Need Sleeping Advice for Almost 5-Month Old

My sons both did the same thing. They are now 19 mo and 3 y. 1 mo. My pediatrician's recommendation was to give him a bottle of water (not cold, not too warm) instead of nursing, to avoid the "feed-drift to-sleep" trap. I found that if I did nurse, he continued to wake up. But if I let him cry, it didn't last for very long (20 or 30 min. max at the start, then it dropped down to just a few minutes over time). I did find that giving a larger bottle of formula before bed made a difference, so long as he had a good burp afterwards. Also, try putting him to bed a little earlier. It sounds odd, but an earlier bedtime often results in sleeping longer. My 19 mo started going to bed at 7pm instead of 7:45 pm, and that helped a lot. Also, has he outgrown his current diaper size? That was a big reason both boys started waking up at night--too wet, although not soaked through. Also, this is typical for a 5 month old, so don't be afraid to try different approaches--and keep a log, hard as that is--to see what combination of eating/drinking/bedtime seems to get the most consecutive hours of sleep. I'm still up 4 nights a week with one or the other one for some reason, but I promise you it does get better and it will pass. For now, crying it out is a great place to start if you are comfortable with it. Amazing as it is, our two started sharing a room at Thanksgiving, when my toddler was 16 months and still waking up nightly due to teething. And yet 3 months later, despite many nights of screaming fits, the toddler never woke up my preschooler. They seem to build up an immunity to the noise that we as moms seemingly have to avoid developing! Good luck!

Hey Jenny,

I have a 6 month old and I feel your pain. I went through that and I tried a few different things. What worked for me was letting her cry for 10 minutes, going in and giving her the binky and shhh'ing her and rubbing her head. But don't talk, because the talking is too stimulating as well as taking the baby out of the crib. Also try giving him an ounce or more before bed, he may be ready for an increase especially if he is growing.

Have you talked to your pediatrician? At his age he shouldn't need to eat throughout the night. My friend with a 5 month old just did the cry it out method and after a week of hell (so she says) her daughter is doing much better. I have a 4 month old who we rock to sleep every night, she typically sleeps around 10 hours a night and I am worried that if that changes we might have to do the "cry it out" method. If you do it, it may disrupt your household for about a week, but it should get better after that. What it comes down to is what you are comfortable with, if you think he is too young, then put up with it for a bit. Whenever I get confused with too much information, I go back to listening to what my baby needs and wants. Good luck!

My first son use to wake up to nurse until he was about 8 months old and I will never forget when I took him to the Dr's he asked me if I enjoyed waking up? I thought he was kidding. He told me the baby did not need to eat and that I should let him cry himself to sleep. Sure enough I did let him cry and he went to sleep. I have three children now and they are all great sleepers and sleep though the night. Sometimes letting them find how to soothe themselves takes about a week but in the end they are better for it because they get a good night sleep and so do you.

It might have started with a growth spurt that then turned into a habbit...

If it were me, I'd try going in there, putting a binky back in his mouth (if he's a binky kid... and if he is a binky kid... it might just be that... he might just "loose" the binky and can't get it back in), and walk out. If you have to, move him to a pack & play in a different room far away from your toddler so you don't worry about him waking up your toddler. I'd just do that a few nights & a row...

A good book to read is "the no cry sleep solution" - it's fabulous - gives you some really good tips.

I'm in a very similar situation. At 2 months, we were putting our son to bed at 9 pm and he would sleep until 6 am (9 hours) without waking. At around 3 months, we decided he needed more sleep and started putting him down by 7 pm. Now he wakes twice - at 10 pm and around 2-3 am - and he drinks a lot each time. I figure that since he's sleeping in the evening (hours which he used to spend nursing), our baby needs to make up for it by nursing at night. Also, maybe he also just needs more now that he's bigger.
I'm not an expert, but if you're bottle-feeding you may be able to give your baby more at other times throughout the day. Just an idea.
Good luck!

Hi Jenny! Sounds like either a growth spurt (where he would need to eat) or maybe the start of teething. My daughter loved chewing on a clean washcloth that I would freeze in a ziplock bag...

Maybe try feeling his gums to see if they are swollen at all.

Good luck!