My 6 month old was sleeping from 7:30pm to 4am, but two weeks ago started waking up 2-3 times a night. I have always swaddled him, but lately when he wakes up he is struggling to get out of the blanket. If he does manage to get out of the blanket, he turns over onto his stomach and that ends up making him even more mad. By this time he is too wide awake to go back to sleep on his own. I don't know why he is waking up (teething? growth spurt? who knows!) but by the time I get in there he is so wound up he will only go back to sleep by nursing. I tried putting him to sleep without swaddling him, thinking he is outgrowing this, but inevitably his arms and hands wake him up. He tries to suck on his fingers, and rather than soothing him this seems to stimulate him. Any help with any of these issues would be appreciated.
How hot do you have the room in which he sleeps? Could be he is too hot and that could be what is waking him up. My two boys did not like to be too hot at night and they are over 20 years old and still sleep with barely a blanket. Good Luck.
Teething is a strong possibility. My daughter did this around 5-6 months when her bottom teeth started (it lasted about a month until they finally broke the skin). If you haven't started solids yet, now is the time to. You should start them between 4 and 6 months. If he's only still nursing, he could be telling you that he's hungry and ready for some of that cereal. My daughter is a fantastic eater and sleeper but when she doesn't get enough to eat, she would wake more at night.
A baby that sleeps well during the day also sleeps better at night. If he is fussy during the day put him down, he'll fall asleep after some protest. When they get better naps they sleep better at night. It's a myth about waking your baby or keeping them up until 'bedtime'. My daughter is 6 months old and she sleeps from 8pm until 8am only waking at 6 am for feeding. After that she goes right back to sleep. Then throughout the day she sleeps 6 more hours. Most babies/children need more than 15 hours of sleep until they are 8-10 years old. Read Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth, M.D. He explains how most sleeping problems are from the lack of sleep. Also, you don't need to feed your child cereal unless your doctor recommends it for weight gain. Babies get what they need from your milk until they are a year. They don't need 'real' food. Also in the book he explains that babies who sleep with their mothers never really wake at night so they don't learn bad habits like those who are in cribs. It’s a great book proven by many friends of mine who have read it. Good luck!
i like what the baby whisperer has to say...
here is an excerpt that is an entire chapter:
http://www.simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?tab=1&pid=5...
Every kid is different. My third got up every two hours until she was about 4 months old. What finally worked for me was to go in, pat her on her back and tell her it was okay until she calmed down. Then I put her back down and left the room. Of course she cried again, and I waited 10 minutes and did it again, and repeated until she stopped. This was not my idea, someone told me it is from Baby Whisperer, I think. The first night it took an hour, the next night I did it twice, and the third night once, and then we were done. I used it for the random times she cried in the night after that. I still nursed her once a night up until 7 months, but every two hours was just too much.
I agree with Rachel - nurse him back to sleep. His sleeping habits will shift as he grows and he will wake more often as he is teething and just being more easily stimulated in general. Like Rachel, I have four children, we family bed, and have had no problem with kids not wanting their own rooms eventually.
Sounds like he needs you in the night. Spend more time nursing in the day without distractions. Find his comfort and a small lovey blanket he can get attachted to now. Only you know what is best for your baby so listen to your heart. Don't let others tell you what may work for your baby only you know. Eventually they will sleep through the night. GO in and nurse him right away when he wakes for a couple of nights so he doesn't get use to waking up and being stimulating. Also if you have introduced solids it may be that or maybe he is teething. I hope this helps a little hang in there. Sleeping will get more regular, trust me. Just tend to his sleep needs so if that means nurse then nurse. And if you need sleep bring him in bed to sleep. He will need to get use to sleeping without being swaddled.
My 6mo old has been sleeping through the night for months now, except for the occasional bad night every few weeks. She hasn't been swaddled in months either. DO NOT GIVE IN TO FEEDING unless you have reason to believe he is hungry.
2 nights ago my baby woke up every 2-3 hours (aggghh!) and I figure it must have been teething pain or something. Usually I just rub her belly and maybe give her the pacifier back w/o picking her up, but this night I had to do more...try this, it worked for me: Use the pacifier if he likes it and snuggle him against your body for comfort and rock him back to rest, when he is 90% there, gently put him back in the crib and lay your hand on his belly for comfort, if he is calm, then leave the room. it might take 20 min if he is really riled up, but worth it not to create a feeding dependancy at night. Good luck!
Nursing him back to sleep if he wakes up should be a given. He is probably hungry.
Try letting him sleep with you. It is likely teething and a growth spurt and not going to end anytime soon. All four of ours slept with us and we NEVER had a problem getting them in their own bed. I also slept soundly from the start because I didn't have to get up. My babies sleep soundly because at their first stir, I pop my nipple in their mouth, they never wake up. Try reading The Family Bed. It might really help!
Also, he is way too old to swaddle, try putting him to sleep on his stomach. He is big enough to roll over so the SIDS risk with tummy sleeping is gone.
