Help, my 5.5 months old baby wakes up6-8 times every night! We are becoming panda :(

[floramay]

Hi all,

My 5.5 months old baby wakes up many times at night. He usually sleep at 7pm plus. Me and my hubby usually sleep at ard 1030pm so we will feed him at ard 10pm. During the night he will wake up a few times as follow:

11pm plus - drink ard 80-90 ml of milk
1am - drink drink ard 70-80 ml of milk (sometimes only 30 or 40 ml)
245am - sometimes drink abit sometimes dun drink
4am - sometimes drink sometimes dun drink
430-6plus am- make noise and sometime wanna carry

We are swaddling him to sleep but seems like he wants us to open him. We did try letting him sleep without swaddling but still the same and somemore need us to carry him longer before he gets back to his sleep.

We are very very very tired about these and would like to seek advice from mummies here what can we do about it? How to get our baby sleep longer at night? What's wrong with him?

Thanks!!

 

[veronica]

Re: Help, my 5.5 months old baby wakes up6-8 times every night! We are becoming panda

Did you try tummy down? I notice that for my two kids, they sleep better tummy down.

 

[floramay]

Re: Help, my 5.5 months old baby wakes up6-8 times every night! We are becoming panda

Did you try tummy down? I notice that for my two kids, they sleep better tummy down.

Hi we didnt try. Quite worry that he will get suffocated? When is the right time to start tummy down?

 

[mikko010410]

Re: Help, my 5.5 months old baby wakes up6-8 times every night! We are becoming panda

hi mummy floramay... baby got good instinct... they tummy down.. they also know how to turn their head sideway... haha.. that was what my baby did...

u latch on or bottle feed?

 

[floramay]

Re: Help, my 5.5 months old baby wakes up6-8 times every night! We are becoming panda

hi mummy floramay... baby got good instinct... they tummy down.. they also know how to turn their head sideway... haha.. that was what my baby did...

you latch on or bottle feed?

Hihi,

My son is actually on EBM. Me and hubby will take turn to feed him the breastmilk lor. We suspect two reasons:

1. He get too used to be swaddled (the feeling of being carried when sleep) but he has grown up wanna moves his hands freely. Therefore, he makes noise wanna freedom.

2. He is not satisfied with only breastmilk? Everytime he wakes up for milk he will drink the most 80-90ml the fall asleep again :S Obviously it's not enough to last long.

I going to start work in 2 week's time. Sigh.

 

[mikko010410]

Re: Help, my 5.5 months old baby wakes up6-8 times every night! We are becoming panda

oh.. breastmilk cannot last long... u might want to consider giving formula at night... in between formula has nutritional value on it own.. dont worry about formula and bm... bm has its own nutritional value more importantly its can build immunity system.. with both ur baby might benefit more.. u might want to consider...

u might want to consider giving him more space in sleeping... so that he can move his hand freely... a mattress u can consider

 

[star_star]

Re: Help, my 5.5 months old baby wakes up6-8 times every night! We are becoming panda

hi floramay! yup,can try tummy dwn,did tat for my boy cuz his neck is strong enuf to lift up by himself as i give him 'tummy time' everyday to strengthen his neck. u wana try yaolan? i call it the unbeatable sarong... i believe most babies love it n sleep longer in it... my boy also had prob sleepin until now he is abt 4mnths old n his drinking time is 5hrs interval so during midnite its easier for me,his record was 8hrs without waking up for feed. i believe the rite time to tummy dwn is wen ur bb's neck is strong enuf tat he can lift up his head n turn frm side to side.
Actuali 1st few mnths my boy sleep ON me,tummy dwn. im a veri light sleeper so i let him sleep tat way so he can sleep longer n help him fart cuz his stomach got alot of air. tis way my boy also got used to it n slowly he can turn his head left n rite during sleep without my help.

 

[banner82]

Re: Help, my 5.5 months old baby wakes up6-8 times every night! We are becoming panda

Hi all,

My 5.5 months old baby wakes up many times at night. He usually sleep at 7pm plus. Me and my hubby usually sleep at ard 1030pm so we will feed him at ard 10pm. During the night he will wake up a few times as follow:

11pm plus - drink ard 80-90 ml of milk
1am - drink drink ard 70-80 ml of milk (sometimes only 30 or 40 ml)
245am - sometimes drink abit sometimes dun drink
4am - sometimes drink sometimes dun drink
430-6plus am- make noise and sometime wanna carry

We are swaddling him to sleep but seems like he wants us to open him. We did try letting him sleep without swaddling but still the same and somemore need us to carry him longer before he gets back to his sleep.

We are very very very tired about these and would like to seek advice from mummies here what can we do about it? How to get our baby sleep longer at night? What's wrong with him?

Thanks!!

Hi,

Has he started on solids already? Maybe he is not getting enough during the day. That's what happen to my niece as well. After she started on solid. she was less fussy and sleep throughout the night.

 

[floramay]

Re: Help, my 5.5 months old baby wakes up6-8 times every night! We are becoming panda

hi floramay! yup,can try tummy dwn,did tat for my boy cuz his neck is strong enuf to lift up by himself as i give him 'tummy time' everyday to strengthen his neck. u wana try yaolan? i call it the unbeatable sarong... i believe most babies love it n sleep longer in it... my boy also had prob sleepin until now he is abt 4mnths old n his drinking time is 5hrs interval so during midnite its easier for me,his record was 8hrs without waking up for feed. i believe the rite time to tummy dwn is wen ur bb's neck is strong enuf tat he can lift up his head n turn frm side to side.
Actuali 1st few mnths my boy sleep ON me,tummy dwn. im a veri light sleeper so i let him sleep tat way so he can sleep longer n help him fart cuz his stomach got alot of air. tis way my boy also got used to it n slowly he can turn his head left n rite during sleep without my help.[/QUOTE

Hihi,

We just tried putting him on tummy but he become very fussy. He is tired but he couldnt fall asleep. We didnt swaddle him, so his hand is free and he become very tense when we put him on bed straight without carrying him. Tense as in he will straighten his hands and legs. After a period of struggling, we put him on tummy and he become more tense. His head is lifted all the way up without touching the bed!... he kept crying and struggling.

After fighting for ard 20 min, we gave up and I carry him up. In less then 3 mins, he fall asleep (think he is too tired liao).

I would like to ask, how do you guys put ur babies on tummy? U put her straight on tummy when she is awake or when she has already fall alseep? Do you carry her to sleep?

Haiz... is it consider a failure to us? We gave up after seeing him struggling for so long :S

Sad...

 

[floramay]

Re: Help, my 5.5 months old baby wakes up6-8 times every night! We are becoming panda

Hi,

Has he started on solids already? Maybe he is not getting enough during the day. That's what happen to my niece as well. After she started on solid. she was less fussy and sleep throughout the night.

Nope, he hasn't started on solid yet.. Will wait for another two more weeks when he is 6 months then introduce solid. Hopefully what you say is right, my mum was saying that also. Thanks!

 

[floramay]

Re: Help, my 5.5 months old baby wakes up6-8 times every night! We are becoming panda

oh.. breastmilk cannot last long... u might want to consider giving formula at night... in between formula has nutritional value on it own.. dont worry about formula and bm... bm has its own nutritional value more importantly its can build immunity system.. with both ur baby might benefit more.. u might want to consider...

u might want to consider giving him more space in sleeping... so that he can move his hand freely... a mattress u can consider

Hmm, maybe really should give him FM at night. My boy is strange, he dun drink much at night... so far he the highest record was 120 ml (for one time only) :S But still cant last longer 3 or 4 hours.

 

[banner82]

Re: Help, my 5.5 months old baby wakes up6-8 times every night! We are becoming panda

Nope, he hasn't started on solid yet.. Will wait for another two more weeks when he is 6 months then introduce solid. Hopefully what you say is right, my mum was saying that also. Thanks!

Hmmm, i personally think that introduction of solids shouldnt be based on age only but whether the child is ready for solids. this was discussed in previous threads. http://www.mummysg.com/forums/f106/when-best-month-start-solid-food-baby-4-months-vs-6-months-47293/. based on your posts, i think your son's neck is pretty strong and can hold up on his own... Anyway, you are his caregiver, you have a better judgement. hang in there, we have to trial and error when it comes to our kids.

 

[star_star]

Re: Help, my 5.5 months old baby wakes up6-8 times every night! We are becoming panda

i put him on tummy aft he falls asleep. i also went tru all his 'fuss' wen he was abt 1 to 2 mnths old... tat was cuz his stomach trap alot of air,he didnt feel well. n also my breastmilk affected him. i ate ginger which made his stomach gasy. i drank chicken soup (for energy),he cldnt fall asleep. he will fall asleep afew seconds den sudenly wake up with eyes wide open den start crying. i stopped having confinement food. if u still breastfeeding,maybe its wat u take tat is affecting him. i tried new bottles tat prevent colic n found 1 suitable for him. i apply yu yee oil for him,babies love it. n let him drink woodward's syrup once a day.
At nite,i had to shake him to sleep,he will also scream if i put him on bed tats y i carry him sleep throughout the nite. i sacrifice my comfort for him cuz its unhealthy for bb to sleep so little. mani mummies wld disagree with the way i did it but it helped alot. 1st i give him his pacifier (he oni needs it wen he wana sleep,wen he fall asleep,he will let it go by himself) and his beansprout pillow,he like to use it to cover his face. den i will walk ard,shake n pat him. he was veri sensitive,if i sit dwn,he will knw n will start his 'engine'. den wen he falls aleep,i will also go to sleep,still carrying him in same position,i lie dwn,one pillow under each arm to support. another pattern is aft his milk he will fall asleep while i put him over my shoulder to brup him. i will slowly lie dwn while i slowly slide him dwn to my body,his head on my chest n tats how i get him to sleep on tummy,on me. tat also got 2 pillows on each side to support incase he moves. tats for the 1st 2 mnths where he got gd sleep n i had sleep but minus the comfort,woke up with aches but managable.
now i still have to shake him to sleep n we go to sleep the same way but in the middle of the nite he will struggle to b let dwn to bed n lie there sleep. 1st,dwn either the carried position or tummy,i will slide him to my side wen he is in deep sleep,still carrying him in my arms which means he is half touching the bed but he can still feel me carrying him n close to me. frm there u can easily release him n he will me lying on bed but ur arm is still under his head. den again slowly u can remove ur hands frm under his head. i tried it with 1 step a week. now my boy almost 4 mnths liao,he can sleep by himself on his tummy or on his back. of cuz still have to shake him till he sleep 1st... or like wat my mum does,she juz put him in sarong n let the magic hapen. haha...
now my boy will fuss alittle cuz he is teeting n he gets cranky in the middle of the nite or he will scream louder den usual... i use teething gel n toys to sooth him...

 

[PinkDiamonds]

Re: Help, my 5.5 months old baby wakes up6-8 times every night! We are becoming panda

My boy is about 4 months old and he also wakes up many times a night, the interval quite close to you. He is on total BM, latched on. He is a twin. His sister is sleeping through the night - 8pm to 8am. She is also on total BM. Thus I can tell you NOT to think baby is not getting enough EBM and that you need to supplement with FM. If you do that you will only allow your supply to dip.

My boy is in a worse situation. He got very bad eczema and we bundle his hands up so that he cannot scratch his face. He is fussy because he is feeling itchy and cannot scratch.

How often does your boy feed in the daytime? You may want to increase his feeding interval in the daytime so that he gets more milk in the day, then there is a chance he will sleep longer between feeds at night.

I personally feel that perhaps your baby just wants to suck on something or be carried to sleep. Have you tried to offer a pacifier? I find it works with mine. For example, mine feed at 11am. Sometimes 1am he wants milk but I will offer the pacifier first. He usually falls back to sleep after about 20 minutes, which means he just wants to suck and can actually go without a feed at that time. Maybe around 3am he will wake up again. I try the pacifier but he cries, and he cries even louder. That is my cue that maybe he is really hungry and I will feed him.

Another thing is, do you go to him immediately when he cries or do you allow some time to see if he goes back to sleep? It'll be good to allow about 5-10minutes to cry first. This gives him a chance to learn how to self-soothe and comfort himself back to sleep, which is a skill that babies who sleep through the night develop. Perhaps you can try these when the feeding interval is too short.

By right at about 5.5 months, most babies should start sleeping 9-10 hours already, if not 5-6 hours, whether on FM or BM.

 

[liz2010]

Re: Help, my 5.5 months old baby wakes up6-8 times every night! We are becoming panda

It's maybe the teeths. My 2 kids had their first teeth at about 6 mo. So your's is very close to 6 mo. Have you tried to put teething gel?

 

[floramay]

Re: Help, my 5.5 months old baby wakes up6-8 times every night! We are becoming panda

i put him on tummy aft he falls asleep. i also went tru all his 'fuss' wen he was abt 1 to 2 mnths old... tat was cuz his stomach trap alot of air,he didnt feel well. n also my breastmilk affected him. i ate ginger which made his stomach gasy. i drank chicken soup (for energy),he cldnt fall asleep. he will fall asleep afew seconds den sudenly wake up with eyes wide open den start crying. i stopped having confinement food. if u still breastfeeding,maybe its wat u take tat is affecting him. i tried new bottles tat prevent colic n found 1 suitable for him. i apply yu yee oil for him,babies love it. n let him drink woodward's syrup once a day.
At nite,i had to shake him to sleep,he will also scream if i put him on bed tats y i carry him sleep throughout the nite. i sacrifice my comfort for him cuz its unhealthy for bb to sleep so little. mani mummies wld disagree with the way i did it but it helped alot. 1st i give him his pacifier (he oni needs it wen he wana sleep,wen he fall asleep,he will let it go by himself) and his beansprout pillow,he like to use it to cover his face. den i will walk ard,shake n pat him. he was veri sensitive,if i sit dwn,he will knw n will start his 'engine'. den wen he falls aleep,i will also go to sleep,still carrying him in same position,i lie dwn,one pillow under each arm to support. another pattern is aft his milk he will fall asleep while i put him over my shoulder to brup him. i will slowly lie dwn while i slowly slide him dwn to my body,his head on my chest n tats how i get him to sleep on tummy,on me. tat also got 2 pillows on each side to support incase he moves. tats for the 1st 2 mnths where he got gd sleep n i had sleep but minus the comfort,woke up with aches but managable.
now i still have to shake him to sleep n we go to sleep the same way but in the middle of the nite he will struggle to b let dwn to bed n lie there sleep. 1st,dwn either the carried position or tummy,i will slide him to my side wen he is in deep sleep,still carrying him in my arms which means he is half touching the bed but he can still feel me carrying him n close to me. frm there u can easily release him n he will me lying on bed but ur arm is still under his head. den again slowly u can remove ur hands frm under his head. i tried it with 1 step a week. now my boy almost 4 mnths liao,he can sleep by himself on his tummy or on his back. of cuz still have to shake him till he sleep 1st... or like wat my mum does,she juz put him in sarong n let the magic hapen. haha...
now my boy will fuss alittle cuz he is teeting n he gets cranky in the middle of the nite or he will scream louder den usual... i use teething gel n toys to sooth him...

Wow, you are such a great mummy! Took a lot of effort to take care of your baby... thanx for sharing your experience with me... I will continue to try and error. Good luck!

 

[floramay]

Re: Help, my 5.5 months old baby wakes up6-8 times every night! We are becoming panda

It's maybe the teeths. My 2 kids had their first teeth at about 6 mo. So your's is very close to 6 mo. Have you tried to put teething gel?

How to know whether my son is teething? Any sign to check?

 

[floramay]

Re: Help, my 5.5 months old baby wakes up6-8 times every night! We are becoming panda

My boy is about 4 months old and he also wakes up many times a night, the interval quite close to you. He is on total BM, latched on. He is a twin. His sister is sleeping through the night - 8pm to 8am. She is also on total BM. Thus I can tell you NOT to think baby is not getting enough EBM and that you need to supplement with FM. If you do that you will only allow your supply to dip.

My boy is in a worse situation. He got very bad eczema and we bundle his hands up so that he cannot scratch his face. He is fussy because he is feeling itchy and cannot scratch.

How often does your boy feed in the daytime? You may want to increase his feeding interval in the daytime so that he gets more milk in the day, then there is a chance he will sleep longer between feeds at night.

I personally feel that perhaps your baby just wants to suck on something or be carried to sleep. Have you tried to offer a pacifier? I find it works with mine. For example, mine feed at 11am. Sometimes 1am he wants milk but I will offer the pacifier first. He usually falls back to sleep after about 20 minutes, which means he just wants to suck and can actually go without a feed at that time. Maybe around 3am he will wake up again. I try the pacifier but he cries, and he cries even louder. That is my cue that maybe he is really hungry and I will feed him.

Another thing is, do you go to him immediately when he cries or do you allow some time to see if he goes back to sleep? It'll be good to allow about 5-10minutes to cry first. This gives him a chance to learn how to self-soothe and comfort himself back to sleep, which is a skill that babies who sleep through the night develop. Perhaps you can try these when the feeding interval is too short.

By right at about 5.5 months, most babies should start sleeping 9-10 hours already, if not 5-6 hours, whether on FM or BM.

He drinks every 3 hourly, each feed average 120 ml. However I notice when it comes to evening he will want milk more often. Hmmm... I also notice this problem that he doesnt know how to soothe himself to sleep. We actually attend to him quite promptly at night cause we dont want baby to wake each other up, trying to let each other to sleep more. For my son, if he waited too long and cant sleep back he will make alot of noise then start to cry and open his eyes. So we always attend to him quickly once we hear him move around. We did give him pacifier, sometimes work and he will fall asleep but these two weeks he will just push it out and start crying if we keep pushing it in his mouth.

 

[liz2010]

Re: Help, my 5.5 months old baby wakes up6-8 times every night! We are becoming panda

How to know whether my son is teething? Any sign to check?

when babies are teething, they usually drool a lot and are grumpier than usual.

 

[Renzie]

Re: Help, my 5.5 months old baby wakes up6-8 times every night! We are becoming panda

When mine started teething, she became slightly feverish. I only know mine was teething when she bite my finger really hard. Could feel the sharpness of her teeth beneath her gums.

I usually put her tummy down after she fall asleep, but its usually for her afternoon naps, so that I can easily monitor her. For the evenings, if she wants more milk, we usually prepare more milk for her, for example; if normally she drinks 120ml, I'll increase it to 150ml before her bedtime. If she wakes up in the middle of the night and its not her milktime yet, I'll give her the pacifier and pat her back to sleep.