Author Topic: 9 months old and still waking Updated Please help!! (Read 4821 times)

**Clare** · « **on:** October 21, 2011, 09:43:36 am »

I guess you'd think by number 4 I'd have got this nailed

This has got to stop!! Amelie is almost 9 months old and is delightful!! She feeds and naps well, goes to bed like a dream but continues to wake during the night numerous times. I will admit to feeding her twice at night, it was once at around 3 and she was sleeping from 7 until 3 so I could cope with that, shes now waking at 1 and 4/5 to be fed and shouting out a few times inbetween that. When I say shouting its the kind of shout that has me suddenly sitting bolt up right, this girl is LOUD

Its not a fun way to be woken up.

Ive let it go for abit as we've had crawling and a cold and shes currently teething but I really cant go on anymore, when the boys came into my room at 6.30 ths morning burst into tears! I could not believe it was morning already

I know I need to stop the feeding but she is in our bedroom (No other options right now) and she wakes me up with every little movement and if shes awake she will not be quiet, Im so scared of her waking the boys up that its been easier just to feed her. Also, sometimes she is actually hungry, I can hear her tummy filling up

I guess a start would be to drop at least one feed

She goes to bed at 7, self soothes and sleeps soundly until her first wake up.

Any idea?? $:-\$ $:-\$

**Clare** · « **Reply #1 on:** October 21, 2011, 21:29:34 pm »

Just bumping this up in the hope I may get some ideas before I go to bed tonight. She has had a huge tea tonight so didn't want her bottle so Ive just given her a DF, she went to sleep at 7.

Thanks in advance xx

*Ali* · « **Reply #2 on:** October 22, 2011, 10:33:13 am »

Personally i would just feed at the 1am NW then do pupd for the next then when she's stopped that second waking and is taking more in the day I'd use pupd for the other night feed as well. If she is genuinely hungry at the NWs it is only because she is used to feeding at those times. Especially for that 4am feed when she's only gone 3hrs from her last NF. She goes longer that that in the day i assume and she's awake and burning energy then. Your other option if you don't want to go in so hard and fast is to gradually reduce the amount she takes at night. This is harder if you're BFing of course. If it were me I'd do pupd as it'll take weeks the gradual route and i prefer quicker results. Can DH or anyone else help you with the pupd or tending to the boys if they wake?

**Clare** · « **Reply #3 on:** October 22, 2011, 13:17:43 pm »

Thanks Ali. Im not sure PU/PD would work as she doesnt actually get up, she lays in her cot and wiggles around and moans. She doesnt even really cry but it keeps me awake and she only ever stops when I feed her, if I leave her I think she'd start to get cross with herself and cry.

Last night I did a DF and she slept until 3 and I fed her again $:-\$ It was a better night than most but still its not great. I guess its a start but in theory shes still having 2 night feeds!! I really have no problem doing a DF if she'd just sleep through the night but Im not sure if its disturbing her or not, if I dont do it she wakes between 12 and 1. I hate that as I havent been asleep that long

Im waffling again, Im so tired

Hubby could see to the boys but I just cant risk them waking as they may not settle back that easily and I cant have them tired for school the next day, I guess I could do it on a weekend. If it doesnt take too long that could work.

firsttimemummy · « **Reply #4 on:** October 22, 2011, 15:07:40 pm »

Following along as we are in the same boat albeit Oliver just cries on and off rather than shouts ... plan to get back on track after our holiday next week .... The worst thing is that when he was tiny he slept 7am til 4 or 5am!!!

Ima shel Alon · « **Reply #5 on:** October 22, 2011, 16:39:59 pm »

Hi Clare,
If you let her get cross and start crying and only then going to her, would that wake up the boys? If not, I'd really try to leave her. I know that it wakes you up, but just lye there and wait till she cries. She might surprise you. I'd think just out of curiosity to see what happens, you could always go and feed her in the end.

Is there a way to send the boys with DH for a camping trip (don't know how old they are and what's the weather like) so you could focus on Amelie? Maybe not camping, but to visit somebody for the weekend?

You know from my thread that we are right now in the same situation and I read the PU/PD chapter yesterday and what Tracey said is that if your baby wakes up hungry during the night then she is not getting enough food during the day. What we did (but have no other kiddos) is one night no matter what not giving the bottle. And it worked. We still have DF, but after that nada.
I would work on that first, getting more food into her during the day and no bottle at night. How is her solids intake? For us it DOES make a difference how the day went regarding solids.
I feel for you, I know this tiredness.

*Ali* · « **Reply #6 on:** October 22, 2011, 19:10:36 pm »

As pp says you'd need to wait for her to cry to do pupd. The worst would probably be over after 2 nights so yes start on a Friday night when your boys don't need to be at school the next day. Even better if DH can take them somewhere. If not you might be surprised what they'll sleep through. Definitely get more food in the day when you can. But she'll take more the next day the first time you skip a night feed i would think even if you can't.

Ima shel Alon · « **Reply #7 on:** October 25, 2011, 21:12:06 pm »

Clare, how are things going?

Zefyra · « **Reply #8 on:** October 25, 2011, 22:58:21 pm »

I'm also going through the exact same thing with 8.5mth dd, also bf. I gave up the df a long time ago as she still woke like clockwork every 4hrs (still does). Looking back, perhaps o should have carried on the df and tried to kick the night feeds but she always seems genuinely hungry.

Friends keep telling me to do CIO who have said it worked but I just don't believe in it.

Ima, did you do pupd for that one night?

I think dd is starting to teethe (no teeth yet!) as she is off food and only wants puree or cold fruit puree and is constantly rubbing her gums. Im wondering whether it is a good idea to try now or wait it out...

Ima shel Alon · « **Reply #9 on:** October 26, 2011, 17:21:57 pm »

I did PD because he is standing already and there is no PU at that stage. I tell you, that makes PU/PD so much easier! I don't know how can people do CIO in this age when there is a much nicer

solution.
In the past we did once PU/PD and DH and I swapped every 10min because it was so disturbing, but now I can do it 30min by myself no problem. If your DD stands already I highly recommend it. I expected 1.5-2h crying and got 25min when the second half was him lying already and mantra crying.
This combined with a much darker room and white noise (which he only started having a couple of weeks before sleep training) were the solution for us. I hope things will get better for you.

**Clare** · « **Reply #10 on:** November 07, 2011, 10:46:28 am »

Please help. This is ridiculous. The past two nights she has been waking up THREE times. At 11.30, 2.30 and 5.30. I fed her at 11.30 thinking that may see her through but when she woke up at 2.30 I refused to feed her and she was screaing her hungry cry

I tried to pacify her with her dummy, she woke DH up and one of the boys. I did feed her coz she was quite obviously hungry, I could hear her tummy filling up as I fed her $:-\$ $:-\$ She did a similar thing at 5.30. I am beyond tired today.

Is this a growth spurt?! She wasnt sleeping before all this but this is worse!!

Im going to try feeding her up today but I tried that yesterday. She actually took more milk last night than she did in the day yesterday!!!!

Please help me, Im exhausted

Shiv52 · « **Reply #11 on:** November 07, 2011, 10:57:22 am »

{{{{hugs hun}}}}

I think hun you are going to have to bite the bullet and stop the night feeds. If she's taking more milk in the night than the day then she probably is hungry at the minute and you need to shift it. Feeding her up in the day will only help so much and you'll only see the real difference when you stop giving her milk at night. It can take a few days for the hunger to shift. I think you'll need to get DH on board to and take it night about and the other one of sleep elsewhere so you can get some sleep to have energy for the next day and to do the following night.

You may want to start with one NF only and PU/PD for any other wakings and then in a few days cut that too.

Is she is FF and taking solids then she really shouldn't need a NF at this stage.

Did you say she has a dummy? PU/PD can't be used with a dummy so best plan may be to just offer her her dummy and then ssh-pat to sleep.

Lolly · « **Reply #12 on:** November 07, 2011, 11:04:44 am »

I think Shiv is right that you need to bite the bullet. With the feeds, how much is she taking at each bottle and are you still doing a DF? If you are doing the DF still I would leave that for the moment and work on only giving 1 bottle during the night and settle her anyway you can without feeding before a certain time. You can offer a full feed the first night then work on reducing the bottle by 1oz every 3 nights and then when the bottle gets down to only 1 or 2oz just offer water. I think this works better than watering the bottles as you are reducing the volume she is getting over night.

When that one bottle has gone you will need to stop the DF, you can do it in the same way, or follow Tracy's plan by reducing the oz and bringing it forward every 3 nights.

{{HUGS}} though, it's hard work.

Laura

**Clare** · « **Reply #13 on:** November 07, 2011, 11:07:33 am »

Argh!! Say it isnt so

It goes against motherly instinct to not feed a baby that is clearly hungry

Im not sure I can do it

Im going to have to think on this one. I completely see what you are saying though. Last night I did try but there was no way she was going to go back to sleep, I even tried rocking her and putting her in with us. She was proper screaming!!! Im not sure Ive heard her that loud before (If she woke DH up she MUST have been loud!!

**Clare** · « **Reply #14 on:** November 07, 2011, 11:12:22 am »

Thanks Laura, posted at the same time.

That may work. She is only taking about 3/4 oz at a time, she's only ever had 6oz in her bottles and she wont take more than 4/5oz in the day, its quite hard to fill her up!

I do a DF sometimes, I did last night but I went to bed at 9.30 so had to do it then and she only took 2 oz and then woke at 11.30!! Im not sure if the DF helps or disturbs her or what.

Its such a shame, she goes to bed like a dream, naps like a dream. She will always be asleep by 7 at bedtime and sleeps soundly until that first night waking which used to be 3 ish, its just got ridiculous the last few days, she was also very poorly so guess she maybe making up for that too. Who knows!!

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