Six month old pulling self up - waking up at night!!?

Question

Alright, my little angel has just started crawling forward. Literally when I say just ... I mean four days. And then yesterday I kept catching her pulling herself up onto her feet.
So far she has conquered the coffee table, the changing table, the couch and her crib. So its not a fluke.
When she started crawling...she started waking up in the middle of the night STARVING. So I would give her a bottle. Now she is up twice...STARVING. Should I increase her food during the day? Do all babys do this when htey learn a new talent? Is this a normal age for little ones to be pulling themselves up? I am very confused.
She was sleeping through the night...twelve hours....and has been doing that since about 4 months. At 8 weeks she was sleeping 8 hours. So I am very confused. She is a great sleeper until recently.
Thank you in advance for any advice.


BTW - I am not upset that she is moving forward so fast...just confused.

Answer 1

Is she walking holding things or is just pulling up on to her feet?
Both my daughter started walking at 9 months, my son on the other hand was sixteen months. If she is just pulling on to her feet this is normal. If she is actually walking is very advanced. Yes babies go through this once they learn a new talen, they cant help wanting to practice even at night. My youngest which is a year old now did the same thing. She would sleep through the night and then bang she was up twice a night. I believe your baby is extra hungry because she is burning more calories. You can try the cereal at bedtime and see if it helps. It didnt for my daughter. Up until recently she was up twice a night. I would say about amonth ago she started getting up only once. It is tough I know being sleep deprived. Just remember it does get better. Believe it or not one day you will say, I miss when she would get up in the night. It is good bonding time. Also, I think one thing that is important in getting her back to sleep is not to talk to her. That will only stimulate her. Feed her the bottle and put her back to bed. I wish you luck. I know I just love my little angel. Any other questions you can e-mail me at [e-mail].

Answer 2

I went through this a few times with my 11-month old. (At rolling, sitting, standing, crawling and now walking.) It's well documented that tackling a new milestone will do this. They want to be awake to keep practicing.

Often when babies become more active their weight plateaus for awhile. (Especially with walking.) So yes, perhaps a bit more food wouldn't hurt.

As for those milestones it's not a great idea to compare because all babies are different, but as a point of reference my daughter learned to:
roll back-to-front at 3 months
give high-fives and kisses at 5 months
sit unassisted (when we put her in that position) at 7 months
get into a sitting position on her own 7 1/2 months
stand (in crib) 7 1/2 months
eat finger foods (cheerios) using pincer grasp at 8 months
crawl at 8 months
cruise at 8 1/2 months
clap her hands at 9 months
wave at 10 months
walk at a week before 10 months
drink using a straw 10 1/2 months

Right now I'm waiting for those first words to appear (with some intent to them) and I'm trying to help her learn to point or gesture to things so she can communicate what she wants a little better.

I really like the milestone charts at BabyCentre for seeing how my daughter is measuring up.

http://www.babycenter.com/general/baby/babydevelopment/6476.html?scid=mbtw_post3m1w:20060227:0:0:0

They are broken (by age) into Mastered Skills, Emerging Skills that some babies at that age can do and Advanced Skills that most babies can't do yet at a given point in time but you can expect soon.

My little gal is way ahead on some things (which always makes for a proud parent no matter how non-competitive you are!!) and a bit behind on others so it gives me an idea what to try to help her with. Sounds like you've got a fairly advanced baby on your hands too!!

Have fun!!

Answer 3

I've notice that with both of my kids (now 4 and 2) that whenever they hit a developmental milestone it would cause disturbances in thier sleep. Sometimes it is hard for them to stay settled when they are learning to do so many different things with thier bodies and they need your comfort and security at night to reassure them. She'll get back to sleeping well once the novelty of moving herself around has worn off (until the next thing comes). Also. it might not be that she is starving when she wakes, just that bit of comfort and security she needs. You could try giving her a snack before bed and maybe try giving her a special lovey that will make her feel safe like a stuffed animal or blanket.

Answer 4

I don't really have much in way of advice, just sympathy. My 4 1/2 month old was sick at the beginning of the week and hasn't slept well since. I feel like we are back to the newborn sleep stage ( I was not so lucky to be blessed with an awesome sleeper)!

Answer 5

she sounds pretty advanced as far as standing goes. have you tried to feed her baby food a short time before bed and maybe at bed time giving her half a bottle? if not than it may keep her more content for a longer period of time.[solid food more than liquid]. good luck it sounds like your doing a great job!!!

Answer 6

Well, my baby brother slept perfectly also until he started pulling up and walking. But he was like, a year and a week! Your child is very smart, I can tell you that. She will be very talented when she gets older, I can see that already.

Answer 7

i did the exact thing to my mother..i'd wake up every 2 hours and ask for milk and i would crawl and climb everywhere causing damages and falling..eventually, i grew up, 25 yrs old, still drinking milk and became a dancer..everything happens for a reason.

Answer 8

EACH CHILD IS DIFFERENT, MY DAUGHTER WAS WALKING AT 7 MOS, MY SON DIDN'T START UNTIL HE WAS 10-11 MOS. AS FOR EATING, TRY GIVING HER CEREAL BEFORE YOU PUT HER TO BED. THAT MIGHT HELP HER SLEEP BETTER.

Answer 9

I think this is a question for a doctor... I won't go by an answer on yahoo!!!