If your baby was also a terrible sleeper...

[newbie12345678]

...I'm talking waking every 1-2 hours through then night still at 9 months...

When did their sleep improve, and why? I feel like we've tried so many things - are they one day just going to sleep better of their own accord or is that wishful thinking? If so, when?

Would just be interesting to hear from other people whose babies were bad sleepers at this stage how long it lasted for them. And I mean...how long it was really bad for. I would happily wake 2 or 3 times a night for the next two years IF that was all it was going to be. At the moment we're up anywhere from 5-10 times a night.

Grateful for your experiences!

My eldest was a terrible sleeper.

Sleep training is what got her from waking every 45 min-1hr to waking 1-3 times a night. (This pattern continued till primary school, her very early morning waking continued longer).

I believe that hourly waking is due to a learned sleep association - usually being fed/rocked/cuddled back to sleep - and sleep training is necessary and indeed sensible to stop it. Waking every hour is doing your child no favours and it isn’t great for them having exhausted parents either. I sleep trained after I was so tired I slipped on the stairs while holding DD.

Of course teething, illness, reflux, development leaps etc cause wake ups too especially for lighter sleepers (both DC in our case) but that regular pattern of waking every sleep cycle, that’s a sleep association problem.

I don’t know how long she’d have carried on doing the 45 min wake ups without sleep training. It sounds like it could’ve carried on for 18 months+ based on the posts above. I have no idea how those posters survived.

Oh god i am jealous, my baby hasn't slept through since 3 months old. How old is your LO? How many nights did the crying last? I honestly don't think i can do it, i tried one night sitting by the crib and caved after 10 mins!

Been there OP! It got better at 18 months, and better again at two years. Sleep is still up and down.

I know that feels a long way off but it will go faster than you think.

He's 11 months on Monday, we had 1 fluke night when he was 4 months where he slept through. Otherwise didn't happen again until his cot got lowered.

I've tried multiple times in the past and caved after 15 minutes. This time I had no choice, I couldn't transfer him without waking him up. I almost put my back out trying to do the transfer. My husband offered to take over bedtime but with the weird shift patterns he does he wouldn't be here half the time and I'd still have to do nap time.

Crying stopped after 3 days, after that it's minimal whining or nothing at all

My baby is 10 months on Sunday, her sleep has gotten worse, she wakes after 45 mins or maybe an hour and a half if we're lucky unless we co-sleep. She naps in her crib during the day and for the first 2 hours at night (with wake ups) but then i cave and bring her into our bed. Can I ask, do you co-sleep and is your baby bf?

My son's sleep was absolutely terrible at 9 months, and I was back at work, so it was awful.

He started sleeping through the night at around 18 months and now (at nearly 4) sleeps for 11 hours straight most nights.

My daughter's sleep wasn't quite as bad as a baby, but she isn't yet sleeping through the night at 2. I think it might be because she's still breastfeeding.

We only co slept a few times, if he was poorly, if he woke up after 4am as there was no way he'd go back in his cot. I wish he was BF but he wouldn't latch so he's bottle fed. I hope you find something that works for you

Thanks for all the info!

Generally speaking yes, they do just get the hang of it on their own eventually.

I've had 2 bad sleepers. The first I managed to get it down to a 10 minute bedtime and sleep through at 3, the second (20 mths) we're currently on about half hour bedtime and 50/50 chance of sleeping through or waking once for a cuddle.

@seven201 - sorry just seen this! This is who we used - all virtual 😊

www.childsleepsolutions.co.uk/

Small improvements from 6 months but still pretty bad at 9 months. 11 months self-settled and slept through but got worse again at 2 years then sleeping through again at 3 years.

Second child slept through the night almost immediately but wakes at night aged 3!

No sleep training with either of them (not against it though!) but a good bedtime routine and rules for night waking like calm and dark room when they wake, only water as a drink at night once night weaned, no leaving their rooms (except as co-sleeping babies).