Need Help with Sleeping Through the Night

Usually if they change sleeping habits so suddenly it is teething or ear infection. It is about the right time for him to start getting teeth.

Sounds like a growth spurt. This is about the right time for it. You did the right thing by nursing- breastmilk is metabolized REALLY quickly and his tummy was probably feeling very empty, especially if he's getting to point where he needs a bit more during a growth spurt.
I found that night nursing was easier when sleeping with my baby, also called "co-sleeping." You can do this several ways if you're interested- it was the ONLY thing that let me get more rest! One is to put the baby into bed with you like you did. Another is to push the crib (with one side down or off) up against your mattress so that you each have your own space until you pull him to you to nurse.
Here is an awesome discussion board about nursing, co-sleeping, and other parenting things we deal with :)
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/index.php

Congrats on keeping up nursing your baby this long! It can be draining at times, but it is so worth it! He's getting the best nutrition in the world!

'M.
aspiring IBCLC

PS- Edited to add: It's about the time that your baby will start to be interested in solids as well. If you find that he is interested in your food or when he smells cooking or food smells, is reaching for your plate, etc. you might want to start with some rice cereal. My daughter was interested at 5 months and I started her out with some mashed banana (just regular adult food fruit) blended with breastmilk until it was thin. Some people start with rice cereal, some with banana, some with avacado. Just make sure you're starting when BABY is ready, not mama! Also, stick with one food at a time for a week or so to help prevent allergies. :)

Hi!
I had the same problem w/my son at the same age(5-5 1/2 months). I was advised by several people that at his age he should not be waking up in middle of night to nurse(he no longer needed it for nutritional value) He would wake up and cry hard and all that would put him back to sleep would be breastfeeding and then he'd go right back to sleep. Well I found that what I was doing was causing him not to be able to soothe himself back to sleep. I was told to let him cry it out and that it would take approximately 3 nights. I tried going in and rubbing his head or something but when he saw me it would make him more upset. I decided he had to cry it out cold turkey.

So it took 3 nights(hardest ever). He cried the 1st night for almost an hour. The 2nd night a half hour and the 3rd he cried for 8 min. By the 4th I didn't hear a peep out of him after that. Now he sleeps from 7-7:30pm until about 7:30am-8:30am! It's so hard to hear your child cry especially at night but it is well worth it in the end!

Good luck!

My son did the same thing. I think part of it may be a growth spurt, part of it teething (teething tablets work well), could be night terrors and it might be a good time to introduce rice cereal. Unfortunately, I found the only way to console my son and get him back to sleep was to nurse. It s*cked. I tried just putting water in a bottle in his bed. Nothing. I tried just stroking him and not picking him up. Nothin. I tried letting him cry it out. Nothing and I didn't want him to wake his twin sister. Hopefully it passes soon!!! Good luck. Hang in there.

M. -

My first thought is that he might be teething. Are there other signs that this might be the case? Is he drooling excessively? Is he chewing on his toys or hands more than normal? While nursing, does he pull off more than usual? If this is the case, I would give him some Tylenol before bed and then again when he wakes in the night. Call your ped. if you're not sure what dosage to give him.

Hope this helps.

M....

I'm going to throw my vote in with the growth spurt, too. This happened with our son and I was pumping and bottle feeding breast milk and I would have to feed him a full bottle in the middle of the night. He was starving (so it seemed).

That's one "problem" I did find with breastfeeding, it is the prefect food so it is digested quickly and easily by our babies. I was feeding him much more often than the formula-fed babies of my friends. It was draining on me, but the best (in my opinion) for him so I continued.

I also agree with the other Mom's that it may be time to put some rice cereal with the breast milk and try some spoon feeding. We did at about this age with Jacob.

Good luck and know that as long as he's eating, no fevers and not cranky all day...he's probably doing fine and will get past this in a few days.

T.

We went through the same thing with our son when he was about that age - he had been a great sleeper, and then all of a sudden it changed. Needless to say, we were exhausted and at our wits' end, like you. The good news is that it only lasted one or two weeks. And if your son fell asleep after nursing a second time, maybe he's going through a growth spurt and needs more to eat for the time being?

I hope for you that it's just a phase and that things will get back to normal soon. I don't think he's too young to let him cry it out, if you're comfortable with that. But if he's possibly extra-hungry, I'd try that first. It can't hurt - I'm all for sleep training, but if my son has a legitimate need, I have to fulfill that first. That's just my parenting philosophy. And as for the rice cereal, it's no more nutritious or filling than breastmilk or formula - I think it's a placebo effect if babies seem to sleep better after having had it.

I also agree that he might be teething (does he show any signs?), or just thirsty. If you're interested in a book, I also recommend Dr. Weisbluth's Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. I hope this helps - good luck!

The similar event just happened to me with my almost 5 month old. This lasted for over a week or so. He would wake screaming a few times during the night. Sometimes I would change his diaper and then he would go back to sleep or I would give him his pacifier. Then I started feeding him in the middle of the night and he would go back to sleep as well.

This week, I believe I found out what was happening. They say that babies will get fussy, cry, and wake in the middle of the night before a milestone is about to occur.

My baby just started flipping to his stomach and is now sleeping on his stomach. I believe this was the reason for the disturbance. He has stopped waking and screaming in the middle of the night, however, he makes a few small noises because he is confused about how he has now flipped himself and is sleeping on his tummy.

This may or may not be similar for your baby but I hope it helps someone!

:)

I agree that is sounds like it might be time to introduce some rice cereal before bed. Also if it is teething, you may want to talk to your ped. about infant tylenol or motrin ot help ease the pain. Good luck.

M.,

I feel your pain!!! We have a 4-month old little boy, and we have the same thing happening right now. With our son, I believe that it is teething as he has been excessively drooling for a few weeks now. He will be fast asleep and then start to scream and cry, and once he is fed he goes back to sleep for about 2-2 1/2 hrs!! Sometimes he will repeatedly latch on and off though, and that will make him even fussier as he is so hungry. We have tried the gel and that seems to ease things a little.

Good luck!
A.

M. et al:

sleeping through the night is not about a "full stomach",,, sleeping though is neuological maturity.

babies/children/adults wake for a vast number of reasons. Breasfed babies have "one solution".. it is their solution for everying.. the nurse. it is more often not that they are "hungry" they want comforting.

babies fed formula sleep longer becuase there is a sleep inducing agent in the formula.. tryptophan.. the same thing that makes you sleepy after a large thanksgiving dinner.

there are a number of excellent book to give you greater insight into what is going on... i would start with Sear's Nightime Parenting.

P., RLC, IBCLC
Pres. Lactation Support Group, Inc
www.lactationsupportgroup.com

Hi M. - I nursed my son until he was 9 months old and I also needed to nurse in the middle of the night frequently. As I recall, it was pretty typical for my baby to be hungry through the night, and nursing and comforting him was easier then waiting for hours for him to exhaust himself. My son is now 21 months old, and it gets better! L.

Could he be teething? Teething pain starts a couple of months before teeth actually appear. He could also be having growing pains. Can you bring him into bed and just nurse him when he does this? Our son is still nursing and if he wakes up I just nurse him back down and he sleeps right next to me. It has made a HUGE difference in that I can get SLEEP now.

I second the recommendation for Dr. Sears book about Sleeping. I have just found that having the baby in bed makes it so much easier and nicer for all of us. I know that's not for everyone, but it has really worked for us. Dr Jay Gordon also has a great sleep book.

Is he teething? Like yours, my little one was sleeping through the night from around 3 months as well and the only time he would wake and scream was when he was teething, do you have baby orajel? You would be amazed how it helps them calm down and allows them to fall back asleep. If it isn't his teeth he may be having night terrors.

My daughter is almost 4 months old and has started teething already and it sounds like your son might be experencing that himself. My daughter started a few days ago and some of the symptoms were lack of sleep (for me, mostly during nap time, but also through the night), drooling more than usual, knawing on her fist, and not nursing as well. I looked up teething in my Baby 411 book and sure enough a lot of these symptoms were related. A pacifier or a chilled teether has worked for us. Mostly tylenol has worked and it was recommended in the book and from friends who have gone through it. Not sure if your son is experiencing any other symptoms or if he's even teething. OMT, I would highly recommend getting the Baby 411 book. A pediatrician at one of my baby classes recommended it because it has answers to just about every question that parents end up calling their pediatrians for. Hope this was helpful ;-)

It sounds like a phase and he will get through it. You won't spoil him at this age so if you can get in there before it's a full blown scream, you might be able to get him back to sleep. The other thought is have a bottle of water ready when you go in. Sometimes babies just need a sip of water, reassurance that mom or dad is there and they can go back to sleep.

If that's what's going on, expect it'll last about a week or so and then one night, he'll be back to sleeping through the night. Expect it again right before any big milestone like crawling or teething too but know it's short lived.