26 week old sleep problems

[deborah_c]

LO is 6 months old today, and for the past few days has been having really abnormal sleep problems at night.  For some background, as of a few weeks ago he would normally wake once around 4am for a feed, but other than that he would sleep from about 7:30pm-7am without any other wakings.  We even had 2 consecutive days about 2 weeks ago where he slept all the way through and didn't even wake up at 4!  However, last week he came down with a cold and also got an ear infection, so sleep was understandably a little off then.  Now he is over the cold and ear infection, but his sleep problems have gotten much worse.  He is waking every 2-3 hours now and is very hard to settle back to sleep most of those times.  The last 2 nights he has woken around midnight, 2:30am, 4:30am, and when he woke around 4:30 he was pretty much wide awake and it took close to an hour to get him back to sleep.  I also tried nursing him when he was upset and wouldn't settle (I don't like to do that because I don't want to go back to old habits), and he would calm down, but he wasn't really drinking much milk.  It seemed more like he was just nibbling for comfort.  Two other things that have changed is that at day care he wants to be held all the time and they have a difficult time keeping him calm, and he gets upset now when I try to feed him solids.  He was eating them pretty well a couple of weeks ago, but now he turns his head almost immediately and cries. 

I'm wondering what could be going on here.  I have a few hunches, but was wondering if any other experienced moms can look at his behaviors and have a good idea of what's happening.  I'm guessing he is either teething or he is going through the wonder week 26 and that is disturbing things?  Or maybe a combination of both?

If anyone wants to chime in and give me any ideas I'd appreciate it!  I would post his EASY routine, but the days he is in day care it gets all out of whack because he doesn't nap more than 45 mins at a time there.  It's always been that way, and I've just come to accept that that is how it will be on his day care days.  He had always been fine in the past with it, just this week that things have gone wacky.

[*Ali*]

Is it possible he is still getting over the cold or ear infection?
There is also a big growth spurt at 6mo which can mess with sleep and cause extra NWs.
Does he go to sleep independently for naps and BT?
Has he been in daycare for a while? Just wondering if that may be a big change for him.

[deborah_c]

He doesn't go to sleep independently yet.  We were starting PU/PD, but then he got sick so we stopped for awhile until he is better.  I think he is pretty much over the cold/ear infection.  Had a Dr. appt this morning and she said he looks good.

He has been in daycare since October and was doing well, but then he was out of it for 3 weeks over the holidays.  When he went back a few weeks ago he did seem to need to adjust back again, but then we had to take him out last week when he was sick. When he went back again this week he really seemed out of sorts and was fussy, needing to be held all the time and not sleeping well.

How would I know if he is in the 6 month growth spurt?  He doesn't seem to be asking for food any more frequently.  Last night was a little better sleep wise in that he didn't wake until 4, but then after that he was waking every 30-40 mins when he would roll from his side to his back and couldn't get back to sleep.

[*Ali*]

They would normally eat more during a growth spurt but it is hard to tell when BFing as obviously you can't see how much he is taking overall. If you feed him at night does he still wake again so much after?

It could also be developmental. Has he started rolling or sitting recently? It could also be the daycare and getting back into it after the weeks away. The wanting to be held could just be insecurity. They start to realise you are a separate being who canl
wave them around this age.

I would push ahead with the sleep training as that should help him be able to soothe himself back to sleep when he does wake at night.

[deborah_c]

I am starting to think it is more developmental than anything else, but his behavior still confuses me.   He has started rolling from his back to his side, but he has been doing that for a couple of weeks now, so it isn't something brand new.

The last 2 nights he has woken about 2 hours after going to bed for the night screaming.  I tried both nights to get him back to sleep for 20  minutes and he was crying so hard in my arms that I was convinced he was in pain.  I didn't know what else to do but to take him out of his room for a bit, and strangely enough, as soon as we were out of his room he stopped crying.  After a few minutes he became very happy and playful and was extremely interested in everything around him.  So now I'm pretty sure that he probably didn't have anything wrong with him physically, otherwise why would he have stopped crying as soon as we left his room?  I'm very confused and just hoping someone has had a similar experience or can shed some light on what might be happening with my LO?

[*Ali*]

The wonder week at 26wo could definitely be causing sleep disruptions if his brain is having difficulty switching off when he wakes or is trying to sleep.

It's really common to settle down when taken from the bedroom because it distracts them from trying to sleep.

What is his day like when you are home? Has he dropped the CN yet? When he's at daycare and only has 45min naps do they offer extra naps to make up for the short ones?

What is his