6/7mo sleep suddenly terrible. Hold my hand please?

[Ughnotagain]

Up to about a fortnight ago, give or take the odd night, DD had been a pretty good sleeper. She's 7mo this week. For the past couple of weeks her sleep has suddenly taken a turn for the worse and she's waking every hour, sometimes going longer, sometimes less.

I'm finding it hard. I've gone back to work and it is difficult on little sleep. She's breastfed and settles on the boob but then I struggle to put her down without waking her. Sometimes I bring her into our bed, which is ok if DH has fallen asleep downstairs (as happens quite often), but if there's all three of us it's tricky for space!

I don't know that I'm looking for answers, because tbh I don't know that there are any (I know this could be anything - growth spurt, teething, separation anxiety etc), but... this will pass, won't it? Please say so!

[HollyC255552]

Exactly like my 6month DD. I have no advice i'm afraid but i'm with you on this one. Xx

[AgentCandid]

I hope it gets better, because we're suffering here too. My six month old was sleeping well in her cot in our room, waking for one feed a night and resettling quickly. For the last three weeks she's been waking within an hour of going down in the evening, only settled with a feed. She's then impossible to put back down so we've been cosleeping and my partner has been bumped into the spare room.

Really hoping someone can come along and reassure us all that it'll pass very soon!

[BeaufortBelle]

It may be teeth. Don't underestimate how much it hurts them. If so, Calpol. At this time of year, especially if they have had a cold in the last couple of weeks, it's always worth having their ears checked to discount that.

[Rinceoir]

Mine did this at 6 months. Went from sleeping through the night to waking every hour. Sailed through the 4 month regression though. It took a while but settled to one wake a night by 9 months, and we've had periods of good and bad sleep since. She's 20months now and sleeps through reliably.

[Rinceoir]

Nothing helped on our case but comforting, cuddling and giving into co-sleeping at times.

[Touchacat]

My DD sleep has been getting worse - she's just turned six months. She wakes regularly throughout the night and now she's waking early and needing her nappy changed - twice before 6am this morning! So that wakes her up for the day. I'm not sure there is much I can do as she can self settle and she seems pretty hungry every time she wakes up.
I really wonder if it's to do with how fast she's developing. She has got so active over the past fortnight and seems to like practising in the early hours in her cot!
I will add that her worse nights were after giving her Calpol, thinking that she must have been teething. She was squirming in pain and each time I worked out that the worst painful squirms and cries coincided with her doses of Calpol. I'm sure it helps a lot of babies but I'm convinced it had the opposite effect on mine.

[AgentCandid]

Rinceoir that sounds familiar. I was verging on smug after the four month regression didn't appear, so I think this is my punishment. Nine months sounds like a long way off! Did it improve gradually up to that point? I'm looking for glimmers of hope here, as you can probably tell.

[Ughnotagain]

Glad I'm not alone!

Last night was a bit better for us; she went down for the night at about 9:40 and then woke up within an hour, but then just woke once more (though I had to sit up with her for nearly two hours to make sure she was asleep enough to put down!). She did wake up at 5:30 for the day but I passed her over to DH and went back to sleep, so at least that's something!

[AgentCandid]

I'm also glad I've found fellow sufferers, although sorry you're going through it at the same time. That's not a bad night, but two hours to get her back down sounds hard. I think sometimes I give in a bit too quickly and get her in bed with me so I can go back to sleep. I'm a very short term thinker when it comes to sleep!

[Rinceoir]

Candid it did settle gradually. Went from hourly wakes to 2-3 a night by 8 months to once by 9 months.

[AgentCandid]

Thank you! That's what I needed to hear.

[Ughnotagain]

Agent she was asleep, just not asleep enough to put down and not wake, very annoying!

[starfish12]

touch - re the calpol, some babies can be allergic to the sorbitol in it. It's actually quite common. It's sometimes labelled as e420. I believe tesco own brand calpol doesn't have it in or you could try nurofen (on a full tummy).

[Touchacat]

Thanks starfish I didn't know that. Useful to know for next time!

[Spl0ink]

Well thank god for you lot. Having graduated the four month regression thread and had a whole month of him sleeping through the night, I thought I was asking too much for a thread dedicated to the six month malaise. To be fair, he's a few days off seven months, but he's reliably waking every three hours again like a newborn

Gritting my teeth, hunkering down. Sigh.

[Spl0ink]

Hmm starfish I believe you and I were contemporaries on the four month regression thread! Aren't babies fun?

[Belleende]

Oh god can I join? What fucking moron decided that introducing solids and going into their own room at the same time as teething begins was a good idea for creatures whose sleep is as fragile as Donald Trump's ego?
My dd just 6 mos. Never been the best sleeper but not the worst either, usually 2 or 3 wakes ups easily settled with a feed. I could cope with that. Now, wakes at least every fecking hour and can take over an hour to settle. She is impossible to put down drowsy as she wakes and wails immediately. I have already quit for the night and she is back in with me with my tit in her gob. Trying to figure out how to do the no cry sleep solution but am too tired to wade through all the gumpf in the book. I just want simple instructions about all I can handle right now.

[LovelyWeatherForDucks]

Another one here! Had a lovely few months of self settling and two wake ups, now at nearly 6 months we are back to hourly wakings and a couple of hours of crying at 1ish. Plus toddler up at 5am. Too tired to think straight and work out what to do!

[rightguard]

Same here. Ds was an amazing sleeper til 5 months. Now he wakes every hour to 90 minutes and needs feeding back to sleep.

I got a sleep monitor thingy (for me!) And I'm getting about 20 mins of deep sleep a night. No wonder I'm wrecked.

[Belleende]

So, I have been good mommy. I have implemented a v structured bedtime routine. I have been putting her to sleep drowsy but awake. I have been watching her like a hawk to make sure I am napping her when I should. I have stopped feeding to sleep. She self settles well when going for naps and when going to sleep for the night. However, she is still waking every single sleep cycle and will only settle if I pick her up and let her suck my pinky finger for a while and at least one wake up it takes 45m or more to settle her, usually involving a feed. Soooooooo frustrating when she would seem to have all the skills needed to sleep for longer stretches but she just doesn't. Any ideas anyone?

[TiesThatBind]

No ideas, just solidarity.

After a hellish four month regression for a glorious three weeks we got back to one night feed and perhaps one or two wakes quickly resettled with a dummy. Now we have had four nights where he is awake for an hour or two at least twice. So last night he was up 830 - 11pm, then 130 - 330am. I am in pieces.

I think it is teething because he seems so angry and uncomfortable. But perhaps it is his tummy. After much googling of coeliac in babies I didn't let him eat anything today just in case (although since we are doing BLW I don't think he was really eating much anyway).

Feeling utterly miserable as I have a two year old and a fever to contend with.

Will cross fingers we all have a better night...

[Spl0ink]

Belle perhaps look into the Baby Whisperer wake-to-sleep method. It's a right pain but I used it on my little one for a few weeks when he was waking every sleep cycle and he doesn't any more, whether that's the reason or not I couldn't definitively say.

What does everyone do at this stage when they wake in the night? I'm feeding back to sleep but two nights ago that meant every hour from midnight til morning and there's no way that's just hunger. What else to do though?

[Orangedaisy]

Big sympathy and solidarity to all of you. DD is 21 months and we had hellish sleep, at around 10 months it was once an hour. We decided to ride it out without trying any special methods and once the decision made it has been so much better-yes we didn't sleep much but the guilt over everything we 'should' be doing went, which has made life a nice place to be again, and anyone who judges us can stuff it! DD still isn't perfect (about 1 wake up a night now when she still needs a cuddle) but she has learned to self settle sometimes (she cries for a minute or less and then nothing) with no input at all from us. I would say do what feels right for you (for us it was 'do nothing') and ignore everything else.

[Belleende]

Well she has been asleep two hours after a text book bedtime. I think I will stick with this for a while and see what happens. Quite enjoying the bedtime routine.
I have mostly stopped feeding to sleep. When she wakes I lift her up ( shh shh pat pat just pisses her off). Sometimes she will settle just with a brief cuddle, sometimes I sit in the rocking chair for a while, but most times she wants to suck my finger, I am basically a human dummy.
orange I think your words are wise, accepting that her sleep is a bit shit and it will pass will no doubt make it easier. Off to bed now. Que sera sera.