8 month old sleep regression advice

[CatsRule]

My 8 month old son has been waking every night, every 1-2 hours for the past 2 months. He has never been a great sleeper but even as a newborn he would sleep better that this

Before going onto solids at 6 months he would sleep between 10pm and 5 or 6 am...this now seems like a long lie in!

We have tried putting him down awake but he has never settled, we have tried putting him down earlier but our theory is we would rather he went down later and didn't wake during the night but now it doesn't matter when he goes down he always wakes around midnight and then every 1-2 hours after that. I have ended up bringing him into bed with us so that my dh can sleep for work. I end up bf him to get him back to sleep but he won't go back in his cot. I don't believe he is that hungry to need all these feeds, I think it is comfort he wants.

He has been teething quite badly now for a few months and still no sign of teeth. Could all this be relating to teething or something else we are doing? My dh thinks I've made the proverbial rod bringing him in and feeding him each time!

If I wasn't going back to work soon I could live with the sleep deprivation but I can't imagine still doing this and doing a full days work!

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

Ds3 is same age as yours, no teeth yet either and I've had exactly the same thing!

Different people will tell you different things but in my experience for as long as you go on offering feeds at night, they will keep on waking for them. As soon as you cut the night feeds, they will stop demanding them. It's really that simple.

I got myself into a similar situation because I didn't want to disturb anyone else in the house so you do what you have to to keep the baby quiet, which generally means feeding them. However last week I sort of decided that enough was enough and stopped. If you are consistent in your approach, i.e. you do exactly the same thing when he wakes, go in, give him a kiss, stroke his head, shush him, whatever, and then leave he will get bored and he will sleep

It has worked for all of mine anyway, but it's up to you to do what you feel comfortable with

Ps I don't buy the whole 'rod for your own back' business by the way, because I think you do what is right at the time and clearly comforting and feeding a baby at night who needs it is exactly what you should do. But like you say, he doesn't need it from a hunger point of view now whereas you DO need a dcent night's sleep if you are going back to work! I should also point out to your dh that you have been trying to ensure that he gets a good night's sleep at the expense of your own so he can quit complaining

Thanks for your reply. I'm going to have to try that even if it does disturb the house for a bit. Long term I can't keep it up.

I have tried the shushing approach but always cave as he rolls over and thrashes about and tries to stand up!

He used to wake up once then go back down but now it's even hard to get him lying down at all...asleep or awake. I've become good at putting nappies on backwards! I thought maybe I was missing something and he was uncomfortable other than teething.

I agree with the rod for your own back in that you do do what seems best for all at the time....dh unfortunately doesn't see it as me helping him....he just can't handle lack of sleep...like most of us eh!!

Mine kept sitting up as well. Ended up flipping him over onto his tummy, which I know goes against all the advice but he settles much better and I reason that he can always roll back again if he needs to.

Try stopping feeding at the weekend if you can, then at least your dh can help out, either in the night or let you go back to bed the next day. It's not so bad if you know you can have a lie in in the morning!

Hi Cats,

I had exactly the same thing, and was dreading going back to work. Thankfully it cleared up soon after I went back; in the space of a few days, he went from waking hourly to sleeping through. So there may be light at the end of the tunnel - he could grow out of it at any time.

While it was going on, DH and I had an arrangement where I would do all the night wakings (since he couldn't breastfeed ) and he'd do the early morning shift while I got caught up on sleep and had a stress-free breakfast.

Good luck!