What is wrong with my 5 month old baby? She never sleeps anymore........?

Question

when my daughter was 2 months old she started sleeping through the night but now that she is 5 months old she doesn't sleep through the night anymore and she doesn't nap during the day. I have started her on baby food (1 jar a day) and i put 1 ounce of rice cereal in every 8 ounce bottle. she still doesn't sleep, no naps and she wakes up every night about every 2-3 hours. so i don't really think she's hungry but i feed her when she wakes, she drinks about 2-3 ounces every time then goes back to sleep. Her bedtime is 8:00-8:30pm everynight. We do the same routine bath and bottle before bed at the same time every night. and she wakes up at 6:30-7:00am every morning on her own. please help what am i doing wrong here?

also, when I put her in her own bed she wakes up every time so she ends up sleeping in bed with me and her daddy. I need her to sleep and in her own bed. how do i do this? I cannot stand to let her cry. HELP!!!!!!

HER DOCTOR IS THE ONE WHO PUT HER ON SOLIDS AT 4 MONTHS AND RECOMMENDED THE CEREAL IN THE BOTTLES. THANKS

Answer 1

I have 2 suggestions: (1) Have you tried putting her to sleep on her stomach? (2) Have you had her checked for sleep apnea?

Back sleep causes deformational plagiocephaly (flat head syndrome), social skills delays at 6 months, motor skills delays at 6 months, decreases sleep duration by between 8% and 16%, torticollis (tightening of neck muscles), shoulder retraction, and increases sleep apnea (lack of oxygen) episodes. They say many of these negative effects are "temporary" but I find that very hard to believe. Stomach sleep does none of that and also has the positive effect of preventing hip subluxation, increases sleep duration, and helps lessen colic. Plus, the back sleep position doesn't prevent SIDS in over 99% of infants because they don't have the underlying condition that causes SIDS. But, the back position does weaken infants so if a parent decides to put their infant on their stomach they should try having them sleep on the parents chest first to see how it goes. Good Luck.

http://www.oandp.com/edge/issues/articles/2006-12_02.asp

http://cgi.thescientificworld.co.uk/cgi-bin/processHtml.pl?Id=2005.03.71.html&format=Dreamweaver

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1595182

Answer 2

Your baby sleeps through the night.
(EDIT: I didn't see you said she sleeps for 2-3 hours.
Is the rice going through the nipple? It is too thick
for the regular nipple. Widen the whole... A 3 hour
nap at night is a luxury in my home! The people saying
that cereal is not good for a 5 month old haven't talked
to your doctor nor my excellent doctor. You CAN feed
the baby cereal in formula. Your doctor will say to just
monitor her stool/diapers. Be careful of misinformation,
even from me. No one here is a pediatrician.)
The question is WHAAAHT?!?!?

Let's trade. Please.

Seriously, she sleeps all that time, get up and get stuff
done in the middle of the night. Wal-Mart has some
24 hour locations as do restaurants, laundromats,
CVS, some fitness centers, the Internet is 24/7,,,

Create night-time for her in the mid day when you
need a break by darkening the room, shutting off
all noise, doing the night time ritual, maybe around
2pm. Take her for a walk or ride outdoor to tucker
her out. Man, I wish my baby would sleep through
the night sometime soon.

Peace.

Answer 3

I struggled with something similar with my son. A sleep doula saved my life.

She pointed out that now it's winter. The windows are closed. The A/C or fans are off. The night is now much quieter. Babies are used to noise in the womb and probably got used to other sounds during the warmer months such as street noise if you live in a city.

She suggested a white noise machine.

The first night, he went from 45 minutes-2 hour stretches before the noisemaker to 4-5 hour stretches with the noisemaker. That was two weeks ago. He's now going for 6-7 hour stretches.

I would highly recommend it. Mine also kept eating because he was trying to get himself back to sleep. Then he got stomach aches because he was overfull which also interfered with his sleep.

Answer 4

UGH. I hate to do this since it seems many have already answered about the cereal in the bottle, but I have to say it is not a good idea. You put cereal in every bottle? OMG. I can't imagine your daughter's doc approves of this practice. This may be messing with her stomach, keeping her awake. Although, she sounds like she's doing okay with the nighttime, my son is 6 months old and he gets up about every 2 hours all night because he's pre-teething. Having the teething pain with no physical signs of teeth coming in.

Answer 5

Research says that the rice in a bottle doesn't work and it's not a good idea. It's an olden day thing. You can research that online.
She may be going through a faze. A lot of times babies will wake up, but if you leave them be, they'll fall back to sleep. A lot of people get in the habit of thinking because they wake up they should go get them. Babies are smart, if they cry and are picked up, they'll do it over and over. If they are not picked up, they will know that they can go back to sleep. You have to set their clocks. If they are fed, changed, safe, etc. Let them cry to go back to sleep. You have to be tough and stick it out. It may take a few days to get them set.

Answer 6

first off, you shouldn't put the cereal in the bottle unless it's a specific "feeder" bottle. They are made for this. Secondly, 1 OZ OF CEREAL!!! That's a lot of cereal. I hope you mean 1 tbs. Finally, If she is not sleeping in her own bed, she should be soon. If she cries, comfrot her without picking her up, and then leave the room. let her cry for 5 minutes, and then go back and repeat. You will eventually get a little one who will easily sleep in her own crib.

Answer 7

I agree that it may be teething but it could also be that she is becoming accustomed to sleeping with you and your husband. I would comfort her by letting her know that you are there and then leave the room and give it atleast 5 minutes before reentering. It is so hard to do but trust me it is easier to do it now then later when they are toddlers. Sounds like you have a good bedtime routine though.

Answer 8

Okay...first thing you should do is calm down...babies do not start having a regular sleeping schedule that early...maybe the type of sheets or bedding on her bed bothers her sleep...try flannel sheets...the are warm and soft...second, get one of those noise machines...make sure that it is on when she is falling asleep...the leave it on....sometimes noise can helps a baby sleep...next...try making sure that her milk is warm before bed...warm milk helps sleep....Remember...she was in you belly for 9 months and she has only be out here for five...she will not want to be far from you...try putting her in a bassinet next to your bed as a start...then work up to the bed...BUT most of all...make sure that you rest...babies can sense when you are stressed...GOOD LUCK

Answer 9

first thing never put cereal in a bottle. shes over fed my dear

she shouldnt be on any solids yet

cereal should only be feed with a spoon from a bow; cereal in a bottle is a huge choking hazard

give her just formula maybe one BOWL OF CEREALat night. and call and ask the childs doctor

Answer 10

In reference to the cereal, I think it is bull that someone thinks that just because they would never do something, that it shouldn't be done.