Night waking help- long

everydayk · April 2013

This is probably going to end up long.

Backstory- my daughter was a very fussy newborn. Fussy isn't even the word. For 2 weeks she wouldn't eat, and for the next 3 months she screamed non stop unless she was eating or sleeping. We finally switched her from breast milk to soy formula and she was like a new baby.

I got into the habit of feeding her to sleep and every time she woke up in the night. It's her soothing mechanism (I was just happy she wanted to eat!) Now she's 8 months old and waking at least once a night to eat- sometimes twice. I know she's probably not hungry (good amounts of food during the day plus a big dinner of oatmeal/fruits and veggies before bed). She goes down for the night great but these wakeups are getting progressively longer.

I've tried cry it out. Several times. She cries for HOURS. The longest I've made it is 3 before giving her a bottle. When I go to check on her she's covered in snot/tears. The other night I had to change her sheet because it was so soaked. I'm at my wits end. I try to rub her back, and she'll go back to sleep, only to wake up an hour later. She's such a happy baby during the day, and she naps like a champ (1-2 hours, 2-3 times a day). We put her to bed early, at the first signs of being tired (around 630 or 7)

Has anyone had a similar experience? Has anything worked? Or do I just keep giving her a bottle until she eventually grows out of it?

brandyleighxx · April 2013

I'm sorry you're going throug this! I had 2 thoughts reading this. First, unfortunately, maybe she is truly hungry? Every baby is different and just because most other 8 month olds are night feeding, doesn't mean she shouldn't be either. I just feel like

BransonsBecca · April 2013

Could your DH/SO go in and soothe her? I think that DD wakes up more when she knows that I'm here and just wants to comfort nurse back to sleep. When DH goes in, she knows that she's not getting that from him, so she'll go back to sleep more quickly and f

everydayk · April 2013

Thanks ladies! I realize I wasn't very specific (it was 1am after all!) when I said CIO... I've been trying the "Healthy Sleep Habits" method, which is basically extinction, but I add a check with a quick back-pat and paci replacement once every hour.&

danieliza1127 · April 2013

I think I'm a little confused - are you trying to cut out her middle of the night bottle cold turkey? Or you're feeding her and then she just won't go back to sleep?

If you're just cutting out the feed cold turkey, I think that's your probl

mben1119 · April 2013

LalaMama81:
It sounds like she is truly hungry. Many, if not most, babies need to eat at night until a year - some even longer

tamararachel2 · April 2013

DS2 doesn't wake in the middle of the night for a feeding, but just about every night he wakes 1-2 times. DH and I take turns going in his room and most of the time we can get him back to sleep by rubbing his back or patting his butt. When we just can't s

LexiSophie55 · April 2013

I am in the exact same boat. We had a milk protein issue at the beginning as well. Luckily it resolved with my elimination of milk. Anyways, we have night issues as well.

We put him down at 8 or so. 11pm he is hungr

everydayk · April 2013

Thanks again ladies. I guess I was just letting other people get in my head. Everyone around me (family, friends) is telling me she shouldn't be waking to eat this old, so I let that guide me. I'll just follow her cues. I'm plenty used to waking up at nig

byrne15 · April 2013

ds#2 still wakes 2-3 times a night and takes a bottle each time. I don't even mind, because a month ago he was still up 8-10 times/night.

I don't plan on ending his bottle at night until at least 12 months.

ds#1 was 17 months old befo

magnetar · April 2013

Mine is 8 months old and she still needs a bottle at night - and no matter what time I put her down, she always wakes up at the exact same time expecting it. It may seem endless now, but eventually she'll grow out of it, so no need to force it (it'll just

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