8 Month Old Trouble Sleeping

I would maybe switch the order of feedings. At that age my daughter had a similar waking schedule to your son, but we only soothed at the midnight or 2am waking and would give her a small bottle at the 4-5am feeding. Slowly, the midnight/2am wakings stopped. We kept up with the early morning feeding until around 10-11m, it was worth it to have another 3 or 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep. The times we tried putting her down again without feeding at that time she did the same thing, whining crying and acting fussy off and on all morning. I think at that age some babies really do wake up hungry at that time of morning. Even at 2 yrs old if she wakes between 3am and 7am crying and acting upset I will give her a small bottle of milk (this only happens maybe 3-4 times a month), especially if she ate poorly or didn't eat much dinner the night before.

Hi, Cayla. Is your son eating solids yet? And if so, how much per day? He might be growth spurting and needing extra calories. Babies can get so busy, active, and distracted during the day they can forget about food, until night, of course. You can try bulking up on his food during the day (as well as breastfeeding). By the way, I nursed my son to sleep for the first year of his life and he was (and still is) an excellent sleeper (would sleep 10hrs straight, no waking).
Also, he could be teething. Has he been drooling, tugging on his ears, etc.? You could try teething tablets for him.
With the weather change, could he be too cold? Or too warm with the heater coming on?
I definitely would not stop breastfeeding over this. Around 8 or 9 months of age separation anxiety also kicks in. He may just be realizing he is apart from you and that's scary. Just give him lots of comfort and cuddles during the day. For night, you could give him a shirt you've slept in so it smells like you and would be comforting.
Hope any or all of these ideas help and good luck!

My 5 month old was doing the same thing. I breastfeed as well, but I tried two things that have seemed to work for a few weeks now. 1) I give him a big bottle of formula between 6:30 and 7:00pm and then put him down at 7:30. I never nurse him to sleep! That's important! 2) He was also waking up after an hour during his naps, so I would go in and rock him till he fell back asleep. He usually will now sleep an additional 1 1/2 hours!!!! Now that he is napping an average of 4 hours a day, he sleeps 8-9 hours stretches. That's what works for me! I hope it helps.

Check out "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby" by Weissbluth (or some similar name). It's very helpful.

At this age, your son should be able to go through the night without a middle-of-the-night feeding. This does not mean sleeping from 8pm to 8am, but probably until 4 am. I was told by my pediatrician to pump in more calories during the day (I assume you've started him on solids in addition to breastfeeding) and to eliminate the middle of the night feeding.

As for the 4 am wakeup, my daughter did this for a month or two. It was miserable (she didn't go back to sleep). I thought it would never end, but she eventually started to sleep in later, bit by bit.

Good luck!

I had some issues with my little guy waking up a few times as well ( breastfeeding too) it all stopped when i stopped breastfeeding.( i only stopped because i got pregnant with #2) .i am in NO WAY shape or form telling you to stop...i loved breastfeeding...LOVED IT! its the best thing for him.. You may want to give him more calories throughout the day...and if its an option..substitute a bottle before bed, it may prolong his wakings.. just a thought. Do you have a routine for him thru the day..like dinner, bath, bed...? so he knows what to expect...

I hope things get better for you asap...mommies (and babies) need their sleep...cause a happy mom means happy family.=)

I have no advice... sorry!!! Our 6 month old is doing the exact same thing and he's waking up so upset. Not like I've ever seen him before. He's a angel during the day for anyone who watches him... not for mama at night. I'm interested to see the responses. Good luck!

My baby was doing the same thing at seven months old. It turned out she had acid reflux. The doc prescribed zantac and that night she only woke up once. The next night she slept through. She was on the zantac for a little over a month. I think her system was adjusting to solid food. Now she is off it and sleeping through most nights, with good naps. Take your baby to the doctor.