Need Help with Squealing Non-sleeping 5 Month Old

An excellent response from SH. I'll only add,that if you are permitting her to lay and scream for a half hour,that could be the cause for her acid reflex. Baby's this young,shouldn't be left to cry it out.They are not spoiled at this young age,so you must assume they are either wet,hungry,or simply need to know your there if they get scared. May I add,that regardless of any mothers illusions of premature brilliance, their baby is not clever enough,nor mature enough to realize their mother is playing some sort of power game,when they wake for nurturing,or feeding.A baby this young,certainly knows nothing of WINNING or LOSING, only that she feels neglected and alone. Don't make the big mistake,of muffling or attempting to keep the household quiet. Everyone in the home,will adjust to normal sounds. Your baby crying should be a normal sound,that your other child will adapt to,easily. I wish you the best. J. M

who said that a baby should sleep through the night at 5 months? My son is 16 months and still not sleeping through the night and my best friends kids didn't sleep through the night until they were 2... some sleep through the night earlier, but there is no RULE to this.

I would say that squealing continues because you are paying attention to it? Reinforced behavior... she squeals.. you come running to get her to stop... she gets your attention.. she wins.

Not all babies sleep through the night at 5 months. Especially if she is breastfed. At this age "sleeping through the night" basically means that baby can sleep for a 6 hour stretch.

At this age, my daughter was waking up 8-12 times a night.. Yes, I said 8-12. Honest. So count your blessings!!

Also, at 5 months you should still be feeding her when she wakes up - breastfeeding or bottle. It takes patience, and some babies take longer than others to sleep through the whole night. My daughter slept through the night at 10 months for the first time ever, and actually, even then she still woke up 3 times, but at least she went a whole 6 hrs without waking.

So be prepared in case this takes a while, but hope for best - never know, she could sleep through the night next week too!!

Good Luck and be sure to rest while you can during these harder months!!!!

Your baby is young, to be "sleeping through the night." Sleeping through the night, for a baby, means sleeping for at least 6 hour stretches. But this comes in time. My kids, did not sleep through the night, until they were about 2 years old, consistently. In between that, they had periods of sleeping for longer or shorter stretches, but it changed per their development and hitting milestones and teething, and night-terrors etc. All "normal" things which they go through.

the squealing is a developmental thing, as they "discover" their voice. And yes, it can be ear-piercing. UNLESS, when she is doing it she seems in distress or in pain... then I would consider another cause for it.

Its a phase. One of many. Each child being different.

Are you still feeding her on demand? She is waking, and she could possibly just be hungry... at this age, they are approaching a 'growth-spurt' and then, they need more intake and get hungrier, more often. BOTH my kids did that at growth spurt periods. If they are hungry, a baby can't sleep. Try giving her a good feeding before bedtime, and cluster feed her... which means, that sometimes a baby, when growing, will often even need to feed every hour. Go according to HER cues... a baby has no other way to communicate "hunger" because they can't talk yet, and so they wake... or scream.
Both my kids went through periods when they woke more often at night, because they were growing and needed more intake. I fed them on demand, for the 1st year.

For the 1st year of life, per our Pediatrician, a baby should be fed on demand. So that, when they are having growth spurts especially, their intake needs are keeping up WITH them and their natural growth and development. At times like this, feeding on a "schedule" will not work.

ALSO, when a baby is hitting milestones and "changing" developmentally, they also tend to wake more. It's "growing pains" for the baby too... and they can't help it. Especially when so young, as your baby, they can't do things at-will, yet.

For me, when I had my 2nd child and he woke/cried at night... it did not wake up my daughter... because for some reason, she said that she knows it's just her brother and so "its okay...." and it didn't bother her. She understood that babies wake up and cry at night and they can't help it. She sleeps through it all.

You can try and check about her reflux as well. BUT, for babies, their sleep patterns are not "static" and they change all the time and so rapidly and it puts a kink in their ability to sleep.
Sometimes, if a baby/child is "over-tired" or over stimulated, it also makes it hard for them to sleep. They need to nap as well, as this helps them. Does your baby nap?

Well just some thoughts... hope this helps,
Susan

Hi I was in the same boat like you a few years back. My kids are only 15 months a part.
I did hire somebody for the night for six months becouse my arms collapse.
now I have my four baby. He is 14 months old and still doesn't sleep thru the night. at 4 o'clock at night usually I give him a bottle.
Good luck and if you can get somebody to wake up at night for you. You need to rest!!!!!

M.