Help! My baby wakes up 9 times at night!?

Question

My 4 & 1/2 month old is waking up so much. At first his bedtime was around 11pm (late-- we know, but that's when he was tired.) He would usually sleep for 4 hours, then wake up, feed, sleep for 3 hours, wake up, feed and so on. We were concerned that he was not getting too much sleep since he woke up for the morning at around 9ish. We read some of the other questions/answers posted and decided to try an earlier bed time (7:30 - 8 pm). When we put him to bed earlier, he wakes up almost every half hour until 11pm and then sleeps for maybe 3 hours to wake up and feed. Now he wakes up in the morning at 10:30. We are excited about him getting more sleep but it is not his best sleep since by the time it is morning he wakes up 9-10 times! He also only naps for 1/2 - 1 hour during the day about 3 times. We massage him during the day, but not much help. We are stumped and all out of ideas...we need help!

Answer 1

I bet your little one knows how much sleep he needs. Just watch his signals. :D
Some of the best advice I got when my DS was waking quite frequently was to not look at the clock because it actually make you more tired LOL. And then someone else mentioned letting baby sleep beside me. It worked like a charm then baby was only waking every two to three hours.

I would also have baby checked for reflux.. it makes babies very uncomfortable. I would also look into ear infections and bladder infections.

Answer 2

You were doing it right the first time. babies do not need an early bedtime as their stomachs are so tiny and they need many many feeds thorughout the day and night.
By putting him to bed early you are just making it worse as he has to wake up more to get the same amount of feeds. Which cant be good for you or him.
If he is back to his normal routine/schedule of sleeping at 11pm then his naps are fine and he doesnt need to take longer ones or shorter ones. Babies will only sleep as long as they need to.

My girls always fell asleep for the night around 11pm. Then I only had the 2am feed and 6am feed. They would sleep again till about 9am and be up for the day. Of course not every day was like this but in general that was the schedule they had. But it wasnt my schedule I just followed what they needed.

Babies do not understand time or schedules or what parents think is appropriate behaviour. All they know is if they are tired,hungry,wet, in pain or wanting attention. And even these they dont really know except as some weird feeling. It is our job as parents to figure these things out by their cries and body language.
So do what is best for your baby and you. Let him sleep when he is ready to and feed him when he is hungry.
By waking up every half hour he is telling you that he isnt ready for sleep yet. And its messing him up by forcing him to sleep when he is not ready yet.
Children not babies need bedtimes. Let him go back to the schedule he already had and you will be a happy well rested family.
Just because others do things one way does not mean it is the right way for you and your baby. ALWAYS listen to your baby and your instinct before anyone elses parenting tips or tricks.

Answer 3

I had the same problem, then it went away at 4 months, then came back weeks later, then went away.

This was because my daughter started teething at 4 months and this changed her habits. Your best bet is to choose a schedule and stick to it. I am not a believer in the cry it out method, but I am a strong believer in routine. Set up a feeding routine and bath time and stick to that. If he is a late owl, then there's nothing you can do to change that. My daughter is in bed by 11 and wakes at 4am and 8am then takes 3 30 minute naps during the day. She is not a sleeper, but is still very healthy.

Baby is still new and sleeping habits are fully expected to even out till about 6 months.

Answer 4

I find that when my son is waking up more than normal he is teething. try a little orajel before bed and see if it helps or maybe some teething tablets (check the age, in not sure if 4m is too young)

Babies can start teething way before the teeth actually come in.

Sleep begets sleep, so make sure that he is napping good in the day and goes to bed at a good time at night. (it sounds like his is).

If they are overtired or too wound out when the go to sleep they also do not sleep as good. make sure that you have a nice soothing bedtime routine. Bath, rocking with mom or dad, quiet atmosphere 1/2 hr-1hr before bed time.

Answer 5

I was/am currently going through this with my 8 month old, she wakes every hour until dawn. Lovely :)

I started putting her to bed earlier and earlier until now finally I have found her optimum sleep time, NOW she takes a long time to get to sleep but once she is down she is down for the count. Perhaps you are missing the inital VERY early sleep signs? This is what was happening to me. (also my girl was a 10.30 -11pm bedtime gal too) Anyhoo, sounds bizarre but maybe try even earlier for bed and see what happens?

I found that if I get my daughter down at the right time she sleeps soundly but if I miss it by even 30 mins, she is awake all the time... ahhh - so hard :) Also, I am not a fan of controlled crying or controlled comforting so I have not tried these, but they may work for you.

One more thing, as adults we look for routine all the time, but kids change and go through changes so frequently that it is hard for us to comprehend that one night they do this thing and another night they do another... hard to get out of that mindset...

Best of luck with eveyrthing and trust your instincts (if you are getting enough sleep to hear them!) :)

Answer 6

My daughter is 2 years old and since she was born her bedtime was around 10:30pm. She never gave us any problems waking up in the middle of the night. Not even to eat. I noticed that it was because her doctor asked me to put rice cereal in her bottle because she had reflux and the cereal helped keep her food down. Anyway, she was so fully from the cereal in her bottle that she wouldn't wake up. You can alos try letting her cry it out. It's going to hurt and you're going to want to pick him up but you have to stay strong and this will help him sleep also!

Answer 7

Have you tried putting baby cereal in a bottle? I had that same problem when my son came to live with me when he was 6 months old. I had found out that his father was giving him 3 ozs ever so many hours. I gave that to my son and he started sleeping throughout the night.

I know experts say not to put cereal in a bottle but seriously it won't harm them (well it didn't harm my children) just as long as you know they are getting the required nutrition and that you aren't putting to much in the bottle so they choke. Also I would cut a bigger hole in the nipple since baby cereal won't fit through the standard ones.

GOOD LUCK!

Answer 8

He probably hungry and isn't eating enough. Is he breastfeed? Try breastfeeding your lil one before bed time or giving him a bottle if not breatfeeding. Get him on a schedule to put him to bed by 8pm no later than 9pm. Check his diaper and sometimes he may just need some hugging, singing or rocking. My lil one sleeps like a baby once breastfed before bed time. If she needs a binky to suck on while sleeping let her fall asleep with it but don't put it back in her back when sleeping and have soft music playing (lullabies)

Answer 9

it's very normal for a baby to wake up 9 times a night...just think when they are older they will want to sleep in and they won't bother you...when my friend had her baby...he woke up at least 11 times a night. So it is normal for a baby to wake up during the night so don't be worried.

Answer 10

Talk to your doctor there are sleep classes for babies without having to give them sleeping aides

Try jonsons nightime bath it helps babies to sleep for longer or try a little lavender oil in a burner it helps to relax and bring on sleep

Try not to worry about him not getting enough sleep at his age if he needs to he will sleep