5 month old wont sleep threw the night or nap?

Question

my daughter is just shy of 5 months. she starts her day waking up around 8:30 or 9 yes that would be great but i do have a 4 yr old that gets up around 6:30am so i have to get up. i am breast feeding just to let you know. she takes her little 15 to 30 min cat nap around 11 and then at 2 and then at 5pm. and then she goes to sleep with a fight around 10:30 11pm. i know i should not let her take that nap at 5 but like i said it is a short one but she needs it because she is so tired and cranky i don't even know how to keep her up. she is attached to the boob and won't take a nap or go to sleep at night without it. when she is ready for bed she wants me to lay with her. and crys if i put her in the crib. i can not let her cry because like i said i have a four year old and they share a room. she is up 4 to 5 times in the night. the only way she will go back to sleep is if she has the boob. there is no point of putting her back in her crib because i just get up all the time.

so i just let her sleep with me. and i really don't want to start that. my question is how do i get her to sleep and nap better isn't she tired? help how do i get her on a schedule with out crying

Answer 1

Hi.
What I did with my two boys (now aged 1 and 2) is a little different as they were bottle fed, but we had a very consistent routine with wake up time around 6-7am, a nap at around 9:30-11am, then another at around 1:30-3pm, then bedtime for the night at 6-7pm. As we had to fit in 4 bottle feeds, I used to get them up between 8-9pm for a "dream feed" - I'd try hard not to wake them up, giving them a bottle in the dark and being really quiet. If they did wake they always went straight back to sleep anyway. Then they would stay asleep all night.

I understand what you are saying about the last nap at 5 - when my youngest was very little we did that but changed it by the time he was 5 months old so that he could go to sleep for the rest of the night at a reasonable time. I would say that 10:30 is just too late for a little one (even though she sleeps in, but that is not working for you with your older child). Try keeping her up that little bit longer until 6pm if you can.

I am no expert on breastfed children but I think you may have a problem as she has come to rely on your breast as a "prop" to get to sleep. If you offer it to her in the night when she wakes you are teaching her that when she wakes she will get your lovely milk so why not wake up! It is a habit that has formed. She should have enough nutrition in the day to make it through the night so you have to teach her to settle again on her own. Instead of offering her a feed when she wakes, try a cuddle or pat and shush her and say go back to sleep. She may cry but you have to be consistent or this will never change. Don't leave her crying for long, go back and repeat the same thing but gradually increase the time you are gone and eventually she will get the idea. It is hard for you having an older child in the room but that is the only way to change that pattern.
If she seems genuinely hungry then you would have to increase her food intake which could mean preparing to introduce solids.

Have you tried a dummy (pacifier)? Some babies find the sucking soothing and although it would also be a prop just not one that you have to keep giving all the time (as in your breast). My babies also loved their Fisher Price aquarium/flutterbye dreams cot attachments with lights and music, we put them on to go to sleep.

Best of luck.

Answer 2

You have to be strict with the grandparents and tell them its really effecting her sleep at night and you must try and stick to your routine and not let her sleep after a certain time in the day. Also your little girl has been sleeping through which means she can again, I would not give her a bottle when she wakes up as this has become her new routine. If she is thirsty give her a little water but not milk. Also I would not do a bit of controlled crying, make sure she is O.K , tuck her back in and leave her but stay out of the room. If she carries on go back in make sure she is O.K and again tuck her back in. This may happen for a few nights but she should get the hang of the new routine.

Answer 3

listen you are going to have to let her cry sooner or later, she has to develop a good lung capacity and the only way is to let her cry. I understand that her and her brother share a bedroom. Put the crib in your room. As for always being awake in the night. My opinion and what I did with my oldest was to give her a little bit of pablum and then a bottle of milk and that held her through the night. Once you have her up in the morning feed her some more pablum and give her milk it sounds to me that she is not getting enough nourishment from your breast milk. Have you ever considered putting her on a formula made with can milk? She should not be eating that often. You should have her propped up and playing on the floor now. Or lay her on a blanket on the floor give her some toys and let her play. You are the one that has to make the schedule for her and when she should be eating and sleeping. Good luck.

Answer 4

It is normal for a 5 month old to wake several times at night to nurse. Her tummy is still really tiny, and she still needs nighttime comforting! Keeping her in your bed at night will help you to get some sleep. As for napping during the day, you might try carrying her in a sling. You'll have your hands free to play with your 4 year old, and babies often drift off to sleep easily when snugged up in a sling.

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Answer 5

It will be easier to just put in your room. My daughter slept through at 2 months in her crib, her room, no problem. My son is now 2 1/2 and still will not nap or sleep in his own room. The goal here is sleep. You need it. You need sleep more than your daughter needs to be in her crib.

Answer 6

try giving her a nice warm with with calming bubble bath then breastfeed her a little longer than usual so that way she is full up. with her having a nap at 5 is a defininate no no. try keeping her awake (even if she is cranky) for an extra 2hrs so at 7 do her bath, breastfeed her and mayb that will help her sleep longer at night.