Hi Moms... Cody is 5 months old. For the last month he has not been sleeping during the night. He is up every half hour. We have him on a routine, bathtime and his final bottle and he knows it is bedtime and goes to sleep with no problem. After about 2-3 hours he is up every half hour. We tried nuk, no nuk, letting him soothe himself back to sleep (didn't work), patting his butt, singing, rocking... He goes back to sleep but only for a very short time. He gets a short nap in the morning and a 1-2 hour nap in the early afternoon so he isn't napping too much. I am thankful he is healthy as he has been checked every month and has no issues except for acid reflux which is not really an issue becasue he is on zantac and it is taking care of the problem. He is on 1st stage foods, just started. He eats a fruit in the morning, a veggie for lunch and cereal for dinner as I don't want to take any chances with the reflux at night. Plus his bottles in between. He is very happy and healthy but my husband and I are sleep deprived as is Cody. We thought it was bad when he was waking up 2-3 times a night when he was first born...lol. Any advice? We seem to be doing everything right, maybe some advice can help. We understand a baby will do what a baby will do but if we can help that would be great! I understand his reflux is not cured, but it is managed and it is not what is keeping him up, we already had an upper GI done as well as an ultrasound, he sleeps on an incline as well. He also sees a specialist for it and the dosage is what it needs to be for his weight, so let's rule out reflux. I can always tell when he has it because of the face he makes and the smell in his mouth, it actually wasn't as bad as some babies, it was mild and he might grow out of it, might not too his Daddy has it. I was in the room when they did they upper GI and the specialist explained it all to me and I did research.
Thanks to all the Mom's for their advice. After trying everything possible and knowing his health and his schedule, we have just decided to deal with it. A baby will be a baby and if he needs to be up every 2 hours now in his little life than so be it. We are taking turns every other night sleeping so at least we are getting rest.
Like the other person said try letting him cry it out. I know noone wants to hear their baby cry. But that is the only thing that worked for me. I hope all goes well and you get some sleep...
Hi, Sounds like teething--infant Motrin worked wonders for my son.
Well since it seems that you have tried everything else, I am going to give you last option. :( Try letting him cry it out. He is old enough. What it sounds like is happening, is that he wakes back up for whatever reason(we all actually awkaen throughout the night), but what it might be is that he cannot put himself back to sleep. My son did not sleep through the night until he was 6 months old. And here is the reason: he was in his bassinet next to our bed until 6 months and every wimper he would make it would wake me up so I would just lean over and pick him up. What I think I was doing was actually arousing him to wake all the way up, therefore had to be put back to sleep. As soon as I started putting him in his crib, I tried the cry it out method. He cried HORRIBLY for 45 minutes the first night, and I just went in every 5-10 minutes to give him the NUK back and reassure him I was still there. The next night he only cried for about 10 minutes, and it got lesser and lesser. The best part about it was that he started sleeping sounder ALL through the night. I had no problem with rocking him to sleep every night because i enjoyed it, but I did mind waking up every hour with him in the MIDDLE of the night. So to fix the middle of the night problem I had to let him put himself to sleep at night also. It will be VERY difficult to let your child cry, but I PROMISE you it is worth it. Also, your baby could be starting to teeth. Did the waking up just start or has it always been that way??
Hi Christina,
I know you had a lot of responses to your request but I just wanted to put out another possibility. I have a 6 month old daughter who's not a good sleeper. She was waking alot at night too. (Also a reflux baby) She started to do better with it when I upped her solids intake. It seemed to me like the bottles weren't satisfying her the way they used to so I increased her cereal intake and it seemed to help. I think the teething is an issue too, my girl goes crazy with the teething, although none have poked thru yet.
Good luck,
K. T
Have you tried putting him to bed earlier? I don't know what time you are putting him to bed but my son would always sleep better when he went to bed earlier rather than later. He would not sleep later in the morning if he went to bed earlier either so he would be sleep deprived and overtired. My son usually went to be around 8pm but I found it necessary to sometimes put him to bed as early at 7pm. I just watched his sleep habits, his moods and I noticed that usually around the time changes (spring & fall) he would need to change his schedule. Sometimes at other times, like when he was teething, he would also need more sleep. That could be another reason for the sleepless nights, if he is teething. I don't usually like to give my son medication unless it's really necessary but when he was teething I gave him some Tylenol before bed so that he could get a good night's sleep. If they are that uncomfortable that they can't sleep I think it's better to just make them more comfortable or everyone will be miserable the next day. Just my opinion. I hope you figure out what's bothering him and get some sleep.
to be honest, it sounds like Cody might be having issues with acid reflux at night. It is made worse at night because of laying flat for longer periods. I would imagine that your little guy is waking up in pain after 2-3 hours and can't get rid of it so keeps waking often after the initial burn. I see that you have him on Zantac, so i would go back to his doctor and tell him what is going on. Cody has probably gained weight recently and perhaps the dose isn't working for him any more. Definately talk to his doctor before letting him cry it out as you could be just making him cry in pain all night! Good luck, i have been through reflux with both my kids, so i know what you are going through!
it's his reflux,reflux is not CURED by zantac, and reflux acttacks at night, same time everynight, just because he is not screaming does not mean he is not in PAIN. the stomach acid starts to work its way back up when you lay him down, and it burns or feels like somthing stuck in his chest, i know i have it, and my 4 year old has had it from birth.
When you put him to bed at night try propping him up like he is sitting up, put him in the cornor of the couch if you have to, or buy some of those big pillows you use to sit up in bed and read with. then just make sure he stays that way, when he sits up, the stomach acid stays down wheres its supposed to,and np PAIN, I used to hold my baby like i was burping her and sleep sitting up myself, her reflux gave her seziuors.
reflux comes and goes in stages, and now that you are feeding him food his body has to get used to it, watch the veggies, squash and peas did good for my baby, most any fruit is fine except pears, just real hard to digest for some reason, rice cereal, smashed up egg noodles, or you can even put them in a food grinder and do them that way like a mash, plain bread when he gets a little bigger. bland foods, jello, no apple juice or apples, and no citrus friuts until hes a little bigger, then you can try them again.
as i said zantac does not cure it just makes reflux a little more manageable.your baby might fuss at first about sleeping upright, but if you want let him fall asleep normal, then IMMEDATLY sit him up, this means you will have to watch him until he falls asleep but isnt it worth it?
my 4 year old knows when her reflux acts up cause she will grab her blanket and sit up on the couch to sleep. it works, just give it try, you got nothing to loose, and sleep to gain and piece of mind,
My son did the same thing- he had been sleeping through the night since he was two months, and then around 5/6 months, he was up almost every other hour. I honestly think it is because he is teething. I would rub his gums for a while, and he would go right back to sleep. We would also give him tylenol if he woke up more than once a night, and that always seemed to help, too. He's almost 8 months now and is back sleeping through the night again. I am a first time mom, so I am learning as I go, but it does seem like my son goes through stages of wanting to be rocked and soothed at night, and then once he feels secure that my husband and I are there no matter what, he goes back to routine... Don't worry- it will pass!!!!
Christina, I know you have recieved alot of responses, but i figured another idea might not hurt so here goes. My son is 7 months now, but has had reflux as yours has since the beginning. Like you we did a ton of tests etc. The zantac stopped working at about 5 and a half months, and we had to switch him, so like you i have had alot of learning to do. Now teething has set in and comfort is again illusive for him at times, but a visit to his pediatrician let me know he was have night terrors. I had no idea, as i didnt realize he ws having bad dreams. Anyway. i try to gently touch him and talkhim into relaxing when he begins to cry, but not to pick him up as i want him to learn to self soothe a bit. I also picked up a crib activity center from walmart.com that lets us record my voice. It has a sensor on it that detects his crying or big movements, so he is reassured everything is ok even before he wakes up completely. It has worked wonders... Just thought another option might be helpful!
W.
