5.5 months and never slept through.....

[Sallyi]

Hi there - my baby is 5.5 months old and never slept through the night. He's had periods where his sleep has been much better - only waking once a night for a feed, but has recently been 4 times plus per night. I am going back to work in a few weeks and am getting desperate!

I've recently put him on EASY, and our day goes something like this:-

6.30 - Breastfeed
7.30 - Cereal & Yoghurt
8.15 - Sleep (usually c. 1.5 hours)
10.30 - Breastfeed / Bottle (usually best feed of the day)
12.00 - lunch - veg & fruit
12.45 - nap (usually c. 1 hour)
2.30 - breastfeed
5 - nap (usually c. 30 minutes)
6 - cereal & fruit
6.30 - bath
7 - breastfeed

We've had issues with the bottle in the past, but he seems to be taking it now if hungry, albeit he's refusing to take formula so I'm trying different brands.

I only try and feed him once in the night (usually if he wakes around 2 / 3 am), and do PU/PD the other times which seems to work. I either dreamfeed or sometimes he wakes up around 11 anyway.

Any suggestions welcome!

Thanks.

[Jane D]

Hi,

Sounds like your lo is on quite a good routine for his age and one night waking is still very good for this age.  How long has he been on three solid meals a day?  does he eat well at these meals?  i.e. do you think he still needs the bottle at night or are you thinking he needs to drop his night feeds?

If he's waking more just now its probably due to some developmental change as in teeth or learning a new skill etc - how long have the extra night wakings been going on for?

Maybe if you wean him off his night feed then the night wakings and continue pu/pd you'll see him settle down more in a few weeks time.

Hope it improves for you getting back to work, let us know how things are going.

Jane D
xx

[wendywoos]

Hi, well im not exactly the expert when it comes to sleeping, as my daughter Emily is almost two and literally started sleeping through five days ago.
I have looked a your routine, which does look good, and he feeds well. One sugestion I have is instead of cereal in the evening, try someting a little more filling like poriage, and you could also experiment with is bed time. Also I noticed you said he has veg and fruit at luch time, and cereal for evening, but is he getting any carbs, like mashed potato. These will release energy slowly making him feel fuller for longer, which is why i suggested the poriage in the evening, he may feel more content to sleep longer. We all know that feeling after a big roast dinner!  :roll:
Also consider as pp said, he may have learnt to sit or be trying to, and for some reason they get this erge to try it all at bed time, Emily got worse at night when she learnt to sit and to pull herself up.
Trial and error is the key  :?  - its just taken me almost two years to figure it -I just ditched the bottle and she know longer wakes for it. 

[albertasweetpea]

Hi there. Are you breast or bottle feeding for his night feed?? If bottle feeding, how much is he taking, is it a full regular bottle?? If bf is he taking a full feed or just having a snack?? If he isn't taking a full bottle or a full feed he is probably just wanting the comfort of Mummy.  :lol:

My suggestion as well would be (if he isn't taking the full feed) then to try PU/PD with him when he wakes. Or you can just try settling him in his crib with pat/shhh as getting a smell of Mummy might just make him angrier??

[Sallyi]

Thanks for all your suggestions. They were really helpful.

He is teething at the moment - now has three teeth, so I definitely think this is playing its part. I am breastfeeding at night and he does usually take a full feed - this is shortly stopping tho since he's started biting!!

I'm going to try and only give him a bottle at night, and then to gradually move him off the night feed by PU/PD (which has worked brilliantly for his naps!)

I'll also try your suggestion about carbs - he's gone right off his food tho this last week or so (think it's his teeth) and see if that works too!

Incidentally we only had one night waking last night so fingers crossed!

Sally xx