6 month - waking every 2 hrs, help... I'm on my knees!

[gillyweed]

Dd1 is 6.5 months and for the last month or two has started waking every 1-2 hours in the night.

I don't know if this should be in sleep, feeding or behaviour but I really need help, I can't handle much more of this!

She's always been a rubbish napper, real fighter - never just falling asleep but screaming/crying to sleep, she's been like this since day 1. We used to have to pin her down in our arms to get her to calm, at around 4 months we started putting her awake in her cot and going in every 2 mins or so to silently put the dummy back in and reassure - this works and she sometimes falls straight asleep but usually cries for a bit. She only ever nap for 45 mins at a time, usually every 2-2.5 hrs after each waking, 3 nap a day.

We put her down for the night at 7.30 ish and she's normally fine till waking at 11ish, I feed and put her back in the cot at which point she starts the constant waking. I try to feed her sat up when I have the energy but usually just pull her into bed and feed her back to sleep.

She was only waking once a night with 7/8 hour stretches -I've always had to wake the little lazy bones at 8 am. But something has changed!

Teething has been painful (for us all) and she now has 2 teeth. She's ebf and been feeding quite frequently recently, every 2 hours or so during the day, we've also just started bow (2/3 was ago) she's also just started crawling and sitting up.

Please help me, she's super alert and a very happy smiley girl but I'm becoming a rubbish lazy mum because I'm soooooo tired! TIA!

[gillyweed]

• bow = blw!!!

[themsthebreaks]

No advice I am afraid, but I am in exactly the same boat with DC3, who is just 8 months. Same thing re trying to feed sitting up and then out back in the cot in the night, but a) he often cries at going back in the cot and it prolongs the whole process and b) as with you, I am so so tired I just get him in bed and lie down and feed him and we both fall asleep. Sorry no advice, but you are NOT alone! and I shall watch with interest.

[Northernexile]

Another one here without much advice, but I do sympathise! My DD is 8mo and has been just like your DD since she learned to roll at 5mo. She is crawling and pulling herself up to stand, and we have also been weaning for the last couple of months.

We have had broken nights, 5.30 get ups and very strange bowel movements (including in the middle of the night) for the last few weeks, and I am telling myself it's a developmental phase, and that she will -fingers crossed- grow out of it. There's just so much going on at this stage. Throw teething into the mix and its bound to throw them! I think DD wakes and then just wants to practice her new skills, even at 3 in the morning!

On the plus side, she was always a bad napper, fighting sleep and whinging at every nap. This has all changed in the last week, and she now goes down like a dream, although her naps are still short. I don't think there's much you can do other than just ride it out and tell yourself it will pass tbh. I'm hoping DD gets it out if her system before I go back to work in the new year!

[gillyweed]

oh thank you for the replies! I had a horrible feeling this was going to last and it was a case of ride it out... she does all of a sudden seem to have a lot going on.

I just don't understand how she can be so happy and full of beans though, I'm exhausted!

[Northernexile]

Mines the same! Awake between 3 and 5 this morning and just raring to go. I felt like death!

[vvviola]

Just something to throw out there: DD2's sleep changed dramatically at 6 months. From doing longish stretches (midnight til 7 from 9 weeks for a while!) she went to waking every hour.

Eventually (and a s a result of other symptoms) we traced it all back to food allergies. The baby rice I was using (very little of) had milk powder in it, and her allergy to dairy meant she was having dreadful stomach cramps all night (and the extra feeds from me, because there was milk protein in my milk, weren't helping at all). It started within days of her first exposure.

Just another thing to consider (I may have got a little evangelical about it after our paediatrician told me it's often the first indication of an allergy in an EBF baby)

[Hyperballad]

No advice, my PFB is 4 months old and has woken every 2 hours through the night from day 1, 2 nights this week he woke up every hour which meant I spent most of yesterday afternoon laid on the sofa!!

[gillyweed]

viola - do you have allergies running in the family? I only ask as we don't but she has always struggled a little with her bowels - I just put it down to virgin gut etc. she used to get terrible tummy ache when trying to poo but this seems to have passed. How did you work out what the allergy was?

Part of me thinks I'm not doing something right (hence the post!), and part of me thinks it wouldn't matter what we do she will choose to sleep when she wants! she's the boss!

[vvviola]

Gilly no, no food allergies in the family at all. But a few of the allergic-type things (v mild asthma, eczema, etc) and I have a penicillin allergy.

She got a stronger reaction to some cheese, her face went all blotchy after she was playing with/eating some grated cheese, and that tipped us off. GP ordered skin prick tests then.

[Mitsouko]

Hi Gilly, sorry I don't have much advice as my 8 month old is the same (and has been since birth pretty much) - but sending you masses of support and sympathy. It is very difficult, but also relatively normal for a lot of babies. Do look into allergies, my DD is milk / soya allergic. She's EBF, and although I cut all dairy and soya out of my diet months ago, we've still seen no change. I'm now investigating the possibility of other allergies. However, I'm not sure it's medical as she's much more settled when co-sleeping with me. Do you have a partner that can help with the nights a bit, or are you on your own? My DH settles DD between feeds - he's really good at that and has been doing so since birth. We've also introduced a dummy, which helps a lot. It doesn't stop the hourly / two hourly wakings but makes it much quicker to settle DD. Between co-sleeping and help from my DH I usually manage a (broken) 4-6 hours per night. DD is my only child, so we co-sleep for naps in the day. I don't always sleep, but just lying down and resting is good. HTH and hang in there. Will be watching this thread!

[gillyweed]

northern - that's my fear, going back to work and this continuing. I'm functioning on such a low level having to communicate with adults would be impossible!

hyper - jeeeeeeeze i thought i had it bad but at least for the first few months she slept... your a hero!

Don't think it is allergies - she gets a blotchy face sometimes when eating but its generally when she's got tired and started rubbing her face with whatever we are eating. Will keep my eye out tho!

mitsouko - same as you she settles when cosleeping so i don't think its medical.

My partner is great but is super busy at work and it doesn't seem fair to keep him up at night... he did take her this sat and we fed her formula for the first time (my boobs are crap at expressing and I really was on my knees!) I got 8 hrs of better sleep but not great as my boobs were killing! - she barely touched a drop, i don't know if it was because it was a new taste or she just wasn't hungry, I came to the conclusion if she was hungry she would have drunk it. So I've tried not to feed her when she wakes as I'm beginning to think its just habitual or for comfort. Kinda worked last night, first couple of waking I just settled, at 2.30 I could take it no more and pulled her into bed but didn't feed - I'm not sure she woke again till 7.30, which is early for her and the longest stretch I've had in a while! hmmmmmm maybe its me keeping her awake!!!!