Eliminating night wakings?

[ang79]

My 7 mos. old DD is still waking 1-2 times a night to eat. We put her down between 8-8:30 pm (sometimes she's asleep after nursing, other times she's awake and falls asleep on her own). She'll then wake around 12 am. I've been letting her cry for about 10 minutes to see if she'll go back to sleep on her own. A few times she has but usually she gets pretty worked up until I pick her up and nurse her. She falls asleep during nursing and I put her back down. Then she's up again between 2-4 am, I'll let her cry 5-10 minutes then end up feeding her, then she'll sleep til at least 6:30 am, sometimes later.

During the day she is still nursing every 2-3 hours but she only eats for a few minutes each time. She's been tolerating small amounts of rice cereal and bananas for the past week. I don't think she's necessarily hungry, she may be nursing for comfort to help her get back to sleep. I'm just anxious for these night feedings to end, any advice?

[happymom]

I doubt this will be of comfort to you, but my almost 7 month old is on almost the exact same (exhausting) nighttime schedule. One thing I CAN say is that this night schedule is fairly new and I've noticed it started since my summer vacation began and her naps got thrown off. When I was working, she was on a strict nap schedule that was based around my work schedule. Now that I'm off, she isnt following that rigid schedule and she has started waking up at night. I'm not positive that the two are related, but I'm pretty sure. So how's your DD's nap schedule? Could that have to do with it?

Boy, I used the word schedule a lot there! Feeling like a broken record LOL

[ang79]

Well, her naps are a bit inconsistent depending on what time she wakes up and if we are out running errands or at playdates in the mornings. If she wakes up around 7 and we are home, she will usually take a nap for about one hour around 9 am, then another nap around 3 pm for about 2 hours. If we are out in the mornings then she just catnaps in the car and then takes her afternoon nap when we are home.

[shoxie]

My first DD who is now 3 nursed at night until about 19mos when we nightweaned her. She's never been a great sleeper, but has just recently begun sleeping through the night some nights. My son who is 16mos is a better sleeper; he sleeps through most nights, but still does wake and nurse sometimes. I think that it's still pretty normal to nurse 1-2 times a night at 7mos. Even Weissbluth - who is not the CIO guy - says that one nursing at night is normal until about a year of age...

[happymom]

I know this is easier said than done, but it may be worth your while to stop running those errands with her and make sure she gets her naps consistently, and preferably in the same place. I know that Weissbluth says that babies sleep best when they are motionless and in a dark room. Its just not the same when they are in the car. Like you said, she will only catnap when you are running errands. My DD is the same way- but if she is home, and is put in her crib for a nap, she will sleep for 2 hours. So I no longer run around with her like I used to. I try to go out only when she just woke up and will be up for 2 hours, or when she is asleep at home and DH can watch her. At this age, they really need the solid sleep. Maybe it would be a good idea to try sticking to a nap schedule for a week and see if she sleeps better at night.

And :hug: to you- I know EXACTLY what youre going through and its exhausting!!

[Melaine]

Have you ever tried giving her 2 closely spaced "meals" before bed? For instance, we found our girls could take a bottle at 5 and then again before 6:30 for a little extra before bedtime.

Mine still didn't sleep through the night at that age though...