6 1/2 Month Old Not Sleeping Through the Night

Totally good ideas so far. Love the Baby Wise book also. But if you are feeding baby every 2 hours and jump to 4 you might have a very unhappy baby. Try 2.5 for a couple days and then 3 etc gradully getting to 4. My baby is ready to go to 4 hours between feedings but my supply wont support it. It seems there are a few things I can do to help my supply but is not working with every 4 hours. I just priced formula and am thinking of letting him try it to see if his tummy can handle it. I think my only other answer would be to pump more freequently to keep up the supply and bottle feed him. Just be aware that some women can't keep up their supply with breast feeding only every 4 hours. Hang in there!

At this age, he should be eating every 4 hours during the day, and not at all during the night (since you say he is a big baby now, and not underweight). I think the problem is that he is "snacking" and not eating big, full meals. This means he is not getting the richer hindmilk, and you are becoming exhausted. I think what you need to do is feed him at 6am, 10am, 2pm, and 6pm. Burp him, change his diaper, and put him to bed shortly after 6pm. Yes, I know it sounds ridiculous, but just go with me on this. If you hear him waking up at night... just let him be. He may fuss a bit, but don't go to him unless you hear him really wailing. More often than not, babies are just going through a period of light sleep, and by picking them up, you're waking them and making the situation worse. So... rustling around in his crib = just leave him there for a bit and see what happens. He might go back to sleep.

Now, it's possible he may be truly hungry at some point during the night. As long as it's after 10pm, go ahead and feed him. Really make sure he eats a good meal. Maybe change his diaper once he's eaten on one side, before he eats on the other side. Don't let him fall back asleep until you're sure he has eaten his fill. Burp him and put him back down. I would imagine that once you get him off of "snacking," he will get into a great sleep pattern and will be fully sleeping through the night in a week or two.

I read the book "On Becoming Babywise" by Gary Ezzo, and it goes into more detail on this. I really found that book to be invaluable when it came to getting my kids to sleep well at night.

I hope that helps! Sweet dreams!

From my experience, sleeping through the night doesn't often happen as soon as we would like. Both of my girls were sleeping through the night at 1 year old. I am also wondering, since your son was a preemie, if maybe he's still not ready to digest baby food and still needs more of your comfort. I'm sorry to say, but I would just be patient and wait it out. It won't be forever and at some point in the not too distant future, you'll be missing him sleeping next to you.

D.,

Not sure of your thoughts on formula- but we had good success giving my daughter just 2-4 oz at bedtime only- she was otherwise exclusively BF to 10 mos. just the little bit of supplement got us a full night sleep. Just a suggestion

M.

Sleep is one of the biggest things I struggled with with all my kids. I know that "they" say they should be sleeping through the night by 6 months, but honestly I think every child is different. I had twins (who were 7 weeks premature) and one slept through the night at 4 months...the other didn't sleep through the night until he was 2 years old!! They were treated the same way and the same environment. They were and are just very different kids. I tried every method under the sun, including letting him cry it out...did it for a LONG time and just didn't work with my son (and very hard on me). I do have friends that it did work for, so I'm not totally against it, it just didn't work for us. He just wasn't ready. He sleeps like a champ now!!

So really you have to do what you feel most comfortable with and what you think is best for your family. If you want your son to sleep through the night you will probably have to have him sleep in a crib away from you and you may have to let him cry it out (but he may just not be ready...). If you are not comfortable with this, you may just have to wait it out. There are many books out there that can give you ideas on how to help your child sleep better, but ultimately it is up to him to sleep.

So hang in there...I know sleep deprivation is hard..I also had a third child who didn't sleep through the night until she was 15 months...I am just coming out of my sleep deprivation years...there is an end...it is all temporary.

Some babies sleep through the night. Mine never did. In fact, I just got my 7 year old out of the habit of coming into bed with me in the middle of the night. My girls were definitely nursing through the night for a while. So, it's really up to you but 6 months is still very young and though some book might say that they "should" be able to sleep through the night, the reality might be you letting your son cry it out. But I think he's really too young for that even. The first year is the hardest, by the way.

Are you using a cosleeper? the one that fits against the bed (the arm's reach mini) is a godsend for breastfeeding and getting the slice of bed back.

I also slept w/my daughter (still do) with my arm around her all night, but she didn't wake when I moved her over. Maybe having him in the cosleeper with a hand touching him most of the night will help? For her, it was more about contact.

Congrats, by the way!!!

Hi D.,

Is your little one sleeping better now? There are some new technologies that are being introduced to help keep our bodies balanced and healthier.

If you want to learn more let me know.

Happy New Year.

N. Marie