Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Parenting

For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

sleep problem in 6 month old baby...HELP!

11 replies

SJP83 · 31/10/2013 08:34

So, I know I've been lucky, my 6 month old daughter has always been a decent sleeper. For sure, we've been through reflux, colic, growth spurts, sleep regression and teething which have all meant sleepless nights but she has always reverted back to sleeping through. She's now being weaned and is on two meals a day, breakfast and dinner, in addition to this she is still breast fed. We have a bedtime routine consisting of bath and boob after which she would normally fall asleep, I'd wake her for a dream feed at 10 ish and she'd sleep until 7 ish. In the last week or so she has started to wake in the night, we blamed this on wind initially (hers not 'the great storm of 2013' although coincidentally that was very windy too). However she has graduated from waking in the night to waking literally minutes after she is put down and only sleeping in our arms or like last night (I crumbled, tired and period cramps) in bed with me. Fuelled by a bit more sleep I am determined to tackle this. What could the 'problem' be and how can we get some sleep, in our own beds preferably!

OP posts:
Sunnysummer · 31/10/2013 09:43

How long has she been doing this?

SJP83 · 31/10/2013 12:38

Not for long, the last week or so, the waking up everytime I put her down started last night. We spent 5 hours trying to settle her in her cot and around midnight caved and let her in our bed.

OP posts:
ZuleikaD · 31/10/2013 14:07

No solutions here, but all three of mine (DC3 currently 6.5m) were still waking in the night for feeds at this point. There's a big 6m growth spurt so she may genuinely be hungry - I'd try more breastfeeds during the day (solids don't contribute any meaningful calories for another couple of months yet.)

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

SJP83 · 31/10/2013 19:10

I wouldn't mind if she wanted a feed, she just won't sleep in her cot! Thank you though, I wasn't sure if there was a 6 month growth spurt.

OP posts:
brightonbythesea · 31/10/2013 20:46

I have an almost 12mo who is generally an excellent sleeper. The only times she ever does this (or something else she never usually does related to sleep) is when a tooth is on it's way. I would hazard a guess at this if she is usually a good sleeper, get her a bit of calpol and teething gel and ride it out - it'll only last a few days if this is why.

JiltedJohnsJulie · 31/10/2013 22:40

Yes there's a massive growth spurt, plus a developmental leap both of which could be contributing to the waking. Agree with Zul on the solids too, I'd cut down on her solids in the day to just once and feed her an hour before you offer the solids too. She could just be hungry and 2 meals is the maximum she should be having at her age so there's no harm in cutting back. there is more info here.

SJP83 · 31/10/2013 23:20

Thanks guys. Dinner is usually around 3-4 and is more of a play with finger food session than a concerted attempt at feeding her so perhaps I'll cut out the puree part altogether. She's still on 6 feeds a day of varying length, I'd try lengthen them but she always wants to look at/ do something else! Noted re. Growth spurt. Oh joy. Tonight I tried the pick up, put down method combined with sitting by her cot and it seemed to work. Like I say, if she wakes in the night wanting a feed, I'll feed, I'd just like her to sleep in her cot beforehand! X

OP posts:
JiltedJohnsJulie · 31/10/2013 23:24

Hard isn't it Thanks

SJP83 · 01/11/2013 07:15

Incredible but hard! Just when you think you're at breaking point she goes and does something amazing! So the pick up, put down/ gradual retreat combo seemed to work last night, she slept from 8-6 with smiles as she was falling asleep. I had to really dig to find that advice though, the controlled crying approach is everywhere...I don't like the principle. Why would you want your baby to associate bedtime or you leaving them with sadness and fear?

OP posts:
rallytog1 · 01/11/2013 07:50

My 6mo has just come out of a phase exactly like this. I felt like someone had kidnapped my baby and replaced her with an imposter!

it only lasted a couple of weeks though and she seems to be back to normal now. There is a lot going on developmentally for them at this age, so I think it's common for them to be unsettled for a while. hopefully it's just a phase for you too!

SJP83 · 02/11/2013 20:54

Ah thank god! In my head I know that the next few years will be made up of phases and I'm definitely less hung up on the no sleep thing than the other half (are all men so rubbish with the sleep deprivation thing?) but it's hard to stay sane and rational sometimes! Thank god for the internet and you guys for help! X

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page