Help! Normally very well-sleeping 10 month old up all night...

[Gemmitygem]

DS is 10 months, is a very calm baby and has slept from 10 pm till 6-7 am since 4 months and 7pm-6am since about 7 months. Suddenly he's up about 10 times a night. settles quite quickly but it means us getting up so often!

He is teething, just got two teeth at the top, I give him various different remedies plus teething gel etc, but would teething be severe enough to keep him up? He goes to sleep happily but wakes up about an hour later, repeat throughout the night. I give him a drink and he goes back. When I come in he is sitting up or in a crawling position in the cot, but I've tried tucking him in firmly and he can get out of it, but can't get back lying down!!

any tips much appreciated!

[peatbogfaerie]

Hi there,
My 10mth-old has just done the same. She's been teething too, but I suspect it's more to do with having just learnt how to crawl. I think she now does this around her cot when half asleep, because I often find her at the bottom of it rather confused! I don't think I've got any magic answer, but I have done the following and she's sleeping much better now:

Given her something to chew on in her cot, usually a rubber duck that seems to soothe her quite well.
Been quite strict about her daytime naps and left her to cry a bit (10 mins) if she wakes up early. It's odd, but the better she sleeps during the day, the better she seems to sleep in the night.
Check her if she cries in the night, give her a bit of water, then put her back down and leave her to cry for a bit (hate it!!!)

I know it's hard, but if you're tough for a few nights it does seem to get better.

hope some of that helps.

[peatbogfaerie]

ooh, and forgot to say that I also gave her Calpol before bed for about 3 nights running.

[Gemmitygem]

thanks,

will follow your advice. He does nap well in the day, I think it might be new abilities in crawling plus the teeth pain... will just keep putting him down again I guess..

ta!

[Gemmitygem]

I've also been giving either calpol, medised or calprofen before bed, feel guilty but he's guaranteed to wake up in pain about an hour later if not... feel like I'm drugging him

[peatbogfaerie]

Don't worry about doing it for a week or two if he's teething - as long as it doesn't become routine ...

The only other thing I thought of is whether he's hungry? It took me ages to work out with dd2 that that was the problem. She had a growth spurt at about 9 months and was waking thru the night. When I finally thought of food, I gave her lamb stew (red meat always works with mine) and mashed pots and she slept all night! Poor thing then got it for about a week so as not to go backwards.

[Gemmitygem]

ah, hadn't thought of that... I usually don't give meat etc at tea time cos worried about him getting tummy ache, so usually has something like an egg with toast or pasta with tomato and cottage cheese. At weekends I breastfeed him in the day and weekdays he gets yoghurt instead from his nanny, and I suspect she gives him loads because he's not that hungry for tea at 6. so maybe will try giving him a bigger tea, just worried about overloading...

anyway we have some lamb actually so might try your tip, thanks!

[Egypt]

don't think you can overload.

bet you anything quokka will come along here in a mo with some great advice about him having difficulty digesting in the night and to give an aromatherapy massage before bed. she had the same problem with her's and it worked a treat.....

quokka?!?

[peatbogfaerie]

yes, I'm not suggesting you give him huge amounts of meat just before bedtime -- but certainly a little bit plus carbs has worked for ours in the past. Let us know how you get on - how was last night?

[Gemmitygem]

hi,

well last night he slept solidly but woke crying at 11pm, gave him breast plus calprofen and he slept again till 6 but woke about 4 times, got into crawling position and began to squawk, so I resettled him. He goes back to sleep straight away but it's just having to get up and resettle him that's killing me! He doesn't cry when left, just goes back to sleep. Oh dear!!! hope your dd is sleeping better now, too peaty...

[sleppy26]

there Just wondered if anyone can offer any advice. We have a beautiful and happy 9 month old baby girl...she has never slept throught the night. I think the most she did was around 4 months when she slept from 10pm to 4am which now seems amazing!! She now wakes up 4 or more times a night and nothing seems to soothe her which is really upsetting. The doctors reckon its colic and her teeth! She gets lots of solids and is in a good bath, feed routine and is a happy soul all day long, Its the nights and i guess we are both exhausted. The pressure to have a baby who sleeps through is also at the back of our minds although we cant let her cry it out as the health care people advise. She cant soothe herself to sleep as she always fell asleep whilst feeding and so we never had the chance to put her in her cot awake. I have got the Elizabeth Panthey book...'No cry sleep solutions' to help but she really relies on sucking our fingers or feeding to fall asleep so when she wakes she cant get back to sleep. Thanks sad