My six 1/2 month old wakes up a lot in the middle of the night.

by An.

Question: My six 1/2 month old wakes up during the night. I will give him a bottle around 9:30. He will fall asleep with it. Then I put him in his crib. Within the next two hours he will wake up crying. I will put his binky in his mouth and he will go right back to sleep but within the next 10 minutes he wakes up again. I have to go back in and put the binky back in his mouth. That time he will sleep for like 2 - 3 hours then wakes up crying again. I try to ignore him at first to see if he will go right back to sleep but he doesnt. The thing that gets me is that when I do go in the room in the middle of the night he has his binky in his hand and his eyes are closed. Once I pick him up and rock him or I will put him in his swing he will go right back to sleep. But if I put him back in his crib within 10 to 15 minutes he wakes up. What is your advice? Please help.

Heidi's Answer: Hi there, I have just posted a reply with dummy advice here: My 4 month old has started waking up every hour, you may want to have a look to see if there's anything in it for you.

The difference with your son though, is that he apparently does not loose the binky, but has it in his hand when you go in ...? Are you sure he is fully awake then?

Is this something that has started recently or has he done this for a longer time?

Have you tried if he is hungry? This could be a simple explanation for what is happening. You could do a test and schedule an extra feeding at the second or third awakening and see what happens. His night may become quieter after that. (Do this test for a week or so to see its effect).

So, for now with what you have written so far, I'd advise you to:

- first awakening: go to him, be as quiet and 'boring' as you can, put the binky in but also tell him softly 'go back to sleep' (or another sentence, but keep it the same always) while you pat his tummy or stroke his fore head. Even better would be if you get him to put the binky in himself (try practicing during the day): go in, tell him "ok sweetie, put your binky back in, and now go back to sleep" (and you do the tummy patting or fore head stroking). Applaud him whenever he puts the binky in himself, whether it is playing during the day, or at night in his crib: this will encourage him to do it all by himself when waking.

- second awakening (I assume around 1-2 am): offer a bottle, then put him down, as at 9.30pm

- any awakening from there, do as with the first awakening

Good luck, let me know,
Kindly
Heidi