My little one is still up about 2 to 3 times a nigth feeing anywhere from 6 to 8 ounces each time ....... I feed him rice cereal and then formula before bed about 8 pm , then he is up at 11 11:30 , and again usually about 4 am . I'm a f/t working mom and I'm pooped ........
2006-11-11 04:54:44 · 13 answers · asked by remigirlrotweiler 1 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Newborn & Baby
Ok, I started to write a long narrative, but you're probably so tired that I didn't think you'd want to read it all. :)
I just wanted to let you know that you're not alone. My son did the same thing until about 2 weeks ago. What fixed it for us was having a scheduled feeding and nap schedule and a scheduled nightly bath and bed routine. By 6 pm we have a big meal, take a warm bath, have a bottle and go to bed. The trick for us was me putting him to bed while he was drowsy but not fully asleep. This way when he wakes up in the middle of the night he knows where he is.
This was a slow process (took about 8 weeks) but now after we finish with our nghtly routine I can put him to bed awake and he'll go to sleep on his own. He will still wake me up once or twice a week in the middle of the night to eat, but is much easier to get back to sleep.
One other suggestion is that if you haven't added any other solids to your baby's diet (such as phase 1 baby foods), you may want to try that. This helped my son a lot. He's six months old now and gets 2-3 meals a day as well as breastmilk and/or formula.
Another good support source are babycenter.com's bulletin boards. It helped me a lot to see that I wasn't the only one going through this (it seemed like everyone I asked said, "I never had that problem, blah, blah, blah).
Long story short, it takes time and patience. I wouldn't buy into the CIO theories quite yet because it sounds like your baby is hungry. However, that's just my opinion.
Good luck. You're not alone!
2006-11-11 08:37:21 · answer #1 · answered by CatTech 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Wow, I'm surprized at the terrible replies- and I think you have irrational expectations of a 5 month old. Of course he still wakes at night- he's hungry! Just because we have been trained to only eat during the day doesn't mean that babies know this. Waking only twice at night is normal. In fact, the definition of sleeping through the night for an infant is 5 hours... you have that from 11-4 so be grateful. He only wakes to eat, it's not like he's screaming all night, so get up and feed him!
You shouldn't be putting anything in his bottle at night- the concept of rice in the bottle helping to sleep throughout the night is an old wives tale.
If you are tired, bring the crib in your room and put it next to the bed or bring the baby in bed with you. We co-sleep and I honestly can't tell you how often my son (7 months) wakes up because we are both half asleep while feeding.
2006-11-11 05:26:30 · answer #2 · answered by Ellie 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hmmm...my son started sleeping through the night at 4 months, but I'll see if I can help! I know how hard it is to be up all night and then go to work all day! How much does he eat during the day? Is he eating baby food? I used to give my son rice cereal in his bottle several times a day. The more solid food he started having, the better he slept. Also, does he fall asleep to a bottle or do you put him in his bed awake? My son always did better at night if he fell asleep on his own (plus I never have problems getting him to bed now).
2006-11-11 05:04:29 · answer #3 · answered by Sarah R 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You may have to give him something heavier than that. Why don't you start giving him the bottled food for dinner and just before you put him down give him a bottle of milk with either rice cereal or some other cereal added to it. He might be hungry that is why he is getting up. On the other hand if he knows that every time he gets up you are feeding him he will continue to do it. What you can do to start is make sure he has a good meal before going to bed and that he is dry. If he continues to get up feed him once during the night but you can start to faze him out- like give him less milk- keep adding water to the formula until finally you will just give him water alone. Usually a kid does not bother to get up if they figure that they only gets water. But you have to make sure he is well fed before you put him down at night and that he is dry. Sometimes too kids have to learn to console themselves and go back to sleep with out help. He is still young though. Try getting him a little blanket so he can hold on to for comfort. Hope this helps.
2006-11-11 05:13:37 · answer #4 · answered by michelle c 1 · 1⤊ 2⤋
To be honest my daughter did not sleep the whole night until she was a year old. I did the same thing, cereal, waited until I put her to bed, and cut out her evening naps. The baby will probably grow out of it. Are you giving the baby jar food yet? Maybe you need to give the baby some jar food and then a bottle before you put the baby to sleep.
2006-11-11 05:05:40 · answer #5 · answered by Still_21_nheart 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Try mixing some fruit into the cereal. When you put the him to sleep but him down when he still a little bit awake. Let him fall asleep in the crib so if the he wakes up he may put himself back to sleep. Do you have any crib toys in the crib to entertain him when he wakes up? Play soft music in his room. Don't be afraid to let him cry a little bit. about 10 mins or so. Is his diaper wet when he wake up? Try to give him more food and less formula. Best of luck
2006-11-11 05:46:29 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Honestly, I'd start him on baby 1st foods. You may want to call and ask your doctor first, but it may be a good start to a more satisfied baby. Go over the information of Gerbers website. They have some signs that they list that may make you want to start feeding 1st foods, but at 5 months old it's not going to hurt him at all.
2006-11-11 13:10:13 · answer #7 · answered by somethingorginaltoponder 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
How do you put him to bed--rocking? Babies wake during the night like adults do but most babies are able to self-soothe by recreating the way they were put to bed--for example, if a little one is simply put to bed when very sleepy and allowed to fall to sleep unassisted then he can fall back to sleep when he wakes. But a baby that uses a paci may not be able to find it in the night and therefore can't recreate sleep pattern to soothe himself--the same for rockcing. Rocked babies wake more during the night and can't self soothe because they need the motion to lull back to sleep.
2006-11-11 05:03:37 · answer #8 · answered by jilldaniel_wv 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Spoon feed him soft ceral (rice ceral) add a little more to the formula. It may be that he needs a little more substance before he goes to bed. (i.e. make the ceral just a little thicker)
2006-11-11 05:51:26 · answer #9 · answered by newcovenant0 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
you dont need to get him up everytime he moves and or cries....he needs to get use to sleeping all night, but be no means don't let him fuss to long....make it a bit longer each time. the cereal should keep him full for a while. and make sure he is clean before you lay him down, but he doesnt need to be changed everytime he wakes up, maybe he is use to being clean and hates to have a dirty diaper. that is a big mistake to change him everytime as soon as he goes then he wants changed to often. well anyhow good luck and thanks god im done with those days
2006-11-11 05:01:50 · answer #10 · answered by bobsdidi 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋