7 month old up every hour

[beckycook1]

Hello

I really need some help with my 7 month old baby. She has never been a good sleeper but used to sleep for 3-4 hours at a time at night whereas for the last few weeks she has been up every hour to 2 hours. We have got into the habit of feeding to sleep which we are trying to break using the shush pat technique which does work most of the time. One big problem we have is she will go back to sleep (sometimes by self settling cuddling her teddy) but then seems to wake back up 5 mins later. It's all got worse since we started solids. Could it be her tummy hurting? She is also cutting 2 teeth!

I'm just a bit confused as to whether she is sleeping so badly due to discomfort or because she cannot always self settle but then I know other babies who are fes to sleep and stay asleep!

Our day looks like this

7.30: wake up, bf
8.00: breakfast
8.14-8.30: activity
9.30: nap
11.00: wake up, bf

11-12.00: activity
12.00: lunch
12.30-2.00: activity
2.00-3.00: nap
3.00-Bf
3.00-4.45-activity
4.45-dinner
6.00-begin bedtime routine
6.45-sleep

She currently feeds again around 11 and at 3am!

Thank you

[ginger428]

Hi Becky!
It can be a few things, so let's see if we can sort this out. IME (in my experience), it is rare to find younger babies who feed to sleep and doesn't create an association, unless they were completely IS before and it's just a blip, but I know it happens and how nice it must be!

Her A times are really short for her age... here is a reference and perhaps she needs longer A's. Average A times- BOOKMARK ME! perhaps try this first and you may see a huge difference.

Fwiw, a note on the other things you mentioned. Independent sleep will help us see if her sleep disturbances are due to activity, pain, development, or gas, so I would gently sleep train so that she can go back to sleep without you in the room or needing to come back. Has she been an IS before?

I do suspect it is also pain related due to teeth and new foods. Can you describe how she wakes- crying, screaming, whining, wriggling, squirming, etc...? For her sake, and if you're comfortable with your doctor's advice, I would give her medicine for teething pain before sleep. When I was sure it was teething (red gums, gnawing, biting, etc...) I would also do a dream med around the time LO woke for a feeding, usually 6-8 hrs after bedtime if I used ibuprofen.

It may be gas related also, but hard to tell with the IS and teething going on.  Is there any dairy intolerance in the family?

[beckycook1]

Thank you for your reply.
I think I didn't explain the activity times very well. She is awake from 7.30-9.30 (she seems tired again quite quickly in the morning. I think she has sometimes been up playing in her cot for a while before I realise she is awake). She is then awake 11-2 and then 3-6.30ish so is usually awake for 3 hours.

I def need to gently sleep train. She can sometimes self settle when she wakes up...she cuddles her teddy and chews its foot and then goes back to sleep but to be honest, when I put her down I've usually fed her to sleep. I know it's a bad habit and I know the time has come to break it. (Boo hoo)

When she wakes up sometimes she self settles whereas other times she cries. Sometimes I can tell it is just that she has woken up and needs help getting back to sleep. I go in and she easily settles with a very quick shush pat. I don't have to shush loudly or pat much at all. Other times she is very difficult to get to stop crying and I end up having to pick her up. Last night she kept settling in my arms and then suddenly thrashing around again, kicking her legs and crying which makes me think she is in pain. She often falls asleep, seems really peaceful and then suddenly wakes up and cries. She rubs her eyes and pulls her ears and wriggles around. She also lifts her legs up and throws them back down.

I had a dairy intolerance as a baby but I don't know if this is the prob as it doesn't seem that bad...more just uncomfortable.

How can I reduce her need for me to shush pat? She's quite a fiesty determined little thing and can seriously scream. At the mo if I put her down awake she screams very quickly. She will usually go to sleep with a shush pat. How do I reduce this so she can IS?

[ginger428]

Oh, my mistake. I didn't calculate the afternoon A times.. so those A's look great. I will mention that even though first A's can be shorter (was for my DS), if too short, it could cause early wakings. Has she been able to make it to 2:15 or later before?

I would definitely sort out the eating to sleep and needing help to settle.

A friend on BW gave me this strategy (the counting part) that worked really well for us...but how long do you wait before going in? The strategy is basically GW.
Wait a few seconds/mins to go in if mantra crying.
If crying go in and comfort as usual until calm... so sh/pat. Gently remove hand, but continue to shh. Once calm, count how long it takes for her to fuss again. So if she makes it 3 seconds, sh/pat again, but once she fusses, wait at least 3 seconds to support. Repeat. If she makes it to 15 seconds, wait to sh/pat until 15 seconds, and so on. We got up to 100's, until he stopped fussing altogether. Took about 2-3 days for him to get it. Do less and less of patting and shh, so a firm hand instead of pat, and eventually a firm hand and no shh..

As any st goes, it's hard at first. But you're right there with her but are giving her the opportunity to learn how to settle. What do you think? Also, if she starts showing real distress, don't feel like you can't start over. You know her best.

Sudden wake ups screaming say gas pain to me.  And pulling on the ears and chewing things say teething discomfort. Only because same thing would happen to DS. For gas, he would pass it suddenly and be fine.  If she's not passing in your presence, then it's hard to tell. How do you feel about medicating to rule out teeth?

[beckycook1]

Hello.

Thank you for your help.

I usually wait around 1-2 mins unless she starts crying hard quickly. Sometimes she does self settle but usually once she's cried for a couple of mins that's it...she needs me. She settles very easily with a shush pat. I barely shush or pat and can take my hand away pretty quickly. The issue I have is that she wakes back up a few mins later and I have to start all over again.

I really want her to be able to settle herself and I think she is starting to. I will try the counting. I do give her teething powder/gel and occasionally calpol if she seems really sad. She never cries if I'm holding her unless something is really wrong e.g. teeth so I give her calpol if she keeps crying when I'm holding her.

How would you suggest stopping feeding her to sleep for naps in the day? She cries if I put her in the cot awake. Should I just stop feeding her to sleep suddenly or try and reduce it slowly? I think I read a post that suggested feeding until she is sleepy but not asleep and gradually reducing it?

Thanks

[ginger428]

It's great that she responds to sh/pat well, and as for starting all over again, persistence is key. With GW, she should get the hang of it. Any luck with the counting?

How would you suggest stopping feeding her to sleep for naps in the day? She cries if I put her in the cot awake. Should I just stop feeding her to sleep suddenly or try and reduce it slowly?

Here is a link for gentle withdrawal... imo, it probably works better for younger babies, but in case you wanted to have a look.
Gentle Removal Plan

It's up to your comfort level, your baby's temperament on whether to stop cold turkey or reduce it slowly.  I tried both approaches on my son on different occasions and while painful, cold turkey worked best...he is a spirited/textbook baby. Do you have a nap routine that she's used to?