5 month old wakes every 2-3 hours at night

[mrssabbah]

Hi,
I've never posted on this forum but I'm desperate because I'm exhausted!!!!
My baby is 5 months old, she only slept well at night for the first 6 weeks, since then she's been waking at night every 2-3 hours for feeds.  Nothing else calms her down, I have tried to pacify her, pick her up to soothe her but to no avail.  Only nursing keeps her quiet.  My first was also on EASY, I BF until 4 months and then Bottle fed him, he slept through the night starting at 4 months, with a DF.
Avigayil is also on 2.5-3 hour EASY.  I have tried moving her up to 4 hours but she can't do it, she sleeps fairly well in the day, I also give her bottles from time to time to top her off.  The following is a typical day:

E: 7:30
A: 7:40-9:00
S: 9:00-10:00

E: 10:30
A: 10:40-12:00
S: 12:00 -1:00

E: 1:00
A: 1:10-2:30
S: 2:30-3:30

E: 3:30
A: 3:40-5:00
S: 5:00 - 5:45

E: 6:30
A: 6:45-8:00
S: 8 - 9

She doesn't go down for the night at 8pm, she will wake up after an hour to eat again and then settle until 2am,her first NW, her second NW is around 4:30-5.  Should I be giving her a dream feed anyway? what am I doing wrong?? PLEASE HELP!!!
THANKS YOU

[Smurfette]

Hi there

Have you seen these links?


http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64158.msg476652#msg476652
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=52878.0

She could be waking up for a variety of reasons.
When you say that she can't do a 4 hour EASY, what do you mean?

Her A times are a little short for her age. As you will see from the links, 5 month olds can sustain about 2hour-2.25 hours of A times. I would gradually increase her A time by 5-10 mins every few days. That will give you a longer nap as she will be more tired, which will help you get to a four hour EASY.

I would also bring up her bedtime a bit earlier once you've increased the A times so it doesn't result in OT (overtiredness).

Yes, I would still dreamfeed. As Tracy talks about in the BW book to try and get rid of the 2 am feeding first. If you DF at 11, it is unlikely that she is waking at 2 am out of hunger, more like habit. I would try giving her a pacifier at 2 if she takes one, or doing shh/pat. If you're not sure how to do shh/pat, there are links in the FAQs explaining it. It will probably take a week or more so don't give up!!!

Hope that helps!

[mrssabbah]

Hi There,
Thanks so much for replying.  What I mean by that she can't do the 4 hour EASY is that she doesn't last, she gets hungry around 2.5 - 3 hour mark.  I will try to lengthen her activity time, I was told she should be up for 1.5 hours and sleep for 1.5 hours, but I will try starting tomorrow to gradually lengthen it.  I will reintroduce the DF as well.

thanks so much for helping! I'll give that a try.

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

What I mean by that she can't do the 4 hour EASY is that she doesn't last, she gets hungry around 2.5 - 3 hour mark.  I will try to lengthen her activity time,

You can stretch the A time, even if she still needs to eat more frequently.  It takes a bit of juggling but it can be done and might help with sleep.