6 months and still not sleeping through the night?

[DanaM]

Our Son is a good sleeper for the most part, but still doesn't sleep through the night.  He's usually up between 3-4am and eats 6oz of formula.  After that feeding, he goes back to sleep until 0630 and then is ready to wake up for the day.

Here's a look at our schedule (approximately, give or take 15 minutes):

0630 - Wakes for the day
0645 - only eats 4oz cause still "full" from 4am feeding
0830 - Nap
1030 - Wakes
1045 - Eats 6-7oz (we've been adding 1TBS of rice cereal to his bottles to help fill him up...is that OK?)
          3tsp Carrots (we just started him on solids a few days ago)
1230 - Nap
1430 - Wakes
1445 - Eats 6-7oz Rice Formula bottle
1630 - Nap
1730 - Wakes
1745 - Eats 6-7oz Rice Formula bottle
1830 - Bath time
1900 - Bedtime bottle - 4 oz Rice Formula Bottle
1930 - Bedtime
2230 - Dream Feed - 6oz Rice Formula bottle
0400 - Wakes hungry and we've been feeding him a 6oz bottle

So, that's the basic schedule.  He weighs about 22 pounds and is 27 inches long.  So, he's more than tripled his birthweight.  Are we feeding him enough during the day to last him through the night?  I thought starting solids and adding rice cereal to his bottles would help with that.  He's a very happy baby, almost never cries and goes to bed very easily.  We do his nap/bedtime ritual, swaddle him, lay him down and he generally talks himself to sleep within 10 minutes.  Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

[sanaya]

no advice.........alll i can say is "join the club"......we are waking at night too, sometimes 2-3 times...im just tooo chicken to let him cry. im feeding him solids 3 times a day along with breast milk.

[jess, lukeys_mom]

hi dana,
it is not that abnormal for your lo to take longer to sttn, especially if he really is hungry when he wakes. are you able to up his milk intake during the day and see if that helps?
re the rice cereal - in my experience this doesn't help much and in fact it's beter to get him to drink more milk than fill up on cereal if that makes any sense?
x

[jana224]

Hi there
At 6 months, some babies are ready for 2.25-2.5 hours of A time... Have you tried this or is he really sleep by the 2 hour mark?

I agree with PP - if you are going to give rice cereal, do it with a spoon rather than mixed with the bottle.  Formula is just a filling on its own as cereal, but at least if you feed him with a spoon he'll start to understand the concept of "eating" rather than "drinking".

Jana

[DanaM]

Thank you all for your quick responses! I really appreciate the advice about the rice cereal. I'll stop putting it in his bottle STAT.  I also up'd his formula bottles to 8oz today.  He's been finishing them at every meal, so I think he needed that few more ounces.  I've been trying to keep him awake longer, but by the 2 hour mark, he's so grouchy, rubbing his eyes, etc that I put him down before he gets OT.  Is that the right thing to do?  Also, since we just started solids, we're only eating carrots for breakfast and I'm only feeding him about 3 tsp.  He finishes all if quickly (he really likes it).  Can I feed him more than that?  I also follow the carrots with a bottle.  Also, when he does wake at 0400, should I give him a full feeding, or less in an effort to work him through that waking period?  This site is SO awesome, especially for us new mommies!  Thanks again for sharing all your wisdom!

Dana

[jana224]

8 ounces is fine if he wants it -- at his age the average is something like 28-36 ounces of formula or BM, but some take a bit more and some take a bit less.  Nighttime feeds you can try giving him less.

If carrots have been going well, you can increase it.  The guidelines I have from my local health unit say 3-4 tablespoons at one meal at 6 months is "average".  When you start giving him more solids, you may find that he's full from taking a bottle and solids at the same time, so many BW moms choose to do solids 1 hour after bottles/nursing.  I make my solids fit around meal times at breakfast, lunch and dinner.  You can give him rice cereal as his breakfast, since he's already had it.

Also, if he's showing tired signs at 2 hours, definitely continue what you are doing and get him to bed.   Follow his cues, and you are right you don't want an OT baby on your hands.