6 month old will not sleep

knottiea969b67d65f949d7 · October 2022

Our almost 6 month old has been not sleeping thru the night, up every 3-4 hours, and sometimes for 2.5 hours for SEVEN WEEKS. I’ve tried giving him more nap time, doing a consistent bedtime routine and same rime every night. I’ve tried giving him less nap time. I’ve tried everything and I’m at my wits end. I haven’t slept more than 2.5 hours at a time since the beginning of September and we’re into mid October. I’m desperate and I need help. Thank you!!

Wishilivedinflorida · October 2022

Sounds like he has grown a habit of getting up instead of connecting his sleep cycles. I’m a huge proponent of sleep training (Ferber especially) but not everyone is comfortable with that. Keep in mind he is still little, but you should be getting at least one 5-6 hour chunk by this point. Is he breastfed? Is he needing the breast to go back to sleep? Look into the sleep crutches you may have inadvertently supported…he may need to learn to self soothe at this stage.

gcads · October 2022

We found that making the room as dark as possible really helped (garbage bags taped to the windows work), and also giving him more food during the day (and less and less at night even if lessening by .5 ounce at a time) if he’s waking up hungry. He will sleep don’t worry! We went through the exact same thing and then all of a sudden it gets better and better.

00kim00 · October 2022

What time does he wake up in the morning? When and how long are his naps? How does he get to sleep during the day (lay him down awake, holding/rocking, in a swing, feeding to sleep, etc.)? At night? Does he use a sleep sack? Pacifier? White noise machine? Nightlight? What is his bedtime routine and when does it start? What time is bedtime? How dark is his room (can you see enough to walk around? So dark you can't see your outstretched hand? Light enough you may be able to read)? Where does he sleep (your bed, crib in your room, his own room, with siblings)? Does he eat when he wakes at night? How much? Does he have any medical conditions, disabilities, health or growth issues?

knottiea969b67d65f949d7 · October 2022

No medical conditions. His room is pitch black and sleeps in his crib solo in a sleep sack in his own room. No pacifier, he won’t take it. Tonight he’s been up every 1 hour and 45 minutes like clock work. We have a white noise machine and he’s awake for 2-2.5 hours tops during the day. We’re not on a schedule yet so I follow his sleep cues. Bedtime is 6:30-7 (in bed by 6:30 and asleep by 7). We don’t have a normal wake up time because we have this song and dance with his sleep every night so he’s either awake at 5am or he’s up by 6:30am.

we’re going to try Batelle but at this point I don’t think anything is going to make him sleep.

saizbat · October 2022

I'm struggling with my 5.5 month old just the same way. Typing this while I'm having a breakdown because he just woke up for the 5th time after I put him down 45 minutes ago. He nurses to sleep usually so I've been trying other ways now like rocking and pacifier. Tell me it gets better soon, I don't know how i'll survive like this and how will my baby be ok with such disrupted sleep.

saizbat · October 2022

knottiea969b67d65f949d7 said:

No medical conditions. His room is pitch black and sleeps in his crib solo in a sleep sack in his own room. No pacifier, he won’t take it. Tonight he’s been up every 1 hour and 45 minutes like clock work. We have a white noise machine and he’s awake for 2-2.5 hours tops during the day. We’re not on a schedule yet so I follow his sleep cues. Bedtime is 6:30-7 (in bed by 6:30 and asleep by 7). We don’t have a normal wake up time because we have this song and dance with his sleep every night so he’s either awake at 5am or he’s up by 6:30am.

we’re going to try Batelle but at this point I don’t think anything is going to make him sleep.

Is it better now?

knottiec1bd6c5399b4642a · October 2022

The book "Sleep Easy Solution" worked wonders for both my and my sister's kids. I know not everyone is open to sleep training, though.

knottiea969b67d65f949d7 · November 2022

He will sleep 2-3 hours now and sometimes 4-5. We honestly had to adjust our sleeping so we could get some rest so there’s rarely nights I’m not in bed by 9:30!

knottieec3a430ed9048166 · November 2022

Check out taking Cara babies on sleep training. It's worth the price

pdxav8rx · February 2023

How is the temperature in the room where they sleep? Being too cold can cause frequent wakes. The temp should be 68-72. Footed pyjamas and a sleep sack.
the Moms of Call book has a super easy to follow sleep/nap schedule. It may take a week for your baby to transition but ours has been sleeping 12 hours a night since she was 4 months old when we really started following the book and schedule

j-redd222 · October 2023

My daughter had trouble sleeping through the night too. I went weeks with barely any sleep at night and I had to wake up with my 2 year old every morning. It was awful. I started really focusing on her eating schedule as well as her sleeping schedule and it really improved. I made sure she got fed or offered food every 2 hours. If she didn’t want to eat I tried again every half hour until she got a decent feed in. She also started solids so I made sure to offer milk after her baby food to make sure she was full. After a few days of working at this, she slept through the night and has been continuing to do so. My friend gave me the advice originally and I hope it can help you too! Hang in there mama!

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