how do i get my 5 month old breastfed baby to sleep through the night?

Question

i have a 5 month old baby whom i started weaning 4 weeks ago.he has 2 meals a day.also he's being breastfed.he requires 2-3 feeds during 10pm and 7am.also he's started crying for no reason at all in between these feeds as a result of which i hardly get any sleep.previously he used to sleep in between the night feeds.please help- i am at the end of my wits.

Answer 1

Is she still sleeping in your room? If so put her in her own room and without you being so close she can't smell or since you are there. We had the same problem with my daughter and then at 11 months we put her in her own room and that same night she never woke up. AT first I was so worried that she had woken and I never heard her, I felt so guilty all day but then I realized I would have heard her. Hope this helps I know it did us.

Answer 2

Could be a variety of things at this point. Some mothers cannot produce what is necessary to fill the hunger of the child at this age. Personally, I had seen doctors over this very thing and was told to not set a schedule for feedings as this can cause eating disorders early. If your child is hungry, feed him. I had slept with my little one close by in case he were to get up in the middle of the night needing a feeding. At 5 months, my son was eating as often as he'd like and averaged about 6-8 small meals a day.
Breastmilk is not as hard on the digestive system as formula is. Formula is rich in nutrients not necessarily good at this age and I was told to not introduce it unless there was no other way. And since I was able to give the appropriate diet myself, there was no reason to turn to that source.
You can perhaps use a breast pump and contain feedings that way if you haven't already.
You do not have to take your child off of breastmilk until he is a year old. At which point, he will be ready for whole milk. If you are weaning for comfort reasons or work-related issues, I would suggest a formula + the cereal as someone else suggested.

Answer 3

I breastfed and my son didn't sleep through the night until he was 10 mos old. Long after solids.
What I had to do was stop night feedings. It seems mean but you can give just a little water if you think he's thirsty. They crave the comfort of the food and the closeness of the breast, so they'll cry for it. let him cry for incriments of 15 minutes. Visit him him briefly in between. until he falls asleep. It takes a LOT of your energy because the process can last every night for a few days but eventually he'll realize that he is crying for nothing and go to sleep.
Now I my son is the EASIEST child to lay down to sleep. It was worth the tears!

Answer 4

I know this may sound cruel, but you may just need to let him/her cry it out. But definitely make sure he is eating enough. Mine got breast and then an entire bottle before bed. We had to let her cry for a few days. It won't even take a full week, but it will kill you inside and it will feel like weeks have gone by.

After 3 or 4 days you should both be sleeping better. But you may still get occasional nights of crying. Good luck and don't forget to feed as much as he/she will wants/needs.

Answer 5

Breast feeding is one of the hardest things to do, it really takes a lot out of you. Some people do bottles mixed with cereal,however I'm a firm believer in kids know what their bodies need and it is completly normal for them to wake up to feed in the night. What I would do so that your sticking with the breast feeding, is try pumping(there are a lot of bottles out there made to be more like the real thing-Try www.onestepahead.com - they have an awsome one(07385 Breastbottle Nurser). Then try to get dad to do some of the night time feedings. My husband wanted to be a part of feeding our daughter so we tried this, the only problem we ran into was she didn't like that it was him instead of me, so we put one of my shirts acrossed him, This worked great. Not only will this give you a break but it will alow the father to bond with his baby.

Answer 6

Maybe his changes in sleeping patterns is due to you trying to wean him before he is ready. Is there a reason you are trying to wean him so early? The AAP recommends nursing for AT LEAST the first 12 mos. Maybe he is having some stomach upset from the solids? Whhat solids is he getting and how much?

Answer 7

My son started sleeping through the night at 2-1/2 weeks. MY Dr todl me that when he stopped sleeping through the night to give him a tablespoon of rice cerela before bed. That happened around 4 months. So at night around 9pm I'd give him teh rice cereal and a good nurse and put him to bed...he started sleeping through the night, and has ever since. he'snow 2 ans goes doen at 8pm and sleeps till 8 the next morning

Answer 8

when children cry u cant say for what they r cryin.
he is not having a stomach full, he is growing so he requirres more... start slowly to increase his feeds. a child shouls be fed after every 2-3 hrs.
before sleeping give him a good feed of cereac and breastfeed him. try to be away from him when u r sleeping, cause they get the smell and they just want it. they feel comfort, closeness, cared for, love from their mother.
they just want to be secured, loved so they cry for attention.
dont worry he is change as days are passing.

Answer 9

give him a good warm bath just before bed time and ask doctor about putting some infant cereal in a good warm bottle of milk just before you give him a bath and he will sleep a lot better.he also may be teething at this age. go to wal-mart and get what they call"teething tablet" they are all hurbel so they will not hurt the baby. give the baby 2 or 3 of them . just put them in the babys mouth and they will melt.i lived for them and still do. i am raising my grand baby and he is 1 years old today. good luck!

Answer 10

Ask his doctor about starting on rice cereal. He may be ready for it now. Doctors usually start somewhere between 4-6 months. Give a couple of tablespoons of cereal in a bowl with some of the expressed breastmilk in it and it should keep him full longer.