Bedtime

[Sarahf96]

Hello,I am after some advice for my LO. He is 6 months old and his sleeping is terrible, he is in his own room and he used to sleep really well. He goes to bed around 7/8 and usually sleeps until 1am. After that he is up and down all night, he is still wanting night feeds which I was told to wean off him but everytime I try to give him water instead or less bottle he wont settle,but he will only take a couple of oz each time not a full bottle. I'm absolutely exhausted now and I have tried everything so any suggestions will be greatly appreciated tia

Who told you to wean him off night feeds?
If he wants it that's fine, he will just be needing a top up.
Do you use white noise? It was a game changer for us.

Night feeds are absolutely fine to give your 6 month old, as long as you're happy to do so!
Especially as it sounds like it was much easier to get him to sleep on his own and ensure you get sleep yourself!

Babies under one shouldn't have water as a replacement for milk ideally, perhaps if the night weaning is something you've enjoyed you could try some formula?

Basically there are no rules about what you should or shouldn't do when it comes to baby sleep, they're hardwired to wake up several times during the night and you can do whatever you're comfortable with to get them back to sleep, whether that night feeds, cosleeping and transferring to cot, co sleeping until morning, or sleep training if your situation calls for it.

Around that age I personally had sleep training pressure from all angles and it just would have never worked out for us, but co sleeping (safely, following safe sleep seven) is SO demonised still!
I follow Heysleepybaby on Instagram and she was a literal godsend, might be worth checking her out of you like!

https://instagram.com/heysleepybaby?utmmedium=copyy_link

Oh also I agree with PP, white noise is a complete game changer!

It’s completely normal for a 6 month old to have milk over night. And sleeping for a 5/6 hour stretch is ‘good’ for a baby.

I agree with white noise and cosleeping months is the worst sleep regression and it’s hard work. I think you just need to adjust your expectations.

He’s hungry, you should feed him. I don’t know who told you to stop the night feeds but that is very questionable advice. It’s normal for babies that age to still wake up for feeds, very few sleep through the night at 6 months.

6 months is really young to wean him off night feeds

He isn't hungry though because hes only having an oz max if that when he wakes up,he uses it more as a comfort then because hes actually hungry. He doesnt even have an hour sleep at a time once hes awake so we are both exhausted. I dont like co sleeping because I cant sleep properly,I only let him co sleep in the morning for an hour not all night. He has enough bottles during the day and solids so its definitely not hunger why he is waking up and he never has in the past. I use water as it's the comfort of having the bottle rather then the milk so I try that at first before I give formula. Hes always been a hungry baby but I've been told not to over feed him. I use white noise and heartbeat,getting him to sleep is not the problem it's getting him to stay asleep

Does he sleep after having the milk if you give it?

If he's sucking for comfort rather than food, you could try a dummy?

He uses a dummy already. Hes very picky and particular with what he wants. He spits the dummy out bjy then will have bottle suck for 1 minute then hes fine

I don’t think this is a battle worth fighting then - if at 6 months he’s just waking once and will go back to sleep after an ounce of milk, which doesn’t take long to drink, I would just get up and give it to him.

6 months is tiny still. Most babies don't even start solids until this age and certainly not enough to guarantee they won't be hungry all night - 12 hours? It's also completely normal for a baby to take a year to sleep through the night. Most babies also only transition to their own room at this time, so they've not adjusted to sleeping alone yet.

You could try a dream feed at 10/11pm to try and stop the association of feeding with falling asleep.

It sounds like baby wants comfort/resettling though if he's only going one sleep cycle before waking again, so you could try gentle sleep training to teach him to fall asleep without being held or fed. You could sit beside the cot and hold his hand or pat his tummy, or the pick up put down method if he's crying and won't settle.

Is he over full OP?

Was he having bad sleep before the water because there's a good chance the water is giving him a painful tummy. He's so young.

You could try a dream feed at 10/11pm to try and stop the association of feeding with falling asleep.

It’s been a while so I forgot - but I definitely did this with mine when he was still 6 or 7 months. I’d feed him a bottle just before I went to bed.

Is he getting his naps during the day. Sleep begets sleep and all that?

@Rosesareyellow

Does he sleep after having the milk if you give it?

My thoughts too. I would give the milk if that got him back to sleep even if he only had a tiny amount. He's only 6 months he probably doesn't eat tons of solids yet.

That stretch is a brilliant amount of time for a 6 month old to sleep.

Agree with PP, if he falls back after the milk, just give him that.

DS is 8 months and normally wakes up three times between 7.30pm and 1am - then we just keep him in our bed as he’s too difficult to settle in his cot.

He doesnr just wake up once this is what I'm saying. Hes waking up 5 6 times. I wouldn't be asking for advice if it was once

@Sarahf96

He doesnr just wake up once this is what I'm saying. Hes waking up 5 6 times. I wouldn't be asking for advice if it was once

What's the temperature like in his room? What does he sleep in?

What's wrong with him waking and wanting milk for comfort? It's a perfectly normal thing for a baby to need, and do. It's also perfectly normal for babies to go through phases on waking up a lot at certain points of the night. Next month though this phase will be over, and he will be in a different pattern most likely! I know it's hard OP but this time will pass.

He doesnr just wake up once this is what I'm saying. Hes waking up 5 6 times. I wouldn't be asking for advice if it was once

Sorry I misunderstood. But it’s still not quite clear to me if actually having the milk helps to prevent this? If it does - give him the milk. You don’t need to wean off night feeds at 6 months so I would hit that idea on the head. If not, then take some of the other advice on here. I found sleeping was not something that simply got better over time - it’s very up and down, sleep regression can happen repeatedly over the next months and even years and you kind of need to ride the waves.
Adults go through periods of struggling with sleep - and yes sometimes we wake up hungry and we wouldn’t just go back to sleep if that was the case, you’d be at the fridge! I think sleep expectations can be very high for babies considering many adults aren’t particularly good at sleeping either.

Thanks for all the comments but I think my question has been misunderstood. I dont mind feeding him during the night but hes not waking up with hunger and even when I do he doesnt settle. I have tried everything else,I asked for advice not to be judged on what I should and shouldn't be doing but thank you anyways for your comments

From my experience and the experience of other mums I know, waking 5/6 times a night at that age is totally normal. Not sure what to suggest but to keep going! The wake ups get gradually less and less. My DS was sleeping through the night by age 2 which seems pretty common from what I've heard.

It's hard op but we didn't turn a corner with night time sleep until he was 1.
I was absolutely ill at work running off 2 hours broken sleep.