Help!! 5 mos old doesn't sleep through the night!

[mhall]

Help me with this EVERYONE!!!!!! My son is 5 1/2 mos old. He goes to bed every night at 9:30 or 10:00 and wakes up around 1:00 am and again around 3:00 am and then again at around 6:00am. I try just giving him his paci, and soothing him with calming talk, but he just wants to EAT. He is a bottle fed baby drinking Nutramigen formula. I don't know what I should do? He sleeps in a travel crib in our bedroom that is next to my side of the bed. Should I go ahead and move him out to the other end of the house (modular home) and into his crib in his own room? I have a baby monitor that I can use...I just wonder how I should go about trying to get him to sleep through the night. Do I wait to move him until he is STTN?

[Cheeseburger]

no help here... katherine wakes up 3-4 times a night sometimes to eat LOL.

I just deal with it.

Have you tried to feed him extra right before he goes to bed? I try to stuff katherine full of food right before she goes down for the night, which only delays her waking up at night, doesn't prevent it.

[Crissyanna]

Mine will be five months next week (well, if there was a 29th this month) and she still wakes up to eat through the night. Granted, those are normally quick feeds for her, they don't amount to a whole lot (she is b/f exclusively) but she wakes up because she needs them. I have also found that it is kind of a security thing. They need to know that mommy is there for them. They are too young to be actually testing at this age, but they need the assurance that mommy is going to be there for them. I have found that after my husband leaves for work in the morning, that if I take my daughter into the bed with me (we can't co-sleep because of my husband's c-pap machine) that she sleeps for longer stretches of time as opposed to sleeping beside my side of the bed in her crib. She just feels safer that way. I don't plan on taking that away from her until she is older and more ready. Besides, I like the three to four hours of sleep I get that way. That's the longest stretch I normally get at night.

I know this won't last forever. For anyone. They do eventually grow out of it.

[mhall]

Same here, CB. I have tried feeding him cereal at bedtime. I have tried feeding him more. I have tried to keep him awake later, but he is so tired he can't stay awake and he will just cry and cry to go to sleep. I am my wits end! I never had this problem with my 17 yo or my 19 yo.

I also have the same situation. My son will sleep better if I put him in my bed. I realize it is a comfort thing. But, I am really ready to get a full night sleep.

[1Cor13]

michelle

I just had to post... My kids never slept through the night till they were over 1 1/2 yrs old!! lol
My dd is on that same formula and she is 4 months now and she wakes every 2 hrs to eat sometimes.. and i just feed her.
Who are we to assume she is not hungry. ? I mean that should be tried at least. and then if they dont want it it could be something else. I would never 'NOT' give my child food .. and waking is just what babies do. I would not know what to do if they actually did not wake up..lol

Last night my dd was awake every hr for 4oz bottles of formula. from 12 midnight to 4 am...
just go with it. I would not move him away from you.

[Conch06]

My DS actually didn't sleep through the night until I moved him to his own room. It took a little getting used to but after about two weeks he started sleeping 11-13 hours a night. That was at 3ish months. Then at 5 months he stopped for another month and started again at 6 months. Yours will likely grow out of it if you give it some patience. But I found we slept much better when we all had our own spaces.

[breezykc2]

Hate to be the bearer of bad news...my kiddo woke up that much until 15 months old! Some just don't sleep through the night so easily...he was a formula baby too on Enfamil Soy....my little one now is 8 weeks and on Nutragimen too and same sleep/wake pattern as yours so far..........Good luck! You're not alone! LOL, I'm running into walls half asleep at night too! :lol:

[kanaclark]

wow! I wouldn't jump the gun on the Nutramigen yet. All three of ours were on it. (got to hate those allergies, LOL)
Gabe, now six, has honestly slept through the night since day one, and I didn't argue with it, LOL
Bri, 17 months, starting sleeping for about five hour stretches at around five or six months, then through the night around nine.
Patrick, 5 1/2 months, slept for three or four hours at a time until we put him in his own room. (well, he's in the living room b/c Bri stays awake to "see baby" in their room, LOL) But he now sleeps from 8:00 until about 5:30!

Your little one is probably just hungry, and if feeding him/her more before bed time isn't helping, he/she may just have a high metabolism. I can feed my dh a fullcourse meal at 6:30 p.m. and he's "starving like a pygmy" (his words, not mine) at 10:00 p.m. it happens. I would just grin and bare it for now.

[Timmys mom]

lol, my son didn't sleep through the night until he was 2 years old! Some babies just take longer. (((((((hugs)))))))) I know it's frustrating for mommy though I felt so drained! I never knew having a baby meant I'd never sleep again! lol. Hang in there sweetie this too shall pass.

[irishmum2boys]

Your little one may also be teething right now too! So that may be why he is waking up? My ds is 13 months and wakes up still about twice a night and wants to eat. Anyway it is hard when when they wake up so much during the night, so I pray you will know God's guidance in making decisions.

[buttercup_97140]

Another Mommy who's baby didn't sleep through the night. My Dd just started to really sleep through the night every night about a month ago, and she is almost 18 months old. She just wasn't a sleeper. She was breastfed almost exclusevly until 10 months or so...her choice, not mine. I have a friend who's son is 2 months older than my Dd and he slept through the night almost from the start, and he was bfed too. So, it's probably just your Dc's personality!

Nothing says Mommy like black rings under your eyes! :lol:

Amber

[EvaS]

My dd slept thru the night from 5 weeks old and she is b/fed but I think it's like Buttercup said that it's probably your ds's personality. I think my dd just really loves her sleep. This kid can win a sleeping contest.....LOL. Now if only my next one would be as good.....I'm not holding my breath....LOL. I don't really have any advice, but once he goes on solids that might help a little bit. But I wouldn't put him on solids just to make him sleep more, I had a friend who did that and she started solids really early....bad for baby. Anyway, hope it works out for you soon!

[rowansmom]

It seems to me that babies who sleep through the night before a year or two years old is an abnormality not the standard. What I mean is the baby who sleep through the night early is prob a personality thing like some said.

I think we moms get ourselves all worked up into thinking that if babe doesn't sleep through the night at 8 wks we are doing something wrong. (I know I felt that way)

MY DS is 14 months and still does not sleep through the night. If the waking up is bothering you, and hindering your life, you may need to look into ways that will accomodate your family.

however, if DC's waking is not botehrsome, just maybe alarming because you expected DC to be sleeping throught the night by now, I think re-evaluating your expectations would be good.

Try to think in terms of your family and the baby. What's best what will work, how do you feel when you do a cerain thing.

For example, I hated letting DS cry to sleep. so he sleeps with us and I nuse all night, but it doesn't bother us. It did at first because every one said it was wrong and he needed to be in his crib.

But in reality as long as what you are doing is safe, then you must do what works for your baby and your family.

I think it's a tragedy when certain, non-medical people write books telling us moms that our babies MUST sleep through the night at a certain age and MUST be weaned at a certain age.

I can't stres enough to a mom, that her instincts are he most fine tuned instruments in the world, and she must operate by them and not by anyone else's standards

hope that helped

[Cristina]

All I can think of is try putting him to bed a little earlier; keeping them up late only makes it harder for them to settle down for sleep and stay asleep (though I'll never understand why!)

Also, instead of rice cereal, try banana or sweet potato before bedtime; both are nice and filling. I personally am against rice cereal altogether (with the exception of reflux babies), but from what I have read rice cereal at bedtime can cause tummy problems in some babies.

[mhall]

SouthernMom, I certainly hope he has a high metabolism, his daddy and I sure DON'T! LOL

Christina, Thanks, I will try anything at this point. I'll give the earlier bedtime a whirl... As to the banana or sweet potato? Do you mean the baby foods, or homemade baby foods?

[mhall]

BTW, thanks to all who replied!!! Sorry.

[Cristina]

I always just fork-mashed the real thing instead of using baby food; partly because it tastes better but also because bananas and sweet potatoes are very inexpensive in my neck of the woods.

[Kensbev]

I'm a little late getting in on this, but I'll tell you what we did with my oldest. She still has the type of personality where she wakes several time during the night. I was just calming her back to bed, actually, lol. Her 9mo sister, on the other hand, sleeps like the dead through the night and has since she was about 6 weeks old. DH and I joke that God wanted to give us a break after our first!

But, to help my oldest sleep longer through the night, I would put her down at 8:00 pm for her bedtime, but I would get her out of the crib just before I went to bed at 11:00, nurse her, and buy myself a few more hours of sleep. Of course, she was usually up by 6:00, but that was 6-1/2 hours of uninterrupted sleep for me.

There are so many variations on waking for babies, there really is no normal. And I know that everyone gets so focused on their sleep, it's insane. Yes, they learn to consolidate their sleep in the early years, and, yes, it's our responsibility to teach them to sleep. But, at the same time, you've got to realize that your baby is an individual, if that makes sense.

I don't think that it's about getting our babies in synch with our schedules immediately, and I don't think that it's about mom and dad being sleep deprived for the first year of the baby's life, either. This is just my opinion, but I think that all parents should search for a happy medium between their sleep needs and their children's.

[mama bronc]

I agree that you maybe putting the baby to bed earlier could help. I also think that it would help you both if you moved the baby into ihis own room. Just like you awake to hear what the baby is doing, I think that the baby awakes when he hears you moving.

We started getting serious about getting DS to sleep through the night at 5 mos. I fed him a lot before I'd put him down at about 9 and then hope for the best. I found that he is much happier going to bed at 7:30 when he gets tired. Now (9 mos) he sleeps from about 7:30 until 5:30 when he wakes to feed. Then I lay him back down for another 2 hours.

THis is after letting him "cry it out" and suffering through that, but he is doing great now, Thank God!!! I decided that he needed to learn how to self soothe and get himself to sleep. Now when I lay him down at night, he doesn't even cry, just rolls over and goes to sleep!

Good luck, like everyone said, sometimes it is just about the baby's persosnality. I will be praying for you, I know how trying it can be!!!

Kendra

[mhall]

I think I may just try the idea of putting him to bed earlier at first. If that doesn't work, I will move him out and just use the monitor in his room. Maybe I should just go ahead with the move? I am just scared to death to move him out of my room. I know WHY I feel this way, but I can't seem to shake the feeling. (Background on that: My BIL and SIL found their 18 month old daughter, on Mother's Day morning when they went to wake her for church, had fallen between the mattress and wall; she had suffocated and died. ) I fear for my baby irrationally due to this; I was 5 months pg when this happened. I just remember seeing that sweet little angel face lying there and I see a resemblance to her in my little baby boy, as well. It is just overwhelming. I awaken at night and check to be sure he is breathing....I have done so since his birth. Even in the hospital.

[rowansmom]

how awful for your family! I have a 14 month old and we co-sleep. I awaken all through the night to check on him. I think it's something we will do as moms for the rest of our lives.

I pray that you will find the solution that you know in your heart is right for you and your baby

[mhall]

Thanks so much.

UPDATE: I tried putting him to bed earlier and waking him at my bedtime for a really good bottle. He still awakened, like clockwork, at his usual intervals/times and wanted only the paci the first time, which was different. The rest of the times, he was ready to eat again. I may move him out this weekend. We'll see. :idea: :roll: :oops: :) :shock: :?:

[Lisha71106]

I wish I could help! My daughter still wakes up every 2 hours or so, on bad nights it is every hour :shock: . It is so hard trying to function well on so little sleep, and also have the energy and motivation to get things done. [hug]

[mhall]

Lisha, Oh my girl, do I know what you mean about the lack of sleep and time. I really feel like I am going on 6 months of deprivation. NOT TO MENTION the time while I was pg and couldn't rest due to the discomfort of the last month of pregnancy. Gee, what I wouldn't give for a FULL night's rest!!!!!! :lol:

[danou]

If you want some "techniques" to encourage your baby to get a full night's sleep- check out the baby whisperer. THere is a website and book (tracy Hogg)... The website is very complete- her premise is that babies need a routine (not schedule)and need to be taught how to sleep. You may or may not agree with her entire philosophy- but there are alot of mom's out there who've found her ideas helpful. I haven't had to rely too much on it because ds (also 5 mo) has been sleeping the night through since 6 weeks old. I personally am of the frame of mind that if you can teach your child to sleep the night through (after all needs are met) then why not?

[mhall]

If you want some "techniques" to encourage your baby to get a full night's sleep- check out the baby whisperer. THere is a website and book (tracy Hogg)... The website is very complete- her premise is that babies need a routine (not schedule)and need to be taught how to sleep. You may or may not agree with her entire philosophy- but there are alot of mom's out there who've found her ideas helpful. I haven't had to rely too much on it because ds (also 5 mo) has been sleeping the night through since 6 weeks old. I personally am of the frame of mind that if you can teach your child to sleep the night through (after all needs are met) then why not?

Thanks, I will check this out!