Help! 6.5 month old waking every 2-3 hours

[Smitcu0]

Please help I'm new to this but desperately need some help with my 6.5 month old.

He's currently waking every 2 - 3 hours through the night. The only way I can settle him is to bf.

He goes down at bedtime awake with no dummy and settles great himself and the same with naps.

He's struggled with silent reflux up to now and a doctor told me that bm neutralised the acid so I fed him without trying any other tactics. Up until the silent reflux was diagnosed he was waking every 45 mins.

He won't take a bottle or formula or expressed so I'm absolutely exhausted.

He is feedings every 3/4 hours during the day and having breakfast and supper.

Please help!!!

[becj86]

Hi,
What's his day look like in EAS format? eg.
7 - wake & BF
8 - breakfast
10 - nap
...etc.

The frequent waking does sound like pain to me and the milk does help with the pain, but doesn't control the reflux. Essentially, we won't suggest you do any sleep training til you're sure he's not waking with pain.

The ladies on the http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?board=13.0 board will be able to help with reflux remedies

[Smitcu0]

Thanks. I really don't think he's waking in pain anymore. It's very different to when he was waking with the reflux.

A typical day is

Wake - 7am BF

8 breakfast

9.30 nap - 11

11 BF

Play or go for a walk

between 2-2.30 nap

Usually 1.5 hours

BF

5.30 solids

6.30 wind down then BF and bed

then he usually doesnt wake until 10.30

then every hour and half/ two hours until morning but he is really ahrd to settle after waking at 5.

He settles no problem for his nap and I put him down awake after his feed on an evening.

Thanks.

[becj86]

How is he behaving when he wakes at night? Have you tried settling him without BF? What settling method(s) have you tried and how did they go?

Being hard to settle after 5am may be an early waking creeping in - you could try pushing the first A time out slowly to ~3hr to discourage that.

[Smitcu0]

He wakes whimpering but escalates until he full on cries. Have tried settling him but even picking him up doesn't settle him. He automatically looks for the breast.
At 6.5 months does he need several feeds during the night? If I know he's not hungry I can commit to trying up settle him. I tried reducing feed time last night and putting him down when he stopped gulping, he grizzled when I put him down but self settled with 5 minutes but then woke again less than an hour later. Ended up with 7 wakings.

[becj86]

Ok, I think the breast is a prop for him. A general rule you can follow is that he should be able to go at least as long at night as he does in the day. So if he is consistently lasting 4hr in the day, you would resettle each waking that starts before 4hr has passed since the last feed. Its important though, that if he's awake and you're in the middle of resettling and the 4hr mark is reached, you have to get him to sleep before you feed him, even if its only for 10mins - that way you're not reinforcing that if he cries long enough, you'll feed him.

At 6.5 months, LO's may still need 1-2 NF's.

One other thing - have the night wakings become worse since you started solids?

[Smitcu0]

Not really they've always been consistently bad!! Once or twice I could cope with!

Thanks I'll try to leave him 4 hours tonight and resettle him.