6 Month Old Will Only Sleep About 5-6 Hours a Night

My twins didn't sleep through the night until they were 9 months old. They would go to bed at 8pm and would wake up at 1a-2a to get a small bottle and then sleep until 6a-7a.

HI, I hope this can help. I used to have the same problem with my oldest son. A good (older) russian lady told me that if you are still bottle feeding the child give her a tea spoon of cereal (baby cereal) and shake the bottle well. Give it to her at night before sleeping and in a coulple of nights she will sleep for the night. I did help me with my problem. Try it and let me know if it worked for you.

D. K

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Hi S.,

I had the same issues with my little one. I was told by my step mom to start feeding her dinner at 8pm than she would go to sleep fuller. That way she would sleep longer at night.

Hi S.!

This little girl needs more food. If 5:30 is her last meal - she's hungry. She should eat right before bed. I would give my daughter flax seed oil in her bottle right before bed. It's great for her and it will give her more calories to last through the night. Good luck!

S.

My daugher did that as well. To start I'd shorten the naps, esp the aftenoon one. Every child marches to her own drummer, and my oldest stopped napping 2 times a day by the time she was one. Also, try putting her to bed both a little earlier and a little later. Sometimes a change helps.

Suggest to your friend that she read Dr. Ferber's book. For me, at the end of the day I just let her cry it out. I checked to make sure she did not need a diaper change and then I left her alone. I did not take her out of the crib or give any attentionw while screaming. After a few day's she'll stop screaming and start sleeping through the night.

I'd suggest ear plugs for the rest of the family!

Sounds 100% normal to me. Your son 's sleeping habits are the exception rather than the rule. Why moms think their babies should sleep through the night is beyond me. Babies were not designed to sleep through the night. Moms need to change their sleeping habits, not babies.

We travelled with my 8 month old this weekend and he slept in the same room with my husband and I (which he usually doesnt). He didnt sleep through the night either which he always does at home in his crib. My suggestion is she put the baby in a room by herself and she sleep on the couch. It could be that every time she moves the baby is waking up and cant put herself back to sleep. And you werent specific as to if she gets fed again after the 5:30 feeding? If not she could be hungry. Good luck!

Hi S.,

All I can relate to is that I was an infant that only required 2 to 4 hours sleep at night and gave up naps at 10 months to my parents dismay. Consider putting her to bed later. Also consider feeding her a meat only meal before bedtime. Avoid any kind of dinners, juice, fruit, or cereal, they all turn into sugar which could cause her to wake-up when her blood sugar drops. We found out my problem was hypoglycemia years later. I now sleep 6 hours but if I don't feel sleepy at night, which is often, I eat protein and I am able to fall asleep earier. Just a suggestion that even if it's not the source of the "problem" won't hurt trying. You may have to accept that she is "one of those people" who just don't require alot of rest. "We are out there, living amoung you!" :^D

Good Luck~F.

I am in the same situation and would love some adivce myself. I have a 5 and 6 month old (foster mom!) and am struggling with the same issues. Early intervention services told me to water down their bottles a little bit so that they wouldn't want to wake up and eat. Play time and tummy time for a while before bed seems to work to stretch out the night sleeping. also, a nice warm shower helps. Let me know if anything helps.

I have a son who had a simular problem and it really depends on the kid. If she can have her try to keep the baby awake an extra 30 min to an hour. This may help.

I have an 8-month old that has been sleeping 11-12 hours a night for about 2 months and takes two 2-3 hour naps a day and maybe another catnap. I got the 3-Day Sleep Solution. It was advertised on this website. I was really skeptical and so was my husband but willing to try anything because of the sleep deprivation. The first night was unbearable, but from then on, she has been a great sleeper. The 3-Day Sleep Solution gives you a 30-day money back guarantee. It was worth every penny. Please let me know if you need any more information.

I recommend Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby by Weissbluth. This is a great resource and gives some very helpful advice.
Quite honestly my daughter didn't sleep thru the night until she was 12 months-every baby is different.

I would venture to guess she is hungry at 2am if her last "meal" was at 5:30 - What I would try is to give her a "dream feed" around 9-10pm (before mom goes to bed), and see if she still wakes up at 2am...For the dream feed, you take the sleeping baby out of the crib, and give her a bottle (I do 6 oz. of formula) while she is basically asleep, then you can try a light burp (or none at all) and then place her back to the crib (she should go right back to sleep), don't talk to her, don't change her (unless she is soiled) and don't make eye contact, no lights should be on either - this works for me and we can usually get my son to go to 5am or so with the dream feeding...(my son is almost 6 months)....GOOD LUCK!

I too have a baby that has slept through the night until 4 month old. But she was a terrible napper and I had to ask myself the following questions:

When not napping, was she cranky? Meaning she wasn't getting enough sleep and definitely needed more nap or if she was happy than that's all the sleep she needed. She only napped for 30 minute periods until she was 6 months. If the baby you watch is happy during the day and happy when she wakes at night, she may have a low sleep need. However, only 2.5 hours of sleep during the day and only 5-6 at night is way below normal and she should probably consult a doctor.

What is the time spans between awake time and sleep time? For a 6 month old, there should be 3 hours awake and around 1.5 average hours of nap between wake periods. For example, mine is on the same schedule she was when she 6 months - wake at 6:30/7, nap at 9:30, nap at 2:30, sleep at 7:30.

Does my baby know how to self soothe? She did this really well at night but not during the day. I got her attached to a small blankie and she started sucking her thumb. Sleep and naps became a snap. If the baby is waking at 2 am and is upset, she probably needs more sleep and needs to learn to self soothe.

A baby at 6 months doesn't need to eat during the night. So if she is picking her up to feed her, she will have to stop doing that. It will be hard being in the same room, but eventually the baby will get used to it and will go back to sleep. Eventually not waking at all. If she is waking up to play, the mom will have to start ignoring her. Night is for sleep. She will get used to not having any attention and night and will start to go back to sleep. Babies can make these sleep transitions within a week usually. It will require lots of crying and the mom will just be miserable, but it will pay off! One thing about your post says she doesn't eat after 5:30. She definitely needs a feeding before bedtime! Add another in.

The only other thing that might be happening is any kind of noise that may be waking the baby up. Does the mom snore? I live on a busy street and don't want any street noise to wake my baby up. During the winter I run a warm mist humidifier all night and during naps. During the spring and summer I have been running a fan all night. Gives her some white noise that drowns out the other noises. The mom tossing and turning in bed can wake up the baby and the baby making small noises while she sleeps can wake up the mom. That's the problem with sharing a room, but if she has no other option, try some white noise. Eventually the mom will get used to it too.

Hope some of this helps!!

You did not give too much detail here so not sure what the problem is. You say she is a single mom and that sounds really hard. At least she does have Gramma to help. I personally use all the attachment parenting methods and our baby sleeps 12 hours a night (only waking to eat once or twice) and takes 2 or 3 naps too. He is a very content baby and I feel it's because the attachment parenting meets all of his emotional needs. Some of methods are:
Breastfeeding
Sleeping with baby
Baby Wearing
Elimination Communication
Check out these websites to learn more:
www.tribalbaby.org
www.kellymom.com

I can't recommend highly enough the 3 Day Sleep Solution. It is sometimes advertised on Mamasource or go to 3daysleep.com. The program works wonders. My 7 months old is sleeping 12 hours a night and only waking up once (sometimes not waking at all). It changed my life. It's a 30 minute DVD with a small workbook. No long boring book to ready (who has time?)

I had the same problem, until I moved her on her own. It will be hard because they share a room.Once I moved out of the room, my daughter slept/sleeps really well. She is a light sleeper, so when I go in to do anything, she will wake up. Also, maybe mom should try feeding her again before she goes to sleep? I don't know how you feel about this, but maybe wake he up a little early from her 2 hour nap, maybe she'll be tired enough to get more sleep at night.
Good luck
K.

I suggest she talks to her pediatrician about some going back to sleep techniques that are available. The baby needs to go back to sleep - so the room should be dark, quiet, even having some white noise" could help Mom may need to sleep on the couch for a few nights, so baby can find a way to fall back asleep when he/she wakes up. Children need naps - perhaps more activity after dinner, then be sure you have a bedtime routine. Bath, story , bed.

she is probably trying to carve out more time with her mom, since she doesn't get to see her that often. Since they are already sharing a room, if the baby is in a crib, she might try co-sleeping to see if she gets better results, perhaps the closeness to Mom will take care of the problem.