5.5 Old Stll Waking Up!

I have noticed that my child will wake up wanting a bottle in the middle of the night if he is going through a growth spirt. Maybe that is what is going on for you little one? Or...if he has a runny nose, maybe an ear infection???

Have you tried lowering the amount of bottle? Each night lower it more so the body becomes accustom to eating more in the day and less or none at night.

J.-

I hate to say it but you lucked out with the first 2 children, a 5 1/2 month old usually does not sleep through the night, they usually still need a feeding or 2 in the middle of the night.

I have 2 children who didn't sleep through the night until 10-11 months old when we knew they did not need those overnight feedings. And at the point, as much as it tore us apart, we let them cry it out. And believe me, we were all the better for it, everyone was getting a full nights sleep and the kids (now 4 1/2 and 2) don't remember that mom and dad let them scream in their beds until they fell asleep.

Good luck!

You might try adding a feeding just before you go to bed. Push the 7:30 feeding a little earlier and add in a late night one. Your son is going 6-7 hrs it's just not the best 6-7 hours for you to get real sleep :). I nurse my son the last time at about 9:45-10pm. We wake him up, change him if necessary, and I feed him all in a mostly darkened room. By the time he's done nursing he is almost asleep and I can put him back down and he'll go right back out. It's how he first started going 6-7 hrs at a stretch around 4mos. He's now almost 8mos and will go about 8hrs between feedings overnight.

there is a big growth spurt at 6 months. maybe he is hitting it a little early?

my 9 month old still wakes to eat at night, don't know what to tell you...sorry, every kid is different

Hi J.! I do believe this is all very normal. It is hard to get used to a particular sleep routine and then have it change, believe me, I feel your pain. My daughter is 8 months and cutting three teeth right now. She is up every two hours during the night. I feel like a human pacifier. Plus she is learning to crawl. Your son may be getting a tooth, entering a growth spurt or learning a new skill (sitting up or crawling?). He just may be more sensitive to these things than your other children. I do not let my daughter cry it out either. I have tried it and it does not work for her. The No Cry Sleep Solution has worked well for her. Hang in there... it will NOT last forever :)

I know this might not be what you want to hear, but my son still woke up at least once in the middle of the night to nurse until he was about 9 months old. People told me to let him cry it out, but I didn't want to! He eventually outgrew it on his own. Other than feeding him extra before bed to see if he feels more full and sleeps longer, I think what you're experiencing is normal for your son.

Sounds like a growth spurt. Totally normal my son did the same thing. DO NOT GIVE IN and feed him CEREAL or put it in his BOTTLE! They now say to wait until your child is 6 months before feeding solids & your almost there. Just feed him another bottle when he wants/needs it. Then when he starts solids he will sleep even longer for you. Good luck!

My 5.5 month old regressed as well, to getting up twice a night just 2 weeks ago. I have to admit I was tired then too. Not sure what to do I basically went with the flow and tried to accommodate what she needed. It passed and she was back on one time a night. For my daughter is has been her teeth bothering her. She has her fist in her mouth or a wet wash cloth. I'm sure your son is dealing with something and that it will pass as well. Maybe try to get the other 2 kids to take naps as well as the baby and get some rest yourself.

Good luck.

Babies won't sleep as well when they are learning a new skill. If he's trying to crawl or talk he may not sleep as well. It's almost like they remember to practice at the strangest times!! Also, you mentioned you can't get him on a schedule, but he has created one himself- feeding during the night. My experience is if you decided that feeding doesn't happen, he will adjust, after a few days. That doesn't work for everyone, so you might want to ask your pedi if it's time. Hope you conquer this soon, for everyone's sake!

Hi J.,

I have been there with the waking this and trying to work during the day. My son is just coming up on 1 next week and finally starting to go through the night. I fed him close to 9, then he was up at 12-12:30 and back again at 4! I feel your pain! I took him to the pediatrician and she told me half of babies do not sleep through the night until 1. Of course, I looked at her like she was nuts. I do not know very many that fit that bill was my response. However, she said, she sees alot more babies than I do and it just is what it is. Trying to bend over backwards to get the child to sleep and being stressed out will only add to it. I really just gave up to the fact that he was not a good sleeper.

I also did not want to do the "cry it out" because I was trying to keep the almost 4 and 6 year olds alseep.

She did say to tend to him quietly, quickly with no lights, no emotion. In addition, putting plain water in the bottle vs. milk/breast will pass the message along a little quicker!

My sleep prayers are with you!

B.

My son is 15 months and still wakes up at 1 AM its a normal thing babies are all different and start sleeping all night at different ages.

Hi there J.. I am not sure if this info will help you or not, BUT -

if a baby wakes at the same time every night to eat, it is a habitual waking and learned hunger. You can slowly get rid of this feeding by diluting the bottle with more and more water each night over the course of a week. That way you don't have to let him cry it out.

if a baby wakes at random times, eats and goes back to sleep, then it is true hunger, not learned, and your little guy is probably going through a growth spurt, or simply needing more calories.

You can try adding one or two more ounces to each of his feedings during the day and see if it gets rid of some of the night feedings.

HTH, and best of luck! :)

HI!
My 5.5 month old girl was doing the same thing. It was so frustrating. I knew she wasn't starving for her bottle for the first wake-up (anywhere between 1 - 3 am) so I had to turn off the monitor, shut her door and our door and set my alarm for 20 minutes. She cried A LOT for those 20 minutes but then fell asleep. She still wakes between 4:30-5:30 and by then I feel she truly is hungry so I feed her and she goes down again for at least 90 minutes. I hope this helps!!

babies wake during the night. its what they do. i nursed my now 2 year old until 15 months, she woke anywhere from 8 to 12 times a night. count your blessings and just try to give him some cereal before bed, good luck

I just have to agree with your pediatrician. It's perfectly normal for a 1yo not to be sleeping through the night yet, particularly if they are breast-fed. My son didn't sleep all the through until he was 18 months old, and although my daughter would sleep through about once a week or so from the time she was a few months old, it wasn't consistent until about the same time.

Oh, J. I feel your pain.. My daughter is just about the same age as your son.. I thought that I was doing great when she was only getting up for one feeding in the night.. Now that she is teething it is more like three times that she wakes up! Every baby is different.. my family members keep telling me that their babys were sleeping through the night at this point.. I have no advice, but it is normal and hopefully it will pass soon, I am tired too!!

Hi Joceplyn. Babies go through a HUGE growth spurt around 6 months. My got up again for TEN days when this happened.
Talk to your pediatrician to make sure it is ok, but you can get rid of one feeding at a time by diluting the bottle with water. But I would wait until after the 6 month mark.
Good luck!

I think if you haven't yet it is time to start solid foods. We started our two at about 5 months of age and they did just fine. We started them out with cereal at dinner time and slowly added veggies (which I pureed myself). Talk to your pediatrician first.

I would also like to add this: DO NOT start giving him diluted bottles. Too much water is not good for babies-it can dilute their own electrolytes and cause some serious health problems. Babies should never be given water unless it is for diluting formula, and then never more than the recommended amount.

I have no help but encouragement that it wont last forever. I have a 14month old and he wakes 2-3 times a night and until 2 months ago 6-7 times a night. Yes I am very exhausted but what gets me through it is knowing one day he will be 16 and sneaking into the house instead of waking me up. I have just learned to enjoy those moments of frustation instead of being bothered by them. Good Luck!

I had a wise woman tell me once to push him later on the bottle, that is the time you give it to him. She used to tell me 6 pm & 10 pm .. it was too late for me but you might want to try it.

Not sure if you started him yet on cereal yet but that might help fill him up a bit, maybe put it in his bottle and give it to him at 8:30 instead -- it does seem late but you might get better results on the other end where you need it most!

Good Luck!

I agree with all that you lucked out with your first 2. My daughter is 7 months and doesn't sleep through. My son is 27 months and didn't sleep through until he was 15 months. Normal, normal, normal, I know it's hard, especially when school begins soon (i teach as well), but you may need to wait it out. My daughter is also learning to crawl--I second those who say when they're learning new skills, all sleep habits go out the window!

Two books I found very helpful: Contented Little Baby by Gina Ford and No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley (Spelling, I am not sure) You can get second one from the library for sure. Ford recommends lifting the baby to feed at 10:00 and also has advice on amounts or time for breast feeding and what to do during the day that helps.

try feeding him when you go to bed and they at least you can get some sleep together after that, and then he won't be hungry right as you are falling asleep!

Hi J.,

My heart goes out to you - It's rough working full time when baby won't sleep well at night. Hope the little guy works through it soon so you can go back to getting your sleep!

Could he be teething? Is he waking up for comfort, or food?

He could be going through a growth spurt, or getting ready for one. Has he expressed interest in starting solid food yet?

My Dr. said that when trying to stop a feeding at night, it's important to make up the calories during the day either with an extra bottle or by adding solid food to the baby's diet.

Hope this helps!

J.

My baby is turning a year in two weeks and still wakes 2 times at night to nurse. It's normal and it's healthy. Let it be :)