sleeping through the night?!

Question

Please help me figure out how to get my almost 5 month old to sleep at night! She goes down very easy around 8pm after a 7oz bottle (exclusively BF). She lays there quietly with her eyes open then falls asleep without a hassle. She's usually good for the first 3-4 hours, then all hell breaks loose... She wakes screaming every 1-3 hours after that. She sleeps in that Merlin's Magic Suit, but I think she still startles herself awake and needs the pacifier to fall back asleep every time. I don't even think she is hungry at all. If we stick her paci in she goes back to sleep immediately, but no amount of patting/rocking her would do it. We try to let her cry for a little while before we give her the paci but that doesn't seem to be making anything better... what else can we do?

Answer

Honestly I think it helps to have realistic expectations about sleep.  Its not at all unusual for babies to wake multiple times at night for the first year and beyond. My son is five months and is eating about 3-4 times a night.  Occasionally he stays awake for a little and needs to be rocked. I don't expect it to change for awhile and thats ok.

Answer

Take the pacifer away. Its called a "sleep prop" and she will continue to wake up every time she loses it until its gone.

Answer

I never used a merlin magic suit but is it possible it's too warm? I've heard they aren't very breathable and babies are more prone to nightmares when they are overly hot at night. Have you tried just a regular swaddle aid like a woombie if you think it's the startle reflex still? Or perhaps try zipadeezips if your little one is rolling a lot? We used the zipadeezips at that age and it worked wonders for the startle reflex while still allowing baby to be comfy.  At 5 months most babies still wake up 2 to 4 times a night to nurse -- especially if your exclusively breastfeeding. It's the screaming that strikes me as the odd part of the problem.

Other things to think about are whether it's a dark room and if there is some white noise.

Answer

My son is almost 5 months and some nights he sleeps all night and sometimes he wakes up a few times wanting to eat. There isn't anything wrong with the baby still waking up a few times. Remember they were still in your womb 5 months ago or less

Answer

Babies this young are not supposed to sleep through the night.

Answer

My daughter has been sleeping through the night for about 2 months now. Latest she goes to sleep is 11pm and wakes up anywhere between 630-830am.

Answer

She might be hungry. My son wakes 1-2 times a night to feed.

sleeping through the night?!

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