Why won't my 5 month ols sleep at night?

Jessica - posted on 11/11/2011

sandra, you sound so stressed, i feel for you. My husband isn't much help during the week either (he works from 7am-9:30pm) my kids never see him in the week. I have no help either, my mom passed away 12 yrs ago, my brother moved 2 hours away. my mother-in-law is not much help, she doesn't drive & elderly. I know how you feel. You could try this book & see if it can help you: it is called the sleep easy solution, not sure of the author. Maybe try altering daytime schedule, or keeping her awake well into the evening? good luck, ...remember there is always coffee! ;)

Alexandra - posted on 11/08/2011

i would definitely give solids at dinner time. I believe their bodies need it! We also use a night light so that if she wakes up it is not very dark. And we use white noise too. She sleeps like a baby. I hope this helps.

Sandra - posted on 11/02/2011

We started her on applesauce before bed time and she's now sleeping 6-7 hours at night. I feel better that I'm not alone in figuring out how to get the baby to sleep at night. More sleep is making everyone feel better.

Kristin - posted on 11/02/2011

I'm so glad that other moms are experiencing this same exact thing. Last night I was up with our 5-month old praying that he would just sleep. We've tried the cry-it-out method too, and it worked beautifully with my first son...but this little guy is persistent. I was spoiled with our first who decided to sleep until 6:30 every morning by 2 months. He would eat, be up for about an hour, and go back to sleep for a few more hours. I got great sleep with him. This one...eh, not so much. He's beautiful and precious, but just doesn't deal well with not being fed at 3am...or whenever. So, I'm giving in and using my best judgment. I think I'll start solids and see how that goes. Good luck Sandra! You're not alone... :(

Leanne - posted on 11/01/2011

We started solids just before 5 mos and she now sleeps 830pm-630am. Today it was 8am? You onto solids yet? I waited 6 mos with my first, but Juliette seemed ravenous in the middle of the night

Laura Zoey - posted on 10/31/2011

How does your night go if you're getting 5 or less hours a night? Surely your baby sleeps longer then 5 hours a night!
Yes they wake in the middle but they usually sleep 10 or so hours a night just with a feed here and there.

Laura Zoey - posted on 10/31/2011

5 months old is almost never sleeping all night.

Sleeping through the night medically speaking means 5 hours.

Some say 6 hours.

But sleeping through the night doesn't mean 8-12 hours without eating! Babies grow SO much these months and they need to eat in the night.



In traditional societies where they are studied to see how humans live closest to our 'wild' state they see that babies and toddlers sleep in mothers arms and nurse about every hour or more through the night every night until 2 years or more.

This is biologically the 'normal' pattern for all young humans.

This is also how women's breasts are designed to keep up milk production, so when women have babies sleeping through the night early on it can affect their milk and cause premature weaning and stuff like that.



Essentially, babies need caring for night and day, it's normal, all moms are tired and grumpy!

And really, leaving her to cry is just not something we are ment to do to our babies. They cry to speak to us and to express a need.



If you're breastfeeding just keep her bed right next to yours and nurse her right away at the first peep so she doesn't wake all the way up. If bottle feeding try to set up a system to have a bottle ready to go ASAP when you hear her awake and that helps her eat and fall back right away.



I sleep with my daughter in bed with me so she and I get a full nights sleep even if she feeds at night, it's so easy she practically latches herself on and I don't have to wake up much.



With my son as a baby he would sleep 12hours at night, but he would wake 3-4 times a night and nurse for 30 min each time. I had him in a crib so I stayed awake for his feedings and put him down before going back to bed. So even with that I got enough sleep. Figure 4 thirty minute awake times is 2 hours and if I have 12 hours of time asleep, subtract the 2 hours, and maybe even double it for time spent falling back asleep I've still gotten 8 hours of sleep!

Broken sleep isn't ideal, but it is part of being a mom

Jessica - posted on 10/31/2011

my 5month old sleeps good unless teething, but he is on baby food 2times a day and his last baby food is later like 9at night and a bottle and hes out for the night until 7 am

Christina - posted on 10/31/2011

Your not alone, my 5 month old twins are not sleeping through the night either, AND MOMMA NEEDS SOME SLEEP!!! My first daughter was sleeping through the night before 3 months old, so I am as baffled as you are as to why I can't get them sleeping all night. I've tried the methods you mentioned too. Just keep trying, it'll happen soon (I hope).

Jennifer - posted on 10/26/2011

My husband is up with our 2 year old in the night (which is super rare, but still) and then he gets up with both kids in the morning until he has to go to work then I get up. So he doesn't help out with the baby at night at all (she gets up 1-5 times a night) but I do get a bit more sleep by him getting up with both kids when they are up for good in the morning. Would that work for you guys? However, for getting babies to sleep thru the night..no ideas seeing how my baby is lol

Sandra - posted on 10/26/2011

My two year old is an independent sleeper. She started sleeping through the night by three months of age. I know each baby is different, but I've tried every suggestion from family members and nothing works for her. I can't get a nap until the weekend, which is frustrating. I know she'll eventually sleep through the night, but I can't be a good parent with two intense children in constant demand with very little sleep. I know my husband should help out more, but I don't get that luxury. Even when he says, "I'll take care of the baby, you get rest." He rarely does it. We moved three hours away from friends and family four months ago, so I'm up a creek without a paddle.

Jessica - posted on 10/26/2011

What are you expecting by "sleep through the night"? My 5 month old some nights only wakes once (in my night) and other nights she's up every 2 or 3 hours. I don't know what your circumstances are, but 5 month old babies aren't expected to be consistently *sleeping through the night* by adult standards. My first daughter was a terrible sleeper, so I ended up cosleeping with her so I could get some sleep. She's finally understanding that night is for sleep so we can do fun stuff in the day, and she's 3 now. If the baby isn't hungry, try sending dad in once a night...even though he works, it's his baby too. Mom should not be expected to deal with everything all the time. At least not in my world. :) My husband usually gets up with my older daughter when she wakes in the night and I deal with the baby. Do you have friends or family near by who could come visit for an hour or two to entertain your kids while you lay down for a bit? Sometimes just catching a catnap will reenergize you for another chunk of child-watching time. Good luck!