Sudden night wakings after months of sleeping well

[Mndys]

Hi guys. Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.

Some background: We have a 23week old bottle fed baby, loves his grub and is 18+lbs. Usually a fantastic sleeper. In his first 2 weeks he slept 12-4, then kept pushing back
the times 12-6, 11-6 until about 8 weeks ago we were enjoying a blissfull night from 9.30pm to 7am!

The problem: About 4 weeks ago we had a terrible night when from 1.30 on he woke almost every hour... not properly awake but crying in his sleep which didn't stop until we put
his soother back in (we waited to see if he would soothe himself but just kept crying until he woke himself up properly) As he went back to his usual sound sleep the following
night we weren't too worried.Since then it recurred a couple of times a week until this last week where it has happened every single night. Sleeps soundly from 9.30pm-1.30am
and then wakes almost every hour until 5/6 when i finally give in and get up and feed him. Still naps as normal in the day.

His schedule varies depending on his waking up time which is usually between 6 or 7 and runs in 4hour cycles
E.g.
6am Wakes and fed bottle and goes back to sleep
8am Awake time
10am breakfast (rice and apple puree) and bottle
10:30 sleep
12.00 Awake
14:00 Lunch (veg puree) and bottle
15:00 sleep
16:00 Awake
18:00 Bottle
18:30 catnap
19:00 Awake
20:30 Bath and storytime
21:15 Bottle
21:30 Sleep

What we've tried -
 - gave him neurofen/calpol in case he his gums were hurting (is teething quite a bit)
 - more bedclothes, fewer bedclothes in case it was temperature related
 - we started solids a week and a half ago, which he has taken to really well but it was after the sleeplessness began so can't be the cause but hasn't helped either. He gets 7oz bottles and leaves a couple of ozs in the bottles he drinks with food. Haven't reduced the number of bottles yet as we haven't worked up to 3 meals yet and because he isn't eating large meals - we're still introducing a range of food because he has exzema and we are worried about allergies and so introduce one new food every 3 days.
 - Tried reintroducing a night feed at 2am (something we've never had to do) but it didn't help in the least and was actually worse because his dreamfeed ended up being a
wideawake feed so had to resettle him afterwards.

Would love any advice please, I know we've been so lucky with him that I shouldnt be complaining now but would love him to be as settled as before :-(

[becj86]

That waking every hour does sound like discomfort.

Does he have reflux? I just wonder, as some babies that have a food (often milk protein) intolerance have reflux associated with it and suffer with eczema as well. Reflux can flare with teething...

Has he cut his milk intake over 24hr since starting solids? If so, you may need to look at when you're offering milk and solids to ensure he's still getting enough milk, as the milk should be his main source of nutrition til he's 12 months old. Generally we suggest to offer milk and then solids an hour or so later with a sippy cup of water so the solids are additional.

It could be worth bringing his bedtime earlier so he's having closer to a 12hr night, so asleep in bed for the night around 8 or 8:30pm as he's getting up for the day at 8am. That should help address what may be some underlying overtiredness which is making it harder for him to settle back to sleep on his own.

[Mndys]

Hi becj86,

firstly thanks for your advice.

We had one or two better nights but am back to getting up more than 10 times last night until I finally fed him at 5.30.

He doesnt have reflux.
I took your points on board :
I have been counting any ozs left in his bottle after feeds and he has not reduced his milk intake at all but simply added the solid food.
And have separated the solid feeds from the bottles and introduced a sippy cup.
We tried putting him down earlier but he either isnt ready to sleep or when he does go to sleep he wakes up earlier accordingly but still with the same 4/5hours of solid sleep followed by wakenings every hour, the intervals get shorter as the night progresses.

I was thinking about trying to finish using the soother but he goes to sleep fine without it. Its only these night wakenings that he demands it to settle back. I'm wondering why his sleep can be so settled and a proper deep sleep for half the night (and he doesnt mind that he hasn't got his soother) and then so light that he wakes later in the night. Any suggestions?

[becj86]

I'm wondering why his sleep can be so settled and a proper deep sleep for half the night (and he doesnt mind that he hasn't got his soother) and then so light that he wakes later in the night. Any suggestions?

Have a read of this info: http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64515.0
It seems to me that he's fine while in a deeper sleep but once he gets to the light sleep stage of the night, he is struggling to stay asleep which tells me he's probably in some discomfort or is not an independent sleeper. He may even just be itchy/uncomfortable with the eczema.

I was thinking about trying to finish using the soother but he goes to sleep fine without it. Its only these night wakenings that he demands it to settle back.

I don't want to push too hard, but refluxers often use a dummy to help keep the milk down (or comfort feed frequently as the milk going down soothes them) and reduce their pain and often do crash for at least a few hours each night. He doesn't have to spit up to have reflux either, here are some other signs/symptoms: http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=654.0

You could try tweaking your day a little:
6am Night feed
8am Awake time
10:45 sleep
12.30 Awake
15:30 sleep
17:00 Awake
20 Sleep