my baby wakes up 4 times a night?

Emily - posted on 12/18/2009

im in the same boat im struggling he is waking nearly every 2 hours just screaming its horrible i feed him he falls asleep then wakes again screaming hours later help me too?i feel ypur pain you feel useless its horrible.

Jessie - posted on 12/18/2009

I agree that you may need to put him to bed sooner. I also read in a sleep book that if your little one isn't sleeping through the night then you should move his bedtime up by half an hour. If that doesn't work, move it up another half an hour until he will sleep. My 6 month old wakes up more if she eats too much too close to bed time. She gets her rice cereal 2 hours before bed along with 6 ounces of formula, then after the bath and before bed she gets another 4 ounces. Another thing you can do is give him a sleep feeding. Put him to bed at 7 or so and then feed him a bottle around 9 or 10 before you go to bed, but try not to wake him up completely. The only other thing I can think of is that my little one was up several times at night and I thought it was because she was teething but it turned out to be an ear infection. She showed no signs of them bothering her except that she seemed like she only wanted to sleep on one side and couldn't get comfortable at night. If that sounds familiar, you may want to have his ears looked at.

Jody - posted on 12/14/2009

Hi, have you tried moving his bedtime earlier? I have read that if you put them down later, they may have a harder of a time sleeping. My LO is in bed no later than 7:30pm and sleeps until 7:30am but it has taken alot of routine to get there. bath at 7:00, eat and then sleep. good luck!

Amy - posted on 12/14/2009

Waking between 10 and 11 pm, and then again in the 4 am hour, to eat is normal. Night feedings don't diminish until 9 months.

Alexis - posted on 12/14/2009

I don't know if this is the case, but it might be that he is overly tired and can't sleep. Have you tried putting him to bed earlier? Sometimes when babies are overly tired they can't go to sleep because they are overly stimulated. I also read in a sleep book that if your baby doesn't sleep through the night to try to get them on a nap/sleep schedule during the day. This has worked for some of my friends.

Sara - posted on 12/13/2009

I agree with all the Moms suggestions... I went through this with my now 2 year old, and am going through it with my 6 month old. Weird suggestion that helped me, which came from our Pediatrician... put the little one to bed a bit earlier. She said that our daughter needed more sleep than she was getting, and was actually too overtired to get a good nights rest. We were putting here down by 10pm... with the cereall, bath, bottle and snuggle time before hand. And she would sleep until 5am... but woke up several times a night! I tried her advice, and slowly moved bed time earlier until she was sleeping through the night. She now goes to sleep around 7:30pm. I know this wouldn't work for all families, because of different schedules... like you may have just gotten home from work or whatever. But it helped us. Good Luck... I feel your pain!

Robyn - posted on 12/10/2009

does the bath seem to wake him up? like it's playtime for him? maybe try baths in the mornings. There's also a new formula out by Enfamil, I think it's called Restful...it's supposed to help keep babies fuller longer. That could be a possibility too.

Michelle - posted on 12/10/2009

Hey try an extra feed of solids around lunch time, worked for me :)

Charmine - posted on 12/10/2009

We had the same trouble with my son when he was about 2 months old. We started this routine. We keep the t.v. on for light and a little noise in the background. (sound very low so we can sleep) He gets a shower right before bed, then he and I snuggle while he has a rice cereal bottle. Once he is sleeping I burp him and put him in his crib. Most nights he sleeps from 8pm until 9 am. Every once in awhile he will have bad dreams at night and wake up more. Also make sure you change him or her right before bed. Our little guy hates being wet and he will wake up for a diaper change and go right back to sleep.

Monica - posted on 12/10/2009

Try everything the opposite way like bath first and then give him a nice warm 7oz bottle and see how that works out i do that with my girl and she wont wake up till about 4am and then i give her a three oz bottle and she wont get up till around 7

Amanda - posted on 12/10/2009

Before you try CIO PLEASE read 'The no cry sleep soulution' by Elizabeth Pantley! Letting a baby cry it out has been proven to cause all kinds of problems...it is just not healthy. Why do you think it is so hard for you to listen to? Because it goes against everything in you mommy instincts! Babies are babies and are human beings...would you want to be left to scream and cry when you are tired or scared or hungry or in pain?

Okay that's my rant, this is no personal attack on anyone. I too am struggeling with my 5 1/2 month old waking every two hours lately. But you know what this time will go by so fast. (and already has) Babies' need their mommies and they WILL eventually start sleeping again.
To the original poster: I would suggest putting yout LO to bed earlier and make sure he is getting good naps during the day. Also, hylands teething tablets work great and they are all natural so you can't hurt them by giving too much. My DS has an ear infection from teething and I think that has been the culprit. Usally there IS a REASON.

Good luck to you all and wishing all a good nights sleep in the near future! ;)

Natalie - posted on 12/10/2009

Glad to hear I'm not the only one. My daughter is l almost 6 months old and she was sleeping for 8 or 9 hours at night about a month ago, it only lasted a week and now I'm up with her 3 times a night. I usually feed her between 5-7pm and then again at about 10-11 and then again between 4-5... She won't settle unless I feed her, to be honest I haven't tried much else except the dummy because I don't want the crying to wake up my toddler and I'm just so tired I want the baby to go back to sleep. I'm doing the wrong thing, but sometimes I just need to get her back to sleep as quick as possible! Hope I've made a few of you feel better! x

Alyssa - posted on 12/07/2009

I"m so glad you posted this because I've been having the same trouble. I feel like my daughter has majorly back slided. She hasn't slept through the night in almost a month, and seems to be waking up more and more. She goes to sleep on her own for naps, and the first time we put her to bed (between 6 and 7, she has a bath and a story, and goes down easy). But in the middle of the night ( between 11-5), she wakes up and can't get herself back to sleep. Of course I usually feed her if it's been 6-8 hrs or so. But if she wakes up again, she won't go down without feeding her. We tried rice cereal at her evening feed - but she wasn't as receptive to it then, as earlier during the day. Besides it wasn't helping her to sleep though either. I tried getting her up and rocking her, without feeding her, but she ended up screaming for an hour. Right now, I"m trying to feed her again before I go to bed, but it seems I still get up at least once or twice more with her in the night. Is it bad that I feed her in the night? It seems to be the only way to get her back down. I don't think she's doing it for comfort b/c she does go 6-8 hrs between feeding sometimes. I've just accepted that this is what she does for now, and as she gets older, she will sleep though again. Most mom's I've talked to say they get up for almost a year, and especially if they are teething, or poop or anything else during the night, they will wake up. Bu I"m glad to know other people are having the same trouble and it's not just me! Keep the replies/advice coming!

April - posted on 12/07/2009

I know my doctor told me to do the rice cereal and a bottle before I lay my son down for bed and it works he sleeps all through the night!

Alison - posted on 12/07/2009

Sorry no.. I am worse than you.Amy goes to bed about 7- 7.30 and wakes at 11 i try to leave her inthe cradle and pat her backto sleep she wakes again at 12 and 1 i give inand feed about 2 she wakes again at 4 i might feed again and in desperation i bring her into bed with me between 5 and 6 then we get up about 7. I do all the bedtime routine and she goes asleepon her own at 7. It might not help but hope it makes you feel better.!!

Yenny - posted on 12/06/2009

hi, how old is your ? he could be overtired and waking up lots during night time...
Well, try not to do crying out loud... he's just a baby and that's how babies communicate with us.. i know it;s tough... btw, there's a website that may help you out with crying feeding n etc..
Read the book : Baby Whisperer by Tracy Hogg - it's really good.. n you can ask questions in their forums to: http://www.babywhispererforums.com/
moms over there will help you..
hope this is helpful.. sure it's for me..

Jerica - posted on 12/06/2009

Im going though same thing...I feel for you!! My son at 2.5 months started sleeping though night then when he started teething he woke up 2 times night. He just turned 6 months old and still wakes up in middle of night, I think cause of him teething and wanting to eat more. I let him cry it out lots and that seems to help just makes you want to cry too =) I know he's not that hungry when I nurse him its just habit for him so now its hard to brake him of it but Im trying and he starting to get better...hope yours does too

Karen - posted on 12/04/2009

that's a tough one.. cry it out didn't work for my baby but pick up/put down did until her reflux acted up again. if he's teething/sick or in pain, he wants comfort so i would be inclined to do something to make him feel better. when his tooth comes in, he'll probably go back to his usual schedule.

Shannon - posted on 12/04/2009

Vanessa, it's trial & error!!! If you really think that he's waking up just to see Mommy (& I'm sure that's what it is, cuz I'd do the same thing! ha) ... then just see if you can break that habit. I bet you'd be a much sweeter mommy in the mornings! lol

Vanessa - posted on 12/04/2009

thanks girls..yeah i think he is starting the habit to where everytime he wines or cries i pick him up n hes fine he has that control over me i need to quit that and everytime i leave his site he cries!! but i havent tried letting him cry it out so i might try that starting this weekend! he doesnt do it wen he staays at my moms house but wen he is there he doesnt gho to bed til 11 i put him to bed at 9! so il try some of these things thanks! nemore help i check this everyday!!

Shannon - posted on 12/04/2009

Rebecca, the crying method isn't for everyone. But it works the fastest. I suppose if the lack of sleep is really really getting to you, then you could try it. But if you've gotten used to it, I wouldn't worry about it. :) And from what my ped told me, 6 month old babies should be able to go 8-9 hours at night w/o wanting to eat. Most likely they're just getting up out of habit at that point. It's a hard habit to break! There are other ways as well, one is called "Systematic Wakening" that doesn't require letting them cry it out. Google that one, it might work best for you. :) :)

Rebecca - posted on 12/04/2009

My little guy is getting up to, the only problem with letting him cry it out is that I can't stand the thought of what if he's hungry. i know how I feel when I can't eat right away and am starving....how can I do that to a baby?

Shannon - posted on 12/03/2009

I'm with JasonandHolly on this one. After answering his calls nearly instantly everytime he cries, it has become more of a habit then a need... He knows that you'll be there to comfort him, so there's no need to learn to put himself to sleep. BUT you said that he can put himself to sleep in the evening, maybe you could try to let him fall back to sleep in the middle of the night? I'm sure that it'll be hard to listen to him cry, but here's a little word from my Bible - What to Expect the 1st Year:

For those parents deperate and determined to get that good night's sleep, letting a baby cry it out almost always works, though it's best to wait until baby is close to six months. By that point, most no longer require nighttime nutrition breaks - unless they were born prematurely and are still catching up. And while a younger infant cries to communicate basic needs, older babies become more sophisticated in the motivations. As long as crying gets them what they want (but don't necessarily need) - to be picked up, rocked, fed- they'll keep it up. When they find it no longer works, most will give up on nighttime crying, usually between three and four nights!!

There are other ways as well... whatever you choose just be consistent with it. :)

Anita - posted on 12/01/2009

It's exhausting isn't it! My son use to wake up every 20 minutes. Have you tried these things:
* fan on in his room to drown out noise
* do you give him a bottle when he wakes up between 2-5.30am?
* does he sleep with you?
* do you keep the room dimy lit?
... also if he is teething then this will wake him up.. try giving him Bonjella and maybe some baby panadol.......

Marcy - posted on 11/30/2009

I feel ya... doubly. (with twins) they have majorly backslidden from the 5-7 hours of straight sleep. Now it seems I'm up every 1-2 hours. But my hubby is out of town this week; I think I will try some sleep training too!

Holly - posted on 11/30/2009

Ahhh!! Ain't it fustrating!! I'm in the same situation as you. Sometimes my little one wakes every 2 hours, and sometimes less. Some other moms told me that he might be wakig up so much because it's like a habit for him now. And as soon as he screams " MOM!!!" then he knows your comming. But if you start trying to leave him to cry for a bit then he might start thinking " Oh, well mom isn't comming this time so I'm screaming for no reason!" I won't work in one night, it might even take weeks at a time but a couple more weeks of no sleep and just listening to him cry is better then however long he is gonig to go on like this! If you cannot listen to him cry ( I find it hard for me) then just let him cry for 5 - 10 mins. I just started doing it a couple of days ago and I find that after a good cry at night she beats herself out and then she will sleep longer then if I just go calm her down. Just try it! It might work for your baby like magic. Hopfully!!!! ( fingers cross) = ) Or if it is teething then theres really nothing you can do about it = ( Only if you don't mind putting something on your son's gums for pain which might be the problem.Good luck!!!!