3 NW with 6 month old. Please help.

[TiffanyT]

Ok...so ladies I thought it was definitely a GS, and it seemed to pass after a few days and he did really well only waking once a night. Fast forward to last night. He woke every 15 mins - 2 hours ALL NIGHT long. Woke up screaming, and I tried to feed him twice (just to see if that was it or still the GS, I've been feeding him once a night occasionally) and he didn't want it except at 4 am, but still didn't take much then either.
Both DH and I switched off on settling him, and we tried everything, BW and APOP and none of it worked to settle him indefinitely. We think he has a touch of a cold, but it's not like he's having issues breathing or anything. No top teeth that I can see. He's generally happy in the day. He did have a ridiculously long A time bc we couldn't get him to CN but he was happy the whole time.

This is so frustrating. The GS I can understand but he was on the way to STTN (did it once or twice) and now this?? I know that babies aren't consistent and predictable but jeez!! I was frantically trying to find this situation in my 2 BW books and found nothing. I was seriously doubting BW last night

[anna*]

Does he have a paci? This really sounds like discomfort to me, unless there's a prop issue.

[TiffanyT]

Thanks anna, I thought it might be discomfort as well. I find it hard to be sure, since he seems pretty happy in the day. I know that things get worse that way at night, and wouldn't you know, we just ran out of Tylenol so had none to give. I picked some up this morning already.
He has a paci and loves it. I find myself using it during a times when he's fussy and I'm trying to get him to stay up a little longer. He was starting to settle without it last night but ultimately would want it before actually going back to sleep. It's hard to know whether he was just crying for the paci, but now that I think of it (in the light of day, too) it seems a lot like discomfort.  DH and I were like "are we rushing in? Is he paci addicted? Did we cause this?" but I don't see how at 6 months he can go from independent sleep to this without another cause.

Sorry posting from my phone of this sounds a little disjointed. Thanks again.

[anna*]

I know that they can go to independent sleep to having a prop overnight without warning. My DS did it with feeding to sleep at night, all of a sudden he was waking constantly to be fed. What did it take to settle him back to sleep? Was he going back to sleep quickly with a replug?

[TiffanyT]

No, he wasn't going back to sleep right away after a replug. I did have to put it in a few times. A couple of times DH and I picked him up bc he was wide-eyed after we went in. He would almost go to sleep a few times without the paci (turn his head to the side, close eyes, get really quiet) but then a few seconds later he'd toss his head back and forth and start to cry. I don't know that he was looking for it, or it just sort of sent him over the edge to sleep to have it in his mouth. I also tried to let him cry, I've never known his mantra (which is what makes me think I've created this by not knowing when to leave him alone) I'd let him cry when the scream was just initial and then he'd go into a rhythmic cry. But it never stopped there....it always escalated and we had to go in in the end and replug, hold down arms and shh.

Does that all make sense?

[anna*]

Hopefully it was a one off. Let us know how tonight goes?

[MissyD]

Hi there. My DS also had a hard time sleeping at night (waking every 1-2hrs after BT, all night) bc he was fed to sleep so I know how tired and frustrated you must feel. Just wanted to send some hugs . Hopefully your little one has a good night tonight!

Oh, and I still don't know DS's mantra cry . Wish these LOs came with an instruction manual!

[teilvnav]

Tiffany, it could be teeth even if you can't see them yet. Both of my kids had bouts of discomfort a few weeks before the teeth cut through; I think that they hurt moving down towards the gumline. Keep an eye out for a fever too, because my Anna-belle has already had two ear infections in her short little life!

[TiffanyT]

It's starting again and it's only 10 pm. He's screaming and I don't think it's for the paci. I have tried patting, a bottle, the paci, the only thing that is calming him is picking him up and holding him. What am I doing??? Ahh even now hes wriggling and moaning and sighing on my chest. I'm causing something awful here but I don't know what to do. DH is at work and ds is almost 20 lbs and I have a bad back. All other attempts to do PU/PD have put me at the chiropractor.

I'm flailing here I know.

[teilvnav]

Aww, that sucks Tiffany. It's not your fault; he is just going through something! Don't hurt yourself doing PU/PD... if he is in discomfort it isn't going to work anyway. It does sound like he is in pain or something... I would say that his cold is worse than the symptoms show (always the case with DS a few days before I see a runny nose or coughing) or it is teething. Or maybe gas/cramps from a new type of solid food? 

Did you try giving him pain meds last night? Did it help at all? How did the rest of your night go? If it is pain or illness, it won't last too long!

[TiffanyT]

Ok so here's what happened. He didn't settle at all after 10pm. I shh'd and rubbed him tummy and he settled, but then would just start to scream again even with the paci in his mouth. I picked him up once and rocked him until he was quite settled, laid him on his side and thought that was the solution. Maybe he wanted his side. Well...15 mins later, screaming. I just said F it, and brought him in to bed with me. Co-sleeping is the ENTIRE reason I started with BW so it felt like a huge failure. Well, he calmed down right away. DH came home from work at 1am (not a shift, he had worked a full day, went to see his mom after her mastectomy today, went back in at 9 and home at 1 to go back to work at 7 this morning so I didn't want him up all night either). DH tried to put him in his crib but he woke and screamed again...and for the next half hour. I begged DH to let him sleep with us....I just wanted to sleep.

I gave him Tylenol at BT and in the MOTN but that wasn't it. I don't get this. Could it be SA already? I always put him to bed groggy but awake, even if he's fallen asleep while I burp him over my shoulder. He would never sleep on me until a month ago, and he's been more cuddly lately.

Anyhow...I hate that we co-slept in case that becomes a problem but what do you do when you haven't slept???

[MissyD]

Sorry to hear that your night was difficult .  And don't beat yourself up for co-sleeping.  We co-slept (and breastfed to sleep until 8 months) but hey, you have to do what you have to do sometimes . 

I found we had the same problem with DS (waking up every 1-2 hrs after BT for the whole night) that I was forced to PUPD again (after 2 failed attempts in the past) but what helped this last time was only doing PD. PUPD only made DS scream louder and longer and I couldn't stand it.  We tried meds, tweeking A times, BT, etc but nothing seemed to stop the 10-15 NWs every night. 

Would you be up for just trying PD?  I found it a lot easier than PUPD, and I think DS got the idea early on that I wasn't going to PU so he was foreced into calming himself.  I know it's hard, it was for us, but it did work in the end.  Your DS sounds like mine in that he just doesn't know how to put himself back to sleep when he wakes, hence the waking every hour.

Hoping you are having a goo day

[TiffanyT]

Thanks Missy. I think PD only is for when DS is sitting up, correct? Clark isn't sitting up, so there's no PD without PU just yet. We are soothing over the side of the crib bc like you, I do find PU/PD gets him more angry. Or at least it doesn't help bc he's already screaming once I lay him down but before my hands are off him.

I am just so baffled. At first I was frustrated that he was BFing 3 times a night. Then it took no time to get it down to 1 feed in the MOTN and he even STTN once or twice. GS hit, and it was terrible, but that seemed to end. He was only waking once a night last week. Now this seems all of a sudden, and I don't get it? I've never co-slept with him before, and only occasionally held him to sleep, not on purpose more just by accident. It never caused a problem. Maybe it's teeth and he's just soothed by being near us. IDK.

DH is off on vacation next week (ironically we booked it when he was still waking 3 times per night so we could tackle that sleeping issue) so we will have to see if this keeps up until then. In the meantime, any offers of opinion will help, even if it seems like it may upset me. I'd rather the truth than sparing my feelings

[oliversmommy]

Hi Tiffany,
Unfortunately I don't have any suggestions/advice for you but I have been following your posts b/c I am in the exact same boat as you, so know that you are not alone!  I definitely feel your frustration/anxiety/self-doubt.  My DS is also 6 mos old - he used to only wake 2x/night for NF (I also BF) - then his NWs increased - I thought he was hungry so I fed him each time, not realizing I was creating a prop.  He's now down to one NF a night, but the number and duration of NW have increased.  Unfortunately I substituted the paci for the boob, which I'm now trying to wean.  We have good nights and bad nights - I get my hopes up that we are making progress with the good nights and then I get SO discouraged with the bad nights and question everything I am doing.  It is SO hard to let him cry, I also am not sure of my DS's mantra cry, so I always wonder if I am intervening too early or too late, and he attempts to resettle the same as your DS - he'll close his eyes and be quiet and still and I'll think Yay! We did it! and then he starts wailing again.  I also wonder if it's discomfort but I just don't know.  I also feel very alone in this process as everyone around me tells me to use CIO.  I just pray that I am helping him learn to self soothe and that I am not making things worse.

Okay, thanks for letting me intrude on your post and vent!  Hang in there - we will get through this!  If I figure anything out I'll definitely let you know.  I just keep reminding myself "this too shall pass. . ." 

[TiffanyT]

Wow...thanks so much Oliversmommy. That sounds exactly like Clark & I! It's great to know that I'm not alone. Like...I could have written that post word for word. I appreciate you letting me know that I am not alone and I hope we both can help each other.

I SO appreciate that anyone even reads and responds to my posts. This forum has been a lifesaver many times over!