9 month Old Waking Every 2 hours at night

[MamaKranz]

Hello! 

I have an almost 9 month old son who is giving us a lot of trouble at night.  He nurses about 5 times a day, and is offered 3 solid meals a day (he eats about 2 of those.) He is awake around 3 - 3 hours 30 minutes during the day. His day time routine is supposed to look something like this:

A/E BF 6am
E (Solids) 7:30 am
S 9:15
E 10:45 am
A 11:00 am
E 12:15 pm
S 2:00 pm
E 3:15 pm
A 3:30 pm
E (Solids) 6:00 pm
E (nurse) before bed
S 6:30 pm

At night he wakes about every two hours.  Last night he went to bed shortly before 8, he woke and I nursed him at 10pm, then he screamed for an hour at 11 (my husband was trying to get him back to sleep as I didn't think he needed to be fed again), I fed him at 12 (he cried every time the pacifier came out of his mouth so I thought he was hungry), ate at 2pm, ate at 5am, then my husband put him back to sleep with him in the nursery until 6:30 am.

About 6 weeks ago he was growing overly reliant on the pacifier so we took it away, but then (beginning of February) I had to travel out of state by myself for a funeral so he got it back then (with the time change, plane travel etc he was overtired and I felt he just needed to get sleep).  Also on that trip, he was nursed pretty much continually through the night because he kept waking, and I couldn't have him scream in a hotel all night.  Since coming home, he continues to wake every couple hours at night.  Just yesterday, my husband and I finally managed a way to move out of his room and gave him a crib of his own, because he was only in a co-sleeper and could crawl out.

He is very mobile, and starting to pull up to stand.  He goes to sleep with just a little pat on the back & holding down for a couple moments during the day, but at night if we try to put him back to sleep he screams and screams.  One more note, I think his first tooth just finally cut through although it is not all the way up yet.

So, do you have any suggestions for getting him to sleep at night?  I am not sure if he is hungry or just in a bad habit. Whenever we try to not feed him at every waking at night he screams and screams, usually for at least 1 1/2 hours until somehow we finally get him to sleep.  We are tired, and this is our eighth child so we don't have time to be tired! 

Thank you for your help.

Rebecca

[ginger428]

Hi Rebecca!
How has the last couple nights been?

I hope you can get rest soon! Unfortunately, I think this is a huge developmental phase that involves physical and language development along with teething.  It is a rough phase... do you recall this stage with your other kids?

And I think with all the changes, co-sleeper to crib and the traveling, has added to it. Good news is that it should pass in a few weeks and you will see amazing growth! The hard part is how to balance comfort/support and good sleep habits meanwhile.

(I'll be right back with some suggestions).

For teething, we want to make sure he's comfortable... are you open to using medication before bed? The need for comfort nursing and paci may be because it soothes his gums. And the pressure and pain from teething is worse when laying down, so it may explain his resistance to be laid back down. Not sure where you are, but I used ibuprofen at night since it lasted longer.  If it was bad, I would also give another dose 6 hrs later, especially to get him past the 4-6am hr, when they can easily wake from discomfort.

I was always told to do whatever was necessary while flying, and the best you could when traveling. Since he's back home, I would remove the paci for good since we'll be helping him with all the other changes and might as well use this opportunity to take care of that.

As for the NW's even with medicine, consider choosing one way to comfort him and try that for at least 4-5 days. Once his discomfort in in control, you could try patting and holding down as you do during the day, and gradually reduce the time, eventually where you're barely touching him. Wrt to nursing, I think you were doing great when knowing when he would be hungry and when he wasn't.  Certainly with all the changes, he'll want that comfort, so stick to your times, and consider reducing the amount each time to transfer that to his day feeds. I do remember during this time that I nursed whenever he woke and just kept trying to reduce the times and patted as needed... and after the phase passed, we went back to teaching him independent sleep and reduced night nursing.

What do you think?
The little guy is certainly going through a lot at the moment so please offer support as you have been.

[MamaKranz]

Hello,

Thank you so much for your reply. I apologize for my delay. Every day is busy, but we had the stomach flu this week and are still trying to recover from that.  The baby hasn't been affected too badly, but I wonder if he (Anselm) doesn't have a touch of it.

I wanted to update you on how he is doing, and clarify a couple of your suggestions.

First of all, each night has gotten better since the move to the crib on Saturday.  Last night, Anselm woke early - about 9:45 pm instead of 10 pm. I nursed him, but he didn't seem terribly hungry and laid down peacefully.  I woke up to him screaming at 12 (a normal wake up & feed time).  By the time I woke & got my body to move out of bed, he was silent!  I stood there and waited a couple minutes, then went to check on him. He was sleeping!  On top of his blankets, but that was the least of my worries!

I woke again at 4am, puzzled why he hadn't woken at 2am (another normal wake up time) (I don't remember the last time I slept for 4 hours straight!). I went to check on him - he was still sleeping! He woke shortly after I checked on him, but nursed & laid down peacefully again and slept until 6:30 am.  That was the best night sleep I think he maybe has ever had. 

I have given him Motrin two nights in a row now - that seems to make an immediate difference in his temperament.  I am generally against medicating and seek alternatives wherever possible, but his teething discomfort does seem significant.  In addition, in the last two days he has not needed the pacifier at night at all, but laid down peacefully when I was done nursing him!

To clarify your suggestions, in case this gets worse again:

1) I remember this 9-12 month age being the worst with my boys.  I don't recall any of them sleeping this badly, but each of them have their own quirks.

2) Thank you for your teething behavior suggestions. They mirror closely the behavior we are seeing.

3) You said, "As for the NW's even with medicine, consider choosing one way to comfort him and try that for at least 4-5 days." Are you suggesting this instead of nursing him at each of his night wakings?

4) I recall in the past when there was more than one night feeding (after a certain age / stage) picking each, diminishing the minutes he nursed each night, and gradually eliminating them. Is that what you suggest?

Thank you for your help,

Rebecca

[ginger428]

Wow! That is great news! The sleep, not the flu!

1) I remember this 9-12 month age being the worst with my boys.  I don't recall any of them sleeping this badly, but each of them have their own quirks.

Yes, it was one of the worst. For us though, it was at the 4/5 mo. and again at this 8/9 mo stage. Eek!

3) You said, "As for the NW's even with medicine, consider choosing one way to comfort him and try that for at least 4-5 days." Are you suggesting this instead of nursing him at each of his night wakings?

Yes, for his wakings that you felt were not due to hunger.

4) I recall in the past when there was more than one night feeding (after a certain age / stage) picking each, diminishing the minutes he nursed each night, and gradually eliminating them. Is that what you suggest?

Yes, when you are ready! My son was almost exclusively bf, with reflux and other sensitivities, and I realize in retrospect that nursing once a night was what he needed until close to 1. I do think your little one can probably go down to 1 NF soon.