[val23]

Hi,

My baby is already 5.5 months old. He usually goes to bed at 8:00. Then he wakes up for a feed at 12:00 and 5:00. I heard that this is not normal as babies this age are supposed to sleep through the night. Can somebody please advise me on this?

Thanks.
Val

[momo]

Your baby is normal. Read "The No Cry Sleep Solution" and you will rejoice in the normality of your baby's sleep pattern.

[jane01]

I think your baby sounds very normal as well. Personally I wouldn't recommend the No Cry Sleep Solution. For me, I just didn't feel that it's 'softly softly' approach would adequately communicate what you want to the baby. BUT lots of people swear by it, it just wasn't for me.

I personally like the Baby Whisperer by (I think) Tracey Hogg. It has sensible advice without letting your baby cry it out.

I stopped feeding my baby (breastfeeding) through the night at 6 months, when the baby health sister said she didn't need feeding overnight anymore. I gave her a 10pm "roll over" feed. This means just feeding her with dim lights whilst she was still asleep. I then didn't feed her again until after 5am.

She certainly woke up during the early hours for short while - less than two weeks. I didn't let her cry, just comforted her whatever way I could, but didn't feed her. She soon realised that a long sleep overnight was a much better idea and is now quite a good sleeper, sleeping 11-12 hours overnight and 2-3 hours during the day pretty much consistently.

I dropped the roll over feed at about 9 months, when she didnt' seem to be taking much anymore.

You are the best one to judge whether your baby is waking out of habit or hunger. I judged that my cheeky monkey was just waking up out of habit and in about a week and a half she proved me right.

Good luck !

[val23]

Thanks for your advice.

I think I will try to cuddle my baby when he wakes up tonight. It's just that sometimes I am so tired and sleepy that it is just easier to feed him. I actually feed my baby just with a night light on.

Just wondering in case he really wants a feed, does this mean that he doesn't get enough food during daytime?

[jane01]

I know how you feel when you are sooooo tired ! I agree that feeding is the easiest and quickest way to get baby back to sleep. When you decide not to feed overnight, you have to be mentally prepared for less sleep for a little while, in the hope that you'll get more sleep in the long run.

I recommend that if you decide not to feed overnight, you stick to your decision. Don't feed some nights or some wakenings and not others. Your baby will be confused by your mixed signals.

Having said that, remember your bub is still really young. Only you can judge whether bub is hungry or just waking out of habit. if hungry, probably no amount of comforting is going to get him back to sleep.

Good luck.

[hkgirl]

I've been reading "On becoming BABY WISE" by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam. Every person I know who has used the methodology in this book has had success (5 different moms with 8 babies)! It basically gets your baby on a regular schedule of eat-play-sleep. My baby isn't born yet, but I am going to use this formula as it seems to work for most people.
Good luck!

[Marta]

Dear val23
When I/we started to stop feeding at night, it was clear for my husband, that now it was his turn, to attend our son, when he was crying and waking up.
So remember: your husband has to get up and go there, otherwise your baby will smell you, which means the milk he will not get, and it will take you even longer to stop the night feeds.
It's hard for your husband too, but that's the deal.....
Sometimes it takes you then 3 days sometimes more. It took us 10 days of partly controlled crying and partly of really picking him up and holding him until he settled down. It was a mix but totally in my husband's hands and I did not interfere and gave no comments......
Good Luck

[Marta]

one more thing:
Our son is now 18 month old and STILL waking up almost every night. But now he tells us, what he wants (something to drink) and gets back to sleep.
They simply have to learn to sleep, just like they have to learn to walk, talk, eat...