Hi Everyone,
I am new to Mamapedia and hope to get some advice.
My son will be 6 months old this Wednesday. For a couple months now he has not been sleeping well at night. At first he was waking up every 2 hours, then every hour, then every 45 minutes, until now ... he is waking up every 30 minutes. Sometimes he will take a bottle but not drink anything and fall right back to sleep. Sometimes he will drink 2-4 ounces before going back to sleep. Then sometimes he will wake up fully and play for an hour or more. This has become frustrating because I'm not getting very much sleep.
Now I know that every baby is different. So I consulted the Pediatrician. Her first suggestion was to let him Cry It Out. I'm not a fan of this method but have seen it work, so I gave it a try. After a week he was still in the pattern of sleep, only he was crying practically all night. So I stopped. I went back to the pediatrician. But just before talking to her again, My husbands grandmother suggested Catnip Tea. I was unsuccessful in finding any. So I proceeded with my viisit to the pediatrician. I did ask her about trying Catnip Tea. She said that it wouldn't hurt him, but that she had not known of it helping a baby to sleep. Her next suggestion was 1/2 a teaspoon of Benadryl. Ok, so I tried that. He slept for 4 hours solid then right back into his every 30 minute routine. The next night was a typical every half hour night even with the Benadryl. So I stopped for a few days. Made yet another appointment with the pediatrician. She suggested Chamomile Tea. Ok, I try that. It was the same response as the Benadryl. Slept solid a few hours and then back into routine. She had mentioned Melatonin. Now I've researched giving that to infants and it doesn't seem like a good idea. I've also tried giving him a pacifier, he absolutely refuses. (Always has). I've tried keeping him awake from 2p - 8p and he still wakes up every 30 minutes.
I know I'm not the only person dealing with this, but it would be nice to have some first hand advice. I'll try just about anything as long as it is safe for my baby.
I look forward to seeing what others have to say.
Thank You for taking the time to read my story.
Wow, what a great web site this is, so many great people. I'll try to remember all questions asked and also give you more information that I thought of during the night.
When the Pediatrician suggested Benadryl, I don't think she was suppose to, but maybe sensed a bit of desperation on my end. I say this because she had walked out of the room and as I was about to leave she came back in and said it real fast and walked back out.
Believe it or not, this is the second Pediatrician I've had my kids to. The first one kept telling me my baby was crying all the time was due to Colic And that Colic was causing his congestion and other flu like symptoms. She gave me a bunch of cans of Enfamil Colic Formula. Also told me to get Gripe Water and Colic Calm. He was just 2 weeks old at this time. He was about 2 months old and I took him to the ER. Turned out he had a nasty bacterial infection along with a mild ear infection. Got that taken care of and switched Pediatricians.
I know someone had mentioned a possible ear infection. His ears were checked a week ago and were free of wax and no redness. That was a main thing I wanted checked because he was constantly pulling his left ear and moving his head as if to get away from that ear.
As far as foods. The first Pediatrician I mentioned before ... she told me to start him out on solids at 1 month. Ok, so I'm a new mom, but I'm not new to Motherhood. I have an 8 year old son as well. So I just said "uh huh" and decided I would wait until he was 4 months old. Over the last 2 months, he has not taken to the solids at all. He will just spit it right back out. BUT I can mash up my food and he'll eat it perfect. So I am going to purchase a food processor and make his food from now on. I have done the rice cereal both in a small bowl and mixed in his bottle of formula. I noticed when I did that before bed, he would wake up with a bit of a belly ache.
Teething: I suspect he is teething but don't see anything yet. Last night I gave him some Infants Tylenol (Which is not on store shelves at this time in our area for a reason I don't remember). I have maybe one dose left. Anyhow, then I also put night time orajel on the top and bottom gums. He did not sleep well at all. He woke up multiple times screaming at the top of his lungs. Usually he would just fuss and toss and turn until he eventually woke himself up because he has not been taught or taught himself to self soothe. (That is something else I'd be interested in getting advice on. Teaching a child to self soothe without Crying it Out Loud.)
I remember another person mentioned elevating his crib mattress. I did that when he first started having the sleep issues. I also took about 6 (give or take) fluffy blankets and piled them up for him to sleep on thinking maybe the crib mattress was hard.
And yes he is trying to crawl. He will get up on his hands and knees and rock back and forth, sometimes lunging forward a few inches. He has however learned to scoot backwards on his belly.
Another thing I have tried but didn't mention previously was White Noise. That didn't seem to have any affect on him at all.
I hope I have covered most of the responses. If Not, I'll repost again. I really appreciate everyone's responses.
Thank You Soooo Much.
UPDATE #2
I just saw something I missed. A lot have asked how he sleeps during the day. He seems to be on a set schedule with naps. 7:30a for about 45 minutes, then again about 10:30a for about 30 - 45 minutes. Then he won't take another one until between 2p & 3p. Whatever time he falls asleep there, he wakes up at 3:30p. Then most days he stays awake until our bedtime routine that starts at 7p. But the last few days or so he has been taking a 20 minute nap between 5p & 6p. He is a generally happy baby during the day.
Maybe this is true, I don't know. But I read somewhere that if your pregnancy is stressful, your baby won't sleep well. And he was breech one month before delivery, so they did an Inversion Procedure where they manually turn the baby inside your tummy from the outside of your tummy. That was very stressful on me because it took two painful tries. I can only imagine the stress it put on him.
Hi H.,
I didn't read through all the other responses, but have you tried swaddling him? He may be past that stage - I can't remember when I stopped swaddling my kids even though it wasn't that long ago!! I guess that is advice in itself - this too shall pass!
Hope you get some sleep soon!!!!
Cyndi
Is he on solids yet? I would try that if he isn't.
Is he teething? If so, then give some infants tylenol or infants motrin before bed and see if that helps. The teething pain may be waking him up.
Is he getting ready to crawl? Most kids I know had a serious sleep disruption when they were learning to crawl.
Switch pediatricians. I think any ped that would tell you to give your infant benadryl to make him sleep is crazy.
All this being said, just keep repeating to yourself that this too shall pass. We found that sleeping through the night was hit or miss for the first 18 months, and then settled down. At 4 months our daughter slept through the night, and that lasted until she was 7 months old, and then she didn't sleep through the night for a while, and then she did again -- on and off until about 18 months.
We were not fans of cry it out and did not do it. Our daughter has been a fantastic sleeper since around 18 months, so eventually they sleep well. Hang in there, I know it is so tough.
is he on solids yet? if not try giving him some oatmeal cereal mixed with his formula before bed to fill him up and make sure he is nice and cool or warm depending on where you live. Also make a bedtime rutine from dinner until bedtime and make it the same every night as much as possible. do dinner play time bath time and then the cereal/formula and give him the rest of a bottle warmed up a little bit and then do a rocking and put him to bed. if he wakes up see if he can sooth himself back to sleep before going in there like 15-20 mins and dont turn the lights on and put on some soft soothing music and try and get him back to sleep without picking him up.
First off, I would get a new pediatrician! Benadryl? Seriously?! Read healthy sleep, happy baby by dr. marc weislbuth. i followed it to the tea, and my son was sleeping 12 hours with minimal crying. Pm me if you want more info.
How does he do during the day? Does he nap well? It could be teething, reflux, ear problems. Maybe try a different pediatrician. I have never heard of a pediatrician recommending Benadryl for such a young baby. Something must be bothering him to be up so often. When my daughter was that age she did the same thing. I happened to take her to a different doctor and they pulled out a plug of wax the size of my pinky. Behind it was an abscessed ear drum. Poor thing was in so much pain, but you wouldn't have know it. She would just wake up, sometimes drink and sometimes not. Get a second opinion. He may also have reflux. For tonight try elevating his crib with some blankets underneath. If it is reflux he may get relief if not sleeping flat. I would check with a new doc. Good luck I know how it feels to be sleep deprived. Oh you didn't say if he is getting solids, is he getting cereal or veggies, or fruit yet? This way you can rule out hunger.
First how is he during the day. If he is happy and content, I would say he
is sort of feeling his oats so to speak. If he is not happy during the day, I
would continue to investigate with pediatrician. If all is well, I would make
sure he goes to bed with a full belly. I would not try to feed him every time.
Go in, pat his back and reassure him. My grandson loves the nature
sound musical thing that hangs on his crib. Sometimes when he is
napping he will start to cry and I know he is not ready to get up, I put my
hand in and press the button. Right back to sleep.
He also might be going thru a growth spurt and be teething. It is so hard
to figure out. Rest assure, this too shall pass. You may be in the home LOL by then, but it will get better. Good luck.
I would ditch your pediatrician! Where'd she get her medical license?!
#1. children under the age of 12 months are not suppose to be given anything except breast milk or formula due to the risk of 'water intoxication'. Their kidneys are too immature to get water (including teas, juices, etc.) out of their system... It can cause seizures, brain swelling and/or death. The most common victim of water intoxication is a 6 month old baby. Google 'water intoxication, infant' for more information.
#2. you should never drug a child simply to get it to sleep. That's just horrifying that your pediatrician suggested it.
#3. My daughter has always had allergies... I am familiar with Benedryl--However, I can't find it OTC for infant & toddlers anymore. About 3 years ago, there was the big push to stop giving small children OTC medicines due to SIDS dangers; the manufacturer re-did the packaging so it only is geared for older children. That your pediatrician recommended it for a 5 month old is CRAZY!
Is your baby teething? Is he waking up looking for his pacifier? Is he too cold or too hot? What are his daytime naps like--is he sleeping too long during the daytime and therefore, wide awake in the wee hours? There are lots of reasons that could explain why he's not sleeping. But if I had your pediatrician, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night either--Yikes!
You have a nice diverse collection of wonderful responses.
I wish pediatricians would take sleep problems in infancy more seriously. Sleep is critical (http://itsnotmental.blogspot.com/2008/07/sleep-critical-y....
There is much to be explored. Is it possible your son has what is called silent reflux? Might he have a food allergy? I was breast-feeding and the doctor never mentioned to me that perhaps **I** should try a food elimination diet. Is he hungry each time he wakes up? What about soothing sounds like "white noise." You can even get download a vacuum sound you can play via an MP3 player.
How is his sleep during the day? My baby would only sleep a few minutes day or night. The maximum we times her at was 90 minutes. This went on her whole first year and we got some rest when she was old enough to start amusing herself in her crib - but that was after turning 12 months - not before. We only found problems later but which came first - the sleep issues or the other physical issues? I don't know. Unfortunately the , "This too shall pass" didn't happen for us. We tried many of the suggestions here - swaddling, solid food, stuff for teething.
I wish I were like you and had something like this site with all these other mothers to ask!!
I do wish more research was put into this area (sleep).
I agree with a couple of your posters, I have 2 sons ages 11 and almost 9 and both of them where on baby cereal right before bedtime. It helped them sleep during the night. They also had some baby food during the day. The peds Dr said this was ok and of course I started with the same food for 1 month so in case they had a allergic reaction and of course my oldest had a reaction to 1 of the red dyes. I can't remember which 1 now. He has since out grown it along time ago, probably when he was like 2 or 3 it was gone! But what I did was put just alittle bit of cereal in his bottle of formula at night. Don't put to much in there otherwise it won't come out of the nipple. Just put maybe 3-4 pinches in there and shake it up really good and test it to make sure the milk still comes out! Believe me this will help with his sleeping, if it doesn't then he may have colic and the there is nothing really you can do but maybe rub his tummy. Good Luck
How long do you let him fuss before you respond? I'd wait 5 minutes b/c my kids sometimes do that then go back to sleep. How about a lovey to curl up with too.
I have a 6 month old grandson with the same problem.I havent tried benadryl or any tea.If you get any help on your baby would you please let me know.
i haven't read all the responses but my thought is reflux. my daughter did something similar. then i realized that she was often waking up coughing. well i thought it was coughing but she was actually choking. we got her on Prevacid and she was finally able to stay asleep and her smiles increased! good luck and God bless!
