8 mo old suddenly not falling back to sleep

[emilykstew]

My baby girl’s EASY is approx. this:

6:30/7- wake and bf
8:30- breakfast
10- sleep
11:30/12- wake and bf
1:30- lunch (usually small)
3- sleep
4- wake and bf
6- dinner
7:30- bf and sleep

She’s been sleeping beautifully for about 5-6 weeks.  I cut the df without a problem and she’d sleep straight through- wonderful!  She had been a good sleeper at the beginning, then 4-6 mo was rough due to teething mostly.  We used orajel and pu/pd and after just a couple nights, I’d only need to pick her up maybe twice before she got the picture and would go back to sleep.  With the emergence of her first two teeth, sleep almost instantly improved. 

Three nights ago she woke around 3:45am and after what usually is just a mantra cry increased and continued, I went in.  I rubbed her back and she instantly calmed.  I rubbed it for a while, but she just started cooing and not sleeping, so I backed away and sang her lullaby and she did fall asleep (nearly an hour).

The next night she woke around 1:30am and wouldn’t stop ‘calling’- it wasn’t really crying.  I did eventually go in, placed my hand on her back and again- coos.  I stopped and sang her to sleep again (just about a half hour).

Last night she woke at 10pm, right when we were going to bed.  Argh!  I didn’t touch her, just came in and sang and she was out in maybe just 15 min.  However, she woke at 11:30, 12:30, 1ish (all of which I tried to just let her cry… dunno if I should’ve!)... but she would eventually fall asleep after only like 5 min, and it never was an actual cry.  However, around 4am she woke again and just kept calling off and on for about 30 min.  I thought I better check to see if she’d pooped or something… so I picked her up.  Bad decision.  Putting her back down resulted in screams.  Tried again, only escalated.  I tried rubbing her back and singing again… no luck, she was a wreck.  I ended up just feeding her back to sleep, which I really have only done semi-recently when we’ve been travelling. 

Anyway- I’m at a loss.  I woke up this morning with a terrible stomach flu and am just dreading tonight.  I know you don’t recommend crying it out, but it seems like she just wants me and I can’t let that happen.  You’re probably going to say to get my husband involved, and I should… he just has a construction job and gets up super early and it’s physically tiring all day, so I try to spare him… but maybe it’s what we need to do. 

[emilykstew]

also- today her naps were really restless... she usually naps really well, especially in the morning...

[ZacsMumme]

Hugs, I hope you are feeling better.
If your LO is only fussing then it's okay to leave her to try to settle, but if she is crying for you then someone needs to go in, even if it's DP

Your EASY looks good, I wonder if your LO is hitting a wonder week developmental leap...
http://blogginaboutbabies.wordpress.com/2009/04/24/wonder-week-37/

Also, she could be teething, have you checked her mouth?

How long has she been on this routine?

[emilykstew]

I found that "wonder week" so interesting- I do think she could be in that phase.  I don't think it's teething cause it's not a painful cry, when she got her first two teeth, we certainly knew it was her mouth. 

She's slept better the past few nights, but still wakes at least once and can't seem to do it on her own.  I think that night (the night I posted), I did have to do PU/PD for a while, but it eventually worked.  Since then she's still been waking, usually in the first part of the night- before midnight, but at totally random times, and pu/pd has been working really well- except that she's still unable to soothe herself.  I go in, pick her up once, 5 sec later, put her down, cries, pick up again, put down 5 sec later and she's out.  The past three nights it's been exactly just twice.  It's not a super big deal if it's so easy to put her back to sleep, but I thought pu/pd was supposed to stop the night wakings all together... I'm not really asking for tons of advice, just more curious as to why she's doing this.  Any thoughts? 

[ZacsMumme]

I really think it may be developmental if she is just needing a bit of reassurance...or SA? OR do you think you could be going in too early? Are you only going in when he cry escalates and she is calling/crying for you?

The WW are so interesting arent they!