Frustrated with 7 month old baby not sleeping at night ? please help. thank you for caring?

Question

he used to sleep well from 10 - 6 am with one feeding around 3 am or so. it worked well for me. but the last 2 wks or so he has been waking up every 2 hrs or so crying until i breastfeed him.

it has been so frustrating for me. the previous night was the worst one.

i am wondering if it has to do with the food. i started giving him some carrots and green beans recently.

i am totally confused. any help would be greatly appreciated. thank you for caring.

Answer 1

they say when start feeding ,use one certain kind for about a week, just to see any side affects, it sounds like his tummy is hurting , you can also get a infant gas relief , its cheaper to by ,walmart brand,but either will work, hope this helps.

Answer 2

My Dr told me to try foods one at a time...so like try one vegetable for the whole week, then switch to a different one (that way you'll know for sure whether a certain food doesn't mix well with her). The combination could be the culprit or the food altogether. From my experience the easiest foods to start my babies on was rice cereal, bananas, and sweet potatoes.

He may be having a hard time digesting the new food so I'd try the cereal or bananas 1st.

Good luck to you and your little guy ;)

Answer 3

If you started giving him non-breastmilk foods and he started waking all night that's either

a) A sign he's having trouble digesting the food

b) A sign you are giving waaay too much non-breastmilk foods so he is too full to take enough breastmilk during the day.  He is still needs the same amount of breastmilk.  Carrots can not replace breastmilk -they have no fat, no protein, low calories, etc.

The obvious solution is to stop all non-breastmilk foods for 2 weeks and see if that helps.

HIDDEN MEDICAL CAUSES OF NIGHTWAKING

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/7/T070400...

Answer 4

I had that problem with my daughter, my doctor eventually told me that children after a certain age aren't waking up hungry at night, they're waking up out of habit of eating. You're best bet is to not give in to the feedings, but instead go in and try to calm them, then leave again, if they're still cring continue going in 5 minutes later, then 7, 10, 14, etc... go longer in between trying to settle them. never pick them up though, try to sooth them in their crib. It'll be a restless couple of nights, but it should work.

Answer 5

He's probably just going through a little growth spurt, and needs the extra feeds at night, so let him - it won't last forever.

I suggest you bring him into your own bed at night (if you aren't already) - so as to make night feeds easier on you both.

Answer 6

my daughter did this all last week it was the worst week of sleep ever i was so frustrated i couldnt take it. but they do get over it shes now happy as a goose. shes jumping around in her bouncy saucer lol. i say try and let him take those afternoon naps if he passes out. or if hes really awake try to notice that and keep him very active during the day

Answer 7

I feel your frustration.  Mine didn't sleep all night until he was four years old.  Try giving him some rice cereal before bed.  I imagine he is getting hungrier at night.  I wish you luck with this.  

Answer 8

Warm milk, melatonin?  

Answer 9

at 7mos he could be teething too.. try getting him teether doll

http://mymiraclebaby.com/Merchant2/merch...

Answer 10

My baby is 7 1/2 months and has also been waking up more in the middle of the night than usual.  I noticed that she wakes up more often when her teeth are just about to come in.  this happened with her first tooth (at 7 months) and now it's happening again with her second tooth.  

I doubt it has to do with introducing carrots and green beans. But, if you're worried discontinue the green beans (carrots usually don't bother babies).  

Since the night-waking has been going on for two weeks now then it sounds like he has just gotten into the habit of waking up/being fed every two hours.  When my baby woke up due to teething she only did it for 2-3 nights in a row.

During the day I would make sure he gets lots of calories (breastmilk and solids) to ensure that he's not hungry at nighttime. then when he does wake up at night i would go and sooth him but don't pick him up to feed him.  he will likely cry in his crib for a bit, but, after a couple nights he'll stop waking up less. Do it on a Friday night (tonight!) so that if you get a crummy night's sleep at least you have saturday to veg.  

Answer 11

I agree with "KR."  Your baby is waking up to expecting to be fed!!!  Instead of feeding him, just try and sooth him back to sleep.  You have to get him out of the habit of thinking he needs to eat every two hours, especially if he's eating solids.  There is no reason for him to be hungry in the middle of the night.

Try sticking to just one solid food a week and see how that works as well.  Giving him two different solids could be upsetting him.

Also, maybe try putting a "noise machine" in his room at night.  Something that makes a white noise sound, heart beat, sushing sound.  Something along those lines to sooth him better.  

Good luck.

Answer 12

some times children get hugry as they grow,itis frustrating but as long as he sleeps well on feeding him,need not worry.its taxing for the mothers,sometimes they need to be kept warm so they love to suck and stay close to the mother.giving him carrots and beans is good start.

Answer 13

It might be that his teething..try putting orajel. Hopefully that helps..

Answer 14

this happen to me with my Daughter.every hour she would wake up and just cry or want to play.i know,it sucks.we got no sleep and we almost burned the house down heating the bottle one nite.it was horrible. and the doctors said nothing was wrong.so i started to feed her real food,baby cereal. at about 5-6 months.and there is nothing wrong with that.people will say dont do it,but believe me they are wrong.try that.

but id get her checked first just in case something is wrong.if not then feed her food.it might help

Answer 15

My son did this around 7 months and poof there was his first tooth!  There could be a variety of reasons for night waking like this.  

Teething pain - try giving tylenol before bed and see if that helps.

Ear infection - watch for fever or ear pulling and check with a dr.

Gas - try some gas drops

Food allergy - try introducing on food at a time (earlier in the day at lunch) and watch for reaction.  Discontinue feeding if reaction occurs.  



Growth spurt - just have to go through it :(  

Dependence on night feedings - at 7 mos (depending on weight) he shouldn't need to eat at night.  He may be waking up because he's used to feeding but I would think that would be at a consistent time (like 3 am) not every 2 hrs.  It may take a few nights but going in and soothing him (rubbing his back/tummy but NOT picking him up and feeding) should do the trick.  He'll eventually get the idea that he's not going to be fed at night.

Good luck to you guys.  I hope he gets back to his normal routine for you soon!