Does this ever happen to anybody?

Question

My baby goes to sleep very easily at bed time, like in 1 minute. Then without fail 1/2 hour later she's up crying, I don't know what to do.
She is 5 months old and goes to bed around 6:30.
We've tried later bedtime but this has worked the best then this started happening.

I really don't feel a later bedtime is appropriate for a 5 month old. My 3 yr old goes to at 7:30 and so 6:30 makes sense and as I said has worked otu the best before until now.
It's not healthy to force a baby up when they are clearly tired and need sleep. I would be robbing her of the sleep her body needs.
It just happened again and I tried giving her formula, she had an ounce and went right to sleep. Do you thinks he is just thristy?

Answer 1

6:30 isn't early!!! My son is 20 months and that's his bedtime b/c h barely takes an hour nap during the day. Anyway, have you actually tried putting her down earlier? If she's just zonking out that quickly, it probably means she's overlytired so try to push the time up to 6pm. I just know with my son, I even put him down as early as 5:30pm some nights b/c he was so dog tired and he would sleep the whole night until 6 or 6:30am! Just give it a try and see if that does the trick. Good luck!

Answer 2

She could be gassy. For a little while, when we put our son down he was up 1/2 hour later because he had one last burp left in him and it would wake him up.

Or, another issue we had in our house was that our son (2 months old) could not fall asleep with the bedtime routine going on for our 2 1/2 year old. He's so curious that he would just wake up when he heard the bustling around him.

What we've done to remedy the problems is add a dose of Mylicon to his bedtime routine and include him in our daughter's bedtime routine. We compromised with the bedtimes--he goes to bed 1/2 and hour later and she goes to bed 1/2 an hour earlier. So, they're both on the same sleep schedule--except for naptimes. He naps, she doesn't.

Answer 3

Babies need a quiet place with only a nightlight. 6:30 does sound early in that the rest of the family is probably up and moving around. Does she take naps during the day? What does she seem to want when she wakes up half an hour later? Does she have a security blankie or something she favors that she sleeps with?

Answer 4

You are not putting your baby to bed to early. My 7 month old goes to bed between 6 and 7. He sleeps through the night until 7 am. I followed Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child. I recommend the book for anyone with sleep issues with their kids. Your 5 month old is old enough to know her surroundings and where she fell asleep- then she is waking and finding herself in a different place. The book recommends following the same bedtime routine everynight so baby knows what to expect- and putting them in the crib drowsy but awake (I always turn on the ocean wonders thingy and he watches that until he falls asleep without ever crying) Your daughter may be switching sleep cycles and slightly waking and not realizing where she is since that is not where she origionaly fell asleep. Good luck!
*once she is down don't go in when she cries unless it is an emergency cry. She will learn to sooth herself within a few days. It may suck to hear her but it will get better!

Answer 5

your baby is still pretty little.. what kind of sleep does she get during the day.. if she has short sleeps then she will probably sleep longer in the night. if she gets 5 hours of sleep in a row that's pretty good. i have an 18 month old and she has 1 nap in the day and goes to bed at 8pm and sleeps most of the night - usually waking up once.. but to get to this point took almost a year..

does she have gas?? are all the burps out before she goes to sleep.. her tummy might be bothering her or she has a wet diaper or she could be hungry. maybe try some gripe water this may ease discomfort..

is she teething/drooling lots? her mouth maybe bothering her too..

oh I remember the days.. the joys of motherhood.. i hope you rest when she does..

Answer 6

My baby is 6 months and I know what you mean. An hour later they are up... Sometimes this happens. I learned not to pick her up at night. To teach her that it is time for bed. I usually go in her room and rub her back. This has worked really well! When you pick them up at night it is said to teach them you will always do this and it's the only way to go to bed. I hold my little one at night because I nurse and I wait 5 to 10 minutes to put her to bed. A great book is called The Baby Sleep Book by Dr. James McKenna. It helped me!

Answer 7

i too feel that 6:30 is way to early to be putting kids to bed do you do it so you can have more free time? and when they are sleeping are you watching TV. or reading a book being very quite. kids can sense when lights are on or when people are moving. being that she is 5 months I'm quite sure that she probably takes 2 if not 3 naps during the day, most children do until they are 12 -14 months old. but i agree too that when she does wake up and cry don't immediately go in and get her she need to realize that its bed time. let her cry for 5-10 min and then go in and pat her back for a while. don't pick her up or say anything to her just pat her back or belly which ever shes not lying on. then leave the room keep this up and she will learn but if you pick her up she will expect it every time. if you do pick her up keep her in her room and rock her with the lights off still not talking. lights off means bed time. this worked for me when we had this problem in fact it still does. do you have one of those ocean wonders things that plays music and bubbles and lights maybe use that every time you put her in bed to soothe her to sleep and even during her naps. but i still feel 6:30 and 7:30 are way tooooooo early bed time for kids ya i know you want some free time but i would rather spend time with my kids at night.

Answer 8

my baby used to do this and we discovered...after a few long nights...that she just considered this a nap and not bed time...she would go to sleep from 6:30 - 7:00 and then be ready for bed for the night at 8 or 8:30...maybe she just thinks of it for a nap.

Answer 9

No, a baby this age is NOT thirsty in the night. She has a bad habit that she needs to break, wtih your help. You need to let her cry it out. PUt her to bed, making sure her tummy is full, and don't go back till morning. If you stick to your guns, she will be cured in a week or less.

Answer 10

yeah but my son doesnt go till bed till like 12 sometimes 1!!!... i will put him down and 30 min to 45 min later he is up crying.. sometimes i just let him cry it out.. they WILL fall back alseep. and to get a later bedtime......... keep her up later... try playing with her and keeping her busy walking around iwth her.... she is gonna be mad and grumpy cause she cany go to sleep but if u keep it up.. the bed time will be pushed back