DS can't settle himself and wakes 8 times a night for a cuddle!

[sally01603]

My 4.5 month old son has recently started waking more frequently at night and will only settle back down with a cuddle. Sometimes this necessitates up to 8 cuddles a night. He seems to be unable to get himself back to sleep once he wakes up. I don't feel comfortable trying CC at this age. Don't really know what to do. Its been going on for a month now and is getting progressively worse. If I thought it was a temporary thing then I'd ride the storm. Anyone else exprienced this?

There are a couple of recent threads that deal with sudden deterioration in sleep at this age - I think "sleepless in Newcastle" is one, and so is "Week 19 in the house of no sleep" (that one's a bit older). Basically, rubbish sleep at 4 months for a few weeks/months (sorry!) seems to be pretty common!

Oh Sally, poor you, you must be exhausted Can he put himself to sleep, do you put him to sleep awake when he goes to bed or for naps during the day. If not, maybe you could work on this during the day (IME things always seem a bit easier in daylight hours ). If he can put himself to sleep, maybe he's teething and just feels uncomfortable when he stirs, which wakes him and he needs a cuddle (this is definately true of my DS who is eight months old and has four teeth, one more on the way).

Is he in his own cot, in his own room. Maybe you could try co-sleeping so at least you don't have to get out of bed to settle him.

Sorry if none of this is helpful but really just wanted to post so you don't feel alone. Hopefully a wiser MN'er than me will come along soon

Agree with Kathryn that rubbish sleep is common around that age, DS started waking at least twice, sometimes three times. I used to feed him and he went straight back to sleep. Went on for about 3-4 weeks then suddenly reverted back to one night feed.

we had the same. ds slept ok for first 4 months then it all chaged. In the last month (now 7 months) things have got better again. He doesnt feed atall during the night now. It will get better x

Thanks everyone for your support. Its reassuring to know I'm not the only one but also scary to think this could go on for a while. We tried co-sleeping last night but I think that just lead to more sleep disruption for all involved. Will just have to catch up on sleep when he's asleep during the day and therefore not do any housework whatsoever!

No housework is the least you deserve after being up 8 times in the night I used to sleep during the day when DS slept when he was going through this, and haven't got out of the habit yet

Hope it gets better for you soon.