[sarah sheppard]

Hi There
My son is now 5 months old & waking up a lot still in the night.I want to get into a routine with him,but finding it very hard.I sometimes feed him to send him back off,or try a dummy,but that's very time consuming.Also a cuddly toy,lullaby's,stroking his hand/head,etc.How often should he feed now anyway/how many times a day.I have introduced him to solids a few weeks ago too-twice a day... should this be a subsitute for a milk feed or as well as,as he wants more of the solid when finished??

Thanks Sarah

[DoulaLC]

Best to offer the milk first, then the solids. Solids should not take the place of a milk feed only be a companion to some of them.
If he is learning anything new, sitting up, rolling, etc. he will likely wake more when learning a new skill. Is there any possibility of teething that might be causing him to wake?
When he has something in the middle of the night, does he fall right back to sleep or is he up to play for a bit?
Does he use the dummy? Will he go back to sleep with it? Do you feed him every time he wakes? Maybe try just the dummy, without picking him up for at least one of the times he wakes up and see if that will be enough to settle him. He will get to where he can find it himself in the night.
When he wakes, give him a little bit of time to see if he will settle himself back to sleep before going in to him.
Check that he isn't sleeping too long during the day, in hopes that he will get a little longer stretch at night.
How often does he feed during the day?
It can be tiring and frustrating, but he will get better with it. Babies tend to change up the eating and sleeping patterns a few times during the first year depending on their stage of growth.