Night waking - 10 month old

[Bronte38]

Hi everyone,

I write this post at the end of my tether and hope someone can give me a little advice or guidance. My 10 month old was once a great sleeper - full nights, great naps, the works. He was diagnosed with silent reflux at 8 weeks and he's been on omeprazole since then.

So we've reached a point where he naps well (9.15/9.30 to 10am, 12.30 to 2.30pm) and settles himself very successful at bedtime (6.45/7pm). But he now wakes constantly in the night - for example last night it was 11.40pm and he stayed awake until 1am. He woke again every hour or two, sometimes settling himself, sometimes not. This pattern of being awake for a few hours in the night has been going on for 4 weeks. He hasn't had a night feed for months, his room temperature is consistent and our bedtime routine is well perfected. He eats well during the day and enjoys his 8oz bedtime bottle. He has a lovey that he takes to bed, and he sleeps in a gro bag to avoid kicking off covers. The room is totally dark and very quiet. I guess we seem to have a culmination of lots of things - he had (still has!) a head cold and cough, he has just learned to stand and cruise, and Lord knows he's probably cutting teeth. Is there anything obvious I'm missing? I'm not sure if he overtired, undertired, going to bed too early, too late.... so confused!!! Any input is very very welcome.

The only thing you can look into and possibly have any control over is the cold. Is the cough or decongestion bothering him enough to keep him awake? My 6.5month old has recently got over an awful chest infection and head cold and sleep was awful

Is he ready move to one nap? Dd is just short of 10 months and only needs about 1 Hr a day or her nighttime sleep is awful

Could he suffer from nightmares?
Perhaps you could leave a light on in his room or take him out of his room to let him fall asleep again in a different environment.

Thanks for all the input. We previously introduced a night light when he was crawling around his cot and bumping into things, but it seemed to be a hindrance to him as he spent the night staring intently at it. Though that was a couple of months ago now so maybe it's worth another try. It does seem like a nightmarish scream - I didn't think he'd be old enough to have night terrors but I guess every child is different.

I often think about cutting the morning nap. It's like a catch 22... he possibly would get on better without it but he's so tired from a poor night's sleep that by 9.30 he is cranky central. I might start to cut it back slowly and see if we can balance it out.

My 10.5 month old (But 10 months corrected) has been like this for the last week and i have just looked it up and it is a wonderweek c.week 46, with a couple of bad weeks before it characterised by “trouble sleeping, possible nightmares, tantrums, separation anxiety, shyness” amongst others.

On the plus side, as a result this they should soon be able to use a spoon, build a tower, try to do simple puzzle games, etc, so the clouds should clear soon. It’s just their brains adjusting to the new skills.

Dd is the same age, shes slept through since 3m and got all snotty and multiple teeth coming through at once last month. She was awake screaming nightly, its all settled back down now and even with her front teeth coming in (got her teeth in an odd order) shes still sleeping happily so think it was the being snotty more than anything. I thought we were doomed to never sleep again!