Help - 6 month old won't sleep!!

Hi ladies,

I really need some advice regarding my son's sleeping (or lack of!). He's never been a great sleeper and when i was breastfeeding he would wake every 3-4 hrs for feeding. At 4 months i switched to formula feeding (not in the hope he would sleep better, more for personal reasons) and he would wake for 1-2 feeds in the night still.

Since 5 months his nighttime sleeping has gone out the window and I'm really exhausted now. Initially he had a cold for a few weeks so he wouldn't settle and we put him in our bed to settle. Then at almost 6 months we started weaning him but he started waking virtually every hour and would cry whenever he was put back in the cot. My HV told me to increase his portion sizes and we've quickly moved onto 3 meals a day but none of this is helping him settle and sleep.

He just doesn't seem to be able to get in a deep sleep, and then takes ages to resettle. One night last week he only woke twice in the night but that seems to have been a fluke.

Any advice would be appreciated.

P.S i don't agree with the cry it out method - we tried it one night and DS got really agitated and was coughing and almost being sick so that's not an option.

Thanks x

Not Rolling Over...

My DS isn't anywhere near rolling over, he doesn't even push himself onto his side and he doesn't play with his feet to start the momentum. If the milestones say 7 months then I'm not worried! x

How much formula?

Thanks ladies.

I think I was just worried of over-feeding as DS is a big baby (21 lbs already!!), but on the otherhand as he's big I suppose he will need more food.

Spoke to te Hv on Tuesday and she said to try giving him 8oz bottloes as he shouldn't be waking so much in the night (he was waking pretty much every hour from midnight and has been for the past 3 weeks (I'm knackered!).

All of yesterday he took 8oz in the morning, then 5-7oz at each feed in the day, and 8oz at his bedtime feed and then........he slept through fromm 7pm to 7:30am

I'm amazed but very proud of my little man. Fingers crossed he does it again tonight! I, on the other hand, kept waking up to check on him and then as the time got on I couldn't stop thinking about how clever he was at being able to suddenly self-settle etc.

x x

How much formula?

Hi ladies,

DS is 4 months old and we moved to exclusive FF 2 weeks ago. On the packets of formula it says he should be having 5 7oz bottles per day. He currently has these at 7:45am, 10:45am, 1:45pm, 4:45pm and 6:45pm. However he is waking quite a bit in the night (not always because he is hungry, bc he is teething, or may be a bit cold or has lost the dummy etc).

But last night I tried to give him water in the night and he wasn't interested, so I gave him a 5oz bottle. Now I'm notr sure whether he should be having 5 7oz bottles in the day or whether i should reduce then to 5 6oz bottles if he's actually having 6 bottles per day, so that the total oz he's having still totals 35oz per day.

Any advice would be appreciated.

How much formula?

Hi ladies,

DS is 4 months old and we moved to exclusive FF 2 weeks ago. On the packets of formula it says he should be having 5 7oz bottles per day. He currently has these at 7:45am, 10:45am, 1:45pm, 4:45pm and 6:45pm. However he is waking quite a bit in the night (not always because he is hungry, bc he is teething, or may be a bit cold or has lost the dummy etc).

But last night I tried to give him water in the night and he wasn't interested, so I gave him a 5oz bottle. Now I'm not sure whether he should be having 5 7oz bottles in the day or whether i should reduce then to 5 6oz bottles if he's actually having 6 bottles per day, so that the total oz he's having still totals 35oz per day.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Any BF babies still up through the night?

I'd agree with Glitterbug - don't stop BF just because you think formula may help with seeping through.

We stopped BF 2 weeks ago for similar reasons to roo, and DS has actually been waking up a lot more in the night than when he was BF. He just doesn't seem settled with formula as much as when he was BF. He is waking pretty much every hour from midnight for various reasons of being hungry, losing the dummy, being cold etc. It's really tiring but I keep telling myself that it won't be forever and in my mind he is still a baby (4 months) and once he eventually does sleep through it means that he's growing up etc and becoming more independent, so in the longrun this time is quite precious (I'm not sure I think this at the crack of dawn when I'm sleep deprived though!).

Each baby is different and my DS is a big baby so I think he just doesn't get full up for very long!

Daytime sleeping

We had the exact same problem with our DS. He is now 18 weeks old and for the past month I've finally been successful in putting him down for daytime naps.

I would cuddle him to sleep (that's the only way he would go to sleep) and then put him down in his crib. Initially he would wake up pretty much straight away but I would just stroke him and put his dummy back in and 'shush' him gently. I think babies have to lean how to fall asleep on their own, and they need the reassurance that you are not leaving them when they are going to sleep. My DS would hold my hand whilst he was falling asleep in his crib, and I think this was reassuring for him, and then when he's dropped off and I can take my hnd away fine. It might also be worth thinking of getting a comforter and stuffing it in your top for a while so that it smells of you and you can let him cuddle it when he is falling asleep.

Around the 13/14 week mark he started to get into a 3 hourly routine and I think this has helped him to sleep on his own, as he knows when nap times are, and he doesn't try to fight it as much now.

Whats happened???

Sorry, the HV didn't say how longit would last for. I think Piggypops is right, it's linked to a growth spurt so hopefully will only last a week or so. x

Whats happened???

Hi,

We havn't experienced this as DS hasn't slept through yet, but we wereb talking about this at baby group yesterday. The HV said its common for babies to start waking in the night again between 4-5 montyhs old. It's apparently a common misconception that this means your baby is ready to be weaned, but in reality it's just normal for babies to start waking again at this time when they previously slept through. Hope that helps.

I'm still waiting for the joy of him sleeping through!

x x

how are all your gorgeous babies?

Hi ladies,

DS is doing well, he is 17 weeks today and weighs a whopping 20lb 15oz!!

We've been combination feeding for a week and a half as I gradually stop breastfeeding. Formula hasn't really been agreeing with him and he's been constipated, sicky and had bad wind but I've swapped to aptamil and started giving him some water and he seems a lot happier today.

I've bought a cute christmas outfit from ebay to design some cards for christmas too!

He's still not sleeping through the night, waking up twice but i'm hoping when he's fully on formula this will improve! I don't actually mind the nighttime aking up/feeds because he's still a baby and i know onnce he stops doing this it means he's growing up, and it all seems to be happening so fast!

Gorgeous pics of your little ones.

x x

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