Co-sleeping eight month old no longer sucking to sleep. Oh, and biting / gnawing.

[MerryXMoss]

So tired!

I sleep with ds and usually he "dream feeds" three or four (or more) times a night; I latch him on and we drift back to sleep. Works well for us both and I wake reasonably refreshed in the morning.

However, last three or four nights he's been fully waking, sucking until he's no longer hungry and then not sucking back to sleep, but grizzling, or attempting to crawl (he can't crawl yet but keeps pushing up on his hands, and commando crawling backwards), or just generally wanting to play. Last night it took me three hours to get him back to sleep.

He hasn't changed his daytime nap patterns or anything like that (and happily sucks to sleep for daytime naps).

Any idea why?

Oh, and gnawing. Oh that hurts. He's taken, occasionally, in the night, to gnawing on my nipple. Not biting, not sucking, but gnawing. I take him off and then put him on again a few moments later - gnawing again. Bonjella has no discernible effect.

Any ideas, both for pain relief (for me) and for this stopping happening?

[RubySlippedonastraymincepie]

it sounds very much like milestone waking which happens to lots of babies

when they are learning to do something new they want to practise even if it is at 1.00 am!

i can't really offer much more than it is a normal phase and it will probably settle down again

[MerryXMoss]

Thank you! How long does it normally last do you know? Will it stop when he has finally learned to crawl?

Any ideas on the gnawing?

[MerryXMoss]

Anyone any ideas on the gnawing thing?

[inSanityClaus]

Hi Merry - thanks for posting on my thread.

I wonder if your babe is waking from Xmas over-excitemtn? My dd sleeps through now, bar the occasional night feed (once every weeek-ish), but so many admiring relatives, presents, sparkly things, etc, have sent her a bit doolally and her sleep is f'up. So maybe things will settle down? Hope so, anyway.

[RubySlippedonastraymincepie]

milestone waking can last a few days - when my DS was just learning to crawl etc he used to get "stuck" sitting up in bed and be unable to lie back down - we had a few nights of going back to lay him down and it soon stopped when he could do that himself

the gnawing may well be teething - anbesol is the only thing that i have found soothing on my DS's gums (better than bonjela IMO/E)

[MerryXMoss]

Thank you, yes I hadn't thought about Christmas excitement actually, it has been a bit overwhelming I suppose.

Will grin and bear it for the next few days & hope it settles down.

I thought the gnawing might be teething too, but the bonjella not working threw me off a bit. Will try the anbesol, thanks.