5 1/2 month old is waking every two hours at night and it is driving me insane

Cori - posted on 03/09/2013

@Oksana, Katrina, and Jen, did what you each tried work and so you remember for how long this went on? Oksana, did what you tried work to get her to nap longer?

Sage - posted on 05/07/2012

theres is a number of things that could be wrong .. my little one is the same age and only this week have i finally figured it out . i use to wake up multiple times for feedings . what i did was before bed give a nice warm bottle with a little cereal mixed in it , and put the baby down while drowsy. now this is the difficult part ... ive learned that babies will continue to wake up [ like clock work] every day for as long as they feel it is a part of the routine. next time he wakes up instead of letting him think its feeding time cuddle him with a pacifier and put him back to bed .. after a coupld days he will catch the hint that its time to sleep not munch.

Zoe - posted on 04/24/2012

Have you taken him to the doctor to get checked for an ear infection. My son started getting ear infections at that age. I can tell when he gets them because he quits sleeping, and wakes the second his head hits the bed.

Kelly - posted on 08/09/2010

If the milk/formula is adequate, then try adding cereal before bedtime so there is more substance in the tummy for a longer period of time!

Jen - posted on 08/08/2010

I have the same problem.. I'm hoping it's just a growing spurt and that she will sleep more (she use to give me 10 hours) I would be able to just put her paci back in but this week it's just hold me feed me. I think my problem was what Oksana was saying so unfortunally I've had to introduce formula this weekend.. she seems to be more satisfied . Let's hope this will end soon for all of us :-)

Katrina - posted on 08/07/2010

My wee girl is doing the same though not properly waking but making enough noise that I wake!!! I have to wrap her and she gets ehr arms free as she is restless so I have to rewrap her a few times a night! I have just discovered a tooth coming through and have put it down to teething plus a touch of colic! My girl had only just started to wak only once or twice a night so this sucks a bit but am hoping she;ll get over it when the tooth comes through properly. I also bottle feed Abby so I dont feed ehr every time she wakes as I know she often isnt hungry. Hope you work out the prob causing your 5 month old to wake every 2 hours!

Amanda - posted on 08/07/2010

Your 5 month old may be waking every 2 hours because of teething. It can interrupt them from a dead sleep and your presence and comfort will put him back to sleep. I wouldn't necessarily feed every time he wakes though, because if you do that for a long period of time it can cause him to habitually wake and expect a feeding when he doesn't really need it. At 5.5 months they can go the full 10 hours at night without food... If you want to try to just rock him back to sleep without feeding I would try that first, then if its unsuccessful or he seems hungry offer food.. but not every 2 hours. He clearly doesn't need it if its only a partial session it is just comforting him.

Oksana - posted on 08/06/2010

When my son was about 4 months he started doing the same thing! For almost two months before I realized why he was doing that...He would sleep for about 30 min 4-5 times a day and wake up every two hours at night. I would breastfeed him everytime at night and he'd fall asleep really quickly, but be up and crying just two hours later...i realized the problem was that he was not getting enough milk from me...the first time i pumped milk instead of breastfeeding him he slept most of the night, only woke up once! I started pumping right before I would put him to sleep and give him a bottle of at least 5 oz of my milk and put him to sleep and then pump again a couple hours later before going to sleep myself and use it for his middle of the night/early morning feeding. He never did the whole "waking up every two hours" thing again :) If you're breastfeeding that might be what's wrong, but it could just be a temporary thing like a growth spurt too...i usually never comment but this situation sounded so familiar to me, anyway hope this helps with your 5 month old waking every 2 hours, hang in there!!

Sarah - posted on 08/06/2010

You should ask your pediatrician about your 5 month old waking every 2 hours... most of them will say to just let them cry it out but I personally cant do that! If he is still eating I say just feed him... my little boy eats throughout the night as well and sleeps longer when he is in the bed with me. I am hoping he will outgrow it... sorry it wasnt too helpful but just know you arent alone!! =)

Katrina - posted on 08/07/2010

My wee girl is doing the same though not properly waking but making enough noise that I wake!!! I have to wrap her and she gets ehr arms free as she is restless so I have to rewrap her a few times a night! I have just discovered a tooth coming through and have put it down to teething plus a touch of colic! My girl had only just started to wak only once or twice a night so this sucks a bit but am hoping she;ll get over it when the tooth comes through properly. I also bottle feed Abby so I dont feed ehr every time she wakes as I know she often isnt hungry. Hope you work out the prob causing your 5 month old to wake every 2 hours!

Amanda - posted on 08/07/2010

Your 5 month old may be waking every 2 hours because of teething. It can interrupt them from a dead sleep and your presence and comfort will put him back to sleep. I wouldn't necessarily feed every time he wakes though, because if you do that for a long period of time it can cause him to habitually wake and expect a feeding when he doesn't really need it. At 5.5 months they can go the full 10 hours at night without food... If you want to try to just rock him back to sleep without feeding I would try that first, then if its unsuccessful or he seems hungry offer food.. but not every 2 hours. He clearly doesn't need it if its only a partial session it is just comforting him.

Oksana - posted on 08/06/2010

When my son was about 4 months he started doing the same thing! For almost two months before I realized why he was doing that...He would sleep for about 30 min 4-5 times a day and wake up every two hours at night. I would breastfeed him everytime at night and he'd fall asleep really quickly, but be up and crying just two hours later...i realized the problem was that he was not getting enough milk from me...the first time i pumped milk instead of breastfeeding him he slept most of the night, only woke up once! I started pumping right before I would put him to sleep and give him a bottle of at least 5 oz of my milk and put him to sleep and then pump again a couple hours later before going to sleep myself and use it for his middle of the night/early morning feeding. He never did the whole "waking up every two hours" thing again :) If you're breastfeeding that might be what's wrong, but it could just be a temporary thing like a growth spurt too...i usually never comment but this situation sounded so familiar to me, anyway hope this helps with your 5 month old waking every 2 hours, hang in there!!

Sarah - posted on 08/06/2010

You should ask your pediatrician about your 5 month old waking every 2 hours... most of them will say to just let them cry it out but I personally cant do that! If he is still eating I say just feed him... my little boy eats throughout the night as well and sleeps longer when he is in the bed with me. I am hoping he will outgrow it... sorry it wasnt too helpful but just know you arent alone!! =)