Over an hour to resettle after nappy change at night

[emg6062]

My nearly 7 month old has always taken over an hour to get back to sleep after a nappy change during the night after he's done a number 2.

He just lies there wide awake tossing and turning until eventually after nearly an hour and a half he falls back asleep. It's becoming exhausting as I like to keep an eye on when he eventually falls back to sleep to make sure he's getting enough night time sleep overall.

Suppose I just want reassurance that this is something that they grow out of? He's done it since newborn so you'd think I'd be used to it by now but he's really not the best sleeper as is so makes it extra exhausting when it happens.

When did you change him? Was it pre-feed / mid-feed? He should settle quicker if so, although this doesn't help if he poos straight after a feed!

Does he settle himself eventually or do you pick up etc? If he settles himself, you should leave him to it rather than watch and wait, you can assume he will get there in the end and if you allow him that hour / hour and a half into your nap calculations you will be less tired out.

IME yes this is a phase and will pass x

I had one like this, terrible sleeper and kind of still is at 3! We used to rock her to sleep but I wouldn’t suggest this as she expected us to do this all the time

I've just been up for an hour trying to settle my almost 6 m old baby but just wondering about what you wrote. Is it not unusual for babies past newborn stage to poop at night, or when they start weaning so they start to poop at night?

Yeah it's always after a feed that he does it. I always try and help him have a little clear out before bed to prevent it but some nights it doesn't happen, then I know I'm in for an extra treat.

He does need a bit of help to resettle really. He spits his dummy out and starts babbling away to himself and then cries for the dummy back. Also he's suffering with eczema really bad as of very recently so he scratches away at that which I have to stop otherwise he just starts to bleed even though we have thick socks on his hands. By the time he goes back to sleep I'm wide awake because of all this. It's much easier to get him to sleep at the start of the night as he's tired enough to. I've like the few hours sleep he's had during the night fuels him to be able to stay away for ages.

Sounds pretty normal to be.
But I would definitely stop staying to supervise. Let him go back to sleep by himself. At 7 months he is able to let you know if something is wrong ( if he gets caught in the bars or anything). You are torturing yourself staying awake and just making your owns days harder.

I feel for you it's exhausting. Yeah it's completely normal for them to still poop of a night, I feel like since my little one started solids pooping of a night is becoming more regular. It's just how long it takes him to go back to sleep. It's been an hour and a half now and still no closer to him going back off he's having none of it. My partners giving it a go now while I have a break.

We bed-share so can't really escape it unfortunately. It's crazy because you can see he's absolutely exhausted and so tired but just fights and fights the sleep. Hopefully he grows out of it eventually.

Would this be a reason to stop bed sharing? It sounds miserable.

Number 2 at night is probably ok at 7 months as weaning can be hard on their digestive system a bit. But coupled up with eczema it sounds like food intolerance or allergies, have you tried excluding dairy or wheat and see if it makes a difference on both parts x

he doesnt fight sleep. He doesn't even know what sleep is, or if he has done it

why do you need to stay awake?

Another vote for if he has eczema maybe he is intolerant to something. My DS suffered very badly from eczema as a baby until I cut eggs out of my diet, and then his skin (and sleep) improved overnight. Push for a referral to paediatric allergy.

When you change him, don't look at him in the eye, focus slightly away from his face. Nanny tip

I don't think pooing at night is normal at that age. You should be putting him in a nappy and not changing him again until morning by now. The occasional time maybe, but every night?

But if he's lying awake rolling about for an hour and not crying I'd go back to sleep. My toddler occasionally takes over an hour to fall asleep at bedtime. He lies in bed singing and chatting to himself. I don't sit with him I just leave him to it and get on with my evening.