6 Month old still waking in night!

[Ang2585]

I am really worried about my sister her 6 Month old is up several times during the night still! He is breastfed baby and on solids. He is up every couple of hours and grumpy during the day, my sister is at her wits end. She has another child with Autisim he is 6. Unfortunately she is only in a 2 bed house, sharing with older brother is not an option.
She has tried controlled crying for 4 nights and not feeding him until 6am. Also tried bottle feeding expressed milk which he refused. He seems to be using breastfeeding as a comfort. During the past 4 nights of controlled crying he has not been lifted up, just settled with his dummy. She has also tried putting a piece of her clothing in his cot so he smells her, nothing she has tried makes a difference. He is on 3 meals a day And breast milk, hunger is definitely not the cause.
Anyone else had the same problem? Any advice?

I found giving a bottle of expressed milk just before bed to be really helpful. I used to call it the fois gras hour.

BF babies can be reluctant at first, but if your Dsis thinks it might help then it could be worth persisting? I certainly don't want to claim to have the answers for every baby, I'm only going on the things that I found made a big difference for me and mine.

Whatever your DSis decides to do will be easier if she gets a chance to catch up on a few hours of sleep here and there. Are there times you could go around and taker her baby for a walk so she can sleep? Everything seems more manageable when you're not cross-eye with tiredness.

The advice on this thread saved my sanity and cracked DS's night wakenings:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/sleep/1394888-What-worked-for-us-Hope-this-helps?pg=27

I think some posters here are a bit blasé about this. Some people are particularly awful on disrupted sleep, (I know I am) and this mum also has a 6 yo with autism.

All babies are different etc etc but at 6 MO, I would say you can try being a bit more 'robust' with techniques such as CC if that's what you want to try. If baby is having milk and 3 meals, they are capable of going through night, or good portion of it, without feed. Even at 6 MO.

I'd recommend reading up on some techniques and then choosing one that works for you. Then stick to it.

I can't stand night feeds - I make no bones about it - and your sister has my sympathy. Good luck with whatever route you go down.

My eldest slept through from 8wks which was what I thought all babies did. Then I had dd2 and had my eyes opened, she screamed all night every night till 18 months and slowly grew out of it at 6 yrs old I'd say she's up on average twice a wk. Ds did exactly the same. The twins are 4 months and are up twice a night. Unfortunately it's all part and parcel of having kids.

Not blasé, just realistic I think! Surely anyone having a baby knows that there is a possibility they won't be a good sleeper?

3 solid meals a day at 6 months seems a lot. It may be that baby is waking so often at night because he isn't getting enough calories. Milk contains more calories than solids, I think.

Reduce the solids to 1 meal a day and up the bf feeds during the day?

Blase about dealing with it, perhaps. Some people really struggle to cope. I would include myself, though I always tried to be realistic and cautious about sleep training (and in the end we basically just gently night weaned). 10 months of waking, in combination with other stress, damn near broke me.

At 6 months babies get no nutrition from food. If anything they fill up on the watery weaning foods- purees etc, so need more fatty milk, and of course, the best milk is at 3am. So 3 meals a day isn't going to help.

My 11 month old still wakes twice a night. We coslept fir 10 months, he was attached to my breast all night. When I returned to work last month, I cut diwn breastfeeds and my husband did the night shift, comforting DS.

6 months is so little. Anyone who has a baby that young who sleeps through is lucky, and unusual.

Rootypig- sounds like we have had a similar experiences. I know I found/ find it draining, but didn't feel my LO was ready for night weaning any earlier (still do a 4am feed, but happy to continue this for now- one feed a night is a breeze!)

Ds is a fantastic sleeper but only began sleeping through at about 7 months. At 6 months though he was only waking once or twice so i think every 2 hours seems quite excessive. I too would try upping the milk a bit and reducing solids slightly.

Are you worried about her, or just because of your expectations that a six month old will sleep through (which many/most won't).