Seeking Ur Advice! 5.5 Mo. Old Not Sleeping More than 2 Hours at Time

He still seems to have his "startle reflex"... thus his arms are "jerky" as you say and he can't control it. This does wake them. Ask your Pediatrician about it and "when" they grow out of this.

2) since he is 5.5 months old, he is probably going to hit some developmental changes (6 months is typical for this), AND they go through growth spurts at this time more and need more intake and get hungrier... at this age, a baby still needs to be fed "on demand." But also, whenever they are about to hit milestones or developmental changes, they DO WAKE MORE. It's normal and just what happens. It's purely developmental.
3) try to consolidate his "naps" into just 2 naps a day... if possible, instead of 3. A nap of only 45 minutes isn't much. Maybe by consolidating his naps into 2 naps a day, he will have longer naps and more stable sleep at night.
4) why does he have to go to bed at 8:O0-8:15p.m.? You said he can't make it till then unless he has a catnap at about 5:00-5:30.... ? So maybe then adjust the time he goes to bed to earlier.
5) Yes, the more sleep a baby gets, the better they do sleep. Because if they are overtired, they will NOT sleep better and it causes them to wake more. BUT... perhaps he does not "need" the 3 naps everyday. Especially the cat-nap at 5:00.
6) A baby this age will NOT sleep ALL night... keep in mind that "sleeping through the night" means, for a baby, sleeping at least 6 hours straight. AND, their sleep patterns changes all the time... they are growing, changing, and their needs change all the time. At this young age, it cannot be expected that his sleep pattern will be the same everyday. Heck, even a 6 year old varies. Even a teenager has changes in their sleep pattern. Even adults have changes in their sleep. So... are they ALL "sleep challenged?" No, it's just that each child is different, and they all have different needs, and one "template" will not work for all kids. And you have to allow for their CONSTANT developmental changes.

And, it could ALSO be teething too. This also wakes them from sleep. Or gas, or at this age, they ALSO start to develop "separation anxiety." It's normal. At EACH age, there is "separation anxiety" and it gets manifested in different ways, per their age.

A baby's sleep will not be the same all the time. Sorry. I have 2 kids... and per their development, there were periods where they would wake even every hour for cluster-feeding or teething, or gas, or just because. Then the "phase" goes back to normal. It passes. You just have to accept it.
My daughter is now 6 years old, she did not "sleep through the night" until she was about 2.5 years old, at least. My son is 28 months old, and he still wakes about 1 time a night usually. But by now, well that is no big deal.

Your baby is only 5.5 months old. Just see what the Doctor says... but it's all pretty normal stuff.

Al the best,
Susan

N.,

I think you're doing EVERYTHING in order to take care of you little guy, but have you ever or even thought about feeding on demand? If you are constantly putting the binky back in his mouth every hour, then he is rooting and may be in need of more feedings. During this age, baby's experience growth spurts which can interupt sleep and also require more nourishment. My son went from sleeping in chunks of 3 hours to every 2 hours from 4-6 months, and this was after adding cereal to his diet at 5 months. It was until he was almost 7 months old and on a steady diet of 'solids' that he went to longer chunks again for about 3 hours and eventually four hours...

This is totally normal, so don't worry. It's just a matter of adjusting the feeding and the naps will fall into place. I would say go with what you feel is best for your family, crib sleeping is great if it works best for you. I'm a co-sleeper and love it, but that's us and if you don't love it then, do what you do love!

It's great that you already have a bedtime routine, I had a 'generic' one for my son and it helps with keeping things moving. But, the catnap is what could be disrupting your son's normal ebb and flow of sleeping. At this age, I just had to roll with my son's sleep pattern until he was into 'solids'. He had the three naps that were about 1.5 hours, and then was asleep by 7pm and slept until he was ready to eat again. Instead of putting him to sleep see how long he goes before he's ready to put himself to sleep. Either with the bottle or alone with rocking or whatever works. Then, see how long he sleeps. If he passes out early, then let him and it will help you gauge what he's really needing from you at night and move forward.

Also, I'm not sure if he's crying out for you or if you just hear wake up. But, sometimes when we act before they need us we 'wake' up the baby and make it harder for them to fall back to sleep. Once they realize we're there, they want to know 'what's up' and how they can get involved. See if he does wake without fussing, if he can get himself back to sleep. My son would do this, and if he fussed I knew he was hungry...if he didn't he'd nod off in a few moments and we'd be fine. When I did intervene he'd see me and we'd be up for two hours.

I hope some of this helps!!

Check out www.babycenter.com for some great tips on sleeping routines, and also feeding routines...it was my savior many times when I knew the answers and just needed a little nudge.

Good Luck!!

I am a sleep consultant. Feel free to check out my blog at www.lullabyluna.com and sleep consultant information. I am wondering how often you are feeding him. I would come up with a feeding schedule and feed him at the same times everyday. For example: 7-10-1-4-7-10... since you are feeding with formula you can probably do 4 hours between feedings- and you could probably skip the 10pm feeding. He should probably be taking 3 naps a day unless he does 2 really long naps. He should also go to bed earlier- maybe feed him at 7 and then put him down at 7 for the night... expect him to wake up at 7am. If he still has the startle reflex going on then I would swaddle him- kiddopatamus has a great swaddler (with the velcro) that you don't have to worry about them pulling a blanket over their face. Babies R Us carries these. I would also make sure his room is dark for naps, try a noise maker for day and night especially if outside noises easily travel into his room. And you may have to let him cry it out- easiest to do this when they are younger- give it 3 days. I did this with my first daughter when she was 5 months old- after this she was sleeping through the night where she had been waking every 2 hours- and her naps were easy.

Hi N.,
my name is A. an I have a 3 month old baby boy, who we had the same problem with..well at least it sounds like the same problem!! our child would not stay asleep for more then 2-3 hours in the night.. and it was killing us..it seemed like he was tired but would wake up out of a dead sleep like he was dying, he too flailed his lil body around like a spaze.. after trying everything I figured out it was his excessive gas that was waking him up..and yes the nuk would sooth him but only until it came out!! sooooo what I started doing was letting him sleep on his tummy! I tried everything eles to eleviate the gas special air prevented bottles..gas drops.. different formulas, but the thing that works best is putting him on his little tummy! they say for a child my sons age dont do it due to sids..but hey they dont know what specifically causes sids and my son is strong enough to turn his head from side to side..so ever sense he was 1 month I've been letting him sleep on his tum, my husband use to get so mad at me for it, until he had to start being home with him at night while I worked a graveyard shift..he then found out that was the only way he stayed asleep!! soo feed your child his last bottle with a cap full of bed time brown rice cereal by beach nut at around 10:30 pm put him on tummy on a safe surface and see how long he sleeps.. with any luck your child will sleep untill around 2:30am -3:00am eat again and sleep untill 7am-8am good luck with the tummy sleep thing..it works great for my son.. depending how much I feed him at his last feeding sometimes he sleeps all the way until 6am or 7am ALL THE WAY THRO THE NIGHT, and he's only 3 months old!! so try it and let me know how it works! sincerly ash