Waking through the night, used to sleep thru....help!

Hi Everyone,
I need some advice. My little boy has started to wake looking for a feed at 2-3am ish and then again at 5am. He is 5 mths old and has just started doing this gradually over the last 3 wks. I have substituted 2 breastfeeds a day with formula, to allow me to go back to work part time-& this is possibly when it started. He was sleeping thru without a feed (he sometimes was a little unsettled and I would pop his dummy back in and he would drift off) from around 9pm to 7.30am (sometimes even later and I would have to wake to feed him-I was so full of milk!) Admittedly, he has also been going to sleep about an hour earlier (8-8.30pm)and not stirring for a late feed. I was trying to deter him & not feed him when we woke at 2am, but found he would not settle at all (& so desperate for sleep I fed him) I know some babies don't sleep as much he does, but I was getting used to my virtually uninterrupted sleep.
Any suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

I forgot to add, he started solids at 4 mths and has one feed a day, around 10am, do you think he should be having a dinner feed as well??

hi there!
My daughter began doing the same thing at 41/2 months so I started her on one solid meal a day. After this she began sleeping through again. She is now just over 5 months and has just started eating 3 solid meals a day. I slowly introduced an additional meal each 2-3 weeks from first starting solids. Firstly she had breakfast, then veges for dinner and now she also has lunch. Maybe it is time for your little one to try 2 meals a day. Hopefully it will do the trick. Good luck, let me know how it goes!

Thanks for the advice kj, I will try the extra feed in the evening & hopefully it will help. I will let you know!

Hi Heidiblue,
My name is joanne courts My son is five months he as been on solids since 4 months aswell and i was giving him one feed per day and well just this week i have started giving him 2 feeds per day and well he goes to bed at 9.30pm and sleeps till around 6am-6.30am so maybe try a second feed for son. I give my son a meal with his feed at2.00pm and then at dinner time at 6pm.

Thanks for all the advice everyone. He is still waking up at anytime betweeen 2am-4.30am wanting a feed. I have started an evening feed on solids (he is now on 2-3 feeds a day), and even making sure he has a breastfeed around 9pm-9.30pm (waking him if I have to). I'm hoping it is just a phase, I think the teething process has started as everything is going into the mouth to chew & bite on & he is dribbling profusely.
I'm adjusting slowly, and compensating by trying to get to bed early myself-which is not always easy to do as you all know.

Heidiblue! I understand!

I just wanted to say that I read in a book somewhere that babies often start sleeping through and then for no apparent reason just stop doing it around 4-5 months. I also read that waking them for a feed before you go to bed doesn't always work and that feeding extra solids also doesn't necessarily work. My little girl is 5 months and has three big meals a day as well as sufficient feeds - she still doesn't sleep through. Its probably just one of those wacky baby things - don't despair he WILL eventually sleep through again!

Hi Hannah's Mum,
I'm glad I'm not the only one with a child waking thru the night. My son now has 3 solid meals a day, and is waking up thru the night still!! sometimes as frequently as every 2 hours. I've started giving him his dinner earlier at around 4-5pm ish, instead of 6.30pm to see if this helps with settling his tummy and then a milk feed for supper around 6-7ish, just before he goes down to bed. That seems to have helped, but it can still be pot luck, sometimes he sleeps thru but more often than not he wakes around twice a night for a feed. But I've adjusted, its quite amazing how precious I was about sleep before being a mum & now I don't bother counting the hours of sleep I manage to get (no one wants to listen!! except other mums of course)
I have put it all down to teething, or more broadly the whole teething process (still no teeth in sight at present) He wants to bite & chew everything in sight, has a runny nose and really thick gums (it even looks like you can see the shape of his teeth in his gums) He does seem to be improving though, but it is nice to know that there is light at the end of the tunnel & he will eventually start to sleep thru again.
Thanks for replying to my post,

Hi,

Just another idea to throw at you! Have you actually gone back to work again? Some babies work out that they get mummy all to themselves in the middle of the night! I've heard this can happen when you return to work!

Also my daughter was miserable about a month before her teeth came up too! sad When they actually cut, she was perfect! Who'd guess!

Hope things improve soon for you,
Tepe

Hi Tepe,
You know what - I have just gone back to work!! I've been back at work for a month, I didn't even think of that.
Here's hoping we'll see some teeth soon!!

There are many books which suggest when babies hit 5 months they just begin doing this for no reason. My daughter had always slept 12 hrs overnight from 6 weeks and it came as a very rude shock to me! She began waking once at 1:30am and then she was waking every 2 hrs after this...it was horrible. I spoke to my clinic sister and she advised i read "Solving your babies sleep problems" written by Richard Furber and I can tell you I think that man is god!! It did solve our problems.. At 5 mths your child changes their sleeping pattern to become more adult like, moving in and out of light and heavy sleep. The reason they are waking is because they hit the transition stage and as they change their sleep cycle they wake up. His advice is to encourage your child to put themselves back to sleep and learn how to pass through the transition stage. It takes about a week of letting them cry back to sleep but once they have learnt this pattern they can pass through these transition phases of sleep. They will have more changes in sleep patterns as they grow older so it is a good idea to start teaching them how to cope now. It is not food related it is just coincidence that these sleep changes happen roughly when we introduce solids to our children.
My advice is buy the book and treat it like a bible it is the best advice book I have ever read as it is all supported with studies and scientific knowledge. Your baby will be sleeping like an angel again in no time - Trust me I've been there and know it is beneficial!!

Hi my daughter also did the same thing so we started to wake her before we went to bed at around 10 clock and feed her and she would happily sleep till morning.