Almost 1 year old waking & needing cuddles all the time - HELP!

[Littlemans Mummy]

Hello,
I'm new to the board so apologise for just barging in with a problem! I have read some of the posts but can't quite find anything the same (plus I'm not sure on all the abbreviations!)

Our son is going to be 1 soon and although has slept through no problem has taken to waking, crying and will only settle after a cuddle. Problem is this can be 4 or 5 times a night and for anything from 10 mins to and hour. He won't settle at all with my husband!

I have seen BW before and considered starting to try the pick up put down but don't know if he is too old? Don't really know if control crying is a good idea as he gets so upset he holds his breath and some times gags

His routine is as follows;

8am (ish) - Awake and has breakfast

10am - 10.30 - Bottle (formula)

Naps until about 11 - 11.30

12pm - Lunch

Plays or we go to baby groups or whatever.

2.30 ish - Bottle then Nap (this can be an intermittent one but usually ok. It can also sometimes be as late as 3-3.30pm but again it's usually a good nap for 1½ -2 hours normally)

5pm - Dinner

Play time

7 - 7.30 (depending on how late we have our tea) He has his bath, very activity filled and fun then a wrestle to get nappy and Pj's on!

Then 9oz bottle before bed with meds (he was prem so has meds he has to take).

He can usually stir about and hour after going down. Then, through the night it can be 4 or 5 times and will only settle with a cuddle. If he stirs when we're holding him he actually puts a sleepy hand out to where our face is to check we are still there.

I'm thinking a separation thing but he doesn't display this in the day. I work 3 days a week and he is fine all day. In fact, everyone always says they have never seen a baby smile so much!

I was thinking separation, over tired, cold, too hot we have tried everything.

Any suggestions gratefully received. Is his routine not right?

Please help  
Andrea

Should add that on the morning afternoon and night time bottles we feed him with a cuddle for him to go off to sleep so he is asleep when we put him down. Howeve, he has (not often but has) gone down awake before on a nap. and will fall asleep in puschair or car if tired without bottle.

[Tweakster]

Hi there Andrea, welcome to the BW forum!  Since your LO is nearly 12 mths I am going to pop this to Toddler sleep.  We would handle the BW techniques a little different with a slightly older bubs.

You haven't mentioned teeth in your post - what's happening with teething?

(((hugs)))

[Littlemans Mummy]

Hi, thank you Hugs are appreciated! Very tired mama!!

Yes, he has been teething but I don't 100% think it is that. He does get like this when they are bad but it seems to be more he wakes up then realises he is in bed alone and cries. I go in and he is either stood at the end of his cot or sat up with his arms up wanting to be lifted out.
When I take him in the spare room (set up so he can sleep on me) he will go right off and be happy. Then after an hour I can put him to bed and he is usually good until the morning.
Last night was a bit better but we still had a co-sleep from 3.30am to 5am.

Do you think his routine looks ok? Would it possibly be teeth and now he has a waking habit?

Was going to try bathing him earlier tonight about 7pm so he is in bed earlier. Could he be overtired?
Thank you for your help!

[deb]

Around this age there are developmental things going on as well as teeth coming in. He's getting better-able to express his needs now, and some of his preferences may be changing; whereas before it might not have occurred to him to want to be picked up, now he knows that he feels comforted by being held so he may be actively seeking it out instead.

Molars are BIG teeth, too, and for some kids are the worst ones. In our house molars were bad but nothing compared to canines/eyeteeth, so it wasn't till more like 16-18 months that we had the same behavior you're describing and it took us by surprise.

Can't hurt to try bathing earlier; it's also possible that teething pain may wear his out and make him more tired. You might also try giving him some pain meds before sleep time and see if it makes a difference.

I definitely would NOT do CC, especially if he's hurting; you may well end up with a crib/cot aversion on top of the other issues.