Night waking but self soothes

[Libby19]

My son is 6 months old and we have managed to get the self soothing at bedtime down ok, we put him down awake about 7pm every night but now he wakes every 4 hrs (occasionally more often if he's teething which he is on and off). I also put him down awake for naps and generally (as long as he's not overtired) he has no issues with naps either! But we struggle to get more than 30mins for a nap, occasionally 45mins but certainly no long naps (3 per day). Please help! I really need some good solid nights sleep!
How old is your child? 6 months
What’s his/her daily routine? Wake 7am, feed, activity, nap 9.30-10, f 11, n 12.30-1.15, f 3, n 4-4.30
What’s nap routine? Dark room, mobile, sound machine
How long are naps? 30 mins x3
What's bedtime routine? Time? Bath, feed, cuddle/play with sister, mobile, bed
Do you bottle or breastfed?? Breastfeed
How much? or how long? 10 mins give or take
If breastfed.. one side or both?? (at each feed)try both but generally more one
How many wakes per night? 2 on a good night
What’s your LO like when waking at night? How long is he/she up? 10-15 mins
When you go to him/her is she fussing or crying? Or is it a mantra cry? At first fuss then i wait till a cry
What have you tried to settle?? Yes, for me he won't, husband generally can for an hour then wakes again
What do you do for A time and how long is it? 2.5hrs (+) gym, jumperoo, TV witrh sister
Are there developmental issues such as teething or milestones? More rolling, terming on and off but no teeth yes
Have you introduced cereal? Why, how much, and how many times a day? (for LO’s under 6 months) not really just trying solids now so only small amounts taken so far
Do they have a prop? If so what is it? Soother but doesn't rely on it all the time
Do they have a lovie? Yes just for bed/naps

[*Liz*]

Does he have a DF or any night feeds at all??

[Libby19]

He normally wakes around 10.30 so I feed him then, then I feed if he wakes! If it's less than 4 hrs I try not to but he won't settle if I don't feed him so normally end up feeding him! 😥😴

[*Liz*]

There is a super big growth spurt at six months and an EBF baby will often need 4 hrly feeds until solids are better established. I wonder if it is hunger if he only resettles for a short time for your husband?

There could be am element of OT in there as well due to the short naps. That first nap may be too early - a lot of 6 month olds need to be awake 3 hrs or so before a nap, that sometimes means they need a top up of milk if their solids are not great yet (and they only would be if you started them pretty early).

I think we need to stretch those A times out and try and get him onto 2 proper naps and see if that improves the night. But after 4 hrs I would just feed at night for now until solids are well enough established to rule out hunger.

[Libby19]

So we have managed a couple of days of extending A time and his naps are much longer now, today he managed a 2 1/2 hr nap which is the longest he's had (not being in a carseat)! Which is great! Still he's waking at night every 3-3 1/2 hrs though! I'm exhausted! He's starting to enjoy food a bit more so was hoping for better sleep so we'll keep it up! I'm considering trying formula (if he'll have it) before bed to try and fill him up! I feel like a bit of a failure but I don't know what else to do!

[*Liz*]

Can you resettle without feeding? Or will he go nuts?

Formula can upset tummies so isn't always helpful  .

I've never directly tackled night feeds whilst BFing myself (both of mine stopped when I switched to bottle and I weaned the last feed from a bottle).

Will ask some others to offer help if you want to try and wean them.

[newkidontheblock]

Hun, 1 or 2 feeds at 6 months are completely normal. Does he go right back to sleep after nursing? Solids/formula are not the best fix in any case, and may add to the problem instead. However, I do feel that this is mainly a routine issue and although 1 or 2 of those wakings are hunger, the others are not.

I agree with Liz that these wakings seem like OT. 90 minutes day sleep is way too little - at that age, DD needed 3 hours at the very least. A times also definitely need stretching.  At 6 months, my DD was doing 3.20 A. I think you need to move to 3 hours at the very least. It seems like you are in a UT/OT loop, where he is not tired enough for nap 1 but then very tired through the day and night due to the short naps.
Average A times- BOOKMARK ME!

I also feel that it might help to take a look at how he is spending the A time - What's bedtime routine? Time? Bath, feed, cuddle/play with sister, mobile, bed What do you do for A time and how long is it? 2.5hrs (+) gym, jumperoo, TV witrh sister Television, playing with his sis, and the mobile -- these are all highly stimulating and affect sleep.

Could you try tweaking your BT routine a tad ? So just bath, feed and bed? And with A times too - maybe a half hour of stimulating activities and then keep it low key? It just might help to extend your naps.

Have you taken the BW know your baby quiz?
The BW "Know Your Baby Quiz"
Knowing your LOs personality can be very helpful in understanding them and their needs.

[Libby19]

I agree that I think him waking so often is partly habit, I have tried to settle him but yes he goes nuts, if I can I send the husband in and he can't either. Last night was a pretty bad night but I do think he was OT, he had the huge nap at noon so then i tried to give him 3 hrs until the next one and then I was worried it was too close to bedtime! I find weekends throw off our schedule a bit so back at it today! But then also have my DD activities to fit around isn't easy!
So we've been using his mobile as the bedtime/nap time trigger, do you think this is too over stimulating? I do worry about taking that away though (he loves it) he might fuss more!
I did the BW test and I would definitely say he's a textbook baby, of course excluding the sleeping at night! He's such a happy easy baby!
Thanks for your help I'll keep working at this!

[newkidontheblock]

Oh sorry, I didn't mean that you should take it away. It is up to you really as you are the one observing him. With my DD (who also at that time was textbook -- her spirited side is showing now) the mobile was quite distracting during her transitions . It is quite disconcerting to have something over your face that you can't look away from. But that's just our experience with it:)

Have you considered doing naps at set times so that you can fit them around your DD's routine?

[Libby19]

Yes I do try,just every day is not the same and also I try and adjust if he wakes early say one day!
I can totally handle one or two feelings during the night just every 2-3 hrs is killing me! I am barely back to sleep and he's awake again! Then I get back in bed analyzing everything as it must be something I'm doing wrong and what I can do to fix it!
How do I break the habit when he's not hungry? Any tips?

[jessmum46]

Just jumping on to offer my experience here as we (I think) developed a bit of a night feed association thing despite DS being an independent sleeper at naps and bedtime.  I just started out with the first feed saying 'I will not feed him earlier than I did last night', logically if he could make it to say 11pm one night he probably wasn't hungry at 9pm the next.  Night one his first feed was at 23:15.  Night two he woke at 22:00 so I made sure he had his lovey (may be worth introducing one) and stroked his head/rested a hand on him whilst saying shhhhh until he was calm/fussing rather than all-out yelling, then stepped back and he went to sleep.  He then woke at around 22:20, 22:45, 23:00 and finally at 23:15.  As this was the same time as the previous night I tried one more resettle, thinking at least I would have pushed on the feed 15 mins.  He next woke at 03:30!!!  Which then gave me much more confidence in settling him in the earlier part of the night the next time, and I found it became easier to resettle too

Hope that helps x

[Libby19]

Thank you! He does have a lovey, so I will try but we kind of tried this before and more often than not he just gets louder and louder! But we will persist!