Baby waking hourly some nights. If yours did the same then please reassure me it's normal!

[Whyx]

As the title really.

When we have a bad night (usually 2 hourly waking 8-6), I search for any possible reason or change I could make. Tonight I'm wondering if caffeine affects his sleep 🤔
I had an espresso late afternoon to help with some studying before picking him up from nursery. He's been up 4 times since 8pm! He settles quickly again with a pat or a feed (ebf) but can't help but wonder if that coffee was a mistake!

However, he's an 8 month old baby, he could be teething, figuring out something or just wakeful.

Tell me your stories of wakeful babies.

If I have caffeine after 3pm my toddler who is feeding on demand still simply won't fall asleep before 10pm. I only have one cup now and then not daily because it's a drug after all but quickly learnt the timing of that cup is key!

The longest continuous sleep I had in DS2s first year was 3hr 47minutes. He was ebf and generally woke 1-2 hourly. At one point every 40 mins. At 9m I gave in and started co-sleeping so he'd sleep in longer increments. It was a very difficult time and gradually improved when he turned 1. Around then he started bum shuffling, was no longer ebf and started nursery.

I always had my coffees in the morning, 2 mugs. I doubt that was the cause, but even if it was I needed it, no question.

I'm currently awake with my baby and forgot my usual afternoon coffee - unfortunately made no difference to his desire to sleep in a cot for longer than 45 minutes!

My dc did the same, woke hourly for the first two years and then a few times nightly up until 5 yrs old. She would fall asleep straight away once I was with her. Then she dropped to once a night until recently and she's 11. Sorry, this is probably not what you wanted to hear and the first two years nearly broke me.

Switch to half caffeinated coffee, available at Sainsbury's, it's called half caff ground coffee. You'll still get caffeine but not the full hit so shouldn't affect the baby so much if you're breast feeding. From half caff, it's easier to switch to decaffeinated as you won't suffer badly from caffeine withdrawal.

My 8month old is still waking at least 3 times a night to feed. She's just cut her 3rd tooth and have definitely found that is causing her to wake more. Last week I was up at least 7 times and then I stopped counting. She does go back to sleep quickly (BF back to sleep) I normally drink 1 coffee around 3-4pm and I personally don't notice that it keeps her awake more. She normally is asleep by 6:30pm and wakes around 6am. I've definitely found she has started sleeping for longer now she has started crawling in the last month.

Also, if we have a good night and she wakes less, I still wake up and lie in bed waiting for her to wake up 🙄😴 so basically I can't win 😂

My Dc - 5.5 months has spent most of her life waking hourly (sometimes it was 45 mins!!!).

The last two weeks she’s suddenly started sleeping more. We get 2 hour stints. Actually last night we had a wonderful 3 hour and 2 minutes stint (not that I am timing 😉). I haven’t done anything different!!!

I am of the view that I think they’re just being babies. Suspect I may be less relaxed about it when I go back to work, but that’s a problem for another day.

I did exactly the same with Dd1 and Dd2.
Dd1 slept 12 hours through the night every night from 6 weeks old.
Dd2 woke 2 hourly until she was 20 months when the doctor gave her medised (no longer licenced) to make her sleep.

I tried all sorts with Dd2, not letting her sleep during the say, letting her sleep, food diaries, extra food just before she went to sleep, lots of exercise etc. Nothing made a difference.

It's totally normal and just some children are wired that was.

Ds I treated the same too and he slept also from 6 week through the night, although more like 10 hours, unless he had an ear infection, which unfortunately was about half the time.

My 14mo still wakes a couple of times a night! She did a whole week of sleep through and I felt like a new women- hit me like a brick when she went back to waking! But to answer you question, yes it is normal- could be starting the regression early or could just be anything. I'm the same as you and tried to look for every possible reason but I think I've just got to a point where I just think DD's still a baby and hopefully won't be like this forever 😂

My youngest and definitely last was a horrible sleeper and never slept more than 2 hours together until her first birthday. Meanwhile my PFB slept through the night from 8 months! DC3 started sleeping through the night reliably from about 16 months. I had the same amount of caffeine (all bf) but you could definitely try reducing to see if it would help - I’d have sacrificed a chicken in my back garden and worn it on my head if I thought it’d make a difference!