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8 month old sleep regression advice

3 replies

CatsRule · 21/10/2012 08:36

My 8 month old son has been waking every night, every 1-2 hours for the past 2 months. He has never been a great sleeper but even as a newborn he would sleep better that this.

Before going onto solids at 6 months he would sleep between 10pm and 5 or 6 am...this now seems like a long lie in!

We have tried putting him down awake but he has never settled, we have tried putting him down earlier but our theory is we would rather he went down later and didn't wake during the night but now it doesn't matter when he goes down he always wakes around midnight and then every 1-2 hours after that.

I have ended up bringing him into bed with us so that my dh can sleep for work. I end up bf him to get him back to sleep but he won't go back in his cot. I don't believe he is that hungry to need all these feeds, I think it is comfort he wants. He has been teething quite badly now for a few months and still no sign of teeth.

Could all this be relating to teething or something else we are doing? My dh thinks I've made the proverbial rod bringing him in and feeding him each time!

If I wasn't going back to work soon I could live with the sleep deprivation but I can't imagine still doing this and doing a full days work!

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

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Nigglenaggle · 21/10/2012 19:31

Well I might be wrong but at first glance it doesnt sound like he has a consistent bedtime routine, like you have been experimenting with different things, whereas you might need to stick to the same pattern for at least a couple of weeks to really give it a chance to work. They need consistent cues that its about to be sleep time to stand a chance of sleeping through. Personally I really like the routine suggested in the Baby Whisperer books, but each to their own. Someone also gave me a link to a site called the Millpond when we were in the midst of sleep issues which is quite nice, its here:

www.mill-pond.co.uk/

I never got the chance to use it as just after I posted, things sorted themselves out quite alot, mainly because I started following the advice in the book to the letter, and everything slotted into place. Teething is disrupting our nights again at the moment. I know its that and not another cause as he responds to Calpol - it doesnt get him to sleep through, but he relaxes and has an hour or two, and nothing else is working. So it might be part of your problem.
I also agree with your husband a little (sorry!) I think feeding to sleep is a dangerous trap to get into. I will admit sometimes if the teething pain is very bad though, bringing him into the bed is the only way I can sleep at all - otherwise it would be holding him in the chair in the nursery all night.
Once you are back at work make sure your OH is doing his fair share - we do every other night (and sometimes we sleep in separate rooms so the off duty member gets a good nights sleep - ah the romance!) and it just stops us going completely mad!!

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CatsRule · 21/10/2012 22:51

Yes I think you are right in that we don't have a strict routine. We do bath, change for bed and story and turn lights and volumes down so there is a small consistency...my problem is I hate him crying and getting distressed which if left he always does.

I wilk have a look at the book and website...thanks for replying.

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Nigglenaggle · 22/10/2012 20:34

We have a not-left-to-cry policy in our house too, the routine will really help with it I think good luck.

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