sleep gone all wrong lately

[angieol]

hi everyone,
just wondered is there anyone that can advise me on what is best to do with my 7 month old baby. he initially was an excellent sleeper and things started to go wrong when we started solids 6 weeks ago. he hasn't really sleep a full night since and is very restless for the few hours after we put him down. this week it has become really bad. I'll try to be brief but it's a long one.
OK, so the story starts with the introduction of solids and ds started to cry in his sleep. we would lift him from his cot (still asleep) and sometimes he would get some wind up other times nothing. we could repeat this up to 10 times between 8pm and midnight. so initially we put it down to being constipated but he hasn't been constipated for the whole 6 weeks so no longer sure about that. Anyway it got better slightly week by week and for the last week now he is gone really bad again. he has been awake everynight for 2 hours (not at the same time) and really restless while asleep. when awake he is not content to stay in his cot or on the bed or anywhere for that matter and we have tried everything. he's not crying as such but is just whinging. it's like he wants to sleep but something is stopping him. we had him nearly weaned off the paci but that's totally back now as we're desperate for him to sleep. sometimes we find it drives him crazy and he won't sleep if he has it.  it can be hit or miss with it. over the last 3 days he's not sleeping well during the day either. he has always been as serial catnapper and would have 3 45min naps per day but had been improving with the morning one slowly but surely. so i guess I'm looking for any advice on what to start on first really. i have the baby whisperer book but it all seems so daunting when i don't even know where to start  or what is wrong I'll post the routine we had been on and maybe you guys could help

8am 6-8 oz
1tbs porridge with 2 of water, 2tbs of fruit puree

9:30 -10 back to bed for 45-1hr

12 noon 4oz
6tbs veg mix (had tried chix this week but def noticed that he was worse those days so decided to wait a few days and try again)

1:30 - 2pm nap of 30-45mins

3:30 - 4pm 6-8oz

5:30 4tbs fruit or veg puree, approx 100ml water from beaker

7:30 - 8pm 6-8 oz and straight to bed.

I realise this isn't an easy routine but don't even know where to start to be honest. any advice greatly appreciated

[nursekat]

Hello!  Anything else changed in the past 6 weeks?  I'm not entirely sure about the food but if that IS the culprit, the best place to start with that would be the doctor.  Have you attempted going just bottles for a while to see if it gets better?

As far as looking at your routine, you may also be looking at a case of overtiredness.  At 7 months you should be looking at 3-5 hours of napping during the day.  If he has always done short naps and has been happy through all of his A times, then you're right and you could have a serial short napper.  If he gets whiny/cranky during his A times you probably should start working on those and see if the naps don't improve.

At 7mos, he can most likely have a longer A time in the morning.  A times can be 2.5 to 2.75 hrs in length...try pushing your A time in the morning back gradually - 5 mins every couple of days until you have him up until 10:30 or 10:45.  Often this lengthens the first nap, and the rest of the day starts to settle into place.

That's where I'd start, anyway.    Let's go from here and come back if you have anymore questions.

Welcome! 

[Ali's mum]

totally unqualified to be giving any opinions... why?  because i'm just about to post about how i constantly feel like i'm failing with my 6.5 month old lately! 

i do have a suggestion however - i noticed early in the game that my boy was suffering with a tummy ache from feeding anything other than the fortified single grain cereal for the last meal of the day, all new additions as the first solids, and tried and trues for lunch.  i think it must be much easier on the little belly, and his body seems to process a lot of it whereas he seems to poop out about as much fruit and veg as what went in (looking shockingly similar as well!)  The nights are still challenging with growth spurt, solids, paci addiction (mine), and possibly teething all at the same time, but i noticed that keeping easily digested porridge for the last meal had a big impact on our sleep time.

[angieol]

Thank you so much for posting replies, have been watching so closely for any advice.
Went to the doctor in the end about the food thing and he put DS on a mild laxative for a few weeks to see if it clears a blockage and we have to dilute his milk more than normal. so we're trying that. I don't know what we'll do if it doesn't help. The last few days have been hell with I think teething. DS has refused all his solids one day and half his milk the next. he's in slightly better form though so thats something. The strangest thing happened also over last few days. He has refused to sleep in the am at all and has gone to sleep for nearly 2 hours in the afternoon after lunch. I have been using this advice that i found for extending his naps ( holding his arms still when he's 30 mins into sleep so that when he jerks or enters light sleep he doesn't wake himself) so i guess now i need to think about my routine and how to fit in the two naps and have ds tired enough for both of them.
If i feed him at 8am every morning (sometimes he wakes at 7:15-7:30 and plays in cot)

  8am bottle and breakfast
  9- 10:30 activity
  10:30am nap of say  1.5 hour
 
  12 noon water and lunch
  1-2:30 activity
  2:30 nap of about 1.5 to 2 hours (my question here is that ds normally has a bottle at 3:30, do I give that before his nap or after, or will i wait until 3pm give him bottle and put him down for 2 hours before he has tea at 5pm)
 
  5-5:30 tea and drink from beaker
  play
 7:30 bottle and bed

So how does that look do you think

[nursekat]

Looking at that I would give him a bottle at 8, 12, 4, and 7:30.  If he's waking at 7:30, you might want to move that nap back up to 10...I didn't realize with your pp that he wakes earlier than 8.  He might be overtired by the first nap and is fighting it.

[angieol]

hi nursekat,
thank you so much for all the advice. H slept much better last night and this morning woke at 7:30 am. by 8am he was having his bottle although is very reluctant to take it so poured it into a cup and he drank it all. he refused breakfast but i offered it again at about 9:45 and he ate most of it before i put him down for his nap. the poor guy was falling asleep in his high chair but once in his cot slept for 2 hours (with a little help from w2s method) This is the first time ever he's slept this long and is now downstairs having lunch and is in great form. i only realised a minute ago, that you're meant to lengthen a time by 5 mins each day. ooops. Plan to keep him up until about 3pm if i can and then give him afternoon bottle and back for another round of sleep, hopefully. I hope it keeps going as well as this morning. Think he's a little sick with teeth though as he wouldn't eat tea last night either so hopeful that lunch is going ok .

[nursekat]

Yes, extending A times gradually is the best way, or you might find you are fighting overtiredness by night time.  Go with what your LO can handle, though - my dd can handle a little more aggressive A stretches, but I usually have to keep her A times in the evening even shorter for a few days until she gets adjusted to the new am A times.  Extend one A time at a time, starting with the morning.

Glad to hear you had a good am nap!  Teething babies often refuse eating, you can try orajel a bit before feeding and that can help.  Also make sure you have the rubber-coated spoons, sometimes the metal ones are painful on their sore gums.

HTH!