6 mo old won't nurse at night and doesn't want to sleep, help me please!

Connie - posted on 07/12/2012

Stephanie, also know that babies go through cycles of fattening up then growing in spurts. She may also be going through a growth spurt, and often they just don't eat hardly at all when they are in growing mode. A lot of moms get concerned because the baby has been eating like a maniac then suddenly slows drastically down, but this is normal. You only need to be concerned if the baby isn't having enough soiled diapers or is listless. When they are growing they sleep a lot more, but if teething, that may not be the case.

Stephanie - posted on 07/11/2012

Thank you for your help. She is surely teething, has been since 3 months. I was so frustrated with her not nursing, I thought that was the only way she would fall asleep. She has since started falling asleep on her own, with only a bit of nursing before naps and bedtime. I have been holding her more during the day and giving her a longer bath time to play. It seems to be working. Thanks for all the great suggestions!

Connie - posted on 07/10/2012

Teething! Teeth move up and down and back and forth working their way through the gums, they don't just pop down. It hurts!! Just ask my oldest son who's getting his wisdom teeth in. He can't believe how bad it is. This is the first real pain a baby has except for gas. Humans feel touch over pain, so when you pick her up, it alleviates the discomfort. When you put her down, it all comes back. Placing a warm hot water bottle next to her, or adding some type of vibration can help her sleep if you can do it safely, anything that will give some nerve confusion so all the sensation isn't being felt just in her mouth. If you are feeding her food now in addition to the breast milk, her digestive system may be having trouble ramping up to that and it's causing her some problems. Try holding off on food for a couple days and see if that helps. My cousin was talking about her baby and we figured out that she had been eating a lot of broccoli and salsa the few days her baby acted colicky. It was causing gas and indigestion through her breast milk, so she just decided to cut out the gassy and spicy foods for a while. If it is teething, then a little Tylenol before bedtime should help. I'm not for giving medication unless either the baby or the parents can't sleep, and it definitely sounds like this fits. Good luck!

Kaitlyn - posted on 07/10/2012

Don't give up, it is most likely NOT you!!! I concur with everything Lori A. said. This sounds like a teething issue. Your LO could also just not be feeling herself or could be coming down with something and it is disrupting her sleep or ability to relax and fall asleep. It has only been a couple of nights. Don't get discouraged and keep doing everything that you are doing. It sounds like you have a great routine in place that she has responded well to.

The fact that your LO sleeps close to 11 hours most nights is most likely the reason she does not need very long naps during the day, too. My oldest child slept GREAT at night from the day he was born. He was sleeping 12 hours at 6 weeks. However, the boy would not nap during the day no matter how hard I tried. Every child is different. A lot of parents would be envious of your LO's ability to sleep so well at only 6 months old. Good job and best wishes!!

Lori - posted on 07/08/2012

It could also be that she's teething. I've found with my girls that they're most uncomfortable from teething at night when they're trying to sleep. That can interrupt any babies sleep. I have had good luck with Hylands teething tablets.

Also, I've found on the occasions when my LO's stay up late.. they still get up at the same time as usual. They won't start sleeping in unless they've been up late several days in a row.. up to a week even. So it's sounds about right that she'd still get up at her normal time of 5:30.

I don't think anything you're saying is an indication of anything wrong with your boobs, or your milk. If she is teething, nursing can be painful for her. A bottle may put pressure on a different part of her gums so it may not hurt as much. Many babies go on nursing strikes when they are teething. Other babies want to nurse around the clock for comfort when they are teething. Both reactions are normal and are no indication of a problem with you or your milk.

Just keep offering to nurse her. You're doing great!

Rebecca - posted on 07/08/2012

One more trick i forgot, walking up and down in the bathroom with the hot shower on just so the room fills with steam, then i turn it off and keep walking till his asleep. I only do this when his snotty for it's 2am and i'm desperate for sleep:)

Rebecca - posted on 07/08/2012

My boy is 9 months and doing everything you say your little girl is doing since he was 3months. We have found that filling him up at dinner with mashed sweet potato or pumpkin then a shower, followed by breast helps some nights. He doesn't nap for long during the day so we have tummy/floor time till the gets cranky then a feed helps some days. Just recently i have found that having white sound like the radio on low when his in his cot both day and night, keeps him asleep for longer. His in my room with my husband and I, but the bad music at 3am is better then Xavier crying:) hope our methods help xxxxx

Stephanie - posted on 07/07/2012

So, my husband magically got our daughter to sleep tonight, I still don't know how. I think maybe she ate too much rice cereal and bananas at dinner?