5 mo. waking every hour starting at 11:00pm

[mrshamilton24]

PLEASE HELP! 
my 5 month year old son is an amazingly well behaved baby!  he is always happy/content during the day.  he also naps well.  he usually takes 2, 45min.-1hr. naps a day.  he eats well, too.  he was sleeping well at night until about 2 weeks ago.  his normal routine would be to have his last feeding at 8:00pm then go right down to sleep after his feeding until around 2:00am.  I would then go in and simply put his pacifier back in his mouth and he would settle back to sleep until around 5:00am when my husband and I woke up to get ready for the work day.  the even more amazing thing about his previous night habits was that even though he would wake up at 5:00, he wouldn't need to eat until 8:00am, which means he was able to go 12 hours without eating.  I was in heaven!  however, life has been EXTREMELY different the past 2 weeks.  his new night schedule is as follows:
he still goes down after his 8:00pm feeding, now he wakes up at 11:00pm and then every hour, on the hour after that.  i am exhausted and have no idea what to do!
i have tried to let him cry it out, but he just screams SO loud and then gets himself so worked up that he starts to choke on his saliva.  sorry this is so long but i am desperate!  i will take any advice you can offer.

thanks,
brocks mom!

[Katet]

Cry it out isn't a good solution as it breaks the trust your baby has in you meeting his needs.
he could be having a growth spurt & needing an extra feed.
Although you say he has 2 day naps (1.5 -2 hours total) & night sleep is 8-5am... so he is getting at best about 11 hours, Yes?
my 6mo gets about 14 & if he gets much less than that I get night wakings... overtired babies wake up. My first woke often as he didn't sleep well in childcare.
I think he needs to be getting at least 3-4 hours of day time sleep & no more than 2 - 2.5 hours awake between naps. I also think that it may be a good idea to offer him a feed at night, to at least work out if it isn't also hunger related.
I hope that helps... I do think the problem is a cycle of overtiredness & basically as he is a good natured baby he doesn't get grumpy, but he sounds like he has "insomnia" to me.
HTH

[Ethans Mommy]

Hi,

I am going through the exact same situation with my 6 month old son. His last feeding is at 8pm and he seems to wake at 11pm, 12am, and around 1am. He has 3 x 30 minute naps a day which I agree is not enough, but I do not know how to extend that time.  I am going to try to give him a 4 ounce bottle at midnight to see if that will help.  I will let you know how it goings.

T.

[mrshamilton24]

thanks to both of you for your advice and sympathy!  I anxiously await your sons response to the 4oz bottle feed.

-brock's mom

[kmetli]

I have a 5mo daughter that is going through the same thing, I am on day 27 of no paci and I still can't solve the night wakings. In the past two days she is waking every 40 min to an hour after her 1:30 waking. I also DF her at 11 and she takes at least 5 oz as her last bottle of the evening is around 6:45. I feed her once at night anywhere around 3-4am and she still wakes every hour at night. She is also waking 30-45 min after I put her down, this is even after a 1.5 nap from 4:30-6pm and I put her in bed less than 2 hours from her last nap. I know it is from being overtired but she is battling the 30-45 min naps right now. I have been napping with her in my bed and she seems to take longer naps. Wondering if that is the problem. I am hoping these night wakings resolve themselves or I might go out of my mind from no sleep. The longest stretch I get is from the 11 DF to the 1:30 waking. I am also at a loss. Hugs to you both, nice to know we are not alone!

Kate