I Really Need Some Encouragement Regarding a Nonsleeping 5 Month Old!

Hang in there - I know it feels like you are never going to get a full nights sleep again! I see many others have responded and lots of us have been through it too. You are doing a great job and it does get easier :)

Sounds like he is too busy learning new skills to want to sleep. Wonderful for him! hang in there, mom. Nothing will stay the same for long at this stage of the game.

P

If he is not a good sleeper normally and is still not getting better it may be time to schedule a sleep study. My oldest daughter was on a sleep APNEA monitor until she was 10 months old. She is now 11yrs old and had a sleep study done last year. Although the APNEA is gone the study showed that she does have restless leg syndrome and she still does not sleep through the night. Her twitching legs wake her up at least 1-2 times a night. It's just easier now because she is older and gets up and goes to the bathroom than goes back to bed.

Uh, so he rolled to his stomach this week, huh? Ding, ding, ding. That's a bell going off. I guarantee you that is why you are seeing LESS sleep from him right now. In this first year, they are constantly learning new things, working on new things, thinking about new things, going thru one phase after another. So yes, you already have a "bad" sleeper, but he can still go thru phases where he sleeps worse and even sometimes will sleep better. Every time my little one had a bad sleeping spell, it was usually followed by a new tooth, a new skill, new something.
And I have to ask why are you holding off on nursing him? If that's what he wants and it works, why not just go straight to it? Yes, babies can nurse for comfort as well as nutrition, but that's part of the beauty of breastfeeding. You can offer him the ultimate comfort. And it's not spoiling! It's nature and natural for him to want comfort at the breast.
You may already be realizing you don't have a good sleeper. And that can be tough on a new mom. Not just the lack of sleep, but also the outside pressure to have a good sleeper. I just want to take this time to tell you that I also had a bad sleeper and it does not last forever, even though it seems like it now. I'm amazed at how little sleep we got the first year. I didn't know humans could survive on so little sleep. But now at over 2 years old, I have a great sleeper and napper. And we never let him cry himself to sleep, never scheduled his sleep (routines: yes, schedules: no), never stuffed him with solids or medicine to make him sleep, and let him comfort nurse and nurse to sleep. At some point, without me doing anything different, he just started sleeping better.
Even though other moms (especially here at mamasource) will tell you to let him cry (mean advice), feed him more solids (outdated advice), I think sometimes there is simply nothing you can do except comfort him when he needs it and wait for this phase to pass. And make sure you get sleep when you can, even if it's not much.
Here are some links I think you'll find helpful. At the very least, they will tell you your baby's sleep habits are normal (not fun, but normal). Best wishes and good luck!

Sleeping thru the night
http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/sleep.html

Studies on Normal Infant Sleep
http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/sleepstudies.html

Nursing to sleep and other comfort nursing
http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/comfortnursing.html

Got Sleep?
http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/got-sleep.html

What is preventing your baby from sleeping thru the night?
http://www.kellymom.com/pantley/pantley01.html

Solving naptime problems
http://www.kellymom.com/pantley/pantley27.html
This one has a great chart that shows how much total sleep (in 24 hours) babies need at different ages. This one also has a similar chart http://askdrsears.com/faq/sl17.asp

Dr. Sears is great! Check out this link to his website where he has some great articles and tips on sleeping http://askdrsears.com/html/7/T070100.asp

L.,
I know it's tough when they don't sleep. He may have hit a growth spurt and now needs to be nursed at night again. Do you have anything in his room that makes a steady noise that can block out other sounds? Our youngest is a very light sleeper so we purchased an air purifier that is a constant noise to block out car sounds and dogs barking and that helped. Another thing that worked for me was Arbonne's unwind massage oil in his bath at night. It's an aromatherapy that can be used in a bath. If you're interested in trying that one, I can get you some. Otherwise I'd suggest just staying with the night time routine you already have and maybe try to increase the nursing time (if possible) just before bed. I hope some of this helps!

S. T

When I had this problem this is what the dr told me to do. She said to put her in her bed and let her cry. I was supposed to know that she isn't wet or dirty, not hungry, and nothing was hurting her like cloths or something in her bed. She told me to kiss her and tell her night night and to leave her alone. She told me that th more that I let her stay up the more she was staying awake and grouchy and the more that I stayed awake I was grouchy with less patients and that wasn't good for anyone. She told me to lay her down during the day and go outside or take a shower and let her cry herself to sleep. And at night, she needed to cry herself to sleep and I needed to ignore it. If I needed reassurance that I could go back in and see about her, hold her, talk to her and tell her it is ok but it is night night time and the put her back down and leave. She told me that it would be a rough couple of days but guaranteed me that life would be so much wonderful next week. I did just what she said and my little girl is a good sleeper now, gets plenty of sleep, so do her father and I, and she now knows that is the routine. It really did make for a wonderful life BUT it was a pain for the first 3 or 4 days.
She told me it was like training your kids. She also explained it to me this way: what would I do if I had a 16 yr old that wanted to stay out till 3:00 am in the morning? Well I wouldn't allow that and make her come in earlier. The dr said, " well ok, why would you allow a 5 month old to stay out all night long". That kind of made sense.
Good luck, I hope that helps but that is what I was told and it was alot better. Yes, it hurt my feelings to let her cry but I had to stick with it and discipline myself to train her. In the end, life was so much more wonderful.

talk to the doctor about this. it could be acid reflux. if not the doc may have some ideas of why he is doing this.. hang in there hun but remember a little bit of crying will not hurt him. trust me im not one for the cry it out but there are days when you are so tired that they just have to lay in the crib and cry for 15 mins.

We have a five month old...almost six month old now who did the same thing. She was a great sleeper until about 4 and a half months old and then things went down hill. She fought her naps like crazy and then started not sleeping well at night either. After some trial and error...we figured out that putting her down for nap at 10 and 2 really works...and we moved her bed time up about a half hour. She used to nap whenever she got sleepy and then bath at 7:15ish and she was out by 8. We tried lots of things and then finally tried what the doctor suggested and many other parents had suggested too. I nurse her or rock her to sleep at 10 and again at 2 and then giver her her bath at 6:45 and she is out by 7:20....and the best part of all she is sleeping much longer now. She sleeps from 7:20 until 6:30ish...with about two feedings during the night....one about 11:30 and one around 3:30... SHe usually sleeps at least an hour if not an hour and a half at the morning nap and the afternoon one is shorter, but at least 30 minutes...and she is fine when she gets her bath at 6:45....not too tired... We think she was just overtired at night and had a hard time settling down for the night. I usually nurse and/or rock her to sleep each time...but she is usually out in 15 minutes or so...which is fine with me...I just want her to sleep!!! SHe is much happier during the day too! Anyway...good luck! I know it sounds crazy that they will be sleepy again by 2...but they are...she is ready to go again around 2...sometimes a little before...

You'll both figure this whole thing out, but in the mean time, I swear by this book and have suggested to everyone on Mamasource, but go to the library or buy it, but read the book The No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley! It saved us and our little girl and she eventually started sleeping through the night for us, and I applied everything I learned from the book to our second and he was sleeping and napping beautifully by 4 - 4 1/2 months! Good luck!
A.

I remember your previous request, and I was going to respond to it, but then I realized that nothing I do seems to get my almost 6-month old to sleep thru the night, so what do I know? She is gradually sleeping better, but it's slow going, and I'm still working on accepting the fact that there's not much I can do to change how slowly her sleep is maturing.

Hang in there! My baby does not like going down for naps either, and so I know how frustrating it can be! Probably the thing that helps me the most is knowing that her sleep is not as bad as it was last month, and so at this rate, I will get a good night's sleep sometime....not soon.... but sometime.

You have gotten some great advice! :) I feel like time is the only answer. Mine now has continued in phases of great weeks, good weeks, horrible nights, etc. And every book I read all say... This method will work UNLESS.... new tooth, growth spurt (like every 2 months for about a week!), hungry, out of town, gas, fever, cold, restless leg, what else am I forgetting?? etc. So vertually everything!! Therefore I say, whatever you are doing that works for you is the right choice. :0)

Around 5 or 6 months I finally realized I need to just love her through these times, try to embrace the crying, and appreciate the good things. They are only little for a SHORT time. Some people can't have children, and I am so fortunate even if she is screeming her head off. Plus, I noticed you are a SAHM too, be thankful you don't have to report for work in the morning on top of no sleep. I am just now staying at home and whew! What a difference, I am so glad I at least don't have to set an alarm to be showered and ready to go BEFORE she gets back up!

P.S. I definitely did the cry it out for 5 min, then 10 min. then 15 min. when I knew for sure she was not any type of sick and it literally worked over night! ...But like I said then there are always things that get them 'off' a little.

Blessings!
Amanda

My little girl did the same thing when she learned to roll over. I think she would wake herself up by rolling over and it probably just felt different to her? By experiment I would sometimes let her sleep in the swing or car seat to see if she would still wake up and she didn't. So I was convinced it was the rolling over bit. I took a blanket, folded it long ways 2 or 3 times and tucked one side into the crib and strapped it across her lower belly and tucked the other side in. (This is a call you will have to make as some moms would worry about SIDS, I checked on her many times and never saw a hazard). It kept her on her back and when she struggled to turn over she woke a little but learned to sleep on her side. I would just pat her back, give her a pacifier, and let her wine a little. I didn't use it too long, she slowly adjusted to her side and then once she was on the stomach it was a quicker adjustment. Is he truly hungry? I think it is more likely that he is using it to sooth. You could try to leave him in the crib and give him a little water so he knows you're not playing that game. Looks like you have started the sleep training marathon ... stick with it! Try to remember this is just a phase and probably won't last too long ...good luck!!!

he is only five months old. he is growing and needs to eat at night. because you keep trying to sooth him without feeding him, he is so worked up that he wakes again later. he sounds like he is sleeping pretty well, i think the problem may be your expectations. my niece woke to nurse every two hours until she was one, and my daughter woke every 4 hours until she was weened. you seem to expect him to sleep through the night, and go back to sleep without eating when he does wake. thats just unrealistic.

I completely agree with everything Ingrid said, and feel for you as well, L.. I have an 11 and a half month old (my second child) who seemed to start out as a good sleeper and then got progressively worse without us changing what we were doing!! Talk about frustrating, but it wasn't his fault. He's is a big baby and still breastfed and I believe when he wakes up at night he is truly hungry. We have just adapted and the lack of sleep is not fun, but he's getting better, both naps and at night. Whenever he's teething, learning something new or going through a growth spurt, the waking up seems to happen more and then it fades to just once maybe twice a night. My first child, a girl, was never made to cry it out, she nursed to sleep and the last two nursings she had to give up were at her one-time a day nap and at bedtime (at 15 mos) and both she and I were ready to stop and she transitioned beautifully without so much as a peep and to this day (3 and a half) is a very sound, great sleeper. Try to look at it as this is such a short time (the lack of sleep and nursing at night) as compared to their entire life time (although at 3 am it may seem like it will never end). Just know that somewhere another mother is up with her baby trying to get him/her to go back to sleep- that always helped me. Good luck!

Girl, it all will pass, our 2 boys were up during the night 2-3 times till they were 12 months and started sleeping through the night at 16 months.Have you tried letting him sleep in the bouncy, swing, co sleeper next to your bed?Does he have a reflux?Is he normally happy easy going baby ,but when it comes to sleeping? I have a friend who's baby had troubles with sleeping, but also was not happy during the day, turned out she was very uncomfortable because of the food mother was eating while breastfeeding, after the diet change she is a different baby.I do not know , we just tried different things with our kids till something worked......and when nothing did, yes they cried.

Is he bf or bottle feeding?
Sounds to me like he is having a growth spurt, and trying to build your milk supply up more. He may spend a week nursing extra. Try nursing him at 6 and bath, and bed. Before you go to sleep. pick him up in the dark room and nurse him again. Put him right back down. See if that helps.

Hi,

I have a little girl who is almost 5 months old. She sleeps from about 9:30 P.M. until after 7 in the morning. I was wondering if you are giving your baby cereal? I give Kallie cereal twice a day mixed with fruit and it really fills her up. Maybe you should consider giving him some, at least before bed. That's always an option. Hope it helps.

C.

Hi L.! When you get ready to put him down for bed at night try puiltting some pabbler in his bottle. Most of the time it's just where he is hungry because of gas pockets which will cause them to awaken crying. Also trying to play some soft praise and worship music or some soft music. That will help calm him. I pray this will help. Let me know the results. I will be praying for you all and God Bless. ____@____.com.

Seems babies go through growth spurts about every 3 months and their whole schedule goes out the window. They eat more and sleep less until it evens out & they go back to the way they did before. That was my experience with my children. There are some soothing baby washes out there that might help, but it's probably just a stage he's in & you'll have to go through it knowing 'this too shall pass'...for at least another 3 months.

Hi L.!

I don't have much to offer except {{{hugs}}}. I have been there and done that. It's possible that your little one has changed sleep patterns because of a growth spurt or that he's reached some developmental milestones. It can be frustrating especially when his waking moments don't mesh with ours. Like the pp mentioned, "This too shall pass". I suggest try napping with him during the day to catch up on your sleep or seek help from your partner to give you a little break here and there.

Hugs,
J.

L. have you tired feed your baby ceral when him several times a when he is hungery. I had the same problem with my first child he would not more than at nite. Once I started mixing ceral in his milk he starting up to 6 hours longer than before. Doctors say not too, but sounds like he is not getting enough to eat. My son was 3 months old when I started this and today he is a healthy 33 year. Start with 2 oz and increase to 4 oz and see how he does. Rice ceral is the best. although the breast milk they say is better, it doesn't fill his little tummy. Try this and let me know how it works

I agree that he is likely going through a growth spurt, ones like this come in waves. I still suggest reading the No Cry Sleep Solution for aide in helping him learn some self soothing ... it's really worth your time even if you read it on the toilet! HA - that's about the only time I'd find to read it. It was a life saver for us. We also went through rough patches like you are, with our little guy. It DOES pass! (he also could very easily be a early teether!) Good luck!

The same thing happend to me with my daughter around 4 months old. I was desparate to I started to search the internet for some sleep help. I ordered the 3 Day Sleep Solution. It was a miracle and her nap/nitetime program had my baby sleeping through the night in 2 Days!!! They send the material overnight along with a workbook as well as allowing you to download the info right after you buy it. We did have to let her cry it out for a bit and learn to put herself to sleep. Just be consistent and stick with the plan. I know how hard it is when they get up in the middle of the night but try to resist the night feeding, they will come to expect it. We ammended the program a bit and put our baby down at 8pm every night. She now sleeps from 8 to 6:30 or 7am. Hang in there! I hope this helps, it gave me my sanity back. Good luck and let me know how it goes. This program is well worth the $20, I would have paid much more for a soild nights sleep.

He also might be teething. Every time my son got a tooth, it changed his schedule for a week or two. He tended to be unconsolable. Does he have any signs of that? Slight fever, diarrhea, more drooling... It seems like my son would be good for the day, but in pain at night. He also did the ear infection thing too. Might be something else to check on. All in all, it seems like he is pretty good. I think my son started sleeping through right around 11-12 wks, but not consistently. Keep with your routine. They grow up so fast, and sometimes i miss sitting and nursing him back to sleep. Just take a breath. You are on his schedule still, not yours. hang in there..

Hi L.,

I feel for you, babies that will not sleep is nerve racking.
I had the same situation when my daughter was that age. I noticed that every time she was in the car she lasted less than five minutes and was sound asleep. So my husband would take her for a ride in the car about bedtime and come back in about ten to fifteen minutes lay her down and she slept through the night. We did that for about a week or so then noticed as soon as she was in her car seat she would go to sleep, yea no more rides. That was only for a short time, then I would rock her to sleep. From then on she slept through the night.
I know it's a hassle to take your baby out for a ride, but it worked for us. Try it, I hope it works for you.

M.

I still nurse my 30 month old to sleep for nap and night time...I'm sure with out it she wouldn't be getting the sleep she gets..I know I need to wean her so she can fall asleep when I'm not there but I'm always there... so far.. .I just feel she's not ready right now.. I never tried to force her back to sleep with out the boob..I just think it's so natural that she fall asleep this way. Also do you remember when it started.. .after birth or 2 mos. ? After shots?? If so I would delay them because they can upset a child's sleep. Does he/she sleep with you? I wouldn't be hard on yourself if you nurse your child back to sleep .. I think it's a good thing... but that's just me... and my girl still wakes up for the boob. But I"m not willing to fight it and I'd rather we both sleep... I know the time will come when I must wean but I'm going to wait it out a bit. Do you nurse your child for nap time?

Hi! My 8 month old son went through the same thing when he learned to roll over. He got better at sleeping again after a few weeks....but went through the waking up again when he started teething and crawling. We think it's because he muscles are learning something new (and when he was teething because his gums hurt), and maybe he's having dreams about it or something. This last time, with the crawling, we have started letting him cry a little longer. Usually he will fall asleep again, but if he cries more than 15 - 30 minutes, I'll go in to make sure he's ok and pat or rock him back to sleep, but I don't feed him (although I think I did when he learned to roll). Good luck! Hang in there, it will get better soon!

I know you may not want to do it, but you may need to let him cry after you go get him at 1:30. Feed him, change him, etc. (with as little stimulation as possible-no talking, no singing, dim lights, etc.) and then put him back to bed. Try not to go to him for a few hours, even though he may cry. Believe me, I know how tough this is. We had to do it with our daughter because she refused to go to bed at night. It was hard, but now she sleeps 13 hours straight at night. She is not a good napper, but I can deal with it when i get a good night's sleep. Here is a book you might try: Healthy sleep habits, happy child (dr. wisenbluth).

Hi L.,
It could be so many things- teething, a growth spurt, regressing, etc. It's hard to say. Have you felt around in his mouth for teeth buds about to pop through? If so, a little tylenol will help.
Could it also be that he is having a reaction to something that you are eating? I say this because my son was a poor sleeper and had horrible colic while I was breastfeeding. Ironically, we switched to formula at around 4 1/2 mos when I went back to work, and the problems subsided. We only found out when he was 1 year old that he has a severe egg allergy. I didn't eliminate egg completely from my diet while breastfeeding, so my theory is that the allergy was present in him even then and was probably the cause of the colic. If only I had known then!
Also, I think that 8:00 is a little late. I think that we started my son's bedtime routine at 5 mos around 6:30 with him being in bed by 7:00. We also got a sleep conditioner for his room around this time which was a lifesaver for our light sleeper. If you are interested in the model I bought, email me and I will give you the info. We still use it in his room today.
Hang in there! Things will get better. :)

Is he on any solid food yet? When our son started sleeping less at night our ped said he was not getting enough calories during the day. Sure enough, we started feeding him more and he slept longer at night. Hope this helps. Blessings to you.

I think it is an unrealistic expectation that a little one will put themselves to sleep and will go back to sleep on their own like an adult.

I nursed all four of my children and none of them slept through the night until they were between one and two years old. When they go through a growth spurt they tend to nurse more frequently. I would nurse the baby to sleep at night and put him in the crib. When he would wake up in the middle of the night I would put him in bed with us and nurse him back to sleep. When the alarm would go off in the morning I would nudge my hubby to put him back in his crib.

When he wakes up in the middle of the night you want to change him quickly and nurse him while he is still drousy. That will get him back to sleep and back down for the night faster. When he wakes up and you do anything besides nursing him right away you are letting him get wide awake and you are keeping him up longer.

All of my children napped during the day until they went to kindergarten. If they needed help falling asleep I would do one of the following--rock them, lay down with them until they fell asleep, drive around the block and put them to sleep in the carseat. If you have not been getting enough sleep you may want to try napping with the baby so that you both get some sleep. My sister used to put the carseat on the dryer to put them to sleep. I would do whatever it took to get them to sleep because I needed that time to get things done.

You have to be careful not to let them get in a routine of not sleeping. Once they get on that schedule it can be hard to break. Just keep working at it. It will get better.

When my daughter was this age, she got several ear infections that caused sleeplessness. I didn't know at first she was in pain and just thought she was having trouble sleeping. I would have him checked for ear infections to rule that out, then go from there.

i agree with the other moms that he could be teething or going through a growth spurt, both of which cause your baby to want to nurse more often at night. He also sounds very overtired. Babies at that age cannot tolerate being awake for more than 2 hours at a time - meaning - that from the time he wakes in the morning until you put him down for his first nap, no more than 2 hours should pass in total - he should be down for his nap in his crib by the 2 hour mark - if he wakes at 7am, he should be in his crib by 9a. this way you hit that window where they are not so overtired that they can't fall asleep. try it and see if it works. it means you may have to make adjustments to your own schedule - you can't be out running around all the time if you want him to be able to nap consistently and in his crib, but it's worth it as you'll have a child with healthy sleep habits. a great book to check out is Healthy Sleep Habit, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth. It's a great book for understanding sleep and how it develops. I don't agree with his methods for getting kids to sleep (a little on the cry it out side, which I don't subscribe to at all), but it is invaluable for understanding sleep and how it develops.

I went through something similar when my daughter was about 4 months. We had heard from a friend that the reason she may be waking up is because she is hungry. My friend told me to add a little bit of rice cereal to a bottle (you have to widen the nipple hole in the bottle for the mixture to come out). This worked wonderfully. The little bit of rice cereal made the milk a little heavier which gave her that full feeling and she started to sleep through the night.

Wow, so many responses already. Are you about to lose your mind from the lack of sleep or the surfeit of advice? LOL

My personal take on what you wrote is to ask why he needs a bottle before bed, are your breasts not available? Even if it is EBM in the bottle, babies often take in more gas with bottle than with breast ,which can contribute to night waking. And if it is formula or cereal or a mix- it's not helping him sleep through the night, so why not try breastfeeding exclusively? 5 months is still in the breastfeeding exclusively target zone. His little tummy may not be ready for foreign proteins and grains. Also I would try putting him down later. My kids are all great sleepers and none of them go down before 9pm. When my kids seem tired earlier it is because they've skipped a nap or are overstimulated or both. Keeping them close to you (in a sling or carrier) during the day can help. Often my babies will go down in a carrier or carseat when they resist naps any other way. You might also watch how you are spending your time with the baby before he goes down. If you are exhausted with him and ready to get away from him when he goes down, he picks up on that. If your dh can give you a break so you are ready to cuddle and be with baby at bedtime, that may help. If baby can get lots of cuddle and playtime (with mama on her lap, not toys)during the day, he won't have as much incentive to hold you hostage for playtime at night. Not implying he isn't getting that time already, just trying to help you look for solutions!

HTH!!

It would probably be a good idea to have him screened for GERD. My daughter had terrible acid reflux and wouldn't sleep at night and screamed and screamed. Prevacid solutabs worked like a charm! Check with your ped - sometimes you have to be really persistent.

Dear L.,

I am a 33 year old mom of three little girls and had this problem a lot with my youngest daughter.(I do recommend pacifiers and since I went to school for dental hygiene I can tell you that they don't cause oral shaping problems in case it's a sucking issue.)
But, it sounds to me that your son may be gassy and when he lays down it may be uncomfortable regardless if he is on his tummy or back.(I don't really recommend simethicone unless his tummy is really tight.) (Which may be why the belly sleeping helped for a couple of days.) Besides burping him really well I would recommend the "colic curl". Sit in a chair, place his head on your knees,your hands behind his head, his bottom should be touching your belly a little bit with his feet resting on your breast. Imagine a 90 degree angle. Push his knees gently towards his belly (by leaning forward) to make about a 70 degree angle.(Eventually, you will learn how to pull his body toward you instead of you leaning forward.) Bounce your knees a little or rock. The motion helps move the gas. Endure the screaming until the gas starts coming after having him here for about 45 seconds. When you are finished make sure you have socks on his feet because this postiton makes the toesy's cold.After the gas session (or bowel movement) has ended (diaper change a given)massage his legs and feet and place him on his tummy in bed. He should feel lots better and go straight to sleep. He may even fall asleep in this position while passing the gas!! Oh, By the way, if he doesn't go to sleep don't give him any milk but perhaps a little warm water if he cried a whole lot. Hopefully, this will help. Good Luck and I will keep praying for you to get some rest.

Sounds like his teeth are bothering him. How to check...Give him tylenol before you feed him, by the time he is done nursing the tylenol will kick in and see if he sleeps at least 4-6 hours. If so, then it is his teeth. If not he may be in a bad sleep habit!

For sleeping problems I did the method discribed in the book "the Sleep Wisperer" with the support of my husband this worked for us. Oh course our daughter still has her days
Good luck

It sounds like you have gotten some great responses. My first child, now 2, went through this phase as well (along with MANY other phases). What I narrowed it down to was that once he learned how to roll over, he was waking himself up. That would startle him, and he didn't know how to get himself back to sleep. Unless you think he is actually hungry, I wouldn't get him in the habit of "snacking" in the middle of the night. After a week or so of him waking up and crying for a little while, he finally learned how to put himself back to sleep. But if he isn't sleeping good at night AND not a good napper, then I would think he isn't getting enough sleep. Hang in there! I know how hard it is to function with no sleep. UGH! But this too shall pass...then he will be on to another phase that you can't figure out!

you have to get thebook the baby whisperer solves all your problems! it explains everything and gives you methods to help with what your dealing with! i defenitely agree that your little one needs sleep! your going to have to teach him how! once he starts getting his naps down, he'll start going through the night unless there are some eating issues mixed in there! She tells you all about this. Its the big book! you can get it at a bookstore or get in on amazon.com for cheaper! if you are in a hurry, i would get it at the bookstore! He is probably very overtired! i promise this book will help you if you are consistant! it will be hard work at first, but you'll get it down! good luck and let me know how it goes!

Hi L., have you had him checked for an ear infection? my son would get these and the only real change in him was he wouldn't sleep. he would wake up every few hours and want to nurse. the sucking seems to help the ears for some kids and may be why he wants to nurse more. Whatever the case I hope you figure it out so you can both get some sleep. good luck

Hi, I am a mom, grandma, great grandma, have been a foster parent for many of years. I have always fed my little ones some rice cereal about 10:00 p.m. and they always slept until about 6:00 a.m. Most doctors now a days say you should not do this, but you know what I have had very healthy children in my home with no alergies. Plus they were very happy because they had the sleep they needed. I found out with the day care I had if you put they down for their naps about 11:30 a.m. they went right to sleep. Praying helps also. Good luck. M. B.