I think your son may have just come to expect that you go in now whenever he asks (he's a smart cookie and has figured out how he gets to see you all night long!). We followed ferbers method and it worked!

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C.B.

answers from Atlanta on

Have you tried giving him a cold teething ring to sooth his gums it numbs them pretty good and an alternative to oragel is Real vanilla extract it tastes better and is all natural numbing agent. Maybe put the teething ring where he can chew on it at night when he wakes up? Let me know if this works.

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K.H.

answers from Washington DC on

Has he started on solids yet? If not then you may want to start introducing food as I would say hunger is the problem.

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N.D.

answers from Springfield on

If he wasn't needing food before he probably doesn't need it now but has come to like/expect it...tone down the routine to, are you okay, diaper change, pat on back or orajel, whatever he needs, and then back down again.

If he is waking for teething issues don't make it a big production. He will expect just the checkup, know you care, and then go back down. Good luck, he may resist b/c he wants the bottle now but he will figure it out...be consistent and in a week he could be back to "normal" barring other teeth/reflux/sickness.

Normal is a very flexible thing at this age. Good Luck, Nat

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R.R.

answers from Boston on

Hi R.,

I hope this finds you well.

Is it possible that he is cutting more teeth? I know after the first set of teeth, more than 2 can come in at a time and after the first two come in, the others may follow soon. It is also possible that because teething was a new experience that he is taking some time to get back to his schedule. I would stick with what you're doing and as with many things with our little ones, it will pass.

Six months is also the time when their sleep patterns can start changing, too. I think many babies sleep really well for the first 3-4 months and then start waking around 6 months. Give it another week, if you can, and see if anything changes. And maybe as you're doing, try changing things in his crib/room to see if that helps. White noise may help or a lovey? You may have already tried these things.

Finally, could he be hungry? I know at six months, especially on solids, most babies would not wake up to eat, but my daughter would wake up for a bottle sometimes if she had not had enough during the day.

As long as you can rule out any medical causes and have tried different sleep situations, it may just be a phase...

Good luck and take care!

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K.M.

answers from Boston on

Try Infant Motrin instead of Tylenol. Not only does it help with teething pain it also reduces swelling!

My son went thru a similar phase that lasted about 1 month - sometimes waking 15 times a night. The other thing that helped was the Fischer Price Baby Aquarium mobile. It's very soothing and watching it helped him nod back off. Make sure you get the latest model with the remote which allows you to turn it on from outside his door. He's 16 months now and stands up and turns it on himself if he walks up and wants to go back to sleep.

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