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Why has my 5-month-old suddenly become a nightmare (sleepwise)??

Kari - posted on 02/03/2009 ( 6 moms have responded )

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She has never slept all the way through the night (usually wants to eat after 5 hours), but she's always been pretty good about putting herself back to sleep after I feed her. I could lay her down wide awake, and she would go to sleep. But, it seems like the day she turned 5-months, she suddenly cries relentlessly when I stop nursing her and lay her down. It is like she is addicted to falling asleep while nursing, but this only JUST STARTED! I've never "propped" her by nursing her to sleep. What gives?? I've tried letting her cry it out, but she will literally scream for an hour and never fall asleep, and it is misery for me, too. She is now waking every 3 hours at night.

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Emily - posted on 02/05/2009

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We had some rough sleep patches here and there in the 4th and 5th months- it's probably linked to developmental milestones they are reaching.  My son is still not sleeping perfectly, but much better now.  Although I anticipate more bumps in the road as he reaches new milestones!

Selina - posted on 02/05/2009

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A growth spurt maybe, she may need the extra feeds for extra energy, my daughter is the same, she has been doing the same as yours for the past week and she is 5 and half months, this month she put on the most weight.

Deah - posted on 02/04/2009

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My daughter started waking up at 5 months too after sleeping through the night at 5 weeks. As soon as I got her to take Rice Cereal twice a day, she was back to normal. I also feed her about 6x.. OH.. I just remembered... I also didn't know about cutting out the 3rd nap. The one after 5. She was tired a couple of days, but she started going to bed at 8:30 or 9! She was getting too much sleep. So my problem was solved once I got her to eat her cereal and cut out that 3rd nap (she takes 2 two hour naps now. she's 7 1/2 months)

Jana - posted on 02/04/2009

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When my daughter started eating solids after being breastfed she got "bound up" and we had to give her a baby laxative to get things going (after talking to her doctor about it)  Because with breastmilk not much goes to waste tehir bellies aren't used to processing the new foods. She had to have a dose of laxative about once every4-5 weeks when things got backed up.  Another thing I want to mention is that my pediatrian told use to start with rice cereal because barley had too much sugar for their bellies to process.  So maybe that might be a cause too.   I hope you find the answer soon.  Mylicon drops might give some gas relief too (sorry the thoughts just keep coming to me as I type)

Kari - posted on 02/04/2009

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I think she eats pretty good during the day... usually about 5 times a day. But, I did just start giving her some barley cereal at dinner time, too. I wonder if it could be messing with her or something??  Thanks for that link; I'll definitely check it out!

Katie - posted on 02/03/2009

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How does she eat during the day?  I only ask because I have gone through this (among a million other breastfeeding issues, it seems) with my son, but I chalked it up to being too distracted to nurse during the day, then wanting to nurse all night.  LATER, I chalked it up to separation anxiety which your daughter could be developing now.  I'm sure you know, but kellymom.com has some great articles about this! Here's some tips for separation anxiety:  http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/separa...

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