5 month old won't sleep! (Kinda long)

coco0723 · December 2013

Okay, so I know that there have been numerous posts and replies to this similar issue, but I feel like I need a fresh perspective because some of these issues that we are having I don't see others mentioning... My LO will be 5 months this Friday and her sleep habits have gone completely off the rails. She has never been what I would considered an excellent sleeper, she has never STTN but she used to take 2-3 hour naps and sleep 3-4 hour stretches at night. The issues began when we had to stop swaddling cold turkey because she started rolling over at 11 and a half weeks. Since then her sleep habits have gone downhill. These days I am lucky if she takes a nap that lasts longer than 25 minutes and when I put her down to sleep at night she will usually sleep for 30 minutes on her back before she rolls over onto her tummy which sometimes wakes her up and sometimes not. But if the rolling over doesn't wake her, she will stay asleep for maybe 2 to 3 hours before waking, at which time she gets a diaper change and a bottle. This is when the fun really starts. I will rock her back to sleep which usually takes 10 minutes, but as soon as I lay her in the crib her eyes pop open and she is wide awake. I have tried placing on her tummy to avoid the rolling over and waking up issue, but she will just pop her little head up and be wide awake. She will do this every hour for the rest of the night. We have a bedtime routine that consists of a bath, a bottle (she is FF & we have started cereal but she wears more than she eats!), a book and snuggles and rock to sleep. We also have noise playing, it's from Dr. Karp's Happiest Baby CD, low intensity hair dryer noise, on a repeating loop. The room temp is comfortable and there a ceiling fan set on the lowest speed to just kind of keep the air circulating. She has been more active lately. She scoots (or army crawls), gets up on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth like a maniac and she is also trying to sit herself up. We try playing with her before bedtime routine to try and wear her out but it only seems to make her want to stay and play more. I swear I think she is worried she might miss out on something! I have thought about Ferber and the whole CIO thing, but I have major reservations about it and I think that right now she is still too little. My husband and I are both exhausted, but my main concern is her. I want to be sure she is getting the sleep she needs so that she can continue to grow and progress developmentally. Also, just as a side bar: she hates her car seat, so getting her to stay asleep in that won't work and she doesn't like her swing for more than 15 minutes at time. So, I am at a total loss. I keep thinking that she is teething because she drools like crazy and is always chewing on her paci or sophie the giraffe but that is all. There is no fever or other irritability and when I look into her mouth I can't see anything happening with her gums. So, that all being said I need some advice and pearls of wisdom because I am out of ideas!!

VPGIRL06 · December 2013

coco0723 said:

Okay, so I know that there have been numerous posts and replies to this similar issue, but I feel like I need a fresh perspective because some of these issues that we are having I don't see others mentioning... My LO will be 5 months this Friday and her sleep habits have gone completely off the rails. She has never been what I would considered an excellent sleeper, she has never STTN but she used to take 2-3 hour naps and sleep 3-4 hour stretches at night. The issues began when we had to stop swaddling cold turkey because she started rolling over at 11 and a half weeks. Since then her sleep habits have gone downhill. These days I am lucky if she takes a nap that lasts longer than 25 minutes

When did this start? right after the unswaddling or has it evolved into this? If it was right after unswaddling, I would suggest something like a sleep sck. I feel like it's a little late to introduce a magic merlin suit, but maybe some flannel PJs and a sleep sac so she feels cosy.

If it's EVOLVED into this, i think you're just at the 4 month wakeful. That, on top of many physical/mental milestones that she seems to be trying to grasp makes it hard for babies to sleep.

and when I put her down to sleep at night she will usually sleep for 30 minutes on her back before she rolls over onto her tummy which sometimes wakes her up and sometimes not. But if the rolling over doesn't wake her, she will stay asleep for maybe 2 to 3 hours before waking, at which time she gets a diaper change and a bottle. This is when the fun really starts. I will rock her back to sleep which usually takes 10 minutes, but as soon as I lay her in the crib her eyes pop open and she is wide awake.

her sleep patterns have changed. now, if you're rocking to sleep, you'll have to wait until she's in a deep sleep. I would suggest trying to put down awake but drowsy during naps so she doesn't need to be rocked.

I have tried placing on her tummy to avoid the rolling over and waking up issue, but she will just pop her little head up and be wide awake. She will do this every hour for the rest of the night. We have a bedtime routine that consists of a bath, a bottle (she is FF & we have started cereal but she wears more than she eats!), a book and snuggles and rock to sleep. We also have noise playing, it's from Dr. Karp's Happiest Baby CD, low intensity hair dryer noise, on a repeating loop. The room temp is comfortable and there a ceiling fan set on the lowest speed to just kind of keep the air circulating. She has been more active lately. She scoots (or army crawls), gets up on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth like a maniac and she is also trying to sit herself up.

yes. this could be causing her to not want to sleep or unable to sleep due to her trying to crawl/sit.

We try playing with her before bedtime routine to try and wear her out but it only seems to make her want to stay and play more. I swear I think she is worried she might miss out on something!

normal. You might be overstimulating her before bedtime to be honest.

I have thought about Ferber and the whole CIO thing, but I have major reservations about it and I think that right now she is still too little. My husband and I are both exhausted, but my main concern is her. I want to be sure she is getting the sleep she needs so that she can continue to grow and progress developmentally. Also, just as a side bar: she hates her car seat, so getting her to stay asleep in that won't work and she doesn't like her swing for more than 15 minutes at time. So, I am at a total loss. I keep thinking that she is teething because she drools like crazy and is always chewing on her paci or sophie the giraffe but that is all. There is no fever or other irritability and when I look into her mouth I can't see anything happening with her gums. So, that all being said I need some advice and pearls of wisdom because I am out of ideas!!

if you are opposed to CIO I would look for No Crying sleep solutions. It SOUNDS like the 4 month wakeful, combined with some mental leaps (she's probably in a wonder week right now). Rocking to sleep could be a sleep crutch, and she could also be overtired. When are you putting her down for naps? 25-30 minute naps USUALLY indicate she is OT and is unable to cycle into that next section of "deep" sleep. she could be OT also due to lack of sleep during the night.

To be honest, we bypassed a lot of this because we put her in a Sleep Suit, so she couldn't roll/crawl/sit up at night and could just sleep. once she could crawl, we took it away and she slept fine.

coco0723 · December 2013

Thanks! That all makes a lot of sense. We bypassed the Merlin because she is a very warm baby and she gets really warm at night. I have tried putting her down for naps before she is OT. On the weekends her nap schedule is awake for 90 minutes, sleep for 20-30 minutes so I am finding it hard to believe she is OT for naps, but I can definitely see her being OT at bedtime. We will try and transition from her nightly playtime to more of a nightly relaxation time and see how that goes. I have thought about eliminating the rocking but she also has very busy hands and she is always rubbing her eyes or pulling at her paci and I sometimes have to hold her arms down to get her to settle. I appreciate your suggestions and I will try to adjust our routines!

runningwild · December 2013

@coco0723 I could have written almost this exact post myself. We are going through a very similar situation with DD. She will be 5 months on Monday. The problems started for us 3 weeks ago when she abandoned her swing naps.
I have no advice, but just know you're not alone. Had a pedi appointment today and Dr. basicly said its just the age and possibly teething causing it... and all we can do is ride it out.

themargo · December 2013

Same exact boat here. It sucks. I hate that "wait it out" is the only answer but I haven't found a solution.

luvmygirlss · December 2013

How many naps and how long? too much overall sleep???

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