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5 Month old- frequent waking

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  • 30-10-2011 10:55pm
    #1
    blueboots
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3 ✭


    Hi there

    Im hoping someone can give me some advice.

    My 5 month old is waking a lot at night. Sometimes all he need is a bit of reassurance and for me to rub his back, other times it goes into full blown crying. I put him down at 7pm and he normally wakes again around 9pm. We give him his dreamfeed at around 10.30. He then wakes around 12.30am, 3am, 3.30am and maybe a couple more times by 6am. I really dont think its hunger. When i give him his bottle at 7am he rarely finishes it. Any tips or advice on how i can get him to sleep through?

    I should also add he doesnt have a dummy/soother. He did have one but i gave it up at 4 months because he was waking every time it fell out.

    Thanks


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    #2
    LegacyUser
    Registered Users Posts: 166,026 ✭✭✭✭LegacyUser


    At this age, babies are reaching a major developmental time, with regards to solid food and sitting up or crawling. For this reason, they tend to need their mother near them as they can become quite unsettled and anxious, particularly during the night when most brain development and changes take place.

    It's nothing to do with hunger.

    The dummy is a substitute for natural nursing and is instinctive for an anxious baby to nurse at this time, to feel his/her mother is there.

    There's no shortcut to this. Your baby is calling out for you during the night, so you have two choices. You can attend to your child, easy if in the same room....even easier in the same bed if you are still breastfeeding....although it seems you're not.

    Or you can ignore them, but this brings a whole host of problems, some of which won't become apparent for many years.

    I would highly recommend you do some research on baby development so that you can make informed decisions on what to do in these situations, so you feel more confident with your baby.

    Best of luck


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