Is it normal for a 5 month olds sleep pattern to change drastically?

Question

My little man has been sleeping 6 hours or more at night since he was 2 weeks old. he gradually got to a point where he did not wake up at all till morning..almost sleeping 12 hours!I started work in september (he was 4 months) and i only work 2 days a week.i am brestfeeding so i would feed him before leaving and when i came home. depending on the shift i would wake him in the morning or at night. for the past week or so he has been waking up about 3 times a night to eat. could my working scheduale have messed him up or could he be going through a growth spurt. oh had he has been on rice cereal for about 2 months and jarred baby food about 2 weeks.

Answer 1

OMG yes. Everytime I think that my kids are on a sleep schedule with naps and nighttime things change. Different things have changed things - growth and or developmental milestones, an illness, teething.

They actually went through a phase where they slept through the night and now at 13 months they have decided not to sleep through the night anymore. This was after a viral infection.

It is a viscious cycle with the night feeding. My son would wake up and I would feed him to get him back to sleep and then he would eat less the next day - then wake up hungry the next night. It will take you a few nights, but if you stop feeding him he will eat more the next day. I did it gradually - I would put him to bed at 8ish, then dream feed him at 11ish when I went to bed. Then he would make it until around 5 or 6am before he woke up again. I did less and less on the dream feeding and increased the food the next day. It actually worked for a little while and he slept through the night. But of course now all bets are off because he was sick and now he is waking up again even though he is better. I have talked to other moms and it seems pretty normal to have lots of fluctuations. Good luck.

Answer 2

I dont have an answer, Im just going to comment because i just posted something similar. My almost 5 month old son's sleeping habit has just HORRIBLY changed too. He's also waking up 3 -4 times in the night and he hadnt been before. Maybe its a growth stage or something?

Answer 3

Yes its normal. They are more aware of the world around them, they have a concept of object permanence, (mom is here, i just cant see her) and beyond all that, they are teething or achey from activity.

Its totally normal. This is the time of helping them to fall asleep on their own by letting them fuss themselves to sleep as much as possible.

Also, it might be time to change up the nap routine a little. If he's not sleeping the night through its possible that he's too tired when you put him down. He may need a later short nap, or a longer regular nap. Or an earlier bed time.

Answer 4

http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/4mo-sleep.html
Wakeful 4 Month Olds

by Jan Barger, RN, MA, IBCLC

Reprinted with permission from the author.

One of the concerns I have about some parenting books and pediatricians who give advice about sleeping infants is this: Baby starts sleeping through the night at, say, about 3 months -- or at least sleeping 5 to 6 hours. Suddenly around 4 months, little Buford starts waking up at night to nurse. Mom is understandably distressed. Some books say "it's a bad habit that must be stopped." Her pediatrician says essentially the same thing. Someone else points out that since the baby slept through the night at 3 months, it is OBVIOUS that the baby CAN sleep and isn't hungry. The book goes on to talk about how the baby is now manipulating the mother. The pediatrician says he's big enough to go without eating at night. Grandma tells her to let Buford cry it out. So does the book. There may be different ways, but in essence, don't pick him up and feed him....

Has NO ONE stopped to consider the developmental stage of the breastfeeding baby that begins at about four months and can go on to 6 or 7 months? Think about your four month old breastfeeding -- what are they doing? This baby is on and off the breast -- so interested in the world around him he can hardly stand it. "Oh look! There's the dog! Hi, Mommy, I love you SOOOO much! The phone?! A car went by. The TV is on. Big sister comes into the room....hey, there's just too much going on for me to concentrate on eating. I think I'm full now. I'll see you later....."

When I get one of these babies in my office, I have to observe the feed without saying a word to the mother. The entire feeding is done in complete silence so that the baby will EAT and not look around at me. How many times have you been told to go into a darkened, quiet room to get a good feeding? OK, now think about night time. Buford is really hungry -- he didn't eat well during the day. Nighttime is here; it's dark, quiet, and he has mommy's undivided attention. So he has a really great meal. Doesn't take long -- he's pretty efficient by now. But it is down to business and complete.

But WAIT! Someone told the mother that the baby can't possibly be hungry -- just let him cry it out. Now mom's milk supply diminishes because punkin isn't eating well during the day -- too many things going on, and he's going through some new developmental stages (when Hildegarde is learning something new, she doesn't nurse as well until the new skill is mastered). IF mom has kept Buford/Hildegarde on a schedule since day 1, then she will probably NOT be able to increase her supply -- not with pumping, not with herbs. If she fed her baby frequently enough and laid down enough prolactin receptors in the first two weeks to a month, there is hope that we can bring the milk back up. But if she was truly "obeying" a schedule and only feeding every 2.5 to 3 hours, she may not be able to (depending on mom's breastmilk storage supplies, etc).

Why don't bottle feeding babies wake up as much at 4 months? Because by this time, mom has often handed the bottle off to baby to feed himself, and/or seats him looking out so he can check out the dog, the phone, the sibling, etc -- and continue eating at the same time.

Please don't deny that your breastfeeding baby is quite possibly very hungry at night at four months, even though they may have been sleeping through the night prior to this. Look at the feed -- can you hear swallowing? Does your breast get softer? Is he EATING? Then don't make him cry it out! He needs to eat....and he needs his mommy.