H-E-L-PPPPPPP...6mo night wakings out of control!

[mollywheeler827]

My little guy's sleep issues are out of control! I feel like I have read SO many books/suggestions..and NOTHING works, and NEED a solution to our problem...it just seems to get worse and worse...

First, let me start with his EASY-
He is EBF..I pump and he takes a bottle every feed..

7am- Wake and 4oz
8am- solids
9am- Nap (1hr 20-1hr 40)
11am- 5oz
12pm- solids
12/12:30- Nap (1hr 20-1hr 40)
3pm- 5oz
5pm- solids
6:30- bath...6oz..bed by 7pm
11pm- 6oz dreamfeed

SO, naps have ALWAYS been an issue with my little guy, but we have finally gottan into a routine. He used to take a 40 minute catnap around 430ish, but he FIGHTS that nap so bad, that it just ends up being a struggle..and I'm not the one winning. So, I figured it was time to drop that nap. Mind you, his night wakings were happening EVEN with that nap, so I figured it didn't even make a difference...

He is waking up screaming around 9:30, again at 10:30 and then 3 or 4 other times throughout the night. I AM CLUELESS on what is causing this. We have tried leaving him in there, which occasionally works, and he does fall back asleep, we have tried him sleeping on his belly, re-plugging the paci (which usually always works). The minute he sees us, he stops crying, so I have a feeling that this is an attention thing. I have NO idea how to break this. It is almost like he doesn't need PU/PD, because if you put the paci in, and he sees you..he goes back to sleep. The problem is not the length of time he is up, because it is usually just minutes..but, it is the AMOUNT of times he is waking throughout the night. We are exhausted. I feel like this is getting worse and worse, and I don't know how to put a stop to it? He has always been such a good baby- he never cried in the night as a newborn, and rarely..up until about a month ago. Is 12hours too much sleep at night? We just can't keep him up past 7..he is dying to go to sleep..

Suggestions/thoughts?? If you can help, sending you a BIG hug!!

[bongabees]

Sorry I can't really help, only to say I just posted about the same issue... so looking forward to hearing answers too and to sympathise!

[Mom-of-boys]

First of all, props to you for pumping!  I did the same thing, and it's a time-consuming commitment on your part. 

I totally feel your pain.  My 6 mo still wakes several times at night.  A while back, he did the exact same thing, waking up crying so loudly around 8:30-9:00 pm, just out of the blue.  For us, it was teething related.  We gave him a bit of Infant Tylenol and extra cuddling and it did the trick.  Is he showing any signs of teething during the day?  Do you think the night wakings are related to separation anxiety, seeing as he seems to fall asleep when he sees that you're there?

[mollywheeler827]

It feels good to know that we are not alone, but sad that others need to go through this MISERABLE phase

I THOUGHT it was teething, but this has been going on close to 2 weeks. He is totally not himself during the days..not eating as much, and very fussy. Like I said..he is the BEST baby - always content and happy. So, I took him to the doctor, as he was running a low grade fever later at night for 3 days...and they said it was viral, but it should be gone by NOW. I have tried Tylenol before bed, and it hasn't helped at all? He already cut the bottom two teeth, and we wouldn't have even know he was teething if he hadn't drooled a gallon a day! So, I am finding it hard to think it is teeth, unless the top two hurt tons worse than the bottom two!?

Is that a sign of separation? Any ideas on what to do if that is the case?

Thank you so much for taking time to listen/help!

[Bex09]

Hi, it looks to me like your LO is probably getting OT by BT due to his long last A time. That can cause frequent NW, especially before midnight.

Your DS A time is a little low for his age, by 6 months most LOs are on about 2.5h. Also for dropping the CN most LOs would be on nearer 3hrs of A time then the last A time isn't so long. Maybe you could try pushing his A times longer by 10/15 mins every few days and see if that will then lengthen his naps and shorten the last A time. So eventually your day might look something like...

7am wu
A 7.00 - 9.30 (2.5h)
S 9.30 - 11.30 (2h)
A 11.30 - 2.00 (2.5h)
S 2.00 - 4.00 (2h)
A 4.00 - 7.00 (3h)
BT 7.00 pm

As another point it sounds like the paci has become a prop and he is waking to be replugged. Does he need the paci in to fall asleep?

[bongabees]

Hi! So, my little guy was doing the same as I mentioned before and things seem to have calmed down. I have NO idea if this has anything to do with what we did, or it was just a phase due to teething and having been away with family. But I can tell you what we tried and you can see if it they work for you.

I think he is going through SA suddenly, which was made worse by his having a virus and teething and being around loads of family for a few weeks. So, I still went into him in the night, but tried not to pick him up if possible. I tried to settle him as best I could in the cot, but if that failed, I just tried to do PUPD (which was sometimes OK somethimes not). I put a nightlight in his room and loads of toys in his cot and made sure he had them to hand if he woke in the night.  I also gave him paracetamol before bed and sometimes did a DF and paracetamol then too, aswell as teething gel. When I was sure he wasn't in pain or had a temperature anymore, I stopped with the paracetamol.

I know for us it is usually guess work and you never really know if it is something you did or if things just smooth themselves out eventually.

Keep going with trying different things and keep us posted . All the best!