I am going to fall apart if that kid doesn't let me sleep soon! I adore him but he's up every 3 to 4 hours. He won't take a bottle (I haven't given up yet) He eats cereal - big bowlfuls - and still wakes up in the night to eat. I lie in bed listening to the monitor hoping that he's just stirring but he isn't. He's hungry. ALL THE TIME! He's the most adorable guy. Why won't he sleep?
Thanks to everyone who answered! I'm still sorting through all of the advice. It feels SO GREAT that there's help! As soon as I raised the white flag and admitted that I couldn't take it anymore, the little kid slept. I've had 2 nights of 5-6 hours in a row and feel sanity returning. Who knows what tonight will bring? Whatever it'll be, I feel a whole lot more able to handle it :)
Read "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. There is likely information in there that will help. It was a savior for me!
It is very normal and expected that a healthy baby aged 4 to 9 months old will wake twice during a 12 hour sleep schedule. (For example: put him to bed with a feeding at 6:30pm; he'll wake at 10:30pm and at 2:30am for a feeding; rise for the day at 6:30am). Most Pediatricians agree that as of 9-10 months of age, most healthy babies should be able to sleep 12 hours without waking. But you've got a few months before that will happen!
I recommend you select a sleep training book to help you understand what you can expect from your baby at every age. A sleep training book can give you wonderful tips and instructions on how to help your child learn to soothe himself and sleep on his own. There are many good ones out there. I had success with both my children using "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby," by Marc Weissbluth, MD -- a Chicago-based Pediatrician and leading researcher on sleep and children.
Good luck!
While it is normal, I used the Weisbluff method for sleep. Try letting him cry it out. Crying is also normal, it exhausts them it will not hurt them it is their way of communicating and you will learn the cries that are real and the cries that are not. When he wakes now and cries he knows you will get him and feed him, he is smart, again, this is the way he communicates and it works. Good luck to both of you.
I would have killed for my 6 month old to sleep 4 hours straight at night. Sleeping through the night is just not the norm as much as people would like you to think it is. Go to dr.sears.com for more info on sleep. THere are growth spurts and teething starts about now...you will sleep someday!
Our son, who's just short of 8 months, has had consistent sleep issues, so we've just been through something similar. I hope you don't mind a father chiming in, since my wife bore the brunt of sleeplessness, but it really affected both of us.
If he's not malnourished at this point, he doesn't really need to eat in the middle of the night. He's not being deprived if you don't feed him.
First, some things you've probably tried --
A good snug swaddle with velcro -- Don't swaddle him when he first goes to bed. Wait 'til he wakes up in the night and needs some comforting. Then swaddle him instead of feeding. This helped us extend his sleeping time by a few hours.
Same idea with a pacifier.
Letting him cry: This is tough -- You have to check on him to make sure he's not stuck somewhere, wriggled around so that his arms are sticking out the neck hole, etc. But, he'll learn to put himself back to sleep. We decided to try it after reading about it in 'What to Expect in the First Year'. He'd been consistently waking up between 3 and 4:30. We let him cry it out one night and he did go back to sleep after a while. It only took one night. That was the last of the early morning feedings. The bad news is, he's still waking up about an hour before my wife is ready to get up (and I'm already gone at that point).
But he's made a lot of progress.
One more thing; you can try giving him a little squirt of Gripe Water to settle his stomach if he's convinced he's starving. And Orajel if he's teething.
Good luck -- the cuteness wears thin quick when he's robbing you of sleep.
It is still normal for a 6 month old to not sleep through the night. All babies are different types of sleepers just like adults. There are a couple of things I would start if you are not already, make sure you have some type of routine. My 6 month old loves bath time and I sing the same song to her every night and she has a lovie. It also helps to have some type of white noise. She typically goes to bed between 7:30-8:00 and typically sleeps until 3 and then will nurse and go back to sleep until about 6:30-7:00. I really struggled to get her to take a bottle, and the one that I finally found she would take was the playtex nurser. I know its exhausting I have a 3 year old who did not sleep through the night until he was 9 months old but is a now a great sleeper. There are also a couple things that cause babies to wake ..teething this could be happening now , also when babies are learning a new skill ( rolling over, sitting up, walking etc.. that they practice in their sleep and it can disrupt sleep patterns. I hope this helps some and just know that it will get better with time and for now just try and get a nap it if you can!
This getting up every 3 to 4 hours isn't going to last forever. I know it seems like it now. Before you know it, he'll be sleeping through the night. You're stronger than you think you are Momma.
I would try some different bottles and nipples. If he gets hungry enough, he'll take a bottle or he'll cry himself to sleep.
The other advice I would give you is to ask a friend or family member you trust if they would watch him for at least one night and you could try to get a full nights sleep.
The sleepless thing doesn't end when they are babies. Wait until the first time you send your kid to camp or on an overnight trip to granny's house by themself or something. Or the first time you let your teenager stay out late. This is part of the Momma job description - able to function on very little sleep.
