How to make baby sleep longer at night

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Obiwan

Registered User
Morning. My little girl (6.5 months now) used to sleep 9 hours in a go at night. Recently you might have read my post that she has been getting more difficult and refusing to feed. I have since changed her feeding schedule to once every 4 hours (for about 6 - 7 ounces per feed), things were good but she started waking up at 4 - 5am, after 7 hours of sleep. I have also started to get her to sleep earlier as well (9 - 9.30pm instead of 11pm).

Do you think she is waking up earlier because she doesn't have enough food in her stomach for the day now that she is having one less feed? Or does it have anything to do with her sleeping earlier now. I reckon with the latter, the length of sleep shouldn't be affected right?

Would appreciate any advice ... thank you!

p.s. btw, i am guessing that her fussy behavior earlier was due to us switching to stage 2 formula. we have since switched back to stage 1.
 
Have you started solids? This could help if it is hunger related...
Also I have heard that waking at 4am can commonly be due to cold as this is the coldest part of the night. Is she warm enough? I have started adding a blanket after I give my daughter a dream feed at 10.30pm and that has made a difference to how long she sleeps afterwards.
 
Perhaps she's teething? Hunger might also be it.
My children changed their Sleeping patterns after a while too.. She's 6.5 months, perhaps she needs more workout? I know it sounds crazy but when my daughter was a baby, I put her swimming in those big tubs for 15 mins every day.. To let her have more exercise.
I guess u have to try different thigs to find out what works for her..
 
i reckon that she is going to bed earlier than usual so she will wake up earlier as well. i would feed her just before going to bed then one more time in between (when she starts to fuss) and when she wakes up in the early morning. if she doesn't want to feed then i'd drop that feed for that morning but try again the next morning. am i making any sense? >.<
 
I think my son's sleep pattern also changed around that age....he used to be able to fall asleep by himself in his crib and at around that time, he began to hate being in his crib alone to fall asleep and to this day (almost 1 year old), he has to fall asleep in our bed before we move him over! Anyways, that's kind of besides the point because the length of time he slept hasn't really changed.

My first question would be if you have started solids...because that may help if hunger is the issue. Also, have you tried upping the amount of milk she has before she goes to bed? When she wakes up at 4-5am, what does she do - just stay awake or go back to sleep after awhile? How many times does she nap during the day? Could you shorten her day time naps or give her more exercise to tire her out more for her nighttime sleep?
 
BOTH of my kids started waking at 5am when they were 6 months old. they'd stay awake for exactly 2 hours, then go back to sleep for another 3....eventually they grew out of it.
 
My daughter's sleep went crazy at 7 months. She was sleeping through before that and then started waking at night again, once or twice. She'd have a quick feed and then go back to bed. I found it was easier to just feed her and put her back than it was to try and train her not to wake. She grew out of it around 14 months old... now she does wake sometimes but at least most nights she sleeps though...
 
Thank you ladies!

My little one is like Nicolejoy's girl. She would wake up, but as soon as we give her a feed (usually she takes 3 ounces), she promptly falls back to sleep for another couple of hours.

We have not formally started her on solid yet, cos i'm trying to transition her from Stage 1 formula to Stage 2. She took badly to this earlier, as I switched completely to Stage 2 without knowing that I have to introduce it slowly! Oops.

I'm going to go back to 3-hourly feed today and see if it makes a difference. Keep you posted!

Now I know why babies don't come with instruction booklet, cos they love to change on their mommies!! Makes our life more interesting :)
 
i would not wait, i would introduce solids now. solids are not introduced all of a sudden either.... it's just a spoonful to start with, then gradually increases.

at 6.5 months, i honestly would get a move on. not increase the formula again... that's kind of going backwards.
 
Agree with carang.....I think it would be ok to start her regularly on a meal of rice cereal (slowly a few spoonfuls at a time). You don't have to cut out a formula meal - just give her the rice cereal first and decrease the amount of formula for that meal.....that might help.
 
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Definitely start solids - your little one's tummy is getting bigger. Remember change is good and you want your child to be eating like you by the age of 1!! Start slowly and see how it goes.
 
As FutureHK mom says, offer formula + cereal to start off. eg if they normally take 5 oz, offer 4 oz formula first, then make cereal with 1 oz (or more if the consistency is too thick) formula and offer that.
My doctor advised it was not necessary to change to Stage 2 formula for the time being (something about it being too rich for some babies' digestive systems).
I think they are supposed to be having less rather than more bottle feeds after 6 months.
 
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problem is if we were transitioning to stage 2, i can't introduce solid just yet, cos would prefer to have 1 variable at a time to see how she takes to it.

if i start solid now, when do i transition to stage 2?
 
if she was being fussy for stage 2 then stick to stage 1 and introduce solid like now....move on up on the cue of your baby's needs- you'll know when that happens. :)
 
You can delay transitioning to stage 2. When my son turned six months, I was still breastfeeding but giving one top up bottle of formula after his last BF at night. My hubby was very keen on switching to stage 2 (as he thought since the can said 6 months and up we should switch right at six months). Anyways, I asked my pediatrician and she had mentioned that if I was only supplementing with formula once a day, switching to stage 2 right at 6 months would be ok - but if I had been feeding only formula, I think she would have suggested delaying the stage 2 because it had more protein than the baby needed at that time or something like that.

so start the solids and maybe in a month or so when you baby is established on at least one solid meal a day, then start transitioning to stage 2.
 
leave the formula at stage one... introduce the solids, then start the formula again in another month or so.
 
I'm puzzled with the formula to be honest ... this stage 1 stage 2 thingy, is it necessary to transition?

My fear is clearly that if I were to stick to Stage 1, I am depriving her of her necessary proteins and carbo. What do most of you do?
 
But if you start her on solids, she will soon be getting the protein and carbs that she needs from the solids! Between six months and a year, you should slowly be adding solid meals and decreasing milk meals. My pediatrician gave me a guide on starting solids and how many meals solids/milk my baby should be having between 6 months and a year...if you would like, PM me and I can PM you the details.
 
remember obiwan, that by 1 year your baby should be eating 3 meals per day and possibly 2 snacks. by that time she'll be getting most of her nutritional needs from food not from formula.

the longer you leave it, the more difficult it could become... she needs to start getting used to eating solids.

(i started my kids on solids when they were about 5 months, by the time they were 7 months, they were eating solids 3 times per day: carrot, rice cereal, peas, beans, apple, pear, congee, a little toast, crackers etc)
 
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