6 Month Old Sleeping Through Night

Both my girls did not sleep through the night until they were 4 yo.
It sounds to me like you are both doing fine. I think babies some times just want to be held and snuggled. Nothing is wrong with that IMO. For the record though I know I was used as a pacifier but I did not care.

Not judging you about what I am about to say, but it truly breaks my heart to hear about the CIO method when the only way a baby can communicate to the only people he (or she) trusts in the entire world is to cry but his cries are ignored. I KNOW first hand how truly frustrating it is to have a baby not sleep when that is the very thing you want to do. I get it. I have 4 children, the youngest is 14 mths and breastfeeding as I type this. It's so much easier to put my baby in my bed during the night when she wakes up and is restless or just wanting to nurse. Putting her in my bed is a win-win for everyone. She gets to nurse and suckle for comfort and I get to sleep. There are so many reasons why a 6 month old is waking up...teething, hungry, thirsty, or just waking up and realizing that mama isn't there. Every baby is different, and therefore responds differently to various things but I truly do not believe in allowing a baby to cry it out. Baby is trying to convey something to you by crying and his cries are ignored. Makes me want to cry just thinking about it.

Some suggestions:
Try giving him cereal at night, after a bath before you nurse him to sleep. Sometimes this helps, especially during a growth spurt. IF it's teething, you could try a little Ibuprofen (rub on his gums, just a little will do) or you could just give him a dose according to his age/weight. Or, you could just let him cuddle next to you in bed and let him nurse himself back to sleep. Sometimes when a baby wakes up screaming like you have described, (this happened with my second child), they are waking up realizing that mommy is gone and they are all alone in the dark. I found out my baby was afraid of the dark and a night light remedied her nightly waking up and screaming for seemingly no reason at all.

If he's nursing like that at night, then he's hungry. Don't do CIO. Every child is different and they don't all sleep through the night. If you're nursing on demand during the day, do the same thing at night. He's hungry and you're doing the right thing by feeding him.

My daughter was like your son at that age. She nursed during the night until 11 months old, and then stopped needing it and slept through the night and has since. A year later she remains an awesome sleeper who loves her bed. When things were rough around 6 mo I debated CIO, but in the end I am very glad I responded to her. Its so hard when you are in the middle of it, but I think the long term payoff is worth it. It sound like your son is hungry and needs you. Hang in there!

I'd say it could be a growth spurt (maybe he's really hungry?). You could try adding a bit more solids? Or maybe try some more filling solids? My kids liked avocado at that age, which is high in good fats and might fill him up.

Also - is he teething? My kids always liked to nurse when teething because I think the suction and milk made their mouths feel better. You could try motrin and see if it helps.

I always just nursed my kids... it was so much easier in the long run than all the other CIO and methods I tried. In hindsight, those sleepless nights seem like a long time ago (they are now 7, 5 and 3).

Good luck!
J.

It sound like he's hungry and so you need to feed him. Sleeping 6-7 hours IS sleeping through the night and he likely will get back to that routine.

I would say just feed him. If he's acting hungry, then he's hungry. If you don't think he's just using you to be pacified then feed him. 6 months my son started to mess up on his sleep schedule and then settled back out after a few weeks. You can also try having dad try to comfort him if you haven't already since dad doesn't smell like food.

If you have a little one who is hitting a growth spurt and getting breastmilk, I'm not surprised that he's fussing at night.

It could be a few things: breastmilk only 'lasts' for about four hours in the stomach. If he's ramping up to grow, he'll need more milk/food. If your little guy likes avocado, I'd try that before bedtime, as it is a fat and might stay with him a little longer. Or some rice cereal mixed with breastmilk, or rice mixed with some babyfood veggies. (the sugars in the fruit might digest faster-- I am not sure of this, however.)

He might also be 'practicing' his crawling, even in his sleep. This could wake him up. Kids do this sometimes when they are trying to master a new skill. One 6 month old recently in my care was napping pretty well until she started crawling-- I was lucky to get her down for 20 minutes at a time, even with a full stomach. I also thought she might have been teething too-- they seem to go together, sometimes.

Lastly-- any drooling, hand in mouth, sore gums/teething sort of symptoms? My son (and many kids I cared for) were super-fussy and needy when their teeth were moving around, even before they erupted. Those little teeth are still having to come up through all that tissue. Nursing and Tylenol were my saving graces during these times.

I can't suggest CIO-- I hated doing it as a nanny and never did it with my own son. (He sleeps fine, btw. No permanent bad habits.) That said, maybe one of the above will ring a bell for you. Sounds like you are taking care of it

Well, the problem is that you aren't consistent. Sometimes you do this, sometimes you do that. He knows that screaming his head off will get what he wants. You always cave. He's a smart little cookie!

I promise you that he doesn't need to nurse during the night. If you are feeding him well, nursing him before he goes to sleep at night, he's fine. Now, does he WANT to nurse? THAT's a different thing all together. Wanting and needing aren't the same.

Until you are willing to be consistent, you'll end up with him waking several times a night.

Good luck,
Dawn

See iuf you can feed him more during the day, maybe every 2 1/2 hours. If he doesn't get enough calories during the day he will wake up at night.

Or it could be teething. My son is 7 months. We was sleeping really well, but for about 2 weeks was waking a lot at night. He went back to sleeping through the night last night. This morning we could feel where a tooth had broken through.

At six months they are becoming aware of their surrounding. I be happy if my son sleep more then 2 hours in the night. When he cries does he curl up his toes, does he go to the bath regularly. My son had a couple of food allergies that i found out as he grew which would make him very constipated or has diarrhea. When this happen he was always hungry. Instead of feeding him so much give him a half bottle of milk in between when he is hungry.

Also, check if he is cutting a tooth, you can check by putting your fingers in his mouth to see if there is a bump. If there is giving him the meltable tablets in his milk, do not use baby gel which numbs because it can also numb the throat and he can choke. Since, babies don't know any better the gel can get on his tongue and cause him not to feel anything, which cause problems swallowing.

If it is not either of the above elevate his mattress slightly with a pillow be haps he is having trouble breathing. There are many things that can be going on with him. If nothing seems to work find a good ped. that does not think you are nuts and he or she will help you out.

good luck.

P.S. My son at six months got a night light with music because he became afraid of shadows from the moon lite that glistening through the window.