Sleep HELP for 5 Mo. Old!

I give my daughter milk that I have pumped and add a little single grain rice about 3 table spoons to her 6 oz., it sticks to her tummy longer and she usually sleeps to about 5 a.m.I usually put her to bed around 8:45 or so. I found the ealier I put her to bed even with rice she would get up really early.

I would recommend cutting down his naps from three to two. Maybe if he took a morning nap and afternoon nap only, he would sleep better at night. Good luck.

I concur with all the advice you've been given. Infact, I'm thrilled to see there are other moms out there that are ok with letting their babies cry for awhile to get themselves back to sleep. I have 16 month old twin boys and have been very blessed that they have been sleeping through the night since 13 weeks old. They are on the routine much like others have said, two naps - one in the morning one in the afternoon. At 8:00 they go to bed beautifully and sleep until 7:00 am when they hear us getting big sis ready for school. On the rare occasion one of them has awaken during the night, I set up the pack n play in the spare bedroom and moved him so he wouldn't wake up his brother. Within 10 minutes he'd be back asleep. Believe me I adore my little guys but unless one of them is sick and that's why he can't sleep, I will not give up my much needed rest to play in the middle of the night. I think that's an easier choice to make when it's not your first. Best wishes for more rest!

I also agree about taking out the 3rd nap, since it sounds like he's not tired at night.

The Baby Whisperer method really worked for my kids www.babywhisperer.com (by Tracy Hogg). Determining his cry to see what he's actually trying to communicate you. Babies cry for certain things, whether they're hungry or tired, etc. I was never one for letting a baby cry it out since that's his or her only way of communicating. But it's your child so you have to determine what's best and works best for you and your child.

Good Luck.
C.

My 6 month little girl has been doing this as well. Is your son cutting teeth by chance? Try not to go in there at all if he is awake. If he starts screaming or crying hysterically, obviously I would, but if he is just chatting, turn off the monitor.

BTW ... what works for my daughter (when she is not teething) is waking her up again before I go to bed. (about 10pm) and giving her another bottle or something to top her off.

I believe at this stage it is becoming a habit, so anything you can do to break it will best best obviously...but it still make take a week or two!

GOOD LUCK!

My twins started sleeping through the night (~8 hours straight) when they were about 6 months old. Not too bad considering they were in the hospital for 2 & 4 weeks and we didn't get to start sleep training them until they were 2 months old. We had to feed them every 3 hours, 24 hours a day until they were 8 weeks old. However my youngest, although born early, came home on time from the hospital and has always been VERY healthy. He didn't sleep through the night until he was 11 months old. He just wasn't ready. Be sure you have a consistent routine. Some babies need a little comfort to go back to sleep and that is o.k. You will get through it!

First off, I would say to cut back his naps to only 2 a day... one in the AM and one in the PM.

Secondly, push his bedtime back a little till about 8:30 - 9:00, depending on when you go to bed and get up in the morning.

Third, does he eat cereal right before he goes to bed? Fill him up so he doesn't wake up in the middle of the night because he's hungry.

Fourth, sometimes babies don't sleep through the night at this age. Some babies do, some don't. However, if you can deal with it, let him cry himself to sleep. He will eventually and will then "forget" to wake up and want to eat in the middle of the night. Because he will know that the midnight snack is no longer available to him!

Is his bedroom dark? I know my one year old son will sleep longer in the mornings when his room is dark. I didn't train him like that, that's just how he is. Might be that too...

Wish you all the best in finding some sleep!

Infants this age need about 14-16 hours of sleep in a twenty four hour period. If he takes three naps during the day, chances are he is waking up because he is not sleepy anymore. I would cut out that third nap and maker sure that his morning and afternoon nap are no longer than two hours(his afternoon nap should end no later than 4:00pm). Also, if you are nursing, he may need to have his last feeding a little later than 7:30 so he can last through the whole night. If you try this and he is still waking up, you know it is from habit, rather than from hunger or too much sleep. In that case, you will just have to turn the baby monitor off and let him work it out. Chances are after a few days, he will realize that you are not going to come feed him, so he will either talk and play by himself, or cry himself back to sleep. Either way, it will benefit you both. He will learn to self soothe and you will get some extra rest! Good Luck!

L.,
Don't worry! Your baby will sleep through the night when he is ready. Let him cry for 15 minutes, if he is still up - get him up and feed him!!

My daughter is 22 mos and still won't sleep through the night and I have tried everything from letting her cry it out to shorter naps and everything. But what has helped her sleep more than normal at least was I put a fan in her room and made her room darker. The fan exp has helped a lot. Thankfully they wont stay like this forever. Then comes the trouble of being able to get them OUT of bed and to school! haha!

First, I think you may be putting your child to bed for the night too early. Other mom's may disagree but my children's bed time has always been around 9:00. Both of my children were sleeping through the night (6 solid hours) by the time they were 2 months old (my son was doing it at 3 weeks!) I discussed this with my doctor because I was concerned they weren't getting the nutrition they needed by sleeping so long. She said as long as they ate heartily upon awaking and thier growth record still looked great at each appointment, that it was perfectly ok. One thing that I have learned since my children were toddlers, if I cuddle with them when they wake up in the middle of the night then it happens more often. So anytime my little ones wake up I pick them up and take them back to their bed and kiss them good night and tell them good night and then go back to bed. This was difficult for about 2 weeks because they would cry or get back up and we would do it all over again. But after about 2 weeks they got the hint. They are 4 and 6 now and only get up when they have a bad dream and once I tell them everything is ok, they go right back to bed. So I think patience plays a big part in this on your part because you may have to listen to him cry. But if you are putting your baby to bed at 7:30 and they wake up at 3:30 they are more than likely hungry! That is 8 hours. Maybe if you try a later bed time (last feeding at 9:00 and then bed time at 9:30) you will have better success. Good luck, I hope you figure something out soon! :)

You are SO not alone... what he is doing is completely normal. I realize that your pediatrian and everyone else is probably pushing that he is prepared to sleep through the night, but he may not be ready for many reasons. But first let me just that you can't expect him to fall back to sleep on his own at night if you haven't first taught him how at bedtime. How you go into bedtime is how he will expect all night wakings to be managed. Secondly, check out other reasons for the night wakings. My daughter is 6 months old and still gets up to eat, which was making me NUTS until we learned that she has GERD and doesn't eat enough during the day as a result. Now that she is treated she is sleeping better and getting up only once to eat. I consider this success. I'm certainly not saying your son has GERD, I'm just saying that you should make sure that he has all the tools he needs to sleep through the night successfully and then "show him the way." :) Good Luck!!!!!!!!

Both of mine would wake up and chatter or cry around 11pm or midnight. Turn the baby monitor off so you can't hear him and let him chatter away. He will eventually fall back asleep. Nursing him will reinforce the waking.
If you want a gradual approach, go in there to comfort him, but don't nurse him. Don't even pick him up if it helps let him know there's no nursing at night. it may take 3 or 4 nights.
Good luck!

My boy used to wake up at 3am every morning when he was that age, then I realized that it was the 3am feeding he was after so I stopped giving him milk before 6am. They get into their habits...and yes he cried, gave him water. After 2 nights he was over it. If he sleeps better at night he won't nap as much during the day. Mommy needs her beauty sleep too. Good luck :)

I would try cutting nap times to twice a day also and not let him sleep past 4:00 during his second nap. It can be so tough when they wake up in the middle of the night but just remember this too shall pass. Good luck!

Hi There L.,
Our 4 month old is on about the same schedule. She goes to sleep at around 7:30pm. We wake her up at around 9:30pm, change her diaper and give her a bottle. We feed her in her room with the lights off. She drinks 4 ounces and then goes right back to sleep. That 9:30 bottle has eliminated her waking up in the middle of the night. Hope this helps.
Good luck.
T.

L.,

My daughter just started sleeping thru the night at 9 1/2 months. I thought there was something wrong or I was doing something wrong. She, near the end, was waking almost four times a night. I talked to many Pediatricians, other moms, and my doctor; who all shared similar stories. It appears your child is actually in the norm. It stinks, I know!
I didn't want to let her cry it out. I did everything I could. I visited her briefly at night and started waiting longer and longer before I went in to help her. The visits decreased and finally, at the very end, I let her cry one night for 1 1/2 looonnnnggg hours. It was torture for me. The next night she slept. I am not sure that is what did it or it was just the right time for her. Whatever it was, she is now sleeping. I don't think that I have given you much help, but I want you to know it will eventually happen and that a large majority of babies don't sleep thru the night very early.

K.

A friend of mine recently got her son at the same age to sleep through the night. She read a book called "Baby Wise" that basically teaches you to address the baby cries, hold them etc. in intervals.......I've heard alot about this method on tv etc. so I guess it works. I'm about to have another baby in two weeks and definitely going to work on this. My 3 year is still barely sleeping through the night! Good luck.

Take out the 3rd nap. At that age, my son got up at 7, slept from 9-11 and 1-3, and then went to bed at 7. That's just the way we worked it.

Do you have any toys in his crib to help him back to sleep? I had the Fisher Price Aquarium thing for the crib, the Fisher Price Bird thing (he loved it because it put a light show on his ceiling), and a mobile with a remote control. I would put the remote outside in the hall, and I would turn on his mobile to help him go to sleep. Hope you find something that works!!

My five month old daughter sleeps thru about 85% of the time...the other 15% of the time she will "talk" and eventually cry as well. I can usually pet her and cal her back to sleep. If not, I will nurse her and she is back in the crib in about 10 minutes and good until morning. I do keep her up a little later than 7:30...and, I think that helps. Usually about 8:30. Hang in there!!

I would say that you need to make bed time a little later, my 5 mo old dd goes to bed between 10 and 11 pm. I know it's a little late, but she never went to bed earlier and sleep through the nigt. it works for us with our schedules, so I'm not going to bother changin gher routine. I would suggest 9 pm, and make sure he's getting enought to eat before bed time since you hav eto nurse him back to sleep. Try giving him a little bit of cereal with his bottle before bed. Try a bath with the night time soap, or just the lotion and put it on your chest and neck also if you rock him to sleep or cuddle with him before bedtime. I wouldn't take out his third nap unless it's need, just try to cut his afternoon nap shorter and try to get him to take his late afternoon nap aroun 4 or 5 and make it short. You might also try some hard play time, that may wear him out, unless he's like my daughter and likes to take 10-15min cat naps. Good Luck!!

My son was having that same problem about that age. My mom told me to cut out one nap a day (ususlly it was the one in the late afternoon, closer to bedtime). If there were days that he was just too tired to go with out that nap she suggested that I put him to be a couple of hours later. For us it worked like a charm.

HTH

I agree that taking out the third nap would probably make a difference. Be careful about letting him cry it out. I read a critique on the "babywise" method and these psychologists said that the babies, after crying it out, have basically given up and have detached emotionally. They cry at that age because there is some need. This is the only way they can communicate at that age. When they are over six months, then you can judge about whether to let them cry or not. I wouldn't let it go longer than about 15 minutes though.
Be sure you have a routine at night. Ex: bath, one on one play, feed, then walk around a bit or put them down to settle themselves. Routine is important during this time.

Our son was like that, too. He is now ten months and still wakes up sometimes in the middle of the night to play or cry. We just started at six months letting him cry it out. It really sucked for me because I can't sleep through it, but eventually, in about a week, would only cry for two minutes, then play quietly, then fall asleep. Good luck!