5.5 month old waking every hour

[BeeM1993]

My 5.5 month old has been going through the sleep regression for months now and I thought we were coming to the end of it as he was waking every hour/2 hours all night long but the first bit of sleep has started to get longer (8-2 some nights). This started to get better when he learnt to self-soothe (he was BF to sleep at bedtime before) but now he feeds till drowsy he goes in his cot, plays with his comforter a bit then drops off without 5-10mins, he does use a dummy too. However the past week he has gone back to waking every hour again but now really cries out every time rather than just waking, sometimes he will settle with his dummy but a lot of the time he wants a cuddle but then struggles to go back in his cot. This seemed to coincide with the transition from 4 naps to 3, we have moved bedtime from 8-7:30 to accommodate for this but did it gradually. He still has 3-3.5 hours of daytime sleep and self-soothes for these too but wakes after one sleep cycle and won’t resettle unless I hold him and his awake windows are roughly 2hrs give or take 15mins. Where am I going wrong??

One of the most obvious reasons he could be unsettled at night is lack of calories.

Calorific need accelerates significantly from 4-6 months (and beyond) and if you don't keep up with his calorific need in the daytime, then calorie deficit carried over from the day will give you unsettled nights.

More milk, more frequently throughout the day. And once you start weaning, have foods in addition to milk, not in place of.

Daytime naps - work in resetting at the end of the nap. Ideally catch baby just before waking up, dumny and jiggle (if in pushchair) or pat (if in cot) to try and carry the nap through to a second sleep cycle.

@BeeM1993
Omg my baby is exactly the same! She's 5.5 months too. We had a good patch of a few days but she has started waking up every 1.5 hours again. All night long . This has been going on since she was about 3 months. Don't know how much more I can take. Totally exhausted.

In the same boat here! Have gone from decent stretches to 1-2 hour wakings. I try and leave her but she screams the place down. Try to not feed either but the only thing that works. It's so hard!

It’s a nightmare isn’t it! DS is now just over 6 months and not much has changed. His naps are a bit better still gets about 3hrs ish but his nighttime sleep is just as bad! Just feels never ending as this has been going on for months too, we have started weaning now but that hasn’t made any difference. Might try him in his own room, at this point it can’t get much worse so worth a shot!

@kazmun

In the same boat here! Have gone from decent stretches to 1-2 hour wakings. I try and leave her but she screams the place down. Try to not feed either but the only thing that works. It's so hard!

Did I write this?! This is literally me haha.

Naps are a nightmare too! Mine still has all naps on me. It's the only way to get her to have a decent sleep.
I can't believe how much thinking about sleep has taken over my life. Feel like I spend most of the day trying to get her to sleep. Argh someone give some hope! Please!

I feel exactly the same, I track his sleep on the huckleberry app and have done since birth but it makes me obsessed with his sleep! I plan my whole day around his naps as he doesn’t nap well if we are out and about, hates the car and his pram so will only nap well in his cot or with me holding him but I am trying not to do that as much. Just wish his nighttime sleep would improve, having more than 1-2 hours of sleep in one block seems impossible right now!

I use the Huckleberry app too. I love it but you do become obsessed.
How do you get him to sleep in his cot for daytime naps? Mine doesn't do this at all. She only sleeps on me. Actually I don't mind that tbh, I just wish she would sleep well if we were out and about. Would love the odd cot nap though so I could sleep too!

Exactly the same situation here. The only thing that will soothe her is ther breast but I'm not sure shes always actually feeding but she gets I'm such a state if she cant have it. Also wont take a dummy so that's no help. Fingers crossed they all get through it soon 🤞

@em831 I’ve always put him down to sleep in his cot if we are home. At first he needed rocking first, then just patting while in his cot and now I can put him down and 9/10 he will go to sleep on his own with his dummy & comforter, blackout curtains & white noise. It took a while to get him to where he is now, I never thought he would be able to self-settle but he got there! He can do this at night too after a feed but then wakes every hour/2 hours and the only thing that settles him is boob or sometimes a cuddle, I just don’t understand it! I’m sure they will get there in their own time but a bit more sleep would be greatly appreciated!

I often wonder if she's like this because she's breastfed I've considered stopping so many times!

@BeeM1993
Well you've given me hope that the naps can get better so thank you.
I agree, more sleep would be greatly appreciated!!

@em831 yes I’ve felt the same about breastfeeding but if I’m honest I don’t feel ready to stop yet and I know he gets a lot of comfort from it so just to suddenly stop seems cruel!
Try your little one in her cot for naps, she might surprise you! My DS took to the shush pat technique quite well though I know not all babies do. Then just decided one day to try and let him self-soothe and just left him to it, he messed about a bit rolling around then drifted off after about 10mins. Some days he wants a cuddle first but most of the time he can do it.

@BeeM1993
You're right about the BF.
Ok I will give it a go. Thank you for that x

@BeeM1993 I'm going through this exact situation right now with my 5.5 month. I saw you posted this 3 years ago. Please let me know when and how it improved? I'm at rock bottom 😫

Wish I could tell you something suddenly made his sleep better but it didn’t! We tried sleep training when he was 8 months old and in his own room. His sleep got better (8pm-4am) most nights for months then things came up which disturbed his sleep (illnesses, holidays, sleep regressions etc). Now he has just turned 3 and is still waking every few hours and is in bed with us every night from midnight probably just habit now but I’m too tired to try anything else! We are in the process of moving house and the first thing we are going to buy is a super king bed to fit all 3 of us! 😂 sorry this isn’t the answer you were hoping for, hopefully something works with your little one!