Sleep Issues

[Mels27]

So my baby is now 5 months old and up until last week has always slept well. Even as a newborn he rarely got us up more then 2/3 times a night and was easy to settle. He has previously always been pretty good at napping when he needed it.

Between about 2-4 months he rarely woke up more than once and during his fourth month I hardly ever even had to feed him when he woke up. However, since last Monday his sleep has been a nightmare. He's refusing naps. He rarely does more than a five hour stretches. At a low point I was up pretty much every half hour. I'm completely at my wits end! Has anyone suddenly started having major sleep issues with a baby who has previously been a very good sleeper? And what did you do about it?

Any advice appreciated thanks!

[roxannacar]

Sleeping issues seem to come and go with my daughter. Could your baby be teething at 5 months? They do go through periods of sleep regression as well in the first year. They do normally settle after a few days/ weeks. Try and nap during the day of you can to try and cope with things a bit better.

You can get sleep

Training by I think it might

Be worth waiting if it's only been a few days.

[Mels27 in reply to roxannacar]

Thanks for the reassurance. I did look into sleep training but they are mostly very 'cry it out' focused, and I just decided I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that approach given 5 months is still very young really and it feels all wrong to allow him to cry without responding by picking him up and soothing him however he needs.

I will definitely hang in for a bit longer and see what happens. And thanks for the advice about naps too. It's always just nice to hear it's not only you going through these things! I'm not sure about teething. He has suddenly got a lot more into chewing things, but I can't feel anything in his mouth as of yet. He is also very drooly! So it is a possibility.

[roxannacar in reply to Mels27]

Drooling and chewing stuff sounds like teething. You can try some teething gel see if helps. Teeth can take a long time to come out so you might so feel anything yet at this point

[Kingy1616]

Hi,

Have you tried Little Ones? They are a consultant agency for sleep programs. There website is littleones.co

I haven't actually used their programs yet as my DD was only born on Sunday but I plan to when she gets to 3 months old. I have heard really good things about their programs and they don't take the 'cry it out' approach. It does cost some money (£30) for their programs.

Hope this helps. X

[Hidden]

Totally normal! There are a couple of big development stages between 4 and 6 months that bring sleep regressions with them. It's bloody awful but they don't last. We are just coming out of the 6 month regression and she's back to sleeping through (after waking every hour and being awake for hours at a time). Her day naps are yet to settle but at least I can sleep now. Download the wonder weeks app or buy the book. They tell you all these development phases and when you can expect them to finish. good luck! X

[Clairelouise91]

Hey my daughter is nearly 7 months shes slept through since 8 weeks we have been going through the same thing lately it lasted a couple of weeks dont worry it will pass babies go through fases and they tend not to sleep aswell when they are teething or reaching new development milestones which my daughter has 2 first teeth cutting and is also very close to crawling so i put it down to that and my sister (a nursery nurse with her own children) said its normal itll pass and it did