6 month old sleep patterns

[Digii]

Hello

My 6 month old had started sleeping 8 pm to 6 am waking just once at about 3. Now he's started to awake every 3 hours!

I'd been bringing him into my bed when he awoke at 3 and now when he awakens the first time he simply refuses to settle back in his crib!

Also in general (even through the day) I find it almost impossible to get him to sleep even if he's very sleepy unless I offer him the breast. Once I do he nods off in moments. Is this a healthy habit?

I've just started him in nursery for a couple of hours so dont want too many changes for him, and am not in favour of the cry-it-out methods.

Any advice please?

Hello, its the same here too. 6 month old waking through the night, will only go back to sleep by breastfeeding.

Its always different during the day, could be rocked, fed or just held to sleep. Its the nights I want to crack though.

Poor you, thats awful.

Went down at 7 last night, woke at 8, 11, 1, 5...but then strangely slept until 8.30! So bad in some ways but not waking up in the dark made a nice change.

What are we gonna do with our little mischiefs ey?

I feel so tired right now its as if my head is swaying

Oh no Desperate :( I hope your evenings improved?!?

If it makes you feel any better my DDs already woken up 4 times since I first put her down. The optimist in me says maybe she's getting all her wakings out the way and will sleep beautifully. The pessimist in me says she's starting as she means to go on and tonight will be hell. Who knows?

Well after all that ds slept 10-5 had a quick feed then slept til 9

I gave him porridge for dinner so I dont know it that had anything to do with it?

Oh dear ladies, no-one has come up with a mgic formula yet?

I had such a bad night that I didn't get on here at all yesterday. I would have cried just seeing all your stories too!

However last night was a little better, he did 9-12 (rocked to sleep by husband) woke at 2:30 for a feed then I stuck him in our bed as his room was fridge-like and we got woken up at 8 by 4yo dd yelling about how much she hates her toothpaste . He's eaten a good amount of solids and I've bf'd every 3 hours so there's nothing else to do but hope!

PS Hi dh! don't know if you remember me from the July antenatal thread? My ds was born 29 June in the end and I just found it really hard to keep up with the thread after he was born and everyone else was having their babies. I try and drop back in but just can't keep up :) Hope you and your baby are well? (sleep deprivation excepted!)

Yes! Of course! I do remember you WWSW :)
Sorry your having bad nights with your LO. Ds is just over 6 months now, eating solids well and (fingers crossed) is actually sleeping a bit better now.

I'm at a low today, I just feel so exhausted and like she's never going to sleep better. Last night she was awake 11,1,2,3,4,4.30...I'm so tired. I don't know how to make things better. I will try a bottle before bed again and hope she takes it/it makes a difference.

And not wanting to quash her enthusiasm or anything but she's so ACTIVE during the day. I know its lovely, but she screeches, squeals, squeaks, rolls, backward crawls, wants to be held standing, shakes, jiggles, bounces...basically is just in motion all the time. Normally I love it, but today just looking at her makes me need a snooze.

Hello I am new to mumsnet. I am sorry ladies but this thread made me smile as my story is exactly the same! Also have an almost 7 months old, co-sleeping, also knackered as he also feeds every 2 hours ON THE DOT! (that's him winking). Are we missing something? Maybe that's how it is meant to be. To my mind they have just come out from the tiny infant stage and are now real interested in what is going on out there. But of course they also still need the comfort of mami/and or booby/milk. Maybe we are - maybe I am being impatient. It doesn't mean he will still be sleeping in my bed when he is 15 and demand a feed at night! It will sort itself out eventually. It's developmental phases and stages and the best I think I can do is to bare with it.

Stop being so rational Isidora, I'm tired and want to MOAN.

Oh and welcome to mumsnet .

I think there's a secret 6 month sleep regression that nobody told us about...

Yes Isadora, complainers only on this thread!

Made a huge error the last two nights by deciding to use up some left over hungry baby formula. Good god, it was like we'd fed the child an espresso! Much singing and grinning from the cot pretty much at hourly intervals. [why isn't there an exhausted emoticon?]

Tonight we're stuffing her full of porridge and her usual milk. For us dreamfeeding seems to make no difference, so I think we'll be off to bed at 8 to bank some sleep.

I'm a complainer - can I join?

DD3 will be 7 months tomorrow. She is my worst sleeper by far and sounds like lots of your dcs. Tonight I'm going to get DH to go to her if she wakes before 4 (after dreamfeed at 10.30) and she will NOT be getting any feeds before 4.

(If I keep saying it it might come true)

moomiemoo, our babies share a birthday!

overtired I reckon since they were born on the longest day of the year they think they have to be awake for as much of the day as possible!

Yes, I've wondered that myself...

Right guys, get your pitchforks ready. I started controlled crying tonight. 10 minutes of howling, then 15 of whimpering and she was asleep. I'm not overly pleased about it to be honest, still questioning myself whether it was the right thing.

I think this is the 4 month old sleep regression that will never end. At the moment I'm quite prepared to believe I'll be rocking him at 3am when he's 18 too .

Oh my I am just so exhausted. He is gorgeous and happy and very very active, but I am so shattered my bones ache!

Have started solids but no difference. Worked out yesterday he feeds a minimum of every 2 hours during the day so maybe he is constantly hungry but does not always need feeding to go back to sleep in the night - just a cuddle and the promise of a shoulder to sleep on .

One of my friends told me her baby was the same when younger and I confess I did not believe her as it sounded so extreme [need a there's-karma-for-you-emoticon!].

theresapotatoundermysink
We did cc with my first and the first night was the worst (she managed 45 minutes with us going in every 5!). It worked very, very quickly though. She was sleeping through by 5 months so we obviously did something right.

Obviously have become a total softie since then and can't bear to do it. Also worried about waking the other two up which would be totally counter-productive!

butternut not sure she was ever a good enough sleeper for this to qualify as regression!

One of my friends has a baby 4 weeks younger who has slept through since 12 weeks

dh oo you lucky thing! DS has eaten like a demon today but he skipped a bf, so I'm hopinghe won't be making up for that later I'm convinced cracking solids is the way forward :)

wise words isadora. DS is my second baby, but I feel I royally cocked up with DD (now 4yo) as she never took to solids and didn't sleep through until she was 14 months old! So I kind of feel like I'm starting from scratch. I worry about the co-sleeping for a start, it's becoming a habit every night after his night feed and nappy change. How on earth do you break that habit?!

overtired we had exactly the same reaction to the hungry baby milk (given in absolute desperation one night!). So so glad it's not just us...but sorry about your lack of sleep!

butternut Oh god I so feel for you. Your ds sounds much like mine. I spoke to my hv [disclaimer: I normally hate hv's but actually have a couple of good ones here now]and she advised to:

• no longer feed on demand. Bf babies don't feel hungry as we demand feed them. So....

• offer water only when they wake from a nap and do solids first, bf after solids. This works for us as ds wakes, has breakfast; late morning nap so wakes up for lunch and and afternoon nap waking in time for tea. I have been waiting an hour or so after solids to give milk. It's working in that he's eating alot more now, and last night woke at 12 and had lots of milk and again at 2 which was a nappy change and very little milk.

moomie the mothers who have babies who sleep through from birth? They get their comeuppance! Honestly, they do! My very good friend's ds slept perfectly from 4 weeks. From age 2-3 she had HELL with him. Similarly he ate anything put in front of him, age 2, refused everything but cheerios. So, swings and roundabouts really. I'd rather get the crappy sleep, eating only 4 different things stage out the way now personally . Plys it's easier to ask my mum to babysit a cute baby rather than a grumpy toddler for a couple of hours in the day so I can sleep!

Wow, massive post. Fingers crossed for sleep tonight!

Well my 6 month old also used to sleep like a dream till a month ago and boy was I proud! But now he's waking every 2 hours since he got a cold last month.

Thing is, I think there is still a slight remnant of a cold?? He does cough himslef awake, or otherwise sounds snotty in his sleep. Took him to the doctor and his chest and throat are fine (Touch wood)! So it must just be some remaining cold...

Does anyone else have a similar problem?

Anyway today put him down at 9 and he awoke again at 930. Went back to sleep with a cuddle, but I'm sure he'll be up again in no time :( I find it hard to sleep peacefuly now bcause I'm always listening out expecting him to get up :(

Digii do you have his head slightly elevated? I used to put DD's cot up on bricks (classy)

Yes Digii, I'm exactly the same, I find it really hard to go back to sleep now, as I'm waiting in dread to hear her wake up.

Butternut, that's very interesting, what your HV said. DD definitely isn't only waking because of hunger, three times last night she refused the bottle and we could resettle her by changing her position in the cot (she gets stuck).
I'm already only offering milk during the day after solids, but I'm going to follow your lead of leaving it an hour.(Although not sure how that might work with BLW.)

5 wakes last night between 11 and 7.

He woke at 12:45 last night which I wasnt prepared for. I thought he'd got past that waking.

Then it was half 4, 6ish, 7ish, up.

Ill make up for it later by shopping!

So we managed to get to 3.45 before DD needed a feed. DH managed to settle her back to sleep twice before then. She then went back to her cot after the feed and woke up at 6.05 - huge improvement for me, not so much for DH

Going to try the same again over the weekend and hope that she gets the message and stops bothering to wake up!

theresapotatoundermysink
How did last night go after the cc?