7mo starting the day at 3am - please advise! :-(

[CookieTramp]

Out notoriously awful sleeper has now gone from waking hourly until 6am to waking hourly and then refusing to go back to sleep after 3. I'm only surviving because hubby takes every other night but he leaves for NY on Monday for 6 months and I am going to have to cope alone.

The last few days I get up at about 3.30 because I can't face the raging frustration if spending 3 hours trying to get him back to sleep.

He naps beautifully during the day and goes down to sleep at 6.30pm when I can't jolly him along any longer. He sleeps until about 11pm when he wakes for his feed (tries waking him at 10 for the feed but it makes no difference to what happens thereafter). From then it is carnage of hourly waking, or more often than that. He wants his dummy sometimes but more often he just wants to shout and kick and play.

If you can think of anything, anything at all, to help this situation, please offer it up. I am desperate now.

Nap lengths are 30-45 minutes at 9am, 1-2 hours at 12, and 30 minutes at about 4. I don't think that is too much day sleep?

We had an awful patch of six weeks with our eldest. We co slept in the end and she'd sleep fine. Have you tried or considered that?

We have tried it and it didn't produce more sleep. He is now back in his cot with me or Daddy on the floor next to him.

I would try cutting naps and move is bedtime back, my dd was waking for the day about 5 am with a 6.30 bed time I've moved her bedtime to 7.30/8 and she now wakes about 6ish.

Could you put his cot next to your bed, with the side down? He just might settle better knowing you or DH are next to him. We had ot do this with dd2 who woke constantly. The night we brought her cot into out room she slept through!

Hmmm... He is at the end of his rope at 6.30 so could not keep him awake longer... Unless I try to extend his afternoon nap?

As to cot in my room, it is a possibility but I thought if co-sleeping didn't help that us being next to him wasn't the problem. Could always try, but the cot sadly doesn't have drop sides.

Can you go to bed at 8 in the meantime?

I have a terrible sleeper so not sure how helpful this will be but he is going for a longer stretch at the start of the night now (7- 12 at least, then frequent wakings) and I think dropping to two naps at about 7-8 months and him eating a lot more solid food has helped. I don't have to give him milk before about 4am now. Naps are 9am (40m) and 1pm (1.5hrs).
I have to just leave DS sometimes, only going to him if he's really kicking off, as it can make if worse if I go in. He has got a little more wakeful since separation anxiety kicked in and I'm hoping that will pass and help sleep - that might be contributing?

I know how awful this is and I do hope it gets better for you soon.

I am :-).

Just remembered, his first tooth came through a couple of days ago, but this pattern has been going on for a month. Could it be related?

To be honest it took a few weeks to get her to move late afternoon nap and push her bedtime back. But was worth it we do Co sleep though as she's a massive cot refuser.

I would.....and did.... Try:

First drop the late afternoon nap completely. DS was on 1 nap by 10mo - early I know- but that was him. He only did 3 naps until 3mo.

Earlier bed time with lots of cues built into routine

Leave him at night when he wakes if he's not upset, or just kicking around.

Try ibuprofen on the basis it might be teeth

DS was a similarly terrible sleeper. Turned out that was silent reflux. Diagnosed at 7 month old, exacerbated by weaning diet (citrus fruits etc)...

Perhaps look at diet and see if you think there are nights he's sleeps better having not eaten x y or z. Digestive issues do impact...!

Or temperature? DS always wakes when too hot - he never felt overly hot, but he sleeps better when cooler...

If that doesn't work ....

I would try sleep training. You can't sleep that little long term, it will really impact on your health.

Or

If you can afford it, and there is no one else to help, try a night nanny for a night here and there.

And a massive hug. It's really hard work.

Dd did this. I was going insane with sleep deprivation. Is he starting to crawl? Dd did this until she mastered crawling, then suddenly went back to sleeping until 6. I tried everything and nothing worked, it was just a phase.

Is he your only dc? I made sure I slept in the day while she napped to keep my sanity. Every time she went to sleep, i laid down too. The little extra bits of sleep here and there really helped.

Have you got a blackout blind? It gets light very early at the minute, it might help. The people who make the gro clock make a fab one, it's called the gro anywhere blind and you just attach it to the window with suckers.

I would second trying some baby nurofen incase he is still suffering with his teeth.

The only thing I would say is that I never gave in and got up at stupid o clock. I kept shhing and patting, offered extra feeds, and did let her grizzle for a while. Obviously if she got properly upset I would comfort her, but I didn't jump up every time she grizzled.

We do have her cot next to the bed, so that makes things easier.

Hope he gets through the phase quickly. Remember, 'this too shall pass'.

Oh and if you can I would try to delay the afternoon nap until 4.30 - 5pm so you can keep him up later. I found with dd if she had less daytime sleep she actually woke more in the night, not less, but a later bedtime helped a bit.

Sorry to keep posting but I keep remeberimg things. Does he take a dummy? Dd didn't until this phase. I offered her one out of desperation and I'm glad I did. She still didn't go back to sleep most of the time but she would lay quietly sucking the dummy which meant I could sleep.

Hi - we had a phase of this with dd. I would second the recommendation of black out blinds. Also d you put several dummies in the cot in case he is losing them (the glow in the dark ones are good). We also have a mobile and books at the end of the bed for dd to play with if she wakes up. Even now at 15months I sometimes hear her waking early but she seems to distract herself with playing for 10 minutes or so and then gos back to sleep.

I feel your pain DS has been a crap sleeper from the start I have read everything sleep related I can get my hands on! by about 7/8 months DS was caught in an awful cycle if overtiredness that took weeks to break.

I would start by pushing the naps back by an hour so 10, 1 and 5 so bedtime till be 7.30 and hopefully he will sleep til 4 see if that works if it does then push the naps another hour hopefully you get to 5 or 6.

I would also bring him in bed with you since it will just be you 2, co-sleeping has never made DS sleep any better but it helps massively when you don't need to physically get up and down you can settle him without moving. DS went to his cot every night then into our bed it's not caused any problems with his own bed since he was always in there first so was used to it once he slept better he came in with us less and less now I'm in his bed maybe 2 or 3 nights a weeks from between 3 and 5.

If this helps his sleep I would work toward dropping a nap so he is having two sleeps by 7 mo DS was on 2 by a year on 1 and by 18mo only a few naps a week it massively improved him night time sleep.

whatever you do I really really recommend sticking to it for at least a week one night is not enough to change a routine. Also get DH to do 2 nights before he goes so you are fresh for a new routine.

cookie does he not sleep 3.30-9? he must be exhausted... I think you should be looking to drop the pm nap really but with him getting up so crazy early I don't know about the mornings. I think you shouldn't give in and get up until 6am. then draw the curtains, make a big thing of day time play time etc. when do you feed him?

I assume getting a feed in quickly at 3 does nothing... but I wouldn't feed until 6 if it doesn't get him back to sleep

Yes, like Koothrapanties I don't get DS up before 6.30 no matter what--7-6.30 is night time. Not fun but sometimes he does manage to have a 40m-hour block late on, even after pratting around in his cot for an hour plus.