i have a 5 month old baby who doesn't sleep through the night.please help?

Question

she eats very well so that is not the reason why she wakes up.she is very active during the day and she doesn't have more than 3 hours of sleep during the day either. She can wake up any time between 2am and 4am and doesn't go back to sleep for at least an hour and half.it is not hunger that wakes her up because i offered her some milk and she doesn' want it. i took her in bed with me but that doesn't work either.she is not ill or anything. i also tried to let her find her own rutine but it didn't help.i really need some advice because i am sooooooooo tired and it affects my relationship with her. thank you for any advice that you can give me.

Answer 1

when she wakes up is she crying???? if not then just leave her in her cot and she will be fine. my baby brother used to wake up at about 3 in the morning and we just left him in his cot as we new he was fine if it is like i have said then just leave her and she will naturally fall back to sleep. by getting her out it is waking her up even more.
good luck

Answer 2

It's normal for babies to wake at night all through the first year.

If she is not hungry, maybe she is waking due to teething? Hylands Teething Tablets are the BEST! They work far better than Orajel.

It could also be related to developmental milestones. Many times if babies are working on learning a new skill (rolling, sitting, crawling, cruising, walking, etc.) they will have interrupted sleep. At 5 mos, maybe she is about to start sitting unsupported?

Is she wanting to play? Make it clear that night is not playtime. Keep everything very dark and quiet when you respond to her. Try not to talk, or if you have to talk, whisper. Don't turn on lights. If you need some light, try a night light or ask hubby to install a dimmer on the light switch.

Have you considered moving bedtime a little later? Maybe that would make a difference somehow?

Is she just on breastmilk/formula or has she recently started solids? If she just had something new introduced to her diet, maybe that is bothering her tummy?

What about your daytime routines? Are you with her during the day or do you work? Maybe she is waking at night because she isn't getting enough focused attention during the day?

Answer 3

I've got a couple thoughts, but I warn you these might go against your instincts as a mother. What I can tell you these worked with my daughter.

1. If she's still sleeping in your room - even in her own bed/crib, it's time to move her into her own room if you can. It's very possible you are so tuned into her every little noise that you're waking up at every little sound and probably even waking her up by picking her up as soon as she starts fussing. By putting her in a different room you won't hear every little noise she makes, but you should still her if she really starts crying. By the way, don't move her into another room and then set a baby monitor on your nightstand - you'll totally defeat the purpose.

2. If you're still breast feeding, try giving her formula for the last feeding before you put her to bed for the night. It takes longer to digest and so she won't get hungry so soon.

3. When she starts crying at night, don't go to her right away. It's very likely she knows she has you trained to come as soon as she starts crying. Give her a few minutes to get herself back to sleep - in fact, it may be that she isn't even really awake until you pick her up. After giving her a about 5 minutes for a night or two, stretch it out to 7-8 minutes and then to 10-12 minutes. Before long she will learn that you're not going to come just because she starts crying. You can still go to her right away if she starts screaming like she's hurt or really scared, but if she's just fussing or crying, let her be.

Honestly, she should have been sleeping 4½-5 hours by the time she was 10-12 weeks old.

You can also apply step 3 during the day while you're trying to do housework or whatever.

Above all, remember that not going to your baby the instant she starts crying does not make you a bad parent. Baby has to learn to quiet/entertain herself sooner or later; the longer you wait, the harder it will be.

Answer 4

One of my sons was the same. He would stay awake until midnight some nights and then smetimes wake up in the night for hours at a time. I found the best thing was for me to go to bed at 8pm if he was asleep then so that I could catch up some hours. Unfortunately he has only just started sleepig through and he is 16 months, I think this is because he is more active and I leave his bottle in the cot so that he can comfort himself if he needs to. I tried everything I could think of, his twin brother started sleeping through at 6 weeks (they are unidentical) so I think that proves that each individual child needs something different to help them, sorry.

Answer 5

maybe i can help. i too have a 5 month old and he has just started sleeping through the night when i went to my mothers for three weeks. when i was at home i could not get him into a routine. as soon as i got to my mum's i got him into bed the same time every night. now that i am back home i will not break that routine for anyone. also it could just be that he is not ready to sleep through the night. i have a book by robyn barker, i think it's called 'your baby's first year' it has truly helped me a great amount especially being a single mum. i have three friends who are expecting and i have brought them eah a copy. it's that good. i would recommend it to anyone expecting without a second thought. it answers all my questions. goodluck i hope i have been helpful!!!

Answer 6

Guess what... thats what babys do. Your going to be tired and forget things cause your focus is going to be on the baby. You have to eat sleep and be the baby till they sleep normaly. Oh yeah and if you have a job like the rest of us your better have great mother or mother in laws. And one more thing your called a mom for the rest of your life so enjoy.

Answer 7

It is possible that she is beginning to teethe. Is she drooling a lot and trying to bite on everything? If so, then try some baby tylenol or baby orajel.

If teething is not the problem, perhaps you need to help her to learn how to soothe herself back to sleep. Try waiting a few minutes before you go to her at night, she may go back to sleep on her own. If not, you can try a pacifier or mobile to help her get back to sleep. Have you changed her diaper when she wakes up? That could also be the problem.

Answer 8

This is normal. Some babies are this way. My dad, when he was a baby, did the same as you described. My Grandma took him to the dr. and nothing was wrong. It's kind of just a phase some babies go through. Sorry that you're tired, hang in there and always give her love.

Answer 9

My son is 5 1/2 months old. Babies their age will sleep about 14 1/2 hours a day, and are able to stay awake for just about 2 hours at a time. Start working on getting her to nap more - sleep begets sleep. Pay attention to the clock, see what she starts doing about 1 3/4hours after she wakes up. My son pokes himself in the eye, rubs his eyes, and starts to get a little frantic. Nurse one last time and laid her down in her crib. We all know the difference between crying and "I'm really upset" crying. If she's going to just cry, let that go. She will learn to put herself to sleep. The naps can last anywhere from 1- 1 1/2 hours. My son naps about 4 1/2 hours a day. Sometimes he has three naps, sometimes two. Start writing times when she goes to sleep and is awake. Observe her patterns.

It is very important that you not let her get overtired, and I think this is probably what is going on. If you can get her naps up to about 4 hours a day, that will give her enough rest during the day, and and still have 10 hours devoted to sleep at night, which will give you about 2 hours of free time either before or after she wakes up.

At night, watch for the same cues she gives you during the day before you put her for the naps. Nurse one last time so that her stomach has got something in it, and then set her down. Listen for the different crying, only respond to the desperate stuff. By this point, she knows you are mom, and she knows you take care of her - you won't mess up trust issues by training her to fall asleep on her on. The goal is to put her down sleepy, but not asleep.

Seriously, once I started charting my son's sleep and not trying to schedule him to fit my time, life went better. He sleeps 11 hours through - often he wakes at 11pm and I can nurse him quickly and put him right back down - and I respond to him because I see that this happens every evening. This is obviously something he needs. I know that you said you tried to find her routine, but I think a lot of parents do this by waiting for the baby to fall asleep instead of looking for gentle signs of fatigue. If you just wait for her to fall asleep, she's going to fight you. She wants to stay up and play, and talk to you, and as she gets tireder (word?) she will get crankier and it will be impossible for her to fall asleep and stay that way.

Best of wishes...

Lisa

Answer 10

Hi..feed her well before she lays down. It may also be gas if your not breast-feeding. Lay her on her back and take her feet in your hands.Move her legs gently like she's riding a bike and push her knees up to her stomach one at a time or both. She will love this and it will help her tummy.If she's not eating cereal or babyfood yet..you might want to consider starting her on it. Sometimes milk isn't enough. good luck.

Answer 11

First of all, I did not do this with my children, but my friends mom would get some vodka, just dip her finger in it so it was just like 2 or 3 drops on her finger and put it in the babies mouth. It was just enough to calm the baby and help it fall asleep. She would also use Rum when the baby was teething to sooth the pain. I'm not saying I would do this, but she has with 4 kids and said it worked for her.