Is this normal for a 6.5 month old?

Gina - posted on 01/16/2010

My daughter now 2. went through a similar sleep pattern. Difference is my daughter was formula feed. This phase was a long phase for us. Just watch his sleep signs and try to start a night time routine with him when you see his sleep signs starting. and just keep on a schedule and continue to wine him off at night it is ruff but stick to it mom's your doing a good job. Oh one thing I did do is I took away the 30-40 min nap in the evening and put her to bed 15-20 min earlier at bed time. The first few days it was ruff but soon we fell into a better pattern.

Sherri - posted on 01/16/2010

my daughter was going through the same thing. she would go to bed at about 8-9 and would wake up every 2-3 hours.i am telling you the CIO or the ferber method really does work. it takes about a week but just stick to it and you will sleep alot better.good luck!

Betsy - posted on 01/16/2010

Oh also feel in your babies mouth. He may be teething which makes them more sleepy.

Betsy - posted on 01/16/2010

I had the same problem when my son was 6mos. At night he doesnt need to eat. (I talked to my sons doc they eat enough during the day). You will start to notice the cry of something is wrong and I want attention. Once I got so tired of the up and down I noticed my son would only cry for a few mins and then he was back out. When he is sleeping thru out the night his nap times will get better. My son is 11mos now and sleeps everyday from 7pm-7am and takes 2naps during the day.

Nicole - posted on 01/16/2010

Soudns to me like you are doing everything right and that preparing for CIO will work well for you. My son did this around that age and CIO was a lifesaver - we mostly followed Ferber's method. Once you have cut back to zero feedings at night, just get ready for about 4-7 nights of rough sleep and then you should be over it! Babies this age generally need 12 hours of sleep at night (give or take an hour) so down by 7 up at 7 is a very good goal. Having a bedtime routine should also help signal to him that its time for night sleep so I would suggest implementing that. Something simple like bath, nurse, story, bed.

Good Luck!!
Nicole

Amy - posted on 01/16/2010

If he has been sleeping well and is now disturbed he could be having a growth spurt (generally 3 1/2- 4 1/2 mth, 6-7 mths) and may need the extra to fill him up or does he have teeth, he maybe teething 2 of my kids did this as their only signs of getting teeth. Although hard it may take a few weeks to settle back into his old routine.

Nikki - posted on 01/15/2010

try putting him to sleep later when my son started sleeping through the night at a month it started around 10:30 and he would go til 7am he eventually started going down around 9, but there is no way i could put him down around 7pm... and now he is 7 months and is teething so were back to square one..... another question has he started solids yet?? you didnt mention anything about them in your post and that could make a big difference, he seems to be still hungry!

Hella - posted on 01/15/2010

It doesn't sound too bad and yes, hopefully it is a phase. There is a book called Save Our Sleep by Tizzie Hall that my friend found helpful. A couple of things you could try: going to a park/walk/etc everyday so your child is more stimulated and hence more tired, having a regular bedtime (always putting him down at 7), establishing a routine eg bath before bed, adding an extra meal of solids during the day so your son is more full. I know this sounds more like advice for getting your child to sleep in the first place but from what I've read, sleeping through is a follow on from good sleeping habits. Hope it gets better soon. My daughter has just gone through a phase of waking every two hours so I feel your pain!

Tiffanie - posted on 01/15/2010

How long has it been going on? It could be a phase unless something just bothers him at night (hunger, pet, sound from next door/outside)

Summer - posted on 01/15/2010

lol this is so not a fun time when they get their nights and days mixed up. it takes a lot of patience to correct this one, and i mind you your child will get very cranky but come later in the day you want to try and keep him up as late as you can feed him a little play with him do what you can to keep him awake finish putting him to bed. but try and keep him awake later. also remember if he wakes up real soon it really doesnt mean he is hungry let him cry a little bit he might just go back to sleep and if he still cries try changing his diaper. you know you could also try and feed him more i dont know if u pump or not but try increasing the amount like if he falls asleep wake him up burp him and try feeding alittle more

Heather - posted on 01/15/2010

Well my son was just going through the same thing, he is only 4 months (almost) and this last week he was doing the same thing, but I don't feed him at night if he wakes up in the middle of the night, i will wrap him up in his blanket and put him down again and he will go back to sleep. he wakes up around 5 am to eat and then goes back to sleep until about 830. he didnt cry when he woke up in the middle ofthe night so it was easy for me to put him back to sleep. SO, maybe try just putting him back to sleep if you can. It will teach him that night time is sleeping time.

Tanith - posted on 01/15/2010

I am responding to this because my 4 month old boy has the exact sleep times as yours and also drinks between 6 and 7 oz of breastmilk at a feed (He has 4 feeds a day). Only difference is he sleeps straight through (from 7pm to 7am).
You never mentioned how old your son is.
It sounds as though your son is perfectly normal - all babies are different and there are many babies who still wake for their night feeds, even at the age of 1 year.

I got my son to sleep through from 5 and a half weeks. I kept him awake as long as possible during the day, kept his bath times at 6pm, never spoke to him at night and kept the lights and noise levels at a minimun. - If you have already tried this, then you just have one of those babies, which is probably more common than mine, so I really wouldn't worry, he'll grow out of it.

Anna - posted on 01/15/2010

GOing through the same thing. My daughter has a great routine during the day. She take 2-3 naps a day. but at night, she has been waking up for no reason. I know she isnt hungry, but i try and nurse her anyway, just because its a comfort thing for her. its so back and forth, sometimes she will sleep all night and other, she wakes up multiple times a night. the only thing i can do it suck it up lol. at least you get to take naps with him during the day right? good luck, and i guess the best answer is stick with it, he's bound to get a hang of it sometime...

Deann - posted on 01/15/2010

it sounds like your baby is more of a night baby like mine was. my daughter grew out of it as her days got busier.