6 Month Old Sleeping Issues

Babies go through cycles, but if this happened very suddenly you might want to have him checked for teething issues or possible ear infection. The book I always recommend for sleep issues is Mary Sheedy Kurcinka's, "Sleepless in America." Good luck.

Try giving him a more watered down formula before bed time. The formula could be to concentrated and his tummy is having a hard time processing it when he isnt moving around at night. Say 1.5 scoops of formula to 4 oz of water. :)

Hard to say why he is waking - there are so many possibilities (hunger, teething, growing, maybe he hears you or sees light?) I can tell you that my kids were night and day different with their sleep (one a great sleeper and one not so much!) but they both went through phases, especially the first year. They just would have spells when they didn't sleep as well. Then they would go back to sleeping. I guess that isn't very helpful info except to tell you that you definitely aren't alone with your 6 month old that won't sleep! There are a lot of methods for creating a routine and teaching baby to sleep better. I used them all between both my kids but in the end I'm not sure anything helps much that first year. My first didn't sleep consistently through the night until 13 mos! The second slept through starting at 3 mos like yours but still had times when she would wake frequently (usually teething, growing or sick). Sounds like maybe the constipation might be causing discomfort in this case. Ask your doctor how to loosen him up. A friend told me Karo Syrup in water is a natural laxative but I have no idea if that is recommended or not. I would ask your doctor!

you can be certain of three things in life; death, taxes and the fact that babies sleep habits will not ever remain the same throughout their baby-hood... or childhood for that matter.

hes growing. his tiny tummy (about the size of his fist) fills and empties quickly. deny him food (breastmilk or bottle) and you deny him growth! also, any time a baby comes upon a developmental growth (rolling over, standing, walking) it will interrupt their sleep. we dont exactly know why this happens, but its so normal and so common.

blink, and he will have different sleep habits again, dont worry. it wont be like this forever, and you actually miss them when they dont wake up at night.

he can have solids, but not right before sleeping, this will only keep his system awake more because a digesting body isnt able to rest as well as a non-digesting body.

sounds like he might have allergy problems? constipation and crying to have bowel movements isnt normal. the most common allergy is milk but talk to your doctor. you can reduce your milk if hes breastfeeding or change his formula, but if you have to change his formula definately talk to your doctor first.
also give him more water. fiber is important to having soft stool, but it wont work without enough water. so keep that in mind.

Is your son able to fall asleep on his own? I think that's the key to being able to sleep well (falling back asleep). I personally don't like the crying-it-out method, but there are gentler (although probably more time-consuming) approaches. As far as the food, I think by 6 months he should be starting to sample some foods - not necessarily to fill him up, but to learn about other flavors and textures. It doesn't have to be rice cereal (which tends to cause constipation) - oat cereal or vegetable/fruit purées are in my opinion better options.

My son did the same thing. He was a super sleeper until about 6 - 9 months and then was up a couple times a night. My son was teething. The interrupted nights lasted about 2 or 3 months during the period he was drooling most heavily and had a few new teeth pop out. Then it subsided and he went back to sleeping pretty well until about 12 - 13 months when he started getting more teeth...

It's quite likely he is teething. Teething pain is often more painful for babies at night and it's very common for the pain to wake up a sleeping infant. You could TRY using that orajel stuff, though I never had luck with it. If you are comfortable with it, a little infant motrin might help soothe his pain and help you both get more sleep.

In any case, this is pretty normal.

I have to agree with some of the other moms. My son did (and does) the same thing every now and then and usually, it's when a tooth is about to "sprout". If you haven't tried the Hylands teething tablets yet, they're great!

I've also noticed that my son wakes up a lot when he's too hot. I'm typically ALWAYS cold so I have to be careful about not making the temperature in the house too warm for my hot natured son and hubby.

You might also make sure that when you put him to bed that it's not SUPER quiet. If your kiddo gets used to only being able to sleep in complete silence, then any of the smallest noises will wake him up. I started playing a lullabye cd for my son on the lowest volume when he was an infant. Now he can doze off anywhere.

And then lastly, the "cry-it-out method" is a painful one to start but SO worth it. My husband and I had gotten into the habit of rocking our son to sleep. Turned out that when he woke up in the middle of the night, he didn't know how to go back to sleep on his own. The first night we decided to let him learn how to fall asleep on his own, he cried for 45 minutes! I would go in every 10 minutes and comfort him (without picking up) and leave. And within a week or so, he'd "mastered" the skill. Now we just say, "Time for night-night", carry him (or let him walk) into his room, lay him in his crib and close the door. Sometimes he'll go right to sleep other times he'll lay there awake for awhile, but eventually he dozes off.

Hope one of these suggestions helps!!