What do I do to get her to stop?

Question

My baby is going to be 5 months old and she still won't sleep through the night. I make sure she eats plenty before bed and no matter how short or long I let her nap during the day she still wakes up about every 2 hours during the night. This is my third child and I've never had this issue before. Should I just let her cry untill she falls back to sleep? Or is it that she wants to be heald all night and if so how do I break this bad habbit. Please no rude comments like I said this is my third so I'm not stupid, I just need more sleep

Answer 1

Girl i know what you're going through. I'm on my 4th kid and he still wakes every 1-2 hours. I have never tried any sleep training but I refuse to let him cry. Maybe some bedtime routine will work. She's only 5 mos old, she wants her mommy..babies are born without knowing anything but their nurturer..don't let her cry..she will learn that her needs won't be met. I understand that you want to sleep but sleep is only last before my baby. If that's not how you feel maybe the no cry sleep solution can work. Like i said I have 4 children, work full time, don't sleep but I still tend to all my children's needs as a mother should. Hopefully you can find a solution.

Answer 2

Babies are meant to be comforted and fed through out the night, not just when the sun is up. Are you breastfeeding or formula feeding? If you're breastfeeding, breastmilk is so easily digested that she needs to be fed often. It's actually better for her to feed at night because that's when you have the highest fat content in your milk. If you're formula feeding, she could still be hungry even though you think she's eaten enough. Babies burn a lot of calories by growing.

You could try reading the "No Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley. Also, if you're breastfeeding, try co-sleeping. That way you can nurse her while you sleep. If you're formula feeding, can your significant other help out in the middle of the night?

Answer 3

I say you should base your decision off what she does when you *do* come to her. Does she quiet down from being consoled (holding her, sitting in a rocking chair, etc) or does she only stop after she's been fed or changed?

Babies don't know how to be "manipulative". All they do is cry when something makes them uncomfortable, whether that is because they are hungry, wet, scared, physically hurt, etc. They don't understand the concept of manipulation, but the only way that they learn trust is if their cries are answered on a fairly consistent basis. If she's crying at night because she wakes up and is "fighting sleep," then she needs to learn how to fall asleep on her own just like all babies have to learn at some point, but if she is crying because she needs something, then she should to be answered. Some babies take longer than others to sleep through the night, they're all individuals.

Answer 4

I think you should continue to go to her, she is crying for a reason, so let your child know that they are important and continue to go to her and hold her. She may still be hungry, and not all babies are the same, just try different things with her, like maybe rock her, push her in a swing, play with her. Eventually she'll get tired and want to sleep through the night, she'll reach a growing stage and need to sleep more through the night soon.

Answer 5

Have you tried feeding her some rice about 1 hour before bedtime? Give her at least a half on hour to digest her food, because this may be heartburn. That might be the problem is heartburn. Have her sleep elevated and see if this will help.

Answer 6

Here are some things I tried. Get a shirt and put in her crib so if she wakes up she will smell you. Also get a alarm clock that whines up so she can hear the ticking(it sounds like a heart beat).
You can also get a lite that is very dull so she won't be in the dark. But if it persist you should contact her doc to see if it may be something else. She may also not be getting full or have a stomach ache. good Luck!!

Answer 7

I can relate! My youngest daughter would not sleep through the night until I started feeding her some baby cereal along with her bottle before going to bed. What are you feeding your baby? If it's strictly milk/formula, it may not be enough. However, before adding anything to your baby's diet, check with your doctor to be sure it's okay. When your baby cries, does it sound like he's in pain? If so, that could be a factor and you may need to change the formula/milk you are giving him. Just a thought. Good luck!

Answer 8

I wonder if maybe her tummy is too full? Do you feed her everytime she wakes up? How long of a nap does she take during the day?Does she sleep during the day like she does during the night - waking up after 1-2 hrs? If she's sleeping for long periods of time during the day then I would say her since of night/day is still reversed. The solution here is to not let her nap for longer than 2 hours at a time - after two hours wake her, feed her, play with her whatever. Then try and get her to sleep at night (here's a suggestion you can use regardles of whether or not her night/day is reversed):

If you haven't already, establish a routine. Try and put her to bed around the same time every night. If you want to you can give her a warm bath, read a book/sing a song what have you, and lay her in bed. Just try and do the same things around the same time every night - she'll start to associate what's happening and she'll get more comfortable with going to bed because she'll know what's going on/happenning. Anyway do what you do. When she wakes up wait a minute to see if she'll go back to sleep on her own. If not then go in there (don't turn on a light) pick her up and soothe her for a minute *or until she calms down* and then leave the room again. Repeat this everytime she wakes up.

*Note: if she cries again after you leave the room repeat the steps, eventually she'll fall asleep.

After a bout 1-2 nights you stop picking her up when she cries. Instead you go in her room and comfort her with your voice, talk or sing to her and rub her back. (This is the hardest part for me) Just don't pick her up. After she is calm you leave. Continue this for 1-2 nights.

Then if she's still having problems instead of rubbing her back you just stand by the crib and talk to her until she's calm (Takes a lot of patience I know). When she's calm you leave. This is repeated for 1-2 nights.

If she still wakes you stand in the middle of the room instead of next to her crib and talk to her. This is the same as the last step only you're not right next to her. After 2 nights of doing it this way and she's still waking you stand in the doorway and talk to her.

By doing all these steps you are reassuring her that you're still there, she learns to trust you and that you'll come if she needs you. But most importantly you are teaching her to put herself to sleep. This method takes tremendous abouts of patience and self restraint because it's just so much easier to pick her up and soothe her back to sleep. However by about 5 months old she should only be waking once in the middle of the night (if that) to eat. (I didn't add to feed her when it's time to feed her because I figured you'd know that since she is your third lol)

If these aren't working you can try the cry it out method (I hate this one though). Or you can try putting her in bed with you. Definately make sure you're safely co-sleeping if this is what you opt to do. I can say I breastfeed all of my children so I co-slept with them for the first year. I haven't yet had a problem breaking them from my bed to the crib. However though I have the same waking in the middle of the night problems with my 2.5 yr old.

Just hang in there. This too shall pass.

Answer 9

My daughter was doing the same thing and I just let her fuss a few mins...if she don't quit them I go get her and feed her and put her back to bed. Sometimes putting her in my bed for the rest of the night works too. But then that is a hard habit to break.

Answer 10

I have one child who is 2 1/2 now. he still wakes up several times a night atleast 1-2 x a week.
i never let him cry it out but now i wish i did. had i known that i'd be sleepless for this long, i would've done it a long time ago. now i feel like it's too late for us.
i know people who swear by the crying it out method.
good luck and 'hope you get some sleep!