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6 MO waking every 3 hours

324 replies

TheresAHuppoInMyHouse · 28/04/2011 19:24

My DD is 6 months (4 months adjusted age as she was premature and arrived at 30 weeks). She gradually started sleeping for longer and longer periods and I was feeling very pleased with myself! Then a month ago the night wakings began again, for no apparent reason. She would only have been 3 months (adjusted) so too early for a growth spurt I reckon? Anyway it's still going on and I'm starting to think there must be something I can do to get back to my nice long stretches of sleep!

She is awake for 1.5hr-2hrs at a time during the day, so she normally has 3 naps of an hour each at regular intervals. And a little catnap in the sling sometimes. Perhaps this is too much daytime sleep?

She is exclusively bf and has started to be more distracted suring daytime feeds (those maddeningly endearing pulls-off and smiles! are a killer!) but I'm spending more time feeding, so am trying to keep up the daytime calories.

She is generally happy to settle herself to sleep when drowsy - although always after a bf. For a nap, this only takes a few minutes so perhaps I've started an unhelpful sleep association? Sometimes she's obviously knackered so falls deeply asleep a-boobing, and stays asleep when she's transferred to her cot.

Every time she wakes at night, I feed her and she goes straight back to sleep. I'm a bit nervous of trying to settle her without a feed, and tbh I wouldn't know how to do so. Any tips?

She goes to bed at 7ish and wakes for the day at sometime between 6 and 7. Reading this, I feel like I've got nothing to complain about, but WHY won't the little bugger darling sleep for longer than two or three hours at a time, when she used to do so, apparently effortlessly?!

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ZimboMum · 18/05/2011 05:51

Morning all!

Well, weaning is going better in our house and luckily DS sleep routine is getting back to how it was before - sleep for night at 9.30 ish then wake for feed at 4/5 then back to sleep till 9/10 ish. I can't complain!! Am very proud of DS as lat night he didn't feed to sleep. Have never really managed to catch him sleepy but not asleep but last night he was definitely awake when I put him down - came back up to check on him and found him cuddling his teddy and fast asleep! Must persuade him to love a different ted though as the one he was cuddling was pale cream and not easily washable!

So night tine sleep better for the moment but naps a real struggle. Won't sleep during the day unless fed to sleep and then not moved from my lap/in buggy/ in car. Have ordered both no cry sleep solution and no cry nap solution for inspiration!

So both DS and DH are fast asleep and I am wide awake. Not fair! Have a meeting with my head of dep next week and have been desperatly trying to come up with a proposal for flexible working that they could be persuaded to go for. Would dearly love to be a SAHM but finances just won't allow it. Think I may have thought of a plan that could work and also have a list of chores that I need to do today...yawn!

Hope all the babies slept well last night and allowed all the mummies and daddies to get some well earned rest.

beela · 18/05/2011 07:48

Oh pants, back to every 3 hours last night. Just when I dared hope we were getting somewhere. Sad

So so tired.

beela · 18/05/2011 08:36

zimbomum I am in pretty much the same situation as you re work. I've got a meeting on Friday, wish me luck! I am hoping to persuade the powers that be that job-sharing is the way forward, as I don't want to go back full time but my job is not easy to scale down to part time.

Also a similar situation re. daytime naps actually!

Perhaps the answer is to go back to work and get nursery to sort that one out...

greeneone12 · 18/05/2011 09:11

As I write this through teary eyes (almost) I thank the OP for at least giving me a place where I can share my frustration! OH and I went to bed at 9pm last night hoping to catch up on sleep. WRONG! DD up at 10pm (I think it was teething and we did crack open the calpol after weeks of me resisting). Great I thought. Here comes a lovely chunck of sleep. Wrong again...she woke at midnight. Then she was up at 5.30am for a feed and then luckily went back to sleep until 8am. Every morning is different. Every night is different. I feel as if I should be imposing some kind of pattern for the morning but want to have faith that things will settle eventually but losing my patience just a bit. Woke up this morning with a heavy heart just wondering how I might keep my eyes open all day (and stay awake for The Apprentice). I am very lucky to have a lovely DD I know, but lack of sleep over several nights now is starting to grate on me :(

SleepDeprivedGrumpyBum · 18/05/2011 09:53

Morning all.
Well we had a truly awful awful night, every 2 bloody hours from 7pm until 6am this morning. I'm increasingly losing patience with DS and it's taking alot of will power and deep breathing not to scream at him. I can't even share the nights with DP as DS refuses to have a bottle and has now also decided that DP isn't suitable to resettle him when he wakes.

Beela I'm so sorry i didn't mean to piss on your bonfire Grin re: crawling = more tired = more sleep. Hopefully it will work out that way with your DC. It just doesn't seem to work that way for my DS, but he's never been one for keeping still even when he was very very young!

TheresAHuppoInMyHouse · 18/05/2011 10:48

Hello tired chums :)

Last night wasn't great here either - woke at 12.30, 3,30, 5,30, then up, bright-eyed and bushy-nappied at 7! The good news for my 'core night' plan is that she didn't get fed at 3.30 or 5.30 - but tucked in at 6am and obviously thought it was breakfast even though I tried to con her into going back to sleep afterwards (with success for an hour). She is creeping towards the ends of her rocking cradle and I'm getting nervous about how much more difficult it's going to be to resettle her when she's in a cot and I can't just rock the cradle. Hey ho. Must try not to be anxious about things which I don't have to cope with just yet!

I'm off to my Wednesday baby group to grit my teeth through the 'oh but you haven't got bags under your eyes' comments ...

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greeneone12 · 18/05/2011 18:29

Well as DD starts getting ready for bed with OH here I am once again with hope that tonight might just be that night that we get somewhere! Thinking of you all....!!

ellabella2 · 18/05/2011 20:45

Hi All,

I feel your pain those of you having an extra rough ride of it at the moment Wine xx

We seem to have a pattern of one 'good' night = sleep through until 4ish, then one 'bad' night = wake several times through the night with a stint of up to 3 hours awake and crying, not settling. Even though I have resorted to controlled crying it does not seem to be having a consistent effect Sad

I am now resorting to spending £££ on sleep books and on-line forums in the search for answers. I will certainly let you all know when I find the miracle cure Grin Wink

Don't you just hate those 'going to bed nerves' wondering what tonight will bring. I know I am getting unhealthily obsessed with DS's sleep but it is ruling my life at the moment, what with all the night wakings and day time naps going to pot too . . .

We will survive this Smile x

greeneone12 · 19/05/2011 09:54

That's the thing ellabella2 it DOES rule your life. I woke up this morning and burst into tears as my little ones wakings are getting earlier and earlier. This morning it was 4.30am. I am just so so tired. She doesn't seem that interested in food either so it's not as if I can count on 3 meals a day calming her down anytime soon. I just don't know what to do anymore.....wait until 6am to feed her in the hope she cottons on anmd endure over an hour of crying?

TheresAHuppoInMyHouse · 19/05/2011 10:24

Hands up it rules my life too. I am such a sleep bore at the moment but it feels like it will make SUCH a difference if we can stretch these sleeps by an hour or more ... just to feel like we're heading in the right direction. And every hour's sleep is so precious.

Last night was Night 3 of the Core Night. Very hard work indeed. She woke at 11.30 and fed well, then woke at 3.30, then on and off till 6.30 (longest stretch asleep then was 40 mins). Well, at 6.30 I fed her, changed a dirty nappy, she looked wide awake and perky, but I thought it was worth a try for a bit of extra sleep, so put her down again at about 7.20 ... she is STILL ASLEEP at 10.15am! So she's catching up, and I can't blame her, it is knackering being awake from 3.30 till 7ish. I can't help thinking that if I had just fed her at 3.30 then there is a chance she would have slept till 7 and I wouldn't be feeling so exhausted now. Is this another pointless battle?

greeneone will your LO take a dummy? I've found it a godsend in the earlyhours to keep her quiet and help her drop off again. Obviously, she wakes up again (although she might not if I leave the dummy in), but it makes stretching the feeds out much more manageable as I may be awake but I don't have to endure the crying. I didn't want to resort to a dummy but it's really helping my sanity. I only use it to help her go back to sleep during overnight wakings. She didn't take it at first but I persevered because I just couldn't cope with the crying! And if she is happier, then I am MUCH happier.

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TheresAHuppoInMyHouse · 19/05/2011 10:37

Listening with interest to Woman's Hour, as there's an article on the effects of too much/too little sleep. TOO MUCH! Hahahahahaaaaaaaa

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TheresAHuppoInMyHouse · 19/05/2011 10:44

'Too little sleep adversely affects cognitive function - about the same as ageing by 4-7 years ....' no shit sherlock - deep restorative sleep is the important stuff ...oh how we yearn for it Sad

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MrsBananaGrabber · 19/05/2011 11:58

Hello all. Just came over to sleep to look for advice on this very topic. I am so tired I could cry, I don't know how i'm going to make it through another day.

DD is just 6 months and her sleeping through the night is a thing of the past, this week has been the worst by far, not falling asleep until 10pm, then up every hour until I gave in and got up and ready at 5am. I have two more DCs that have to be up and ready for school so when she falls back to sleep at around 7am I have to do lunches and the school run, I can't do it for much longer,

beela · 19/05/2011 12:54

TheresA why do you take the dummy out once she has gone to sleep? I only ask because DS spits his out naturally when he has had enough. He also takes it out and uses it as a teething ring when he is supposed to be going to sleep, but that's another story. We didn't use one for ages too, but then one day we tried it in desperation and it sent him off to sleep straight away! Sometimes works sometimes doesn't.

My plan re. early wakings is to take DS out for some fresh air late afternoon, following a tip on a different thread. It seemed to work yesterday (after a few mornigs of 5am - 6am wakings, this morning we got a 'lie-in' to 6.30am). Might be complete co-incidence, but the fresh air and excercise isn't going to do me any harm either so I will try again today.

I too have been in tears over waking up feeling just as tired as when I went to bed, it's just awful isn't it? And I am also totally obsessed with this, but it does affect everything else if you haven't had enough sleep, doesn't it?

It can't last for ever ladies, one day we will wake up and realise that we have slept all night, and that staying up past 9.30pm isn't a ridiculous notion. Wine to that day, let's hope it's soon.

ps hahaha re Woman's Hour, we must all have the cognitive functions of 85 year olds by now!

Meggymoodle · 19/05/2011 19:15

Ladies, can I join? I've been following your thread for a few days now thinking maybe I won't have to ask, maybe we'll crack the nights - but frankly the nights are cracking me, and I could do with some moral support!

My DD is just under 6 months and has never slept through. However, she did at one point only wake twice in the night. Why oh why did I complain about that?! Recently we've had every 2 hours. We did CC the night before last and last night she only woke once having settled herself well at bedtime but tonight we've had crying on and off for bedtime so I sense another hideous night.

Rather typically, the one good night we had last night was offset with DS1 who was teething. Fine again today, just saved it up for being up and down all night.

What was I thinking having children???! YAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWNNN

greeneone12 · 19/05/2011 19:24

No dummy here. Tried a while ago but I had read that you are supposed to try and get them off it at 6 months so I thought I better leave it. I am now re-considering big time.

Before we go down the dummy route I have got the Winnie the Pooh light show. Fingers crossed that will send her back off to sleep when she wakes early. It should be coming tomorrow.

I had a massive cry this morning. That helped me let off steam. I am getting very short tempered with poor DP though! Snapping at him for asking the simplest questions.

Welcome meggymoodle! I just don't know how you do it with 2 Shock I feel bad for moaning now!

SleepDeprivedGrumpyBum · 20/05/2011 08:04

We too are debating the winnie the pooh lightshow or the fisher price jungley 3 in 1 one (precious planet maybe?) Would be interested to know how you get on with it greeneone

Another dreadful night here. DS so unsettled he ended up in be with me by 9pm, how terrible is that!!

Meggymoodle · 20/05/2011 09:34

As I suspected, another shocker of a night. awake at 2215- fed; 0050- battled for an hour to try and get her to sleep with no feeding - gave up at 0200 and fed her; awake at 0400, self-settled, awake at 0600 muttered on and off for an hour. Not sure if she went back to sleep or not.

I have done so badly with poor DD. DS was sleeping through by 9 weeks and in a brilliant daytime routine of 90 mins nap at 0900 and 90 mins at 1300 and a cat nap at 1700 for 30 mins and then bed at 1900. He was run like a military operation and is still a fantastic sleeper (most of the time) and still napping for 90 mins in the middle of the day aged 2 and a half. Poor DD will only sleep for 40 mins at a time in the day which means 4 naps a day every 2 hours. I'm sure this means she's overtired and hence all the night wakings.

This morning she seemed so over tired she couldn't get back to sleep at all for first nap and I ended up giving her a dummy which we took off her over 2 months ago???!

How did I do so well with DC1 and so badly with DC2???? Is she going to be psychologically damaged?! I feel I may well be by the end of this - assuming there is an end.

Hope everyone's nights were better than mine. GrumpyBum did you get sleep once DS was in with you?

greeneone12 · 20/05/2011 12:34

Morning all....well last night I was close to running away! Went to bed at 9pm to try and catch up and madame woke at 10pm. Tried to settle her for an hour which ended in a feed at 11pm because she normally feeds at 12 anyway. Then she woke at 3am - when I fed her. Then 6.30am. My saving grace was that she went back to sleep until 9.30am. I am sure its solids making her cut back on milk and causing the night wakings but its important she is getting first tastes so no idea what to do.

Spoke to a lovely HV but all she could say was....stop searching for a magic answer as there isn't one! DD's weight is fine and I should stop worrying and try and get through it as she should settle soon. I said she only had 2 hours worth of naps total and she said that was fine too.

So there you go ladies......I am sure that advice will be just as helpful to you as it was to me Hmm

TheresAHuppoInMyHouse · 20/05/2011 20:36

greeneone - send the HV back, I demand a magic answer, dammit! Doesn't she know how desperate we are for one?!

Hello meggymoodle welcome to our outlet for exasperation thread. I somehow think the only people who are being psychologically damaged by all this sleeplessness are us the long-suffering mothers. [hmmm]

Quick update on my Core Night battle. Last night was Night 4. I think! Beela, thank you for making the extremely sensible suggestion that I should leave the dummy in - she woke at 3am and 4.30am and that is FAR fewer times than previously, which is entirely attributable to the dummy. Thank you! So she woke for a feed at 10pm, then she didn't get fed again till 5.45am, and went back to sleep till 8.30am. So I'm not exactly seeing results from this core night malarkey, but I will persevere....

She's just settled herself very nicely, a bit of a grumble and a shout but I held her hand and off she went. Aw.... I'm off to bed too, and we'll see how many times I can run from room to room in the wee small hours tonight....

zzz

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greeneone12 · 21/05/2011 10:07

Why oh why didn't we give DD a dummy! Better night last night...woke at 9pm but OH settled her. Woke at 12 for a feed and then up at 5.30am. Fed and went back to sleep until 7am. The light show arrived today so shall report back tomorrow on how it goes!

Meggymoodle · 22/05/2011 13:08

In utter desperation last night I swaddled DD. I know she's way too old for it but she just flails around so badly when she wakes up I thought it might help. She went to sleep beautifully and only woke twice. Once she put herself back to sleep and once I fed her.

Are there horror stories I should know about swaddling a 5-month old??

Hope everyone's night was better....

Wish me tolerance .... have friends coming to stay with 3-month old who sleeps through

beela · 22/05/2011 19:39

Pah, I had a 3 month old who slept through (well, until 5am, quick bf then back asleep until 8am), and now look at me!

Actually, it has been getting much better over here. Last night DS slept from 7pm to 5.15am without waking! He then refused to go back to sleep but at least he managed a respectable 10 hours before that. Lovely.

His second top tooth has come through so I am hoping for a small period of calm before any more pesky teeth start to arrive. I think his tummy is also settling down after the excitement of starting real food, and he is getting much better at the whole BLW malarky so is getting more calories down him as well. Fingers crossed for a period of respite anyway, before the next thing unsettles him (watch him wake up 15 times tonight now I've said that Grin).

TheresA - glad the dummy thing helped, and hope your core nights are continuing to improve. I meant to say, thanks for the link to that article, it was v interesting and gave me some things to ponder.

How was the lightshow, greeneone?

TheresAHuppoInMyHouse · 22/05/2011 19:55

beela great news about the improvement, and big congrats on the arrival of that dang tooth and BLW going well! 10 hours is MUCH more like it, I hope you were able to sleep for a good amount of it yourself.

meggymoodle I must say that on the principle of 'whatever works', swaddling is an excellent idea - are you going to try it again tonight? I don't think it can do any harm, can it? It will keep her nice and cosy and secure. Try not to put the fear into your friends with the sleeping-through 3 month old! They really shouldn't get too complacent .... Wink

Hope you are getting on OK, greeneone, grumpybum and bananagrabber. Keep on keeping on.

I've had a couple of reasonable nights - with only two wakings each thank God. Perhaps the core night is working although I tend to think it's all a coincidence and she's just doing what the hell she likes! Last night I was confused as the first waking was at 2am so I fed her because I was so pleased that she'd gone for so long - then I remembered it's not part of the plan, whoops. Still, she then went till 6am, and I settled her again till 7. Not bad. Tonight I think I will be more ruthless about no feeds between 12 and 6. It's worth a try, and she's such a little porker now that I just don't believe she can be hungry. She is like a small, bald, round set of chins and not much else.

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baileyslover · 22/05/2011 22:34

Hiya one and all, been off the radar past couple of weeks but thought I would report back in. Big change here is that we have finally moved DS into his own room now he is 6 months. Hasn't made any difference to his waking up for feeds, but fewer in between wakings so guess he was being a bit disturbed by us (or it is a huge coincidence and tonight I will be up 8 times again!)

I am swinging between hard line of no feeds after midnight and just going with the flow. Until someone can categorically tell me he isn't hungry overnight then I don't think I can deprive him, I just wish I could get some sleep!!