Trouble Sleeping Through the Night

He'll probably keep getting up as long as you keep getting up with him and feeding him. I went through the same thing with my daughter. It only took 1 night of not going in and feeding her and she stopped. Good luck.

They are all differnt. My daughter was getting up in the middle of the night for bottles until she was like 8 months old! Eventually he'll grow out of it.

A six month old should be able to sleep through the night. I was able to get my kids to sleep through by giving them 1 ounce less in that 4 am bottle each night until they were done with it. It is a relatively painless way to cut out that feeding. If you nurse, nurse one or two minutes less each night. Someone else suggested "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" - it's a great book. I recommend it to anyone who has child sleep issues.

well i have good news and bad, while most children that age are starting to sleep through the night, it is a developmental milestone just like walking and talking and some children reach it earlier or later than otehrs, and that's the good news, none of my kids slept through the night before their first birthday. my first one it was longer than that. and even when the bottle went away he still got up to get a drink and have a hug and then went back to sleep. from my experience it isn't about a child sleeping al night, really do we sleep through the nigth as adults? you roll over a few times or what not and go straight back to sleep. so when your son can soothe himself he will sleep through the night. good luck.

im not sure if its really normal. my daughter was sleeping through the night when she a month or two old. she got herself on a good schedule. try giving him maybe 2 oz. more in his last bottle of the night. good luck!

Hi T.:
I've found that it really depends on the child. We followed a great flexible routine for our first year and, even then, our baby was not sleeping through the night until around 10 mo. I think she just has a fast metabolism or something. She's 13 mo. now and still wakes at night at least twice a week for a midnight snack. We could probably work to cut that out entirely by letting her cry it out, but we don't mind so much. My girlfriend has a 6 mo. old that's been sleeping through the night since 2 mo.! So it's kind of luck of the draw. Don't worry about it. Keep working on estblishing your routine -- same bed time, maybe a big bottle before bed and he'll be sleeping through the night eventually!

T.,

What time does your baby go to bed? At only 6 months, his stomach is still very small, and that just may be the time when it is empty and he is hungry. Just feed him and deal; he won't be small and young for very much longer. He may be a morning person, too, and this awakening time is when he is ready to think about a new day. It is quite normal for little ones to wake and need food. You're gonna blink and he'll be asking for the car keys!

Best wishes,
K.

You know i went through that also and my dr. Told me that is was very normal as kids go through growth spirts and they are hungery more often. So very normal. :)

Normal is a bad word. Your baby is who he/she is! And it's certainly not abnormal that your six month old is waking up to eat in the middle of the night. You might try adding a little bit of baby friendly cereal to his/her last feeding of the night so he/she will feel full, or more full, through the night. I'm sure others are giving this same advice, and a couple seconds on google will turn up a more detailed answer, I'm sure.

Good luck!

Hi T.!

It's completely normal! It's so hard being a mom when you have "experts" and such telling us that our babies should be sleeping through the night, that our babies don't need to eat, in the middle of the night. After stressing myself out for a few months, I said screw it and went with my son's schedule.

Yes, there were times he woke up and only took a couple ounces. But more often than not, he drank his whole bottle. I had people telling me "he needs to fall asleep on his own", "let him cry", "stop feeding him at night, he doesn't need it". I never let my son cry it out. I did not stop feeding him at night until he was about 9-10 months and didn't drink much of his bottle anymore. My son did not sleep through the night until he was a little over a year old. And you know what? That's ok.

He's 18 months now, sleeping on his own, sleeping through the night, and very healthy. You do what works for you and your family. I hope you find your solution. Good luck!

It's all up to you. There are people who tell you that you HAVE to make them learn to sleep on their own. That means crying it out. There are other people who say that they don't need to eat at 4 am. These last people are probably right, but do you mind getting up? I have a 9 month old who still gets up, sometimes 2-3 times a night. She doesn't eat, but I rock her & she goes right back to sleep. I don't care. I, personally, don't like the cry it out method. I believe that if a baby is crying, there's a reason. My son, who is now 4, didn't sleep more than 5 hours at a stretch until he was about 15 or so months. I didn't do cry it out with him & now, he sleeps 10-12 hours a night & very rarely gets up. Maybe I'm lucky, but this works for me & my family & that is what you need to think about. If this works for you, be strong & do what you want. If you want your son to sleep more, be prepared for lots of people to give you advice on what you need to do. Listen to it all & again, take & use what works for you. Good luck.

Yes it is normal! However you might want to let him cry an extra minute or so before going into the room and see if he will go back down on his own. You could even go in but just stop giving the bottle to him because they will start a pattern and wake for that bottle if they get it every time even if they are not hungry. My son is two now and sleeps 12 hours straight throught the night every night, however, this was not always the case. He probably didn't start technically sleeping all the way through till about 10 months old. I am around many mothers all the time and all of our kids did something different and started sleeping all nihgt at different times. I do think he probably isn't hungry and might just want to see you at 4 am but you gotta do what you gotta do. Does he fall asleep all the time by using a bottle?? If so that could be a problem too cause I made that mistake for a while myself. If he does not you should be able to just go in and hold him for a few or rock him and then put him back down. It may sound cruel to some but I eventually had to just let my son cry it out till he just learned to soothe himself to sleep of course always making sure he was ok first. Bottom line is-he won't do this forever! Eventually he will go to sleep ok and sleep all the way through of course accept for those nasty teething times. Don't stress either and listen to other people. You need to do what works for you and your son and you'll figure it out soon enough! Good Luck!

Every baby is different! We have a 2 yr old and 8 mo. old. Our 1st baby starting sleeping through the night at 2 months! Our 2nd has taken much longer, though we've used similar methods.
If he takes a pacifier, have you tried giving him that when he wakes up at 4am? How long have you allowed him to "cry it out"? I know that that method is controversial, however, we did that with both of our children, and that's one of the only ways that they've learned to put themselves back to sleep -- though it's NOT a fun process!
Wish you the best!
Blessings,
Renee (also a 24 yr old mommy)

First of all, every baby is normal! and so is yours! :) Both of my children (now ages 5 and 15 months) were nightime feeders. What worked for me was by offering less at the feeding. For a few nights, decrease the bottle by an ounce or two. Next few nights, decrease by another ounce or two and so on. Hopefully within a couple of weeks, your baby's tummy will be re-trained to not want the bottle at that time. I found that nighttime feedings became part of my kids "routines" and I had to gradually retrain them until this part of the routine was eliminated. Keep in mind that nighttime feedings were not eliminated in my house until each of my kids were about 9 months old, so do what works for you and your baby! Good luck!

Two of my kids didn't sleep well until they were 9-12 months old. I was worried,and everyone told me different things. My dr. recommended the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Dr. Weisbluth. It is a fantastic book with lots of info from a pediatrician who has done years and years of research into how babies and children sleep. He said that babies often still need to eat once during the night, around 4:00, just like you said your son does, until they are about 9 months old. After 9 months or so, they are probably just in the habit of waking up, but until then there is no reason to worry about them waking up.

My third child slept very well and didn't always wake up, even when she was very young,and she didn't gain weight well. The dr.told me to go ahead and get up with her and not let her cry at night, even though if she cried for just a minute or two she went back to sleep. She needed to eat during the night.

Every child is different,and I don't think you need to worry about him waking up. If you don't have a problem waking up, and if he goes back to sleep pretty well after he eats, just get up with him. People are quick to make moms feel guilty and second guess themselves, but you must do what you think is best for your son and let the others keep their opinions to themselves in this matter! Plus, this time of waking in the night is short in the long scheme of things, and you might value the memories of nighttime cuddling with your little one someday (although the sleep deprivation makes you wonder if you'll ever recover at times!).

Hi, T..
Well, I can tell you that my baby is 6 months old as well and she will wake up just the same way as yours. She goes to bed at about 8:30 pm, so you can imagine that she really goes "a night" (7-8 hours) straight!
I would feel bad letting her cry it out, because if I were her, I would be hungry!!! lol
I hope you find your way, as others said: the best way is the way that works best for you and your baby.
Best wishes!!!
C.

Don't listen to people who tell you what's "normal!" Run run run!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ha ha They will only ever make you doubt yourself and your child (obviously unless it's something that needs a doctor's attention). Do what works for you and your son. Period.
Hope that's not sounding too strong! I just know how I would start to question myself and it never led to peace, order, etc. in our home, just frustration on my part. KWIM?
Blessings,
Lynn

HI T.,

Yes this is normal, all babies are different keep this in mind. Ask yourself this, is he drinking all of the bottle? If yes then yes he needs to wake up at this time. If he is not drinking the bottle (maybe just a couple ounces) then he could probably sleep through it. It is my personal opinion that he is still too young to let him cry it out. DO what you feel is best for your baby you know him best. Good luck

Yes, this is very "normal." A couple others have mentioned "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child"- I highly recommend this book. It has some great information. Not only does Weissbluth write about sleep problems/solutions, he explains *why* sleeping patterns, or lack of, occur.

Depending on what time he's going to bed, I'd say 4 am is pretty darn good since his stomach is still so small. :)

I have had the same problem, and my son is 19 months and still wakes and cries for a bottle around 3 am. I think it will be a power struggle to stop the habit, and I personally am not ready to be up all night again. I was told that once a baby is eating solids, they really don't NEED to have a night time feeding, but it is a personal choice, as I see it, to comfort your child.