Sleep changes

[Cumberland]

So DD has started waking up multiple times at night, usually about 230-330am. Since she was 2 months old she has gone to be at 8, i would get her up to nurse at 11 ( she never really wakes up) and then she sleeps til 730. Pretty blissful for all of us. She is hitting the six month mark this week and for the past few days has been doing the night waking. She doesnt have any teeth and we cant see any coming in. She has her first food two days ago-rice cereal, but other than that she is exclusively breast fed. Is this a normal pattern? Does she need more calories or is she getting teeth? Any suggestions?

We have let her cry it out to go to sleep, but we always go to her in the middle of the night ( by we i mean ME!).

[Flynn]

As long as she's gaining sufficient weight for her age and has no nutritional issues, she's not hungry.

She's waking up becuase she's becoming more active (moving around in crib more aware of her surroundings) and can't get herself back to sleep (she'll learn if you let her) so she cries and you feed her so she's being "trained" to wake up and want to eat. It's a very slippery slope here.

I would let her cry OR if you can't do that emotionally, go in and comfort her but don't feed her. Expect things to be drastically better in three to 5 days.

She's old enough to sleep through the night entire night with no feedings if that's a goal for you. It's really really hard for a couple of days but it changes your life (NOT an understatement).

My daughter has slept through the night since she was 11 weeks old with no comfort and no feedings. Once in a while she woke up and cried but we let her cry and since she was 5 months old we haven't heard a peep from her except the two times she was sick.

Right now you are "teaching" your daughter what bedtime means and what to expect. It's all up to you and your husband because all babies want to be with their parents and be held and fed rather than go to sleep on their own. Teach her some independence here and you will toast your brilliance in a week or so!

Good luck!

I remember Bryn doing that and it seems like Anna is starting to as well (like last night! ). Anyway, for us, it seems like it can be a few things. First, she might be moving around in her crib more and that wakes her up. Bryn used to get herself sitting up and be "stuck" and need help lying back down. Just some comforting while she was in the crib took care of that. Second, if you are feeding her cereal in the evening, it might be upsetting her stomach and that would wake her up. Third, even if you don't see teeth she could be teething. Those teeth take a LONG time to come in. Is she drooly or chewing on things more than usual? You could try giving her some Tylenol and see if that helps.

For what it's worth, those phases don't seem to last very long (in my experience).