5 month old waking up at night, please help!

[monica lechuga]

Hello everyone,
I have a 5 month old baby girl. She is 100% breastfed. Until she was 3 months old, she was sleeping quite well. Just one time she woke up to eat, but after that everything changed.
She started waking up more times during the night to feed, but 2 months later it still continues.
I havent introduce solids, as I want to wait until she is 6 months old, as I did with my first son.
Her routine looks like this:
Wake up 7.30am
Feed 7.30am. both sides it takes around 20 or 25 min
Then she is awake until around 9 or 9.20am, no more other wise she is overtired
Nap 2hrs, she can sleep more, but I wake her up.
Feed 11.30am both sides 20 to 25 min
Awake again for up to 1.45, otherwise she is overtired.
Nap 2 hours, and I wake her up.
Feed 3.30am both sides 20 to 25 min
Awake for 1.45
Cat nap 45min
Awake for about 1.15
Bath
Feed both sides 20 to 25 min and then to bed

This is her routine, sometimes it can change a little bit due to naps.
Ive tried to give her DF but it didnt change a thing.
Then she will wake up between 2 to 3 times a night to feed. But sometimes I wonder if it is hunger. For example yesterday she woke up around 10.40pm, it was almost three hours after her last feed, tried to calm her down and nothing. Then I used the pacifier (sometimes it works) but she didnt want it and she was crying hard. When I picked her up, she was searching for food. I fed her again and she ate. Then again she woke around 2.30am to eat and then again around 5am, this last time I put her the pacifier, as I was exhausted and she slept a little bit more.
I dont know what to do, I dont know what is wrong. She sleeps in the same room as us, but in a cot. I still did not want to move her to her room as she still wakes up and I didnt want her to wake up her brother.
What am I doing wrong? I need some advice please.
Thanks a lot

[J_Mum]

We have also had an exhausting month with lots of NWs. My LO is not hungry at night, but always wakes at least once. I found he was quite chatty during his NWs, so we are working on increasing his A time during the day. Mine is 23 weeks and has been doing 2.5-3 hrs A time (seemed suddenly to jump up from 2hrs to 2.20 at about 20 weeks).
The trouble is there are so many things that can cause NWs at this age - I have wondered about teething, I know sometimes he's waking roling over, etc. Could anything like this be happening?

[monica lechuga]

Hi J_Mum,
I thought it could be teething, but it is two months now, and nothing came out, so I dont think is that.
I can not strech the A time, as she will be overtired and really grumpy. When she wakes up, she is crying. Sometimes if I try to calm her gently with my hand, she will get more angry!
I really dont know what is happening. For me I thought that she was really hungry as when I fed her she ate. But maybe now, we have fallen into a pattern. My first son wzs only breastfed 2 months and he slept through the night, so this is all new for me.
I really dont know what to do!

[J_Mum]

There is a growth spurt at around 6months, so if she's closer to 6 months it could be hunger. I think it's normal for BF baby to have a DF and one other NF at 5 months (and before solids are established). I don't usually feed at night as my LO has reflux and so feeding can make him more uncomfortable.

I'm not sure whether your NWs are routine related, unless it's for an increase in A time (pretty sure mine were as he was chatting at 2 in the morning!)

I find patting my son gets him back to sleep, but it sometimes takes 15 or 20 minutes (and he is usually crying for about 5 or 10 minutes quite hard while I pat, but then calms down, but starts up again as soon as i stop, so I have to pat him until about 15 or 20 minutes by which time he is back to sleep). I'm not sure if this is good advice though (as we still have the NWs!!!)

..... I keep hoping eventually we'll get a decent night...

[monica lechuga]

Hi,
She is 23 weeks as well, I dont know if it is a growth spurt, as this has been going on for 2 months!
Sometimes at night, as Im exhausted, I give her the pacifier. But I dont want to do that, as sometimes everytime she dropped it she cried! so It could be one time or twenty!
Im going back to work in September. Im afraid that she wont sleep at that time. I cant imagine going back to work without sleeping!
Are you patting him while he is in the cot? or do you pick him up? if I pick her up, she starts looking around everywhere, she is not focused at all!!! hahahaha
My DH tells me to start with formula to see if she sleeps more, but I dont know if this can be true or not.
I tried a DF but for two weeks or three that Ive tried, she still woke twice at night. So it didnt change a thing.
I cant go out at night leaving a babysitter, as Im awful at expressing milk and what if she wakes up!
Thanks a lot J-mum for your comments
Any other advice for me??

[J_Mum]

I got DH to give E a bottle of formula (as he has a feed at 10pm, but if we don't DF he wakes for it. I then got to bed at 9pm and slept to 3.30 so felt much more rested. Am considering switching this feed entirely to formula, as I can cope much better with these NWs and EWs if I can at least go to bed early... Seems a shame but I'm a better mummy with more sleep!

With E he usually settles with the patting in his cot. I pick him up and pat him on my shoulder if he's doing a real high pitched scream, as this is normally wind and he's back to sleep when it comes up.

According to the EASY schedules 2-2.5 hrs is average at 5 mo. The only thing I could suggest is maybe trying to add 10 mins more to one A time and see how she is and how her nap is? But take it slow, as it could be that she is tired after not good night sleeps?

If you give her formula at night you may find that she still wakes up, but you're better able to comfort her back to sleep without the feed if you're confident she's had a full feed not too long before. For my DS it makes no difference though (he didn't sleep any better or differently after a bottle, and still wakes at the same time, so am pretty sure his night BF is a full feed). I would like to do an expressed bottle EVERY night (so DH can do it as he's a night owl anyway) but can't express more than an ounce or two so no idea how mums do this!

Today he got up 5.30ish and napped 8.30-10 and 1-3 so will try a no cn day and bt at 6pm to see what that brings...

Hope someone else can give you some good ideas!

[Zefyra]

i have a similar problem too!

up until DD was 12 weeks she sttn from 8wks but for the past 7weeks she wakes at least once for a feed, sometimes twice-it's pretty exhausting, and it usually affects the start of the next day, which messes things right up. DD is now 19wks

the thing is, she isn't OT, as she is asleep, but hungry if that makes sense.  she's on a 4hr EASY with DF of EBM at 11, and it doesnt matter how much DF we give, she still wakes...usually I put around 4-5oz (what I can express the night before),but when I put around 7oz, she won't take it..and will still wake (i've tried the dummy, which she uses anyway, so when she rejects it I know she is hungry). she always takes a full feed too.

will it go away once I start solids?

so anyone with ideas on how to stop these NW, help us mummies!!