BWLO: Sleep

Soon2BMRS615

Please talk to me about your LOs sleep habits.  I know there are a lot of LOs on this board who did not sleep well, and I need advise from those Mommies!  B is still waking up every 3 or 4 hours to eat overnight.  At 5 and a half months old! I can't tell which wake ups are habitual and which are actual hunger because he gives the same all-out scream each time.  Loudly enough that he has woken up my parents on the opposite side of the house.  I plan to talk to his ped about it at his 6 month appointment, but I would love to do something about this sooner then that.  DH is not on board with Ferber because he can't stand to hear B cry.  

I feel part of the problem is his eating.  He has NO set schedule, so I feed whenever he seems hungry.  And when he does take a bottle, I am lucky if he will take 4oz.....usually its only 3.  I can't be sure how much he gets when he nurses, but I know he should be taking more than 4oz at a feeding.  But he refuses to eat any more then that.  It has been suggested that we move to 100% formula to improve his sleep, but I really don't think it will help.

Any advice/insight is greatly appreciated.

trickeytricky

Zac did not STTN until 13 months. The week we took away the bottle it happened, which we cut the bottle cold turkey to btw. I think all of his bad sleeping habits revolved around being fed.

At 1 year he was still waking up twice a night for food, around 11 and 4... I think once he realized that he wasn't getting a bottle routinely he decided he could go ahead and keep sleeping.

We did the Ferber thing, and it worked for about a week, until we took a vacation and ruined all that work.

Next time around I have sworn to follow the guideline of at X months they no longer need to be fed at night, and I am going to stick with that.

The only insight I can give you is that eventually he will STTN, and once he does you won't remember this time at all. Seriously now that Z does sleep from 9-7 I've forgotten what it was like back then, and that was only 6 months ago.

You're a strong and awesome momma. So when everyone else talks about how wonderfully their newborns sleep just remember you must be the cooler mom because yours wants to spend so much time with you.

TeacherTiff

I've already talked you via FB but you know N didn't STTN until 11 months, at which time we *cold turkey* moved him to his own bed in his own room and stopped nursing at night. By that time, I KNEW it was habit and he wasn't hungry.

Could you try to nurse and then top off with a bottle to make sure he's getting enough through the day? I know when I moved him I really tried to make sure to fill up his belly during the day, and even gave (sometimes still do) him cereal w/ fruit right before bed. 

GL lady... I had it bad too and now it's glorious most nights. Hang in there!

Cory's Wife

I don't have any insight but we have the same situation with Molly. She sttn between 2-4 months but hasn't since then. We are just now getting into a routine where she either sttn or wakes up once. Like you, I think it's because she won't eat enough. In the past few weeks we finally got her to take 6oz bottles at 9 months old. She can't do cereals due to allergies. She also doesn't have a schedule because someone different watches her each day. We have let her CIO before to get to sleep, but I refuse to let her cry when I can tell she is really hungry. Where she doesn't eat enough during the day, I know it's not out of habit. I can usually tell you before bed if she will wake up based on her milk intake that day. I know this doesn't help you any, but just know you're not alone!