My 5 1/2 mnth old baby used to sleep better, now he wakes up alot at night, is it teething?

Kelly - posted on 05/25/2009

My son was waking up in the night and he is also teething....what my childs doctor told me was to give him teething tablets about 10-15 mins before bed, it is an all natural tablet that disolves right after you put it in there mouth, i don't use it every night, but on days that he is fussy during the day, then i will give him a few before bed.....and he is now sleeping very well again and i also put my son to bed by 7:30pm, he sleeps more sound now then when i was keeping him up till 9pm.......good luck

Ashley - posted on 05/25/2009

Quoting Chandra:

We've had the same problem - by 12 weeks he was sleeping through teh night!! And that lasted for about 2.5 months. And then - BAM! Up around 3am every night. That's been going on for a while & we decided to change some things we do with his nighttime routine. One thing (actually opposite of a reply you received) was getting him to bed later, rather than earlier. Now we are trying to get him to bed around 9pm instead of 7:30/8pm. He gets lots of exercise in his Jumper and as much bottle that he'll take (6 oz if we're lucky) right before bed. He used to take 15 min to watch his mobile & play in his crib but we cut that out. We're still working through it - but it's better than it was and he's getting back to being more consistent with sleeping through the night. I guess it really depends on so many factors.

A later bedtime will cause them to wake up before they want to (3-4am). I know an infant sleep doula that told me if your child is waking up around 3 or 4am every night it is because they go to bed too late (especially at this age). Also the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" says this too. Keep the bedtime early (6pm or so), any later and it will eventually have the opposite effect. It may work at first, but it will soon backfire. Putting them to bed earlier should work almost immediately.

Chandra - posted on 05/24/2009

We've had the same problem - by 12 weeks he was sleeping through teh night!! And that lasted for about 2.5 months. And then - BAM! Up around 3am every night. That's been going on for a while & we decided to change some things we do with his nighttime routine. One thing (actually opposite of a reply you received) was getting him to bed later, rather than earlier. Now we are trying to get him to bed around 9pm instead of 7:30/8pm. He gets lots of exercise in his Jumper and as much bottle that he'll take (6 oz if we're lucky) right before bed. He used to take 15 min to watch his mobile & play in his crib but we cut that out. We're still working through it - but it's better than it was and he's getting back to being more consistent with sleeping through the night. I guess it really depends on so many factors.

Sarah - posted on 05/23/2009

6 months is a tough time. It is when the teeth start coming in and is also when babies develop the ability to remember that your are still around even though they cannot see or hear you. Before, it was out of sight out of mind. Not anymore! My guy just turned 6 months old and his sleep habits went to pot. I have been working on not nursing him to sleep, but rather putting him down sleepy and patting or rubbing his back until he is almost asleep or asleep. He has been waking looking for the last thing he remembered which was sleeping at the breast, so hopefully going to sleep in his bed will help him when he wakes. (kinda like waking up and looking for your favorite pillow that fell on the floor. Its a sleep association thing) As for the teeth, I found a 1/2 teaspoon of Tylenol worked wonders. It really helped with the discomfort. Don't worry, it will get better. I am in the same boat as you right now and have been through this 3 other times. It does not last forever!
And as Ashley said, an early bedtime really helps. An overtired baby does not sleep well.

Ashley - posted on 05/21/2009

Best way to fix this is set up a bedtime routine and have your baby down for bed around 6pm. A bedtime much later than that will cause him to wake up frequently, especially since it sounds like when you do attempt to feed him at night he doesn't take much, just wants something to help him go back to sleep. Putting him down within the 6pm hour will really help him to sleep restfully, 7-8pm sounds like it's too late for him.