8 Month Old Waking Every Hour!

[Bo1978]

This is my first time posting so please bear with me! I have a baby boy - just turned 8 months - and he has gone from sleeping through the night from around 4 months old to waking every hour, sometimes more. This has rapidly gone down hill the past few days to the point where he now won’t go back to sleep and we end up putting him in with us as we are so exhausted. With my DD I used controlled crying, but I can’t do this with DS as it wakes my DD and then it’s absolute chaos at 2/3am! His daytime sleep varies in length, but he always has two naps. Totalling between 1.5 hours to 2.5 hours. He is ready to go to bed at 6pm - if I keep him up any longer he gets so agitated. I’m desperate for sleep and feel like we are going down hill to the point of no return! I have always been so against co-sleeping but we are too tired to keep getting out of bed. Any help/suggestions would be so appreciated!

Hi, I think your baby may be going through the 8 month regression. My boy was the same at 8 months - waking up every 1-2 hours - it was horrendous! Found it worse than the 4 month regression to be honest. This phase will pass soon. Does he have white noise or lullaby to help him relax and go back to sleep? Is the room warm / cool enough for him? Does he suffer with separation anxiety?

All I will say is if all else fails, that you do whatever it is you need to do to get the most sleep for you all. If you’re absolutely shattered, just let him into your bed and when he starts sleeping better, go back to how you prefer for him to sleep.

If no better, contact your heath visitor for advice. Hope he sleeps better soon!

A lot of babies have a sleep regression at around 8 months. It feels very hopeless in the moment but if he was previously a good sleeper then there's every likelihood he will return to sleeping well again.

I echo what @TheAmusedSwan said but also with my 8 month old I really try to make sure he's eaten enough in the day to help him get a restful sleep at night. Lots of calorie dense food and extra fats in the form of butter/olive oil/cream/cheese added to his meals. At this age they are often very on the go and not as interested in milk in the day but also not eating huge amounts of solids so then they are hungry and restless at night.

Check for ..
teething
pain
worms
illness - ear ache, UTI
temperature or environment discomfort
noise
hunger
thirst
itchy skin
leg aches
loneliness (awareness of you being elsewhere)
grown out of cot size

Try..
milk
water
patting
Panadol
white noise
doctor check up

Thank you so much! I did think it was a sleep regression. He’s definitely warm enough and we also have a white noise machine. I’m just worried that once the regression comes to a natural end it won’t get better as we keep putting him in with us? I also think he has separation anxiety - more so than my daughter did.

Thank you for taking the time to reply ☺️ I think I will try and give him stodgier food too - he’s got CMPA so I’m struggling a bit with porridge etc as it contains milk.

Thank you! He has reflux and although it has been under control, he’s started being sick again. It could be this, but he’s definitely struggling with separation anxiety as he’s fine once I’m holding him. He literally clings on to me.