7 month old waking during the night :(

lalalulu

My daughter is 7 months old and has slept through the night since she was 8 weeks old, but for the past few weeks she is waking between 2-3am for at least 3 hours!! She doesn't seem to be in pain as she isn't screaming and smiles and laugh's if i or her daddy go in to her room. She only seems to cry if we don't pick her up and can play happily in her cot at 4am! I don't want to give her a bottle during the night anyway she eats well during the day and is in great form. I thought it might be because she is teething but as i said she doesn't seem to be in any pain.
Any advice would be most welcome as i really need a decent night's sleep I know every parent goes through the sleepless night's, i'm not asking for miracles. I suppose we were just spoilt for so long with her sleeping so well.

January

Have you tried the "Wake to Sleep" method?? If you really don'y want to feed her it might be worth your while...

Basically if your baby is waking up between 2-3am then go in just before 2am and "disturb" your baby. Not enough to wake them up completly but just enough so that their sleep has been disturbed and they need to start a new sleep cycle. Do this for a couple of nights. Maybe this could explain it better than me!!!

Another thing is... how much does your baby sleep during the day? Might it be worth trying to drop a nap??

lalalulu

I just had a look at that website it make's sense and i'll try anything now to get a good night's sleep! Thanks..
Babs has a morning nap for just over an hour and then another hour around 2pm. She then go's to bed at night between 8-8.30.
Now with the night time waking's she's starting to sleep longer during the day so it's become a cycle..

solstice

Hi LaLaLuLu. Having the same problem with 5.5mth old son, though he wakes for an hour around 5am. Was thinking about trying this technique so would love to know how you get on. My first son is now 2.5yrs but he went through the same habitual waking. I didn't have the courage to try it with him, although I've a friend who swears by it. Knackered today so think I'll have to give it a go soon!

stevoman

Hi,

We had the same issues with our little one, and it was teething. she 13 months old now and the back teeth are coming up. she waking a little now aswell and also is hard to get to sleep. she is wiggling alot and kicking her legs. im putting it down to growing pains as she is just starting to take her first steps and her muscles must be all over the place from getting used to using them. its always a logical explanation with kids so just stick it out and she will come through.

lalalulu

solstice wrote: »

Hi LaLaLuLu. Having the same problem with 5.5mth old son, though he wakes for an hour around 5am. Was thinking about trying this technique so would love to know how you get on. My first son is now 2.5yrs but he went through the same habitual waking. I didn't have the courage to try it with him, although I've a friend who swears by it. Knackered today so think I'll have to give it a go soon!

Hi solstice. I'm going to give it a shot tonight. I can barely keep my eye's open in the morning's and i hate facing a long day feeling like that

Anyway i'll let you know how i get on, keep your finger's crossed

lalalulu

stevoman wrote: »

Hi,
she waking a little now aswell and also is hard to get to sleep. she is wiggling alot and kicking her legs. im putting it down to growing pains as she is just starting to take her first steps and her muscles must be all over the place from getting used to using them. its always a logical explanation with kids so just stick it out and she will come through.

I've heard of that before especially when a child is learning a new skill eg walking their sleep become's unsettled..

Dades

Had the same thing at about 7mths with our daughter (now 9mths).

Read somewhere about how they develop a sense of "self" at that age and so when they wake up they realise they are on their own. Anyhow we just stuck with it, tried to tire her out, and a few times let her cry herself back to sleep and she just settled back to normal after a few weeks.

Like you, we were concerned her "sleep thru the night" habit was gone - but it came back. :P

lalalulu

I gently woke my daughter at 1.30 this morning she stirred a little, opened her eye's and went back to sleep. So at 4am i hear her babbling to herself and then she got a little fussy so i went in to her held her hand for about 2 minutes and off she went back to sleep till 8am this morning. The last few weeks no amount of hand holding would get her back to sleep so quickly. I'll see how tonight goes hopefully it works

solstice

Great to hear that it seems to have worked, LaLaLuLu! The Baby Whisperer says you should do it for 3 nights in a row, even if you think it worked the first night. My eyes are popping out of my head with tiredness today, so going to try it over the weekend. I agress also about the 'growing pains'. I used to find my older boy got a bit unsettled when going through any changes or milestones, but would then settle again. The early waking I think is a little different. Think it might just become a habit!

CapedCrusader

What you have here is a clear case of EMCS or Early Morning Cuddle Syndrome. For one reason or another, baby woke in the middle of the night... maybe had a cold, or a cough, or got a fright or heard a sound... anyway, she awoke early one morning for some valid reason.Then mummy or daddy came in, saw her in terrible distress and she got smothered with cuddles and attention. This is great stuff she thought. The next night she woke at the same time with this inexplicable need for a bit of an auld cuddle... que mummy or daddy.Now babs has a little cuddle habbit that she has to be coaxed out of.Poor little thingy :-)

lalalulu

CapedCrusader wrote: »

What you have here is a clear case of EMCS or Early Morning Cuddle Syndrome. For one reason or another, baby woke in the middle of the night... maybe had a cold, or a cough, or got a fright or heard a sound... anyway, she awoke early one morning for some valid reason.Then mummy or daddy came in, saw her in terrible distress and she got smothered with cuddles and attention. This is great stuff she thought. The next night she woke at the same time with this inexplicable need for a bit of an auld cuddle... que mummy or daddy.Now babs has a little cuddle habbit that she has to be coaxed out of.Poor little thingy :-)

Good name for a syndrome :P
It's definitely a habit she's gotten in to and yeah she probably is used to one of us going in to her room to settle her. Although we have never lifted her out of the cot and we never talk to her. I think she's just a stubborn one and it's going to take awhile to break the habit! I'm going to continue with the wake to sleep method and hopefully she'll get back to her full night's sleep.. Here's hoping

lalalulu

So i tried the wake to sleep method for 5 nights but it hasn't worked! We're back to 3am screaming babs I gave in last night and took her in to our bed.
I feel i've tried everything i can think of. I've made sure she isn't in pain, i've changed her nappy, comforted her without lifting her out of the cot, made sure she isn't to hot or to cold. The only thing i haven't done is offer her a bottle. Does anyone have any other advice? I'm at the end of my rope. She's such a happy baby during the day i just can't see what's wrong

Oryx

I love the sound of Early Morning Cuddle Syndrome. I want to suffer from that myself.

Lalalulu, Id avoid taking her into your bed, if you can. It sounds harsh, but to me its making bad situation worse. Shes clever, and knows thats the nice result that can happen from yelling.

My daughter did that for ages, and all I could come up with was that she was upset simply from waking up. You know the way kids just get ratty when they are tired? Well, an aspect of that. She was unconsolable just cos she was awake in the middle of the night. (Like her mammy can be). So I used to try not to move or disturb her much at all, just talk quietly, give her her soother, and leave, even if she was crying. Repeat as required, until she settled. I didnt take her up, or fuss or move her, just check the nappy and if that was ok leave her be. Even though she continued to be an unsettled sleeper, it got to be very easy to get her back to sleep because she was used to that simple pattern: Mammy comes in, checks me, and leaves.

I know it wont help you keep your eyes open today, but it passes. I promise that at some point in the future, you will get a nights sleep again.

lalalulu

Oryx wrote: »

I love the sound of Early Morning Cuddle Syndrome. I want to suffer from that myself.

Lalalulu, Id avoid taking her into your bed, if you can. It sounds harsh, but to me its making bad situation worse. Shes clever, and knows thats the nice result that can happen from yelling.

My daughter did that for ages, and all I could come up with was that she was upset simply from waking up. You know the way kids just get ratty when they are tired? Well, an aspect of that. She was unconsolable just cos she was awake in the middle of the night. (Like her mammy can be). So I used to try not to move or disturb her much at all, just talk quietly, give her her soother, and leave, even if she was crying. Repeat as required, until she settled. I didnt take her up, or fuss or move her, just check the nappy and if that was ok leave her be. Even though she continued to be an unsettled sleeper, it got to be very easy to get her back to sleep because she was used to that simple pattern: Mammy comes in, checks me, and leaves.

I know it wont help you keep your eyes open today, but it passes. I promise that at some point in the future, you will get a nights sleep again.

Thanks for the advice I suppose i'm just going to have to grin and bare it and not give in as long as she isn't ill she'll be fine crying it out. I don't usually take her in to the bed but i was so tired last night. I've seen how bad it can get if you go down that road my sister's three children sleep in the bed with her :eek: Definitely can't let things get that bad!

solstice

Oh, sorry to hear it hasn't worked. Would you mind posting what your daughter's routine during the day is like? Have you always bottle fed her? What about solids? I'm just wondering if she's hungry during the night. I've changed the feeding routine for my youngest and thankfully he's sleeping through till 7.15 without waking now. Do you post on Rollercoaster at all? I find the New Baby Boards great for help and advice.

Boom_Bap

Just after stumbling accross this thread now, gonna try out some of the methods suggested, my 10 month old wakes up every night at 4.30 and wants to get into our bed. Silly us taking him in each time.

Will let you know how i get on.

chopley

lalalulu wrote: »

It's definitely a habit she's gotten in to and yeah she probably is used to one of us going in to her room to settle her.

Correct. If you come when she cries, you are confirming to her that you will come when she cries, and she'll carry on doing it. We made the same mistake with our first child. Not with 2 and 3, though!!

If you can rule out hunger, then you'll just have to let her cry herself to sleep. It's not a nice thing for any parent, as the natural instinct is to go and console a crying baby. But if you're strict, it should last no longer than a couple of nights before she learns that she's not getting the desired response. She should then fall asleep again.

lalalulu

solstice wrote: »

Oh, sorry to hear it hasn't worked. Would you mind posting what your daughter's routine during the day is like? Have you always bottle fed her? What about solids? I'm just wondering if she's hungry during the night. I've changed the feeding routine for my youngest and thankfully he's sleeping through till 7.15 without waking now. Do you post on Rollercoaster at all? I find the New Baby Boards great for help and advice.

Hi solstice.. Yeah babs has only ever been bottle fed and she is on three meals a day.
Daily routine:
8am:8oz bottle and weetabix
Nap:10am-11.30
12pm:8oz bottle and yogurt mixed with rusk or liga
Nap:3pm-4pm
4.30:8oz bottle and dinner varies, usually meat, chicken or fish with veg
Bedtime:8oz bottle at 8pm and in bed for 8.30

Bare in mind this is when she has a good night's sleep. Her routine can go haywire during the day if she has been up all night!
I have been thinking she might be hungry during the night.

What did you change with your babs routine?

solstice

Hi again LaLaLuLu,
Routine sounds pretty good, but know what you mean about it going haywire during the day if she is up during the night! The rusk and cereal didn't seem to agree with my son, so I've cut it out and he's alot less windy. He's only on 2 meals a day. Bare in mind though that he's not even 6 mths yet, so I'd say your daughter would need 3 meals. I reckon perhaps you're giving her tea quite early. Could you try giving her the 8oz bottle at 4.30 and then waiting till nearly 6pm to give her the solids? If not, how about reducing that bottle to, say, 6oz and then giving her even a few spoons of rusk or similar with her last bottle? I think it's a long time to go from 4.30pm to 8am the following day before getting more solids. Does your daughter drink all 32oz? It seems quite a lot. Maybe reduce milk and increase solids? It's worth a try, I think. It's all trial and error, isn't it?!

lalalulu

solstice wrote: »

Hi again LaLaLuLu,
Routine sounds pretty good, but know what you mean about it going haywire during the day if she is up during the night! The rusk and cereal didn't seem to agree with my son, so I've cut it out and he's alot less windy. He's only on 2 meals a day. Bare in mind though that he's not even 6 mths yet, so I'd say your daughter would need 3 meals. I reckon perhaps you're giving her tea quite early. Could you try giving her the 8oz bottle at 4.30 and then waiting till nearly 6pm to give her the solids? If not, how about reducing that bottle to, say, 6oz and then giving her even a few spoons of rusk or similar with her last bottle? I think it's a long time to go from 4.30pm to 8am the following day before getting more solids. Does your daughter drink all 32oz? It seems quite a lot. Maybe reduce milk and increase solids? It's worth a try, I think. It's all trial and error, isn't it?!

Hi again
Funny you should suggest reducing her bottle and giving a snack before bed i tried that over the weekend and she slept right thru last night! It' a amazing what a good night's sleep does for your sanity
I'm going to keep going with this, hopefully i've found the answer!
It probably was to long for her to go without solids she has a great appetite. I think i will reduce all her bottles and just give more dinner and lunch portions. Thanks for all your advice it's always good to hear an opinon from another frazzled mammy

January

I've read something somewhere about the protein meal should be the second meal of the day because it can make babies tummy very wishy washy (not proper word lol...). Try the heavier meal at 12 and the snack at 4 maybe??

solstice

Well done, LaLaLuLu! Couldn't agree more about the nights sleep helping your sanity!!!! My Mam has been great for advice since I had my first son 2 years ago and she always maintained waking at night is either hunger or too hot/too cold. Hope you get a another good night's sleep tonight!

jfw

adrieanne__x wrote: »

I've read something somewhere about the protein meal should be the second meal of the day because it can make babies tummy very wishy washy (not proper word lol...). Try the heavier meal at 12 and the snack at 4 maybe??

hi can anyone advice me on something,
I searched the web and cant seem to get a definite answer but my 7 month old baby girl.
The problem is i dont think she is getting enough formula she has a 7 once bottle at 6 in the morning than has porridge at 10 and than juice at lunch she will take a fruit pot and only sometimes might take 2 ounces of formula and than at 5 she has her dinner and at 6.30 she might take a 4 ounce bottle. that is 13 ounce in total in the day is this enough would love some feedback and advice.