How can I encourage my 5.5 month old to sleep through the night?

[beanstalk]

My DD wakes twice during the night for feeding -1am and 5am - and I was expecting (hoping) that by now she might be sleeping through. Is this wishful thinking? I have just started weaning as she was getting very hungry and she is now eating much better throughout the day, so I wonder how much she needs the night time feeds - although she isn't on huge quantities of solid food just yet, I've been taking it slow with her as she is still under 6 months. I am breastfeeding but now feel so tired after 5 months of feeding her and getting no sleep myself! Is sleeping through the night ever going to happen?! Any advice?

I cant give any advice im afraid. DD didnt sllep though till 6months, and i think it very little to do with me. The only thing i did do was ensure DD was never put down asleep so she was able to self settle if she woke herslef up.

You have my thought
lisa

It will happen, I just wish I could tell you when.

DS was bf and slept through at 14 weeks, but I couldn't really tell you why/how he did. Although I have my suspicions that an improvement in daytime naps helped.

I guess yr dd will start with dropping the 1am feed, and feed about 3am. This will then push the 5am back.

Have just had a thought, do you do a dreamfeed?

I've been in the same boat recently with my nearly 5 month old - IntheHouse's question is really good to check she's really hungry as I've taken to waiting when my daughter wakes and was really surprised as she's just gone back to sleep again mostly (or does your baby cry when wakes? As from experience I've foudn this does mean hunger or at least thirst especially if it's hot)

my ds has only started reliably sleeping without a feed and he is just over 8 months old - he is formula fed btw, so just cos you give formula doesnt mean that they sleep through any quicker.

I did start limiting his night-time feed to only 4oz so that he would still have an appetite for daytime feeds so that he took more in the day and less in the night.

Being able to self-settle is a big part of it though as babies do wake regularly in the night but if they are able to get back to sleep on their own then they are less likely to cry for you to help them.

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My DS2 is 9.5mths and has only ever slept once through the night I'm breastfeeding too and for the past 3 months or so has been eating 3 solid meals a day too!

Thanks for the sympathy and it's good to know that it's not unusual - I hear so many other mothers boasting of the sleep they get it gets hard sometimes!

That said, last night she woke for her 1am feed and then slept through until 7am!! She must have sensed I was posting on mumsnet! So that was lovely, the longest sleep I've had since she was born.

I am trying to get her to settle herself back to sleep - I always put her in her cot awake after the night feeds so that she learns to go back to sleep there on her own. I guess I just perservere with that and hope!

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That's good to know Pruners! (Not that they're lying but that sleeping through before 6 months is usual!)
Sleeping through is like the holy grail of parenting isn't it?! And is one of those things that people always ask, especially the 'competitive mum' types!
Good to be reassured I'm not the only one who's tired!

It will happen - like others have said it really will. Just keep everything calm, quiet, try not to give eye contact but lots of cuddles to reassure her. It's probaby not hunger, however I have found that my LO the same age as yours, is getting thirsty for a drop of boiled cooled water during the night which seems to settle her. Having said this there are no magic answers, they just have to work it through for themselves - good luck x

Beanstalk, you have my sympathy. dd2 is doing this but I have no recollection of dd1 being the same.

dd2 cries for most of the evening and works herself up into a state.

I'm shattered too

My DS slept through the night from 4 months, he is now nearly 6 months. I began to train him by introducing a 'dream feed' first at 11.30pm and then gradually moving it back to 10.30pm. I then increased his milk feeds (formula) during the day until he was having 240ml at each feed and then I simply stopped the 10.30pm feed altogether.
For the first couple of nights when he woke I replaced his dummy and he went back to sleep. Not waking until 6/7 to feed - which was obviously fantastic. I think I had a month of having to replace his dummy a couple of times a night, but now the last month he doesn't wake at all....
I think the key is to increase the milk feeds during the day (I use a 4 hourly schedule), make sure that your little one has good daytime naps and then 'top' them up with milk before you head to bed. I didn't push my little one, but did it step by step and it defnitely paid off. I hope it can work for you too!

OK so now I've learned be careful what you wish for... DD slept through from 7pm until 6am last night! But the price? She refused any daytime naps yesterday apart from 15 minutes in the car she woke up as soon as I stopped). So it seems I can have her awake all day and sleeping at night (from exhaustion) or napping in the day and waking at night! Oh! This sleep stuff is so frustrating!

You just can't win can you!! My dd is 4 and half mths old and I'm getting desperate for some sleep too. She has formula (7oz) at about 6.30 pm and sleeps through till 12ish, but wakes up 2-3 hrs after and then again at about 5ish, and doesn't feed till 9amish. I'm bf during the night but using formula in the day, but she doesn't take much more than about 4oz at each feed which is at about 3-4 hrs apart. Think I'm going to try pops79 way, hope it works.
She also likes to wake up and give us a song too, gurgling and cooing at 3am!

My ds is now 2, and slept through from 4.5mths, so finding her little ways a bit frustrating.

Ooooh all you lucky mums . My 5-months old DD has recently taken to waking up nearly every hour at night!! Aaargh. She does need one feed around midnight, the other times it is not hunger and it's really hard to get her to settle back to sleep (even with lots of rocking / cuddling / singing etc).

Suspect some teething pain and an itchy rash not helping, but it's hard to keep up my patience during those 2-hour rocking sessions in the wee hours (Bird1, know all about the gurgling and cooing at 3-4am too!)

She is still exclusively bf so I am hoping some solids (which we are planning on soon) will help but needless to say all other advice much appreciated

Should add that her daytime naps have become quite regular 40mins late morning and 1-1 1/2 hrs afternoon, if only her nights were half as predictable!!!
(Sorry hijack + long whine)

finsburymama- you must be tired, you have my sympathy! I had similar with DD at few weeks ago but hers was definitely hunger related, she was feeding every 1.5-2 hours during the day too. That's why I started weaning. She is now down to just 2 wake up calls so it is improved but no idea if it's the solids or my milk has caught up with demand, or all just coincedence! Wish I could offer advice, but I'm no wiser! I'd love to try pops79's advice but not so easy when you're breastfeeding (and when I've tried a dreamfeed it's made her even worse!). Could be teething related, if so then do teething powders or Calpol help?

Does your DD get herself back to sleep after her cooing? Mine does sometimes do this too, but I don't go to her when she does and she will eventually go back off to sleep. I only go to her if she actually cries. You still get woken by the 'singing' though!