baby was sleeping through now wakes for feed

[ticklebucket]

My 6mth old was sleeping through from 11pm to 6.30 or 7am (since 3 months old) but since Christmas (3 - 4 weeks ago)he has been waking every night for a feed somewhere between 3am and 4.30am. If I breast feed him then he stays on the breast and wakes up every hour to change sides. If we give him a bottle he will drink a full carton 7oz.

I wasn't sure whether we should give him milk (which he is clearly hungry for - he eats more at 7 -7.30am) or whether we should just give him a drink of water (if so how much). we always first try ignoring him (sometimes in the past he would settle himself back to sleep)soothe him by patting him and shushing (this also worked in the past)- but its not working anymore.

Some people have told me this is probably because he wants solids. We have started giving him solids and have been going down the baby led weaning route (sort of) which although fun means he isn't getting a great deal of calories down him. I have tried to top this up with a bit of baby rice or other puree but I am going at his pace and not shoveling it in, so he only takes very small quantities. we are only in week 2 of solids so I am being patient with it.

Any advice would be very welcome - will I have a full nights sleep again?
Thank you.

[thisisyesterday]

yes, you will have a full night's sleep again

as you say, he is hungry. babies change the rules a lot, and just when you think you have a routine, they decide to do something different

i think at this age one night waking is very good!!! so while it may seem like a regression, it's certainly not uncommon for them to still wake for food

milk is their main source of nutrition for at least a year, and it is more calorific than solid food. so it's the best thing to give him!

I wonder though, has he decreased his milk feeds now he is taking solids?
if so, perhaps he needs more milk during the day?

just a thought, and it may not change a thing, but worth a try

[ticklebucket]

Thank you for your reply. I don't think we are decreasing milk feeds in the day but might try giving a third bottle in the day to top up breast feeding which might be on the decline. I suppose also that the time we spend on playing with food might hasve distracted him from his milk time so I will monitor it.

[ExistentialistCat]

Oh, ticklebucket, that is such a relief to hear! My FF 6 1/2 month-old DD is exactly the same - was sleeping through and is now waking anytime between 2 and 5 a.m. I've tried settling her with her dummy but then I end up going in and out of her room at half hourly to hourly intervals. If I offer milk, she usually drinks a good amount (usually more than she's have during a daytime feed - she doesn't seem to want much milk during the day at all, no matter how often I offer) and settles fairly quickly, but then she doesn't want anything at all at her morning feed and the whole of the rest of the day feels out of kilter.

We're also doing BLW and she's not eating very much at all yet. I look at friends' puree-fed, sleeping-through babies and wonder whether I'm doing this all wrong!

I realise this isn't much help to you but perhaps it's reassuring that you're not alone!

[ticklebucket]

Thank you existentialistcat its always good to hear that I am not alone! From what I can gather the secret to BLW and sleep is patience.

[trixymalixy]

I'm totally in the same boat.

DD is 24 weeks and we are definitely waiting to 26 weeks as my DS is very allergic so DD is to have some allergy testing and then be weaned under the dietician's advice.

I don't know how much more I can take though as she has gone from doing a good 6-7 hour stretch to being up every 2-3 hours, I'm so exhausted, don't know if I can last another 2 weeks, particularly as DS has been constantly ill and up early.

At least as DD is my 2nd I know it will get better eventually. We will be going down the BLW route as well.

I too am jealous of my friend's bottle fed, puree fed baby who sleeps from 8pm to 10.30am .

[bluesheep]

I was just about to post an almost identical thread!

DD2 is 28 weeks old and I started giving her solids around 3 weeks ago. Everything has been going really well, no allergic reactions, seems to really enjoy everything I've give her so far (pureed veg and fruit). I'm BF, and still giving her at least 4 full feeds from me per day (or at least trying - she doesn't always want a full feed but it's always on offer). She had been sleeping really well - had a nap after lunch of around an hour, an afternoon catnap and went down at night from 8pm - 7am.

All going wonderfully then, until about a week ago when she started to wake up at 3.30am. Usually she goes straight off afterwards, so I wasn't too worried. But for the last few days she's been up at 3am and not gone back to sleep at all. I've tried everything to get her to go off again, but no joy. She's just managed to go back to sleep now, at bloody 7.30am, just in time for DD1 to come running out of her room at full pelt!

I know getting up once a night is not too bad, but how can I get her to go back to sleep? Am I doing something wrong? I'm currently trying to fight off a horrible chest infection and all I want to do is sleep (and cry!).

Any ideas greatfully received, thanks

[herbaceous]

May I join you? My DS hadn't been a great sleeper - from about 4 months he's been waking 2 to 4 times a night - but a couple of weeks ago was beginning to go 11-7.

Then I started BLW. He's now 6.5 months, is fed milk (boob topped up with bottle) every three hours, with some food in those 'meals' twice a day. He doesn't take much top-up, though - only about 2-3oz, so can't be that hungry. However, he's been waking sometimes six or more times a night. Last night wasn't too bad - only awake at 1.30 and 5, but was hungry both times.

I don't know how I can physically get more milk into him. He falls asleep on the bottle at bed-time because he's so tired, because he doesn't nap much in the day, so I give him a dreamfeed bottle of about 6oz when we go to bed at 11. He STILL wakes up at 1.30.

All the other babies in my NCT group are formula-fed, puree types, and all sleep through the night. Surely this isn't coincidence.

Thoughts that occur to me:
Is it the 'follow on' formula? Maybe he doesn't like it, so doesn't have as much?

He has cereal in the mornings. Should I give it to him later in the day t 'fill him up', or would this mean he has even less milk?

Should he be fed milk only every 4 hours to build up a really good appetite, with finger food in between?

Is it yet another buggering growth spurt?