6.5 month old won't go to sleep on her own and won't sleep through

[karamich21]

My baby girl was a great sleeper until about 6 weeks ago. At first I thought she was going through a growth spurt so I fed her. It continued so I stopped feeding her (breastfeeding). Then I thought it was teething, but teeth haven't showed up. It just keeps getting worse.

She was going down at 9 and sleeping 8-9 hours then waking to be fed and going back down for 2-3 more hours. Well, now I've started putting her down around 8. We play, take a bath, read, and then nurse. She falls asleep in my arms (I know) and then goes down. It started w/ her waking at 3 and then at 5 to be fed and going back to sleep until 8. Now, she goes down and wakes up every hour or two. Or, she'll wake up and refuse to go back to sleep.

We've gotten desperate. If it's after 1 a.m., I let her sleep w/ me. (I know) My husband wants to let her "cry it out" but I'm not convinced it's the way to go. I've read Tracy's ABCs and the three day method. We haven't started anything yet. I'm not sure where to begin. Any suggestions?

Thanks so much. Daddy and I are quite tired.

[lotti]

Hi

I don't have any specific advice to offer I'm afraid - only some reassurance that it does improve! My little boy did exactly the same at about 6 months, going from waking just once to 5+ times for no apparant reason. We tried all sorts but nothing changed the fact he wanted feeding when he woke and would often fight sleep even after that, in the middle of the night. I'm also breastfeeding, and he usually falls asleep while feeding, it's impossible to keep him awake.

Anyway .... he's now 9 months and while much improved his sleeping is still not great. Usually though, he is only up once or twice. I only feed him for a maximum of 10 minutes in the night and he will usually go straight back in his crib. I think with my son it was his teeth - they didn't show up for about 4 weeks after his sleeping was affected, but 4 came through all at once poor little thing.

I can recommend the Elizabeth Pantley gentle removal method (i think there is an excerpt on one of the sleep boards). We did some of this and it did improve things (a bit).

Good luck with whatever you decide!

Charlotte

[Richelle]

Hi,

Hugs to you!  Hopefully we can help!

I imagine your LO is waking because he got used to you feeding him and giving him cuddles to go back to sleep.  It could also very likely be teeth which can bother them without showing up for quite sometime.

Is your LO having any form of solids yet and how established is he on solids?

At 6.5 months your LO can go at least 8 hours without food so that would be a feeding around 4AM if he is going to bed at 8PM.  Inherently you need to employ either shh/pat or PUPD to get him back to sleep for the other wakings.  It will be tough so rest up but it will only be a few days.  Make sure you have soe support and stick with your plan to help him learn how to sleep, stay consistent and kknow as horribly tired as you are at 3AM, it is only for a few days if you stick with it.  There will be plenty of tears because your LO will be confused but as long as you are there helping him learn to sleep it will all work out.

For teeth, if you think he is in pain then give him Tylenol or equivalent, you can also use chamomilla, which is a homeopath remedy that promotes pain relief and relaxation.

Let us knw=ow how you get on!

Richelle