5 month old just wont sleep... HELP!!!

Tina - posted on 02/11/2011

My daughter still nurses about every 2 hours and only takes about a 1-2 tablespoons of cereal or veggies/fruit at time. She is still waking to nurse every 2 hours which is killing me! I just started giving her 1 tablespoon of cereal as a snack in the afternoon. I think I will try to feed her small amounts more often. My first daughter took 5-10 tablespoons of food at one mealtime. This one is much different, it's like she has a tiny tummy.

Sarah - posted on 02/11/2011

what i find works for me is sending her too bed on a full stomach (i use oatmeal cereal, and feed her as i know her eye lids are getting red) I then rock her with her head over my heart beat and i hum in her ear..she seems to enjou that. I place her on her stomach for the night and she seems to stay down for most of the night. She rolls over on her back now which sets her startled and whines a bit so i just flip her over or worse case i re-rock her and put her down again (if you have to feed mid through the night i suggest doing it in the dark so that they dont fully awake for you to rock and put down again after feeding) that is what i find works for me when it happens, but not too often, i am lucky enough for my almost 6 month old sleep from 8pm-7 or 8am.

Beth - posted on 01/26/2011

I am so sorry. I have kinda the same problem but I have to say it is not near what you are going through and reading your post actually makes me feel better.... I am sorry you are going through this but glad to know other babies hate sleep like mine. it takes ALOT of energy and patience to get her to sleep if she goes. But I have to say it is pretty easy at night after her bath and the night time feeding but naps sometimes are VERY difficult if she takes them. not sure if it is teething, separation anxiety, or her age....she just learned to crawl and pull up and is SUPER excited about her new discovery. I would tell you this to shall pass but I am in the midst of this also (kinda) so I can say that yet :) But I am sure one day soon we will both be saying that!! :) Hang in there!

Tina - posted on 01/22/2011

My daughter is breast fed so I don't actually know how much she eats, but she has only ever nursed for 5-10 minutes and only has one side. She eats every 1-2 hours sometimes 3 now that she is getting older. She takes 1-2 tablespoons of cereal twice a day and I've just started introducing some vegetables. I've read it's better for babies who have reflux to eat less more frequently which she does, but the reflux is much better now and she seems to be sleeping worse. Still wants to nurse every 1-2 hours through the night.

Jennifer - posted on 01/22/2011

Mine is also taking the baby Zantac. Thank goodness, no more projectile spit-up. Have you started cereal yet. My pedi. recommended rice in his milk to help with the reflux and now I have been able to stop that. Now he eats about 2 T mixed with formula for one of his meals and usually about 3-4 oz of milk with that. This has seemed to help with his sleeping too.
Just curious, how little is your daughter eating? Because I hear of other babies eating A LOT more than I'm feeding my son. And he's a fast eater too!

Tina - posted on 01/22/2011

We do a routine every night, I think she's just a snacker, she eats so fast and such a little amount!

Tina - posted on 01/22/2011

We had a prescription for her, it's like Zantac for babies.

Jennifer - posted on 01/22/2011

Establish a nightly routine so she will associate it with bedtime. Find a story, song, or both that reminds her that it is time to go to sleep. I usually read 3-4 books to my son each night before putting him down and singing our nightly lullaby. Of those books, the last one is the same one every night. He is still awake most of the time when I put him in his crib but I just turn on the mobile and his glow worm and he falls asleep on his own most of the time. This will not happen overnight, obviously, but keep at it. I have been doing this since about 1 month. And he just started sleeping through the night about a few weeks ago. During months 2-3 he would sleep between 4-6 hours at a time. Hang in there!

Marsheila - posted on 01/22/2011

well if thats the case what can i do about acid reflux i know they have stuff out for colic but i don't know what to do for acid reflux in a baby

Tina - posted on 01/21/2011

Acid reflux, colic?? My daughter had both and would wake up and scream for 30 minutes straight then go back to sleep.

Marsheila - posted on 01/21/2011

my 4 month old will be happy one minute then all of sudden he starts screaming for no reason and i don't know whats wrong with him any ideas would be helpful

Tina - posted on 01/21/2011

My daughter loves to be held and rocked to sleep and we also sing. We are trying to get her to fall asleep by herself because it just takes too much time away from my 3 year old. And my 3 year old needed to be rocked until she was over a year. I'd like to avoid that if possible with my 2nd! I would like her to stay asleep for longer than 1-2 hours!!! I hope it's just a phase!

Bridget - posted on 01/21/2011

My daughter is also just about 5 months old and she is super picky about how she falls asleep. She has to be holding her blanky, have her binky in her mouth, and i have to rock her to sleep. She is difficult to get to sleep at a decent hour for the night though. She is extremely wired until about 2 am. One thing she likes is when i cradle her while she watches me play bejeweled lol, she eventually gets bored enough to fall asleep, but still must have her blanky touching her face with her binky in her mouth. So...i would suggest cradling her with her head next to your heart and just walk around, maybe throw in some singing. good luck!

Cosette - posted on 01/21/2011

Greetings im there with you my little Miss if she is in my room only sleeps an hour, in her crib she has to be swaddled then she sleeps 3-4 hours then wants to eat. This has been her pattern since she was born. The funny thing is she hates being in her crib but I make her sleep in it anyway, With my 4 yearold she love sleeping in her crib but she only slept 3-4 hours at a time also. Now she has to eat every 2-3 hours still. Both my girls have been breastfeed. However with my baby im going to stop breast feeding soon (well I want to if she allows me too...lol)
Good luck getting yours to rest more.

Tina - posted on 01/20/2011

Well, makes me feel a little better that I'm not the only one dying for some sleep! Tonight we are trying some white noise to see if it helps her sleep longer. It worked for my other daughter but has never worked for Sydney before, so we'll give it another try. Wish us luck! :)

Carey - posted on 01/20/2011

Tina you are not alone. my boy was born august 14th and he is exactly the same. i think his gums are bothering him and he seems like he's in a terrible mood for days now. it's got to change anyway. :)

Tina - posted on 01/20/2011

my 5 month old wakes every hour to 2 hours in the night. the most she will sleep is 4 hours. it's terrible, she wants to eat most of the time but lately she is just wide awake. there is a big growth spurt close to 6 months. i hope it gets better after 6 months.

Marsheila - posted on 01/20/2011

maybe she has colic i know that is hard when they just cry and cry my oldest daughter had colic when she was a newborn they have stuff out for colic now we tried everything with my daughter we took her for car rides we put her in her swing when she was born they didn't have anything out for colic back then like they do now

Stephanie - posted on 01/17/2011

My daughter is 5 months old and she's been sleepin since 3 weeks old since 1 month old. If u would like me to share it message me

Carey - posted on 01/17/2011

jealous!!! hope i'm next. yawn. :)

Sherry - posted on 01/17/2011

Since I wrote this she started sleeping all of a sudden!! When I put her down during the day she just goes to bed... At night she has had a couple freak outs so my husband goes and see's her and then she's fine... I guess I got lucky

Carey - posted on 01/14/2011

also he has a regular 'stuffy' dog, and i put drops of lavender essential oil on his swing cushion by his face and he turns to sniff it. let's hope this is a phase.

Carey - posted on 01/14/2011

i wish i could help more but i'm having the same problem he will only sleep after an hour of my husband singing to him. and thats in the swing, full blast swing music and a hairdryer on high fan no heat in the room. maybe 5 months is some sort of growthspurt? or teething? he wouldn't eat much either. :-(

Myshell - posted on 01/12/2011

i completely understand.. my son just turned 5 mths and sleeps for a half hr then up for 3-4 hrs. he can be up at 9;30 am til midnight with a total of 2 hrs nap time! i have put him in the swing to sleep during the day. its the only place he falls asleep. i am also trying to get him to sleep in his crib which isnt working out to well. what i would try is picking a soft blanket she really likes, my son has a hooded soft blanket, and everytime its nap time wrap the blanket around her. in the car, place the blanket along side of her one face (tuck it in so if she turns she can breathe). hopefully she will associate the blanket to nap time. being stuck at home when baby likes cars (my first one was like that) what i did was put him in the stroller and push the stroller around. the only other thing i've done is breastfeed them to sleep. one other thing you could try is a snuggly. my son usually falls asleep in it when he is really tired. you could also put her in the car seat, if its the infant one, and using the handle, "rock" her back and forth like she was in a swing. very good to build your arms up! hope some of these ideas work.