HELP!!! Waking in the night but not hungry etc??

[fairimum]

My DD is almost 6 months and currently has the following
7.30am - 6oz bottle
9am - breakfast
11am - offered 6oz bottle takes about 3 or 4
12.30 - lunch
3pm - 5oz ish
5.30 - dinner
7.30 - bedtime bottle - 7oz

Weaned early 4.5months on advice from hospital consultant due to severe silent reflux.

She goes to bed at 7.30 no problem and will sleep until between 3 and 4am - she always wakes at this time no matter when she was put to bed, if we have given her a dream feed at midnight etc! She is not hungry at all, not dirty, not hot/cold, not in pain (as have given calpol, tried both before she wakes and after she wakes) - have been giving water as worried is a habit, no change - tried the shh and pat for 10 days, yes she went back to sleep but to keep her asleep had to get up and pat/shhh every 10 minutes, even tried controled crying (which said would never do!) for just over a week - worst weekever (although the controlled crying has helped loads for day time naps and goes down with no trouble now!) she only has about 3 - 4 hours sleep during the day in total - but to be honest if she has more sleep during the day she sleeps a bit better.

Last night after spending an hour getting her back to sleep I put her in her swing, which after 30 mins of complaining she eventally went back to sleep - don't want to resort to this as she will soon be too big!

Please please advise on what else I can try? she just wants to get up and play!!

My dd is 5mo and is exactly the same!

Dd is in her cot until she wakes at 4am then she comes in with me and will go back to sleep with my hand on her chest.

Tonight I am going to try putting my hand on her chest when she is in her cot but I know I will give in. When my neighbour nexts goes away I am going to let her cry for a while and keep putting her dummy back in to see if that works.

ahh we tried that and she still screams in our bed! We let her cry one night and she got in such a state she was even more awake!

If she's not hungry/ wet/ dirty etc, then she has learned that waking at this time means Mummy will come to play. Controlled crying just draws that out. Stop going to her and she will stop waking. She doesn't need you, she just wants you.

Sorry, I know it's harsh, but unless you want to get up at 4am every day, then you have to show her that there is no point in waking up at that time. If she complained for 30 mins in the swing, then went back to sleep, she probably won't complain for much longer if you don't go in at all.

Think of it this way; if you woke up at 4am and your DH/ DP happened to wake up at the same time and started having a chat with you, then you'd find it VERY hard to get back to sleep for blinking ages. If DH woke up and you woke up, but you didn't talk to each other and just lay quietly for a while, the chances are that you could go back to sleep pretty quickly. Your DD just needs to learn the same thing.

Only other thing is her daytime sleep. It is true that babies who are well rested in the day, sleep better at night. How organised are the 3-4 hours she has? If it's little snatches here and there, then try organising it into two naps. If she already has two naps (morning and lunchtime), try adding in a short (say 45 minute) late afternoon nap. Otherwise, try an earlier bedtime. Sometimes the reverse of what you think (late bedtime), makes babies sleep longer. I've tried it myself. See if she'll go to bed at 7 and see if it makes a difference.

Yep, Im going to try controlled crying. Hoping neighbour will go away soon

We tried the controlled crying for over a week with no improvement she simple continued to cry getting more and more distressed until the alarm went off at 6.30 and we all had to get up!! Controlled crying has worked during the day but at night doe not seem to have had any effect? am I doing something wrong?

She wakes and we let her grumble/talk to herself for about 20mins, until she begins to cry then go over and try and settle her, rub her tummy to calm her down (works during the day and now usually goes to sleep) but rarely seems to work at night, then leave her for 5 mins and go back to try and calm her again, then go back every 10-15mins - but she just gets more and more upset?

she has a nap in the morning from about 9.45 - 11 and in the afternoon about 1-3ish, will sometimes goe down for about half an hour from about 4.45ish - will try an earlier bedtime! Hadn't considered that!! Willing to try anything - I am so tired that tonight I think she will be going straight in her swing as soon as she stirrs to try and keep her asleep!

I dont let dd nap after 3pm. She is very tired by 5pm so has her last bottle at 5.30 and is in bed at 6/6.30pm. She does go back to sleep after her 4am wake so I wonder if that would help you?

It is so easy to do whatever gets them to sleep. I want to move dp back into bed but it is so easy to have dd in with me.

hmm yes the earlier bed may work I suppose! Will certainly try it! Just need some sleep!!

Sods law - Dd has just woken up screaming! Changed her nappy (against what I just said) as I could smell it was full and she has gone back to sleep for now.

Saturdays are my lie in day - Dp gets up with dd and I stay in bed until 10/11! It makes the rest of the week so much better I find and I have that to look forward to.

simple, but could she be getting cold? Every time I've thought my DD was waking in the night for me, turned out it was my body-heat she was after rather than my company. Setting the heating to come on for an hour at 3am seemed to do the trick. Didn't do my ego much good though

Controlled crying doesn't work for all babies so don't feel bad if you can't make it work for you

Dd woke at 3am this morning and was wide awake.

I decided to give crying a go (my poor neighbour) It took an hour of taking her dummy out and putting it back in but I wasnt going to give in! Then I decided to put some Calgel on her teeth incase that was the problem and within 10 minutes she was asleep! In her cot all night, she then woke at 7am.

Could you lo be teething? I am going to try the same tonight and let her cry for a bit.

I am knackered but hope it will be worth it I will have my lie in tomorrow though - Yey

hmmm.... don't think is teeth! Have now changed heating to have it on constant of about 17 degrees so doesn't get too cold!