5 Month Old Not Sleeping Through the Nite

Most children don't sleep through the night at 5 months. You might want to google "sleep regressions" because I think there might be a significant sleep regression around 5 months as babies start to do more developmentally. There isn't much you can do about it, but at least it's nice to know it's normal for them not to sleep at certain times in their lives.

Hi J.

A Dr would tell you that a baby only needs breast milk or formula until they are 6 mos.Some Drs even say a year! And the reason for this is a concern for food allergies.BUT...Im not so sure about that. My Mom tried to convince me to give my lil girl cereal at 2 wks.I didnt and waited til she was about 4 mos to try it here and there. I didnt notice any difference in her sleeping pattern with or without the cereal.And they say now it doesnt change how they sleep.
Honestly,I think it depends on the baby/kid.Some sleep thru the night from the time they come home,others are 2 before they do.My 17mo old still has nights that she wakes up at 3-4am and wants a drink. I remember her sleeping pattern changing around that time too.She woke up ALOT!
I feel for you.Sleep deprivation sux.If you think the cereal will help,try it.He may just be going thru a bit of insecurity or discomfort with the teething and it wakes him up.
Just a thought- have you tried the homeopathic teething tablets? They are wonderful and work!
Good luck and remember to take a nap when he does,if you can.

At 4 months my ped told me to start my son on rice cereal and have him on baby food by the time he was 6 months. It made sense to me that if I'm only feeding it to him once a day in the beginning to make it before he goes to bed so he'll have a nice full tummy. I'm not sure if it made a difference or not, but he ate rice cereal before bedtime and slept through the night as he had been doing. When he changed to two rice cereal feedings a day I simply made one of them at night, etc. I think that what I've heard is that sometimes people put rice cereal in bottles for a bay to make them sleep through the night when they are much younger than 4 months old, which I've heard is a no-no. But after 4 months I'm told its fine to start them on rice cereal, and why not make it at a convenient time for you?

I would say he is probably ready to eat food. You shouldn't feed them to help them sleep through the night when they are tiny (some people do this as early as 1-3 months). But if he's waking up at midnight and 5am for 8oz bottles, he is probably just ready for food and hungry. Try feeding him his food an hour before bedtime or so, although, it probably wouldn't necessarily matter what time you feed him, just getting him that food, regularly, once a day, will start to help him be fuller. Hope that helps.

I agree with the prior posts about it being completely normal for a 5 month old NOT to sleep through the night. I was told by my ped. not to even think about sleeping through the night until they were 6 months old and even then they might wake up time or two. I don't think that pressing cereal on the sleep factor alone is a healthy choice. If you feel that he isn't getting the nutrition he needs, then by all means add cereal. My daughter is 2 1/2 now and a GREAT sleeper! But, we all have those nights where we still don't get the sleep we dream of. Trust me...it does get better. Try to relax & Good luck!

I have a two year old and a five month old, so I have gone thorugh this and am currently going through this now. My doctor JUST told me that I should start rice cereal. He said that in 25% of babies, it will help them with sleep. He recommended that I feed the baby the cereal twice a day, one being right before bedtime. I feed her cereal, and then I nurse her. I've done it for about two weeks now and I think it helps. Babies this age won't sleep for long periods of time (like 10 hours) but I put mine to bed at 8-8:30 and she usually gets up around 3 to eat again, and then goes back to sleep until around 6:45 or so. Much like others have said, I think six hours is considerd "all night." My doctor recommended that I try to keep the baby up later and feed her later so that my six hours would be more like my schedule, but I didn't want to do that. I like having a little bit of time before I go to bed to clean up and settle down myself. So, I know I will be getting up once at night (and I nurse when I get up) and then go back to bed. It's just a decision that I made. ANyway, from reading all of the other responses, people have differing opinions on this topic, but this is what I was told by my doctor and it works for my family. Good luck!

Why would you expect a 5 month old to sleep through the night? Sounds perfectly normal to me. Feeding him cereal won't help anything. Try "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weissbluth. This book will explain what to expect from your child's sleep at every stage of development.

Kids sleep. Then they decide to start waking up sometimes. Then they sleep again. It goes around and around until...well, forever. We do this as adults, after all. It's not like once they sleep all night one time they will do so forever. There's always something to contend with at night. Just take it in stride.

I would try ignoring his fussing for a few minutes to see if he settles back down or gets more upset. Sometimes babies cry out in their sleep and then go right back down without any help. If you run in at every peep he makes, you will TRAIN him to wake up more often because you are turning a minor sleep disturbance into a major one.

I know that there are differing opinions on this, but my son didn't start sleeping through the night anywhere near this early. I really feel like every baby is different. As long as your child is eating well and resting well, I wouldn't worry about this yet.

Get the book "Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems" by Richard Ferber.
My pediatrition recommended it. I used it with my 6 month old daughter, who was waking 5 or so times everynight to breastfeed. We started on a Monday night. She slept all night long by Wednesday and has ever since!! It was SO easy and it worked!!
Good luck!!

It is developmentally appropriate for a 5 month old to not be sleeping through the night. Plus, it sounds like he is close, as 6 hours is considered sleeping through the night. Also, 6 months is a prime time for a growth spurt and it is common for a baby in that range to need another bottle in the night. While I am sure it seems torturous now, this will not last forever.

The addition of cereal or solids to a babies diet generally coincides with a baby's natural progression of lengthening sleep patterns at night. This is not a causal relationship. Adding more solids will not help your baby sleep. Honestly, only time will.

"There was no statistically significant trend or a consistent tendency of one group to have a higher proportion of sleepers than the other. Therefore, feeding infants rice cereal in the bottle before bedtime does not appear to make much difference in their sleeping through the night." NIH Medical Library - Study on Infant Sleep & Bedtime Cereal

Just as an aside -- cereal is not as nutrient packed as formula is, so feeding cereal is filling a babe's little tummy with less nutritious calories in terms of calcium, other minerals, fats, and protein.

As I said I know this is a hard sleepless time...could your husband and yourself alternate feedings so you are each getting the sleep you need?

Not sure what others here have said but I think 'sleeping through the night' consists of 5 hours of sleeping without waking. If your son is doing that, he IS sleeping through the night. It may not be the 10-12 hours you have envisioned, but it is considered STTN. I think around 4-6 months old, my daughter quit the nighttime feeding. I would feed her at 10 am and then anywhere between 2-5 am. My pediatrician does not advocate cereal in the bottle (no need for it according to him) so I don't know what to do about that. I do not think he needs more than 8 ounces before bed. My daughter never took more than 5 ounces (not to say your son doesn't need 8 ounces) but I do not think he needs more. If you do not want to feed him when he wakes up, just give him the binky and leave the room. IF he's teething, there is nothing you can do about it as he may be up quite frequently. My daughter, 21 months old, has never fully slept through the night. She usually wakes 1-4 times - mostly for her binky and will go back to sleep but sometimes she needs a quick cuddle, back rub, rocking and sometimes, I'll just get her and put her in bed with me (as DH works nights).

The other posters are right, it's not unusual, but honestly, it can be possible for him to be doing it too! My daughter started sleeping all night at 3 months and it was the best thing ever!!! Our ped. told us to wake her every three hours during the day and feed her, yes wake her even if she was asleep, I know it sounds horrifying! But, we'd feed her every 3 hours then put her down around 9 ish and she'd wake up around 6-7ish. If you're not on a routine schedule with your son during the day, you might give that a try and see if it helps!

my 5 month old sleeps 4-5 hours as well. she is breastfed and wakes up at 1 am and will sleep till about 5 or 6 am to feed again. we co-sleep and she does not cry, but performs rooting reflexes to let me know she's hungry. she'll cry though if i am in heavy sleep (hasn't happened in quite awhile). i think your baby's sleep is fine, but it will get better.

good luck

Until kids are older, closer to 3 or so, most don't sleep all through the night. Kids don't have our same sleep schedule. Five hours is sleeping through the night, and if they sleep longer, great, but don't panic if they don't sleep all through the night. My son wasn't ready for solids until 7 months, and everyone told me to start him at 4 months. Every child is different, and yours sounds fine. One month after birth my son slept from 11pm - 7am straight, but once teething started at 8 months, he slept no longer than 4-5 hours at a time. You sound like you are doing fine, do what you think he needs, he will let you know if it isn't OK with him. Good luck.

Ali