Sleeping Issues at 5 Months

Keep doing the 5, 10 and 15 minute thing. It will get better once she realizes you won't pick her up everytime she cries. Do you have a mobile or something in the crib for her to watch and sooth her to sleep?
I did the cry it out and then 5, 10, 15 minute thing. You don't have to do it long and my son sleeps so well now and never cries for bedtime or naptime. He has been this way since he was 6 months and he is 2 yrs. He loves his crib and never fights going to sleep.

IMO 5 months old is too young to let her cry it out. Did anything change since she stopped being able to go to sleep like vaccinations, ear infection, any sort of illness?

yOu do what you think is right.I am so sick of people tell us that is is better for your baby to just let them cry.In what world does that even make since.I never let my son cry when he was a baby i rocked him to sleep every night until he go to heavy to do it any more.He is now 22 month old and not only does he fall alseep by himself he does it in a toddler bed.Your baby is just that a baby and when she crys she needs you forget what everyone else is telling you is right and just do what feels right for you.She is your baby and no one is this world knows her any better than you do....On another not here are a few things that helped me.*When you lay her down put your hand on her chest and keep a little pressure there so that she still feel like you are holding her until she is settled.*Put her blanket in between you and her when you are holding her so that it gets you scent on it and it will give her security when she wakes up without you there.You can also put a heating pad on low and set it in her crib 30 minutes before you are putting her down and then take it out right before you lay her down.this way the matteress will be warm when you lay her on it so she wont go from your warm arms to a cold bed.

I never let my kids cry it out. Now at 12 and 10 the most heard comment we get from people, even total strangers who have no connection or will gain nothing from being nice, is that our kids are the most well behaved children they have ever met. We also never spanked and didn't follow any of the 'popular' child raising methods that prompt the parent to be selfish. Instead we followed Dr. Sears advice in The Baby Book and used How To Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk.

I have a ten month old baby girl (exclusively breastfed) and have read a lot about the "normal" sleep habits of infants. Needless to say, unless a baby just has an easy going/sleepy type temperment, he/she will NOT sleep 10/12 hours straight on a regular basis, especially if they are breast fed. We co-sleep and my daughter wakes up off and on through the night, but I usually do not even remember it. It is not a problem for us (after I relaxed and read the facts) and I have come to treasure the moments that I know will soon pass.
In regards to napping, my daughter did the same thing (wake up after on 30 or 45 minutes) I started going in the room immediately after she woke up and nursing her back to sleep. She would usually sleep another hour or more. If I had the time, I would lay down with her and she would sleep for up to three hours.

Hope this helps.

Hi B.,
I haven't read your responses, so there may be some repeat info in here...

It sounds to me that your daughter is ready to begin solids. Not only is she waking up during her night time sleep, but is also taking very short naps.

Many babies are ready for more than breastmilk by somewhere in the 4- to 6-months old range.

You want to talk to her pediatrician, but I started our son out with rice cereal at 5 months, then moved on to higher-fiber (more filling with less stopping up!) cereals like oatmeal and barley, before moving on to veggies, then finally fruits. Each of these new foods was introduced as the only new food for at least 4 days before moving on to the next introduction, to ensure no allergic reaction.

Giving your daughter more-filling meals could be the key to helping her sleep longer. It helped with our baby boy, who is now 2 years old and has always slept well, barring any illnesses, of course...

I believe what's typical at 5 months old is to have 2 or 3 naps that last anywhere from 1 hour (if 3 naps) to 1 1/2 hours (if 2 naps)

I hope this helps!
D.

B.,

Motherhood is the BEST thing ever, but it is also a lot of hard choices! I know and understand what you are saying because I went through it with both of my girls (who were only breastfeed too). Sometimes they want to use the breast as their pacifier...so when she wakes up and notices that she doesn't have it anymore, she will get upset. The best thing you can do is to let her cry because it teaches her to self sooth and to put herself back to sleep. I have a 2.5 year old that is the best sleeper in the world! And a 7 month old that is getting really good too! I know it is really hard to let them cry, but if you are consistent it won't take long for her to get the point and stop crying when you put her down. Also, you might make sure that she doesn't have a tooth coming in or that she has gas because both of those can wake them up and keep them from sleeping. Good luck and enjoy your baby!

You don't even need me to respond because I'm only going to reiterate what those mamas who don't agree with CIO have said. I'm still going to though, because it's crazy to me that there are so many mothers who think this CIO stuff is okay for their children. You hate to let her cry & it feels wrong because it is wrong. I hate reading mothers say that it's so h*** o* them, but worth it for a few days to have pleasant sleep afterwards. Baloney! It's mean! Sure, the kids stop crying & you think they've gotten this sleep thing down & it's easy peasy now. Why does your baby stop crying? Because she's given up. Same reason why they stop protesting going to daycare. They've given up. Eventually, they learn that you're not going to come & so they just give up. How sad. They're not learning healthy sleep habits; they're learning that you're not coming.

And it's not putting our emotions on our children...hello, they're obviously exhibiting some "I need you!" emotions. And as a mother, my answering emotion, my biological response, it to go get & comfort that baby. And it's perfectly normal & acceptable for a baby to want to "use" a mother as a pacifier. That's why we got 'em, ladies!

My snarky comments aren't addressed to you, B.. I apologize for hijacking your thread to stand up on my soapbox. You sound like a very loving mother & I hope you do follow your heart & the momma-instincts that are telling you to parent your baby with love. For what it's worth, my six month old doesn't nap for long periods of time during the day. I nurse her to sleep in my bed (our bed; we cosleep), where she will sleep from 20mins to an hour. I'll usually lie back down with her when she stirs & nurse a bit more so that she'll sleep more. She also nurses a couple of times a night, but since I'm right there next to her it's easy. Since my husband doesn't have boobies to soothe her to sleep, when he puts her down on the bed, he makes sure to make it a slow process. Rather than just putting her down & that's that, he keeps his hand on her tummy or side & keeps his body close to hers. He moves slowly & softly away from her, carefully removing the pressure one tiny bit at a time. Voila! Baby stays asleep. :)

I wish you luck & joy in helping your baby sleep well.

I am always amazed at how opinionated we mothers can be about sleep habits....some of us let our babies cry it out while others think it's cruel. And yet, we all have healthy, well adjusted, smart little ones who know they are loved.

You have to use the sleep method that is most comfortable for you and your family. Is letting your child cry it out okay? Yes, as long as you set limits before hand, you know you will check on her at specified intervals and try something different if, after a specified amount of time, she does not soothe herself.

Is going to her for every peep she makes okay? Yes, if you feel that is best for your child then, by all means, go to her. Your child will need you for soothing when things don't go her way during the day, but she is young so that's fine.

Either way, as long as you love your child and care for your child (which I can tell you do), your child will be fine. It sounds like you have a great routine down for the CIO method and I am sure, once your little one is on solids, you won't have to worry about her sleeping.

I have four children and have tried the CIO method and the run to them every time they cry method. And lo and behold, I see no difference in the stability of my children. They are all well rounded, happy, loving, and caring individuals!

As far as co-sleeping goes, that is also your choice. Your relationship with your spouse suffers a little during those co-sleep years because you have to make time when you are alone to "get together" but, if you are both willing to co-sleep, your baby will be fine. If you don't want to co-sleep, your baby will be fine as well. I've tried both methods here as well and I see no difference between the children as they grow. In the grand scheme of things, the fact that they slept in the same bed with me or not didn't make an ounce of difference in how they felt about themselves growing up!

I think we are all just being a little too judgemental here instead of realizing that each mother has her own instincts and will raise her child the way she deems best. Neither way is wrong, you just have to pick what is right for you!!! And by all means, let's not look down our noses at others just because they chose not to do it "our way"!

B., you seem like a very sweet and loving mother. You do what you think is best for your little one. You know in your heart what your child needs because you know her better than anyone. Trust yourself...you're doing great!!

I used the Ferber method successfully with both my kids. When my second child started waking at 3.5 months my doctor said to add rice cereal to his diet. It fixed the problem right away. Your daughter's issue maybe something different, but that's what worked for us. You might also try reading after feeding to give her something to think about as she drifts off. I don't remember what Ferber says about falling asleep while nursing, but at some point your child should fall asleep without it. Good luck.

She may be uncomfortable because of teething also. You might want to try a little tylenol if she's drooling/chewing, etc. more than usual. It may help her feel less uncomfortable before bed. That might be why she's looking for the extra comfort. She is napping a LOT though - usually 2 naps is what I've heard for that age. Check with your pedi just to be sure.

We had the same issues about the same time. And as many will probably tell you, each baby is different, so here is what worked for us:

Our son started cutting a tooth right about that time, so if your baby's gums look white and swollen, it's possible your baby may have some pain. Talk to your pedi about the best treatment for teething.

Secondly, we tried the ferber method, for one night. When my son finally made himself sick from crying, I said enough!! We modified the ferber method a bit, took parts of it and made our own method. The one main thing that stuck out about the ferber method was making sure the baby falls asleep under the same conditions he/she would wake to in the middle of the night. Because our son would start screaming when we would leave the room, we decided to just stay in the room until he fell asleep. We didn't talk to him, or look at him, or rock him, or anything, we were just there. Eventually, we started to leave the room, right after we put him down. A gentle pat on the back, a sweet "i love you" and we'd walk away. I would stand around the corner, and if he started to cry, I would say to him that I was still there, everything was OK, just go to sleep, and eventually he would. It took about a week or two before we were able to just lay him down, say good night, and leave the room with no resistance. Now, he grabs his blanket, and goes into his room voluntarily and tries to climb in the bed himself when he's ready to go to sleep.

The biggest part I want to stress, is going to sleep in the same environment your baby would wake to in the middle of the night. Hope that helps out some.

I let my daughter CIO when she was old enough, which for her was about 16 weeks. It's not wrong and it's not cruel. It's completely inappropriate to place our emotions onto our children (i.e. lonely, scared, etc.) Often they're crying because they're tired, or they want to play with you. But it's not playtime, it's sleeptime, and she will eventually fall asleep more quickly and more quietly. I know it's hard to listen to your baby cry, so I often would take my shower during that time, and by the time I was done, my baby was asleep. Also, 5-15 minutes isn't really that long, and it may just take her that long to wind down. If you truly can't stand her crying at all, you're going to be in for a long,long road, unless you plan to let her sleep with you (and there's nothing wrong with that, if that's the way you want to go!)

I didn't start the CIO method until my boys were about 8 months old, and it killed me. But I didn't fill them up and put them down. That's really kinda tricky, they fall asleep in your arms and if something rouses them, they're all alone in their crib. =( And when they were teething, going through a growth spurt, or sick, all rules were out the window. However, I think 5 months IS a little young. I personally don't think it's her naps, either. At 5 months, she should still nap for a few hours in the afternoon, in my opinion. But you just have to take cues from her. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

Sounds like you're doing a good job. 5-15 min of crying isn't bad. My son gave us a good 20 min every night, and a friend's daughter would go for 30 - 45 minutes.

Only thing I can think of is that if she's nursing to sleep, she could be waking so soon because she needs to burp, or maybe she wet her diaper and it woke her. Maybe try keeping her awake after the last feeding so she's got time to burp and get one last diaper change in.

The naps do seem short, but I've learned that every kid is soooo different, that if she's content during the day, you shouldn't worry. For comparison though, both of mine took a shorter morning nap (1- 1.5 hrs), then a longer afternoon nap (2-3 hrs), then a little 30-45 min nap in the early evening (around 5pm) at that age.
There is something they describe in the "Babywise" book called "the 45-minute intruder" during naps. At some phases it's actually normal for babies to wake up after just 45 min of napping or sleeping. If I remember correctly, it often happens during a growth spurt. I believe the way they recommend dealing with it is just what you're doing -- soothe without picking her up. The only other option would be if it's hunger (which can happen during a growth spurt), you feed her then put her back in bed.

Good luck!

Sounds like you're doing great, B. - my little guy has been exclusively breastfed and is also 5 months old - and sleeps like a champ (from 7:30pm - 6am since he was about 2 months old) - about 2 weeks ago he started waking up around 2am and he was just hungry - going through a growth spurt - so I've started making squash puree and sweet potato puree at home on the weekends - I freeze it in icetrays - and he now gets 2 1-oz servings of each per day - sometimes I add a little organic oatmeal cereal (we skipped rice after talking it over w/his pedi) - this seems to have been the culprit. He's 17 lbs though - if your little one is over 15 lbs, it may simply be that she is ready to start on solids. Talk to your pedi. :) Your baby girl may just be growing up a little! It happens so fast. Take care and good luck!

We had a similar problem with our little girl when she was younger. At times it was most definitely teething, at others it wasn't. Read "Good Night Sleep Tight: The Sleep Ladys Gentle Guide to Helping Your Child Go to Sleep, Stay Asleep, and Wake Up Happy" by Kim West and Joanne Kenen. It is a much gentler method than the Ferber method and it actually works. Now, unless she isn't feeling well or has a poopy diaper, she sleeps the night through. It is sectioned by age and is a great resource for sleeping.

Best of luck!

www.babywhisperer.com

I think that 3-4 naps a day for a 5 mo. old is too much. Everything depends on what time baby wakes in the morning & goes to sleep at night. At 5 mo. she should be taking a morning & afternoon nap at about 1-2 hrs. each. Sounds like she is cat napping, so when it comes time to go to bed for the night she is still in cat nap mode because of the many cat naps during the day. Try waking baby by 6 or 7 a.m., nap at 10 am, nap at 3 pm and bedtime @ 8 pm. If she wakes during the 5-45 min. range, instead of picking her up try patting her back & humming a song until she drifts back off to sleep. With her being a breastfed baby she probably falls asleep while feeding. Try keeping her awake during feedings w/ a playtime afterwords. Enjoy every moment she is changing everyday!

She's at an age where sleep regressions are the norm. Don't beat yourself up over it. There's a lot going on at this age -- teething, developmental milestones, etc -- that make sleep a difficult thing. Even Ferber says that the underlying issue needs to be addressed before the method is introduced so, at this age, CYO is probably not going to be a viable option. Also, if it feels wrong -- don't do it. Trust your gut.

Take a look at the book -- No Cry Sleep Solution. It has a lot of clinical data to back up the methods. I personally found it to be eye opening.

Good luck!

Read "The No-Cry Sleep Solution" By Elizabeth Pantley. It is filled with various gentle methods and ideas that will help your baby learn to sleep without letting them cry it out. I recommend it to ANYONE with a baby.

You most likely have gotten a lot of differing opinions on this topic. However, I think it is cruel to let a baby of this age cry it out. They are really too little to understand or communicate. Their only source of communicating being scared, mad or frightened is to cry. I am a mother of two and both of mine went through a phase of crying before bedtime. In fact, my 10 month old just started going through this and was doing fine until about a few weeks ago. Anyway, I just pat her little bottom to settle her down, then sit next to her crib so that she can see me. I sneak out a little bit into it. Sometimes she cries when I leave the room. I let her cry for less than five minutes. Come back and pat her on the bottom and sit there for a bit then leave again. The key is to just not take them out of the crib. Try to show your baby comfort without taking them out. That worked with my first as well. Good luck!!

Make sure you let us know what happened B.! I want to know what worked for you since I have the same situation to tackle with my daughter! :)

My daughter is 7 months and we noticed that if she crys within a short time from being laid down it is ALWAYS gas- a burp that needs to get out. And then we hold her a short time and lay her back down then she is fine.
I have 4 daughters ages 20y, 14y, 11y, 7mos and I NEVER let them cry it out. They all slept in my bed and slept all night . When they were ready they slept on their own. My children are smart and successful achievers. America is the only country that has it backwards-teaching us to let our babies sleep alone and cry it out.
Babies don't understand how to be okay when they are alone (from the book- Boundaries)They have real terror if not responded to, and if they do stop crying after a time when alone it is because of infant depression. This is only babies under a year-not toddlers who by that time are learning seperateness.(Boundaries by Henry Cloud and John Townsend) Awesome book.

she probably is not getting enough milk and is waking up hungry