Is she playing us?!

[katiej9781]

My 6 month old has been waking up screaming and writhing anywhere from 1-3 times nightly for the past two weeks! She has very rarely slept all the way through on her own, but normally would go right back to sleep with a DF or NF upon waking without a problem.

Initially I thought the switch to a different brand of formula was to blame and she was waking from discomfort, but we've switched back to the original formula and she has no problems with any other feedings throughout the day. She is generally in hysterics when she wakes and has a very loud cry which wakes up the whole house. She is not comforted by a paci or rocking or shushing either  But...if we turn on the lights and let her "wake up" then she is as happy as can be! Not sure what to think about that as it sort of rules out any discomfort?

Here's the info

How old is your child?: 6.5 Months
What’s his/her daily routine? 4 hour EASY
Wake 6:30 | E 7:15 (6oz formula) | A | S 9:30-10:45
E: 11:15 (6 oz)| A | S: 1:00-3:30
E: 4:00 (6 oz)| A | E  5:30 solids | A | E 7:30 (6-8 oz)
S 8:00 PM | E around 2:30 am (6 oz)

What’s nap routine? 2 a day, sometimes a CN in the evening if daily naps were short
How long are naps? one short AM, one longer PM - she's never been a long napper though
What's bedtime routine? Time? solids for dinner, quiet play, bedtime bottle, asleep with no protest by 8
Do you bottle or breastfed?? originally EBF but now on formula and a few solids (sweet potatoes, pears, bananas, rice crackers)
How much? or how long? 6 oz
How many wakes per night? 1-2, they used to be very short and easy to resolve with paci or feeding
What’s your LO like when waking at night? How long is he/she up? Hysterical. Writhing and screaming even when held until we "wake" up and then she is smiley and giggling and ready to play with mom or dad!
When you go to him/her is she fussing or crying? Or is it a mantra cry? Screaming and panicked
What have you tried to settle?? Paci in crib, then holding to comfort, diaper changes, feedings, eventually she just wants us to be awake
What do you do for A time and how long is it? She has long A times by nature (a short napper) and goes to daycare so she is very stimulated throughout the day. Her routine is the same as it was before she started with these wakings
Are there developmental issues such as teething or milestones? A little more mobile and vocal, sitting on her own, no teeth yet
Do they have a prop? If so what is it? Paci she can put in herself
Do they have a lovie? No

Please help! I am thinking there is something I am missing here that is causing her to wake up so traumatically. I would really compare it to how older children can have nightmares/terrors...but she's still so young?

[Skadiver13]

Hi Hun, sounds like something is certainly going on.  How long have you been back on the other formula? Have you introduced any solids lately? Is it that she wakes up screaming and you then you feed her but she wont go back to sleep after?

ut...if we turn on the lights and let her "wake up" then she is as happy as can be! Not sure what to think about that as it sort of rules out any discomfort?

I would definetely not do that ^. If you need to turn a light on at all I would sugest a very low light (20 watt) or something along those lines but try not to turn the light on at all.  But you are right it sounds like maybe it's not discomfort if she's happy and wants to play after you turn the light on so maybe a routine issue.

Looking at your day it looks like for her age she has a super long A time before bed. 3:30-8 is quite long for her age? how long has she been doing this type of A before bed? What it looks like is a 3Hr A before the first nap and she's doing 1hr 15min which isn't exactly a resotrative nap.  Then 2hrs 15min before the second and getting a good full nap then 4.5hrs before bed?  Is this correct? When does she wake at night and how long has she been on this routine?

A few things:
1. Looks like you are doing solids before bed. I would stop that. If you want to introduce solids a good rule of thumb is start with breakfast first. Typically dinner is the last meal to add when doing solids. Most lo's aren't on dinner till 10-12Months old.  The reason being is their digestive system is still used to BM/formula and can't really handle solids that well so if you do it at dinner they tend to wake up at night from gas issues. It may be what's waking her up and then she's happy when she see's you. But I wouldn't rule out discomfort.
2. I think she's a little OT from her routine.
3. As for waking up and writhing screaming till you turn on the light that sounds like she's wound up pretty good. But like I said earlier I would try and resettle with out turning the light on as she now knows that if she screams long enough she'll get what she wants which is the light on and play time. Eventually she'll figure out that she isn't going to get what she wants. How do you try and resettle? Pat/shush p/u p/d?

Sorry for all the questions just want to make sure I get all the info. You said she's a chronic short napper. My LO was too but it's totally normal at this age to be on 3 naps so I would stick with that CN in the afternoon to see if that helps mitigate being OT. Or bring her BT forward to closer to 7.

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

I would for sure agree with moving solids to earlier in the day and bringing bedtime earlier...that is a long day on short naps and with the stimulation of daycare it probably just adds fuel to the fire. How often is she in care and has she just started going recently?