Need Advice- Nightwakes and Babbling but for HOURS on end

[Elphyrafire]

Hi I hope someone has some insight for us. I have posted before about this but this time it's a bit different. DS is 5 months old and relatively happy and healthy but can;t sleep the night. I have been trying to break the swaddle b/c  the swaddle isn't helping him sleep longer. ANyway, DS woke up last night happy so I left him alone, like BW says to do. Well he chattered and played in his crib with his lovey for 2 1/2 hours!!! I finally went in a swaddled him tight and put him to sleep. I was worried he was losing too much nighttime sleep.

How long is the "mantra crying/ babbling" supposed to go on for them to calm themselves? Is it minutes or hours?

The fact he stays awake happy... does that mean he is getting too much daytime sleep? IF he doesn't get naps, though, he is a crank all day. Any insight?

I guess I'm also asking the question: Is there a point when you should you do whatever it takes to make them sleep at night (ie: nursing, rocking, PU/PD, swaddle,paci) so they don't get sleep deprived or is it important to stick with the BW plan even if it means days of no sleep for lo? B/C if I keep letting him chat in bed for hours at night and not intervene then we're back at sqaure one with the sleep deprevation.
HELP?
 

[estherofi20]

IKJWYM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL, my DS used to talk for hours two months ago, he suddenly grew tired of it, but every now and then he does wake up and bable a bit, i'm afraid there's not much you can do about it, i left him alone until i heard him getting desperate! the problem is of course you DON'T SLEEP EITHER !!! sorry i have no advice, but hang in there!!!!

[Murphy]

Hi I am having exactly the same problem with my 7 month old. She goes down to bed no problem at 7.30pm, sleeps without a sound until dreamfeed, goes back down fine, but then any time between 1am & 4am wakes up & talks to herself for hours on end.......Last night she woke at 3.30am & chattered & shouted until 5am ! There doesn't appear to be anything wrong with her as she isn't crying when she wakes but I am worried she isn't getting enough sleep at night plus all the time she is chattering we cannot sleep as it is sooooo LOUD ! Even with the monitor off, doors shut & ear plugs in I can still hear her !!!!!

I will answer the questions as requested in the hope that someone can help me get some more sleep .........

[b]How old is your child?
She will be 7 months old on 14th May

What’s his/her daily routine?
7am Breakfast (porridge) & bottle (7oz formula)
9am Nap (1-2 hours)
11am Bottle (5oz formula)
1pm Lunch (125g jar stage 1 baby food)
2pm Nap (1-2 hours depending on length of morning nap)
3.30pm Bottle (5oz formula)
5.30pm Supper (125g jar stage 1 baby food + yoghurt if still hungry)
6pm Occasional 30 min nap if particularly tiring day or poor nap early afternoon
6.45pm Bath
7.15pm Bottle (8oz formula)
7.30pm Bed
10.30pm Dreamfeed (5oz formula)

Note: I am currently using jars of baby food as I have just returned to work & decided to use them for convenience until I have settled into my new routine & can be organised enough to go back to making my own purees etc, plus we are currently trying to cut out the dreamfeed as her solid intake increases (she was having 6oz at 11pm but not finishing the bottle) - HOWEVER I do not believe either my return to work, using jars of baby food or dropping the dreamfeed are influencing her sleep pattern as the night wakings started 2 weeks prior to all these things & have neither got worse or better since then.) Also although I have returned to work, her routine has not changed at all as my parents are looking after her & have strict instructions to follow the routine !

What’s nap routine?

Her naps are at the times stated above - morning nap is always at home, swaddled, with dummy, in her cot. I swaddle her, give the dummy, a quick cuddle & put her down when she is very sleepy. This is normally the best nap of the day. Afternoon nap is quite often in buggy whilst we are out & about. If at home then I follow same procedure as for morning nap. If she takes a late afternoon nap then that could be in buggy or car seat if we are still out, or could be in her bouncy chair or on my lap.

How long are naps?

Morning nap normally 2 hours, afternoon nap 1 hour. Plus on occasion she takes a late afternoon nap of approx 30 mins.

What's bedtime routine? Time?

Bedtime routine starts with bath at 6.45pm, then we go into her room with just a lamp on, get dry & into night clothes ( vest & sleeping bag ). She then has her bedtime bottle at approx 7.15pm, occasionally she will fall asleep on the bottle, but usually she just gets very sleepy & I turn off light & put her in her cot at approx 7.30pm. She will go straight off to sleep herself.
I do not swaddle her at night anymore as she always manages to wriggle out of it during the course of the night, also she will not take a dummy at night.

Do you bottle or breastfed??

Bottle

How much? or how long?

As per routine above - currently trying to cut down milk feeds as increase solids.

How many wakes per night?

On a good night one long wake up of 1-2 hours, on a bad night could be 3-4 wake ups of 30-45mins each.

What’s your LO like when waking at night?  

She just chatters to herself but very loudly ! She does not cry unless I go in & try to settle her to sleep - then she can get very agitated.

When you go to him/her is she fussing or crying? Or is it a mantra cry?

When i go in to her she gets very excited to see me, laughing & chatting.....When she realises that I am not going to play with her she gets very upset & angry.

What have you tried to settle??

Nothing will settle her when she is playful, but after an hour or more of chattering she gets tired & then swaddle & dummy sometimes settles her.

What do you do for A time and how long is it?

A time is normally on her play mat for an hour or so at a time, or could be a play date with other babies.

Are there developmental issues such as teething or milestones?

She has been teething (has 2 teeth) but is not currently suffering with it.

Do they have a prop? If so what is it?

No prop, except occasional dummy use but she will not usually take it at night time only for morning nap.

Do they have a lovie?

What is a lovie??!!!!!

PLEASE can someone provide some constructive advice - I am currently averaging 4-5 hours sleep a night which is just not enough when I have to go to work in the morning & my husband suffers with ulcerative colitis which is exascerbated by lack of sleep - he is now having to take steroids to control it...... we cannot continue for much longer like this - please help!

[Katet]

I'd definitely cut back on day naps.
Murphy with your lo @ 7months old I'd say 99% certain its time to drop the cat nap totally & keep day time naps to about 3 hours total... I'd also say that dropping the dream feed may be a good idea too as the digesting of food late at night might give her the energy to be awake at night.

Elphyrafire, Id probably try cuting back on naps a bit & extending A time by 5-10mins.

It is very normal for babies to wake & the chatting is unfortunate, some babies like my ds#2 just tend to lie there & not make much noise... I only discovered he was awake for ages when I couldn't work out why he was tired soon after getting up... one day I "spied" & he was awake every 15mins from 5am- 7.15 am when he called out... I extende his awake time & the problem went away...now we have other ones

[thitz]

Is your 5month old still taking the catnap?  I wonder if you dropped it if the nighttime sleep would improve.  I know my dd started sleeping thru the night the instant we dropped the catnap at 6 months.  It'll be a tough go to keep him happy in the afternoon but you can put him down a little earlier for bedtime.

Good Luck, Tarri

[Elphyrafire]

Thanks guys!
Tarri-  I tried this yesterday- dropped the catnap and put to bed at 6:00 instead of 7:00. Sleep was "improved" but not perfect. However, there was some babbling going on at 3:30 am and then abruptly stopped. So I grabbed thev video camera...

TIP for everyone: NIGHTVISION on your video camera is a God send if you have it! It allows you to sneak in and see if little eyes are closed or open without them seeing you!

And anyway I saw he was awake but just staring into the wild blue yonder. I don't know how llong he was like that. But Esther, you are so right... no one can sleep when they are chattering.I think I have developed superhearing since he's been born.  I see your lo is about 1 month older than mine so glad to hear he grew out of it.

Thanks! E.