Why is my 5 month old waking so frequently??

[amtstevens]

Hi,

Hope someone can help me as I'm completely confused and at my wits end as to what to do for the best. Apologies for the length of this post!

My son is 5 1/2 months old and starting sleeping through at about 7 weeks which was great. We've never been able to get him into bed in the early evening as he just isn't tired then but he was typically sleeping through from about 10:30pm - 7am.

About 4 weeks ago he suddenly started waking in the night again and I don't know why. I don't think it's hunger as he will often wake only an hour after being fed. He wakes really frequently - it's as though he is sleeping really lightly and is really easily roused. In a typical night he goes down around 10pm, and wakes frequently between 11:30pm and 2am, after which he settles till about 6 or 7am.

I have to admit that he falls asleep every evening on the evening on the breast. I know many people say this is wrong but he falls asleep so fast on his last feed I never get the chance to take him off awake and put him down. We are using the dummy to settle him when he wakes in the night and this does work but he wakes so often I have to pop it in loads of times over the night and I can't relax and fall back to sleep as I wait for the next yelp, which is often only 10 mins later.

I don't have the strength for CC and don't know what to do or why he is waking after such a long period of sleeping so well. I have just started weaning him to see if that helps but can't see any difference as yet.

Any words of advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

I don't know the reason why but I feel your pain [solidarity smiley]
DS slept through from about 5/6 weeks and now at 5.5mo is starting to wake in the night as well. I can settle him back in a minute or two so he's not waking for food but like you I'm then waiting for the next little yowl.

I'm hoping someone will come along and say 'it's just a phase' because I had got very used to my unbroken sleep!

PS - should have also mentioned that when he first started doing this I fed him around 3am but have stopped as I really don't think it's hunger that is waking him.

Also - he really hates wet nappies so maybe this is what's waking him?

Also - in case you're wondering, it's not the dummy falling out that's waking him. Although I often use one to soothe him he can stay asleep once it falls out or I take it out.

diedandgonetodevon - I also hope it's just a phase. Thanks for the solidarity! I know compared to some babies he is not a bad sleeper but like you I had got used to having unbroken sleep after the early newborn weeks were over.

I feel like we've been really spoiled with how good a sleeper he's been so I haven't dared to ask anyone if there is something causing it in case I get a slap!

Yes same here. When I complained at my NCT group I got withering looks from the mother whose DD still wakes every 2 hours to feed!

I still want to know what's causing it though and how to settle him.

We'll have to keep bumping the thread until we get an answer or someone comes and gives us a good telling off for daring to ask

You are not alone

Have a read of this:

www.kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/4mo-sleep.html

I reckon it's a growth spurt. Both of my DS's did just this and the only way round was to give in and feed (even though I felt they couldn't possibly be hungry). Once they built up my milk supply they went back to being better sleepers. Having said that, neither slept through until they were 18 months!

In my case, I've tried the feeding route (ff) but thats not what it is as he's just not interested in feeding at night, most times he barely wakes and I get him back into a deeper sleep almost instantly by rocking him. It's my sleep that's suffering, not his.

Oh well, I think I shall just assume there is no cause to it and it is just a phase.

I can't really hop on the other threads and moan about it because it is such a slight issue and I know others have it much worse, I'd just get flamed for sharing my sleep stories.

I'm not sure about the feeding thing either. He goes back to sleep so easily with a dummy/cuddle. It's just that he then wakes again really quickly and frequently. May give feeding another go though and see if that works.

I know this is going to sound strange but it made an enormous difference to me when I just decided that it was normal for my DS's to wake in the night and need me (whatever the reason). Once I expected it and accepted it, I coped much better with the broken sleep (sometimes 6 or 7 times a night during the worst patches). You do get used to being a zombie and carry on anyway as it's so normal. Then when you get a decent night's rest you feel terrible the next day!

Thanks Starlight. That club is massively reassuring and I will def be joining. The article you posted makes a lot of sense.

It's great to know I'm not alone Thanks all!

My DS (2.4) slept like a dream and was in a military style regime for all naps and feeds from week 9.
DD (8 months) is all over the place. She started sleeping through at 22 weeks and stopped again at 6.5 months. I never have more than 2 full nights sleep a week. She sometimes just wakes and chats/cries for 2-4 hours, sometimes it's only 15 minutes.
I tried a routine that seemed to make a difference but it's all gone out the window again due to illness and teething.
I spoke to my HV (about to lose my mind) and she told me that it's extremely common for babies to start waking again at around this age and there is often nothing you can do about it.
Have nothing else useful to say but I'm off to bed (as last night there were 3 wakings - one for 2 hours)!
Good luck.