5 month old not sleeping through the night - Infant Care (up to 18 months old) Message Board

brandiworth · 11-12-2004, 06:01 AM

I am a new mom of 5 month old Mason. I really don't know where to start so I am just going to jump into it. Mason is a VERY good baby. He never really cries or fusses (I don't let him). We have had this same bedtime routine since he was about 3 months old. Here goes: I get home around 3:30 - 4:00 pm. Mason takes 2 naps a day. He stays at my mother-in-laws house (she lives right next door)

So when I get home he is on his 2nd nap sometimes. I usually nurse him when I get home because he is due for another feeding. Around 6 or 6:30 - I feed him his dinner and around 7 pm I give the bath. After his bath I nurse him to sleep. I put him in his crib right after that. So he is in his room sleeping anywhere between 7:30 and 8:30. My first question is, Am I putting my son to bed too early? My sister said that I am but like last night - I gave him his bath at 7:00 and I usually nurse him after that to sleep but I kept him up and played with him but he was so fussy. He kept buring his head in my DH chest and whinning. I think he knows when it is bed time because of how long we have had this routine. When he does go down - he usually sleeps until about 10:30 or 11:00. I have tried to give him his pacifier when he starts to wake up and he will take it for about 10 min - but will wake back up again. After trying to give the pacifier several times I finally give up and just get him out of bed and put him in my bed to nurse. I am so tired in the middle of the night to keep getting up and down nursing him and putting him back in his crib that I just leave him in my bed the rest of the night. My dh works all the time and sometimes doesn't get home until real late so I feel bad asking him to help. My second question is - What do I do about the night nursing. Do I continue to keep on or do I just let him cry it out? I don't have the heart to let him cry - so is there some other alternative? I don't want Mason to get used to sleeping in the bed with mommy - I would love to get back in my own bed sometime SOON. What do I do?

MandyAnne26 · 11-12-2004, 06:35 AM

No....he's only 5 months old, if he's still waking up at night than he needs to eat. If he wasn't hungry he'd settle back down with a pacifier or a min or two after nursing. Breast fed babies (in my expience) don't sleep as well through the night as bottle fed babies. I bottle fed my first, he was sleeping through the night by 3 months, my next two i breast fed, my 2nd didn't start sleeping fully through the night untill 2 (although she would only wake up for about 5 minutes after about 1 year. My 2 year old still wakes up quite a bit, i think it's in part because she's a picky eater and is actually hungry. She's geting better now that she's eating more durring the day.
Your son could be teething, i know with my 2 year old when she's getting a tooth (currently getting her molars) she doesn't sleep well at all. Try giving him some advil (better for teething pain than tylenol) before you put him to bed to see if that helps.
Some things you can try to do before putting him down is feed him more (not force it on him), if he's waking up because he's hungry than giving him a little extra before bed may help (try some rice cereal). I don't think it's because he's going to bed too early, otherwise he wouldn't have tired so easily when you tried to keep him up and you'd have to fight with him to get him to sleep. I don't think letting him cry it out at 5 months is good though...he still needs his mommy and is too young to understand why you arne't coming to get him and feed him.

Kiera1595 · 11-12-2004, 07:30 AM

I agree with most of mandy's points, but not all. Yes, breast fed babies typically do not sleep as well at night. I think that like she said, try to feed him a bit more at night. If he needs to nurse once in the night, I would say that is normal. Maybe even twice as he may be going through a growth spurt (typically around 6 months, has he been nursing more during the day as well?) If he's doing it more than once or twice, I think it's more of a comfort/I love my mommy thing. I think that his bedtime is appropriate. I also think that he may be teething. Is he drooling more than normal? If you think that may be part of the problem give him some tylenol or motrin before bed to help. It will help the pain and also knocks most little ones out a bit.

However, 5 months is not too young to start letting him cry and learn to fall sleep on his own. And you need to get him out of your bed. I totally know that it is easier, but he is getting used to being in your bed and that is part of the problem. Even though he is young, he is very smart. He has learned that if he crys and won't take the pacifier you will pick him up and bring him into your wonderful bed and nurse him. Then he gets to sleep with his wonderful mommy. You are giving him just what he wants and he will never change it on his own because...why would he?? It's great to him!

Here's a few things that I would try. See if it is more about eating, or being with you. No more nursing in bed. Go in, nurse him and put him right back in his crib. Try not to nurse him until he falls asleep. He is relying too much on the comfort of nursing to fall asleep. Allow him to fill his belly and then put him back to bed awake and see how he does. He will cry at first and it will break your heart! Go back in every 10 minutes and calm him down, then leave again. The 1st three nights I did this with my son I sat in the other room crying right along with him!!!!! It killed me, but after 3 nights he got it. He was about 4 months old. You are doing almost everything that the pros say to do to get your child to learn to fall asleep on their own. You've established a routine, the final step is putting him to sleep awake and letting him learn to put himself to sleep. Also, another thing to help you out if it really is all about hunger...have your husband help with the feedings. I know he works late. My husband comes home around 1-2am. Guess what...he gets to help. Yes your husband is tired...so are you honey. This is a team effort. Why go put it all on yourself?

And if it really is all about hunger, you son will be eating a lot of solids very soon and that is really going to fill him up and help you out, but I think its more that he loves having you comfort him.

Platinum33 · 11-12-2004, 09:19 AM

Well, I have a five month old daughter of my own. She has one tooth half way in and another one that just burst through her gums. Her teeth do bother her at night, and I give her orajel to numb the pain, and sometimes tylenol to help it stay away for a while. I am also breastfeeding my daughter, and she does not sleep through the night at all. There have been times when she has, but those times are rare. I am a single mom, and although I live with my parents, I am the only one who gets up to get my daughter. I am a full time college student, so sleep is very important to me. I normally get in from school around 8:30, and I give my daughter a bath as soon as I get in, if she has not already had one. I give her a little lotion massage and then nurse her to sleep. This has also been our bedtime routine for the past three months, but she continues to wake up during the night. Right now, she wakes up at about 11 to eat again, and I put her back to bed, also going to bed myself by then. She normally sleeps about four or five hours, but after that, I'm well into my sleep, so I put her into bed with me and feed her again. I have figured out that she was waking up from hunger, because I've tried to just put her back to sleep, and she got louder with her crying. Her doctor told me to give her more rice cereal at night, so I've started giving it to her with breastmilk...which she didnt like at all...and then with applesauce...which she likes a bit more. So far it hasn't been helping her stay asleep any longer.

I know it's not "good" to let your baby sleep in the bed with you, but in my case, my only other choice is to stay up getting her to sleep in her crib, and falling asleep myself in class later

Besides the advice that was already given, my only input is to give him a bottle at night. It might (yeah, might...nothing is ever perfectly written when it comes to babies)...it might help if your son doesn't like the bottle, as my daughter doesn't. If you offer a bottle with breastmilk or formula, whichever is less appealing to your son, he might (LOL) stop waking up for a feeding, and you should be giving him more to eat during the day at this time. On the other hand, he may get even more upset, and will not calm down until you give him the goods he wants, lol...which is what happened with my daughter. I've also heard that increasing the amount of his feeding right before he goes to sleep might work as well.

My main point, do what works for you. You sound like a wonderful mother, and you aren't going to scar your child for life if you do what you're doing now. You can always work on setting better sleep habits once your son is older and more easy to set boundaries for.

brandiworth · 11-12-2004, 11:28 AM

Mason is eating cereal around 6 or 6:30. I have been giving him some peaches and some prunes (he has been going a couple of days without going #2) but mostly oatmeal (rice makes him constipated) mixed with some applesauce. He eats, god, so much. He is a big baby also. He was 9 lbs 15 oz when he was born and he currently weighs 23 lbs. He eats pretty good during the day and almost always doesn't drink all 6 oz. He is getting oatmeal and some peaches or prunes mid morning. (with my mother-in-law) Maybe it is just a comfort thing with him. Maybe he isn't really hungry. I just need to jump in and commit to it.

He shows some sign of teething, I think. He loves to bite on a cloth diaper and bites the nipples on the bottle I give at dinner time. Sometimes I he will bite down on my finger. He isn't really drooling. His gums aren't red or swollen. And he isn't fussy at all.

I really appreciate all of the advice I have gotten. I never thought about registering on one of these things. With me being a new mommy - this is so informative.