My son is officially 5 months old today. He is exclusively breast fed and I recently started him on rice cereal over a week ago. He still nurses at least 8 times in 24 hours. He was sleeping 8-9 hours at night...however within that time frame of a week a week and a half...he has only slept 3-4hours then up for a feeding...then back to sleep for 4 hours then up again for a feeding...then down for three hourse...no long stretches. I thought that the cereal would help to fill his belly. He does get bananas mixed in now. He nurses every two hours during the day. He only naps 30-45min two to three times a day too. Recently...like three weeks ago...he had bad congestion...and did this waking patern. He got on antibiotics...and all was well in a few nights.....then he got croup...back to the steroid meds for a day and that helped a bit....then a tooth...which is pretty much cut through the gum now....Ok...I think that I answered the problem of waking for the past weeks, however now...will my son get used to waking this amount of time? He was waking the two times before I would get up with him at 7am...however waking at 3:30am and 5 or 6am was not as big of a deal compared to waking at 10 or 11pm on top of that schedule. I love how moms will say that their babes sleep 10-12 hours straight through (what about teething or illness). Is something wrong with me? I wondered if things will adjust. With my daughter she was always up at least 3-5 times a night every night for a year. UGH! I feel bad because my sleep is so messed up now with a snoring hubby too...I was in a deep sleep with ear plug for one of my son's feedings this morning. I thought I was dreaming that he was screaming. Hubby said he was doing it for 5 mins...Oh no!
Anyways...I need some encouragement or something! I have tried a paci for him at night after feeding him...but, he spits it out...he still gets up...ect. He is a self soother too. He also actually eats and does not just do for comfort. Thanks
Try reading "Babywise". That's the book I read with my baby, and it has helped put him on a schedule.
There's a good chance he's going through a growth spurt. And feeding solids doesn't necessarily mean he'll be sleeping longer. Give him time. He has a long time before his sleep patterns are set (after all, he'll go from periodic naps, to 2 naps, to 1, to none, and sleeping more at night. We even change our sleep habits as adults to fit our cirucmstances.)
As far as him screaming for 5 minutes because of you wearing earplugs ... it really didn't hurt him. Maybe you could ask hubby to spell you off every few nights, letting him get up to soothe baby and take care of everything but the feeding itself. You guys are in it together.
Little ones need to learn the skill of putting themselves to sleep, and sometimes they sorta get it down then get out of sorts and forget again. I was able to fix our major sleeping problems when my son was a baby by reading and using the techniques in The No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley.
Poor M.! You're worried about your baby's gooey eye AND you're exhausted! I'm sorry things seem crazy right now.
I cannot relate to mothers who say their babies sleep for so many hours, either. The medical definition of "sleeping through the night" is a four to five-hour stretch.
Five months is a big time for growth spurts. The American Acedemy of Pediatrics no longer recommends starting solids before six months of age to prevent allergies.
My very best suggestion is to call your local La Leche League Leader for her advice, and plan to attend a LLL meeting as soon as you can. You'll get lots of reassurance and realistic, gentle advice. LLL has been invaluable to me as a breastfeeding mom.
Consider nursing Baby on just one side per feeding so he gets lots of the creamy, high-fat hindmilk that will stick with him a bit longer. It's OK to allow him to "cluster feed" and nurse a lot over a couple of hours to help him bulk up for a longer stretch of sleep. It's also OK to go to bed REALLY early so you don't "waste" any of his sleep and stay exhausted. Consider nursing him while lying down, so you can rest and doze while feeding him--my personal salvation and the reason I'm not a walking zombie from lack of sleep! Remember your milk is so nutritionally perfect it is mostly digested within 90 minutes, so frequent nursing is your baby's way of staying stocked up on calories to grow on and reassuring connection with you.
It's likely the waking will taper off some within a month or so. In the meantime, contact LLL--all their services are free. You might like the books "The Baby Book," and Nighttime Parenting," by Dr. William and Martha Sears and 'The No-Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley. You could get them cheap online or borrow them for free from your local LLL group.
Best wishes!
He's still very young to be sleeping more than 5 hours. He's hungry, I think. My son didn't sleep longer until he was about 9 months old. He was solely breast fed as well. I didn't introduce solids until he was about 7 months old, because he was so big and growing so well on breast milk alone. He ate about every 3 hours, with one longer episode from about 7 to midnight.
I'd try feeding him longer - keep him on the breast longer at each feeding.
I also like the Babywise book - but it's only about helping him go to sleep, not staying asleep. If he's up, he's up!
You want to know that you are not alone in your son not sleeping through the night. Follow Sally's advice about attending a LLL meeting because you will meet mom's who will tell you the truth about their kid's sleeping habits. There are very few whose kids are "sleeping though the night" at 5 months who haven't done some sort of cry it out training. If that isn't for you, patience and knowingi that you are not alone will be essential. Those that are sleeping through the night, OFTEN find that their children begin waking up between 4 and 6 months, due to many developmental factors, including teething, normal growth spurts, an increased awareness of the world around them, and learning to roll over/sit up/etc.
I can tell you that you are absolutely NOT alone. My son never slept through the night - 3-6 hours was the longest stretch I got. I can count on one hand the number of times there was something wierd that happened and he slept for more than 6 hours.
Learning to nurse lying down, as Sally and another mom said, was my salvation, too, and finally made me feel human again.
Rice cereal, contrary to popular culture's beliefs, does not fill a baby up and is not recommended as baby's first food. Alternatives would be avocado, banana, sweet potato, brown rice, or just waiting until baby wants to eat off your plate, and taking baby's lead. You can get other great recommendations on first foods from Dr. Sear's Baby Book or Family Nutrition Book.
You will find what works for you and your family and having a listening ear and learning you are not alone from the La Leche meetings is very beneficial. Good luck to you and Happy Holidays!
H.
I have 6 kids the oldest is 9 and the youngest just turned one today. They were all breast fed and at night the longest stretch of sleep was about 3 hours at a time then they would wake up eat go back to sleep. I did get 5 hour stretches of sleep with the last one at night. My husband snores also and it is really hard to go back to sleep with him snoring. My fifth daughter had some surgery at a day old on her esophagus and coughs in her sleep because of the muscus and her crib was in our bed incase she had a problem for a while her coughing would wake me up all night long it seemed like. so sleep was a rare thing she still coughs but it's not an every night thing now. My baby sleeps wonderful in comparison but is still up a couple times a night. My sleep was so lacking that I would wake up in the morning and the baby would be sleeping with me and I wouldn't remember getting up with her. that was when I knew I had to get more sleep so when possible I would get the kids to bed and then go to bed it didn't matter if the dishes or clothes where done they'd be there in the morning but I needed the sleep. My husband also works nights so when he is off he stays up a lot at night becsuse that is what he is used to so if the baby wouldn't go back to sleep after eating but wanted to be up I'd give them to dad and go back to sleep. Baby would end up sleeping with dad on the couch because that would be where dad fell asleep. So the thing that saved me was my husband is willing and because of his schedule able to take some of the night waking hours after the baby had eaten anyway. Eventually the older kids did learn to sleep at night with a rare wake up even now. I'm still waiting for my one year old to sleep every night through but it will come. Sorry I don't have any real ideas to help but you're not the only one up at night.
At this age (assuming he is of normal weight and gaining in a healthy way), your son should be able to sleep through the night, with occassional disruptions due to teething and illness. What books have you read to get him on track? Is he on a schedule? I recommend Babywise and the Baby Whisperer. Of course he is probably nursing for comfort, but there is the possibility that he is hungry that you need to explore (ie; supplementing w/ formula, add more food, etc.). Keep him on a tight schedule for a while; that's the only way I know of to get babies to sleep through the night before one year old! He also needs to learn to comfort himself, which is something you'll have to experiment with (and both books talk about how to go about it). It's a challenge for sure but it's a great skill you will be giving your child. Good luck!
Hi,
I just want to say what an amazing mother you must be. I have 5 kids and not a single one of them slept through the night until they were at least 2 years old!! Every one of them have had ear infections (due to genetics) so much that they have had to have ear tubes and hearing loss. I've done the operation 12 times!! They all have had to have there tonsils out before they were two also. We are actually getting ready to take out my 16 month old tonsils in January. He has had ear tubes twice now. I do know that there sleeping habits were so disrupted during all of this due to the pain. Hang in there! It does get better! Now I just wish that I could take that time back and sit in the rocking chair all night! I know you are a SAHM but maybe you should ask for a night off once in a while and have your husband take over the night shift. It really wouldn't hurt and only give you a boost. And probably a happier mom.
Good Luck!
Get your husband nasal strips to help with the snoring! :)
There is NOTHING wrong with you at all.
Realize your baby could be nursing for comfort not out of hunger. If he is teething try motrin or teething tablets. It can become a bad habit that he is using you has a human pacifier. His gums hurt. If he is going through a growth spurt he needs more to eat and is hungry. Try pumping and have your hubby get up with him one of those times, then you can see a visual of how much in ounces he is needing.
Babies/kids will vary sleep patterns a million times. Teething and growth spurts are the killers on that long stretch. Don't start the paci!! That is one awful habit later. I say he isn't a self soother while teething I am guessing his gums hurt and he is using your breast to help relieve that. Which is very common and yes it can become a habit. If you get up with him and he has eaten within a reasonable amount of time, don't nurse him try giving him a natural teething tablet to get him settled.
My son slept through the night at 10 mos but my daughter didn't until almost the year mark, so it varies big time.
You can try formula which stays with them longer then breast milk just at night, but I am willing to bet if you give him motrin/or tylenol and teething tablets before you lay him down you may get longer stretches.
Hugs! My daughter ate twice a night until she was almost a year, my son once or twice until 10 mos, so it does depend on the child, what they are going through and all that.
