Advice please, no HV to ask!

[TheTigerSleeps]

Hi, I am just after some advice re my baby who is nearly 11 months old, as there are no health visitors still in my area, and the children's centre is still closed. I don't really have anyone else to ask and the constant Googling of confusing me!

My DD went through an 8-9 month sleep regression which was hell, but we got through it and she went back to sleeping through, (which she was doing from 4-8 months also). Unfortunately this last week she has begun waking up every night around 2-4am crying. She won't go back to sleep at all unless cradled in my arms. Even then she will fall asleep but when I put her back in her cot she wakes up as soon as she feels the mattress and cries again. Repeat repeat repeat for about 2 hours till I'm at my wits end! Even though she is night weaned I have fed her milk (formula) out of desperation a few times. This sometimes helps but not always.

Does anyone know what I can do?

If it helps, for context, she sleeps in her own room. Bedtime is around 7.15 after bath routine. She is formula fed a bottle until very drowsy and then put in cot. She sleeps soundly until this 2/3am wake up. She usually wakes around 7.15am. She has two day naps at roughly 3hr intervals, naps about 1hr each totalling about 2hours total. So plus the 12hrs at night she was getting 14hrs. However now with night waking I don't know. She has a bottle before each nap and eats 3 meals a day.

Hoping someone more experienced can advise me! 🙏

Teething? Have you tried calpol?

my gut says either teething or hungry.
my youngest is almost 7 so not in touch with who you could call.

but it does sound like pain to me. my DS1 was awful, I had to put him on the floor because he was writhing in pain so hard I almost dropped him a few times.
does she have sore bottom, different smelling or looking poop? those were always present for my kids when teething (saliva production and/or acidity can change when teething and can affect what comes out).
if you think it's teeth try Dentinox, Calgel, Bonjela first, then as she gets a bit calmer give her Calpol. worked like a charm.

if you suspect hunger add some more protein for her dinner (grated cheese is very easy and include meat). protein takes longer to digest so might just tide her over

Thank you both. Yes perhaps you are right about teething. I am going to try going in with the calpol straight away tonight if she wakes, and see if that makes a difference.

Thanks so much for the advice and your experiences .

if she won't take calpol from syringe or spoon then mix it in a small amount of her milk and give it from a bottle.
she might like to suck on a flannel soaked in cold water then wrung out - you can get teething rings you keep in the fridge, but low tech is always a good back up.

most of all as your routine is being kicked to dust just know that's normal.
so is being in survival mode, doing the bare minimum, making up for lost sleep when you can - so don't you dare feeling guilty about anything, ok?
change is the only constant thing, you gotta roll with the punches.

oh and if the screaming gets to you use earplugs to save your eardrums & nerves!
best of luck tonight

Agree that she sounds unwell or in pain. Calpol sounds like a good idea, I’d also try putting her sheets or sleeping bag in your bed before you put them in her cot so that she gets the nice reassuring smell of you. Probably a bit late fir tonight but you could try it for her naps tomorrow.

Could you put your dressing gown around her when you give her a cuddle so she can smell you and feels like you're there?

Teething or ear infection?

Sounds like molars, I hated teething, we had months of hell.

If she allows check the back of her mouth, she may be having small bumps indicating that they are on their way.

If there is nothing I would see if you can get a GP appoinment to check for ear infection.