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Can anyone relate to my issue/advise me...my 5mo had been sleeping through the night from 7-7 from 12 weeks, until 23 weeks he bacame ill (upset tummy for a week no apetite) and now although he's better and having 3portions of baby rice/porridge aswell as 5 bottles 7oz during the day, he has started to wake at night. He wakes at 11.30pm and around 2.30am for feeding and will take 8oz each time. I am so shattered as also have an 18mo I just can't seem to catch up with rest. Any advice???!!

Sounds like he is having quite a lot of baby rice - is there a particular reason for this? There's not much nutritional value in it, so maybe he is filling up on that and then having to wake in the night for milk?

They have a growth spurt at 4 months that tends to upset any routines made before then. I wouldn't try to fill up on baby rice as it may just clog the baby's system up - it doesn't really have any nutritional value compared to milk.

My LO did this. He slept all night from 7 weeks and at 22weeks was up at all hours. I stopped feeding him in the night and just soothed him back to sleep. On the third night he did not wake again and although not quite 12hours he has been much better since and eats and drinks more in the daytime.

If he didn't eat very well for a week he could be playing catch up and eating extra to make up for what he missed.

Agree that there is very little nutritional value in baby rice - if he's having it three times a day then I'd look at starting to vary his diet or increase his milk feeds.

Yes, I'd ditch the baby rice - it has far fewer calories than milk so it sounds as though he's waking for the extra calories he needs.

How old is he now? I would suggest increasing food intake away from the baby rice as it sounds like he's almost 6 months and ready for more if he taking 50oz a day

Thanks everyone, I've switched him to hungry milk and seems better but just not taking as much but just as frequent (every 3hours) and also have started baby poridge. Somebody suggested I give water in the night instead of milk, but last night he missed the 11.30 feed (yay!) then woke at 2am so I gave him the water he drank 4oz went back to sleep for 15mins then woke really crying so I had to give him milk, he had 7oz. There isn't enough hours in the day to give more milk. I feel like he's never going to get out of this habit of waking. BTW he is only just 5mo (turned 5 months last week)

At five months it's perfectly normal to still be waking for feeds.

He's only 5 months! What do you expect? Really. Don't give water in the night, give him milk. Babies wake in the night for milk despite what so-called "baby experts" say.

Isn't there a growth spurt around 5 months? So he might genuinely need the calories - and teething often starts around then (did with all of mine) which tends to upset things a bit.

He might also be ready to wean - I held off weaning until 6 months (DS is 8 months and my 3rd and there was just a bit too much going on before that ) and his weight gain slowed quite a bit, so maybe start normal food other than baby rice?

Sorry, you probably know this with an 18 MO - the other thing is that illness does tend to affect them too - DS has been ill/teething for the past week or so and is currently feeding at night like a newborn and massively off the solids. Am very at your sleep, having not had a full night since February.

Good luck!

i give my 11 week old water after his last feed before bed it tops him up and settles him for a good five hours.

You're giving an 11wo water??

yes every night after his bottle he takes a few gulps of water and it sends him to sleep. any other time of day he wont take it. strange.

I'm not sure giving water to a tiny baby is a good idea - wouldn't it be better to fill his tummy with milk?

he still has his milk the water just settles his tummy and satisfies him. its only given of a night and he doesnt even drink an ounce but for some reason it sends him to sleep

The only reason for giving water to a baby is during incredibly hot weather if they're formula fed. Water does nothing to "settle his tummy".

Why not just feed more milk???

My ds is now 6 months old and was drinking 8oz bottles from 4 months every 2-3 hours. Hes slowly started to sleep through taking less and less in the nights. It's quite normal to need feeding during the night when they are so small.

4month sleep regression + 5-6month growth spurt + lucky you he even slept through before 6monthd

pointedly glares at 1yr old DD still up all hours of the night

Sorry, no advice but I know a) how crap it is to get no sleep and b) how crap it feels when this is your second child, should have it sussed, right?!

to girlwiththemouseyhair - yes yes and yes and also to samsmalaidh - go easy!!
Just in case anybody is interested (prob not) last night was kind of a breakthrough, he woke at 1.30am and after 4 failed attempts at rocking him back to sleep, gave him a feed of which he only took 4oz and then did controlled crying. Its seems more difficult as he doesn't like a dummy, so was giving milk instead of this to get him to sleep, I now know that he's not really hungry. I was worried at first that he was too young for this, but the lack of sleep drove me to it. He then slept until 8am yay!!
By the way, controlled crying really worked for me and my 18mo, does anyone have any experience with controlled crying at 5mo?

You're not supposed to do CC with under-1s any more, and HCPs advise against it.

I think my only reservation with CC at that stage is that there are so many reasons that your baby could be crying - teething, hunger, thirst -yes, they will give up eventually but that doesn't mean that there's no problem, just that they've learned you won't respond. And I'd have thought 4oz was a reasonable amount to take, or am I wildly off the mark?

BTW, I speak as one who did CC with DD1 (now 5). And it does work - I think you have to decide if you're ready to and the effect if you don't. I did with DD as she was 9MO and I hadn't had a full nights sleep since she was born. But I did have a night or 2 with only 1 or 2 wake-ups which made me feel a bit more up for trying it - and I think it restored my sanity. I have contemplated it with DS as the fact that he will not sleep more than 2-3 hours without waking (and hasn't done from the off) is definitely having a detrimental effect on the rest of us - not least as I have to get DD1 and DD2 up by 7 to get everyone out on the school/preschool run. But, I just can't do it now as he's clearly in so much pain with teething -he has at least 4 coming through at the moment.

Not sure that it's much help - they're all different and I think, once you have more than one, you need to really think about what works for you as a family.

Good luck.

hes feeding 6oz every three hours but is a bit colicy i was advised by hv to give cooled boiled water which is "supposed" to help settle his tummy and help him pass his wind

I think 4ozis a decent amount too - but then DD will choff an 8oz bottle to get to sleep if the first 8oz doesn;t send her off

Personally I think 5months is too young for CC but have a friend who CC successful DC1 at 5months and DC2 at 6months.

I CC successfully DS1 at 10months, it has never worked with DD and has actually had fairly bad repercussions for a days afterwards...different strokes for different folks

Yes, 4oz is quite a bit. If it was half an oz then I'd agree he's not hungry.