9 month old disaster sleep - EW, NW, short naps everything!

[mads2014]

Hello,

My 9 month old DS's sleep is all over the place. I did baby whisperer with my 2 year old DD and by this age she was sleeping great so I'm not sure where I'm going wrong. Things have not recovered since WW 37.

He is an independent sleeper, no dummy, EBF, in a cot in my room. He has been crawling and pulling to stand since 8 months. He turned 9 months on the 27th but was a week late.

Here is a sample of the last few days before the clocks went forward (the times now look more reasonable because of clock change but in reality he is still waking terribly early).

WU 4.45 try to settle in bed until 5.30
N1 8.15 - 9.35
N2 1.30 - 2.45
BT 6.15 (aimed for 5.45 standing in cot repeatedly)
NW 8.20, 9, 10.30 (30 mins resettle), 12.40 feed

WU 4.30 try to settle in bed until 5.30
N1 8.20 - 9.50 (quick resettle at 8.50)
N2 1.20 -1.50 ( long A but we were out with pram)
BT 4.50
NW 8, 8.40, 10.40 (45 min resettle) 1.30 feed

WU 4.45 slept again
WU 5.15
N1 9 - 9.37
N2 1.15 - 2.40 (quick resettle at 2)
BT 6
NW 9.20, 10, 10.40 (30 mins resettle) 1.30 milk

WU 4.25 slept again
WU 4.45 slept again
WU 5.15
N1 8.30 - 9.10 wouldn't resettle
N2 12.40 - 2
BT 5.30
NW 10.15 (45 min resettle) 1.10 feed

4.45 awake try to settle until 5.15
N1 8.20 - 9

Etc etc!

Just to add there is definite separation anxiety going on. I have to do walk in walk out at naps and bedtime and sometimes if that goes on too long and he is getting overtired i will sit next to his cot with a hand on his back and he is doing lots of lifting his head to check I'm still there. But i know there must be a routine issue because of all the night wakings.

I am aiming for A times 3.15, 3.30 and 3.15.

Please does anyone have any advice to help me?

[ginger428]

Hi mads,

I bet your son just has a different temperament and such that besets different sleeping patterns.  My son (first and only right now) hit every regression hard and sleep has been elusive. 

To be honest, I think it's the 9 month regression/progression.  Language dev't along with the physical is really big around this time. Your routine is great for the most part. His nights span 10-11+ hrs a night which essentially makes his WU times not EWs, but with the time resettling at night, he is not sleeping an ideal amount.  Was he consistently doing more than 11hrs a night before? NWs in the first 3-4 hrs after BT usually indicate OT. His broken night sleep, short naps in the morning, and time for resettling due to SA can be attributing to the early NW and EW.

Not much you can do wrt to OT except to help extend his morning nap if it's short. I would also aim to stick to the 9:00am nap in order to move the WU time.  I also recommend trying to push 10-15 mins at a time to a later bedtime, possibly 6:30/7:00 to aim for a WU of ~6:00.  I know this will be tough until we can get his naps consistently  1-1.5 hrs in length.  If at all possible, stick to a minimum wake up time to expose DS to light... we usually say 6:00, but from 4:45'/5:15, maybe 5:45 to start. So even if he is wide awake, keep the lights off and amuse him in his cot or your bed until 5:30/5:45, then do a big wake up ritual- open blinds, sing morning song, etc...

Can we rule out teething? A growth spurt... is he eating more during the day?

I think your approach to his SA is spot on.. support him when necessary and I'm sure with a little support like GW, he'll go back to IS when this stage passes.

What do you think?