Sleep Issues 6.5 Month Old

Our son is 6 months and he has his good days and his bad days, but we have accepted that the light at the end of the tunnel will be here soon and most importantly we are remaining consistent in our techniques for sleeping.

Our nighttime sleep is pretty good - only wakes once or not at all during a 12 hour period. The issue we're facing, however, is many of his naps during the day are only 45-60 minutes. He wants to take one super early, one in the mid-morning, and then we just pray that he'll take a big one in the afternoon. When he doesn't get into that restorative sleep phase, he's an absolute crab and unbearable.

Despite all of this, we still do the same, consistent wind down and soothing routine. We still put him down for naps when he shows telltale signs of readiness with the hopes that he will take a good, restorative nap. If he does, great...but if he doesn't, we just try again at the next nap opportunity. We are resigned to the fact that as long as we remain consistent in our approaches, he'll eventually be fine. And we ACCEPT that as how our baby is going to sleep for now.

How much does your baby weigh? Does he have a true *need* to feed in the middle of the night or is it a soothing/want? You need to decide what it is and how you want to approach it. No matter what you decide, however, keep it consistent. If you're going to go in and nurse him then expect the behavior to potentially continue with the wakings (I'm definitely not saying you're doing anything wrong; I'm merely saying that he has learned that when he wakes and cries for you, he knows you'll come and feed him so he will continue to call out for you when he can't go back to sleep).

You may be at the point where you have to, once and for all, decide how to approach this. Do you want him to sleep through the night? If so, you will need to make changes in order for this to happen. Do you reject all forms of CIO and refuse to do it? If so, you will need to wait until he decides he doesn't want to nurse/soothe from you in the middle of the night. Either way is fine - you just have to be comfortable with your decision.

I agree, his being able to self soothe and everything - great job Momma.
Six months is a typical time when babies have sleep changes and challenges and growth spurt. I know you hear it all the time, and it sounds like a bunch of nothing because you're not getting a full nights sleep - but they grow up so fast and in no time they will be sleeping through the night.

you'll have to wein him from night feedings. it will be hard at first but in the long run - when you're sleeping all night in a week, it'll be worth it. My son is 7 months and he sleeps through and has most of his life. He was on medicine though from shortly after birth until mid-february and that probably played a role in it. But I do have other children who I nursed as well and once the doctor said they don't NEED the food during the night, I stopped. My husband helped with them. You can offer him water at first in a bottle. My son goes to sleep between 8-9 pm and wakes between 5:15 and 6 but sometimes 7. I usually don't feed him before 6am regardless. I am no longer nursing either. He was 50/50 for a while once he started day care and he lost interest a few weeks ago. My daughter nursed until she was 15 months. Funny how all kids are different.

Hmm. Sounds like you're doing some GREAT things to help him learn to fall asleep on his own. Great job, M.!

I don't remember a lot about this age, but at 9 months, I finally was so exhausted from waking in the middle of the night to nurse and soothe, that I got Babywise: Giving your baby the gift of Nighttime Sleep by Ezzo and within 3 days, my 9 month old son was sleeping through the night.

Of course, part of the book tells you to let them cry a little before going in to soothe them and NOT nursing them, as it becomes more of a habit than a need.

In your situation, my first thought was to get springs for his crib. My son's had springs on each foot of his crib since he was IN the crib. Allows for baby to rock himself a little bit. Gives a little bounce to the crib.

Maybe your son needs more than one transitional item? If he's losing one lovey, maybe his second lovey could be right there. My mom said she used to toss 8 pacifiers in my brothers crib when he was a baby so that when he lost one he'd have another within reach.

Good luck. You'll get through this. Could be a teething stage? Could be just a 'need mommy' stage.