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Original poster

7 month old has NEVER slept through the night

69 replies

sleepdeprived62 · 16/10/2012 15:57

My 7 month old little girl has never slept through the night.We have tried everything it feels like and are almost at breaking point. We have had a bedtime routine for a while now and although she goes to sleep ok, its only a couple hours later she starts crying again. If you go in and settle her at this point she usually goes back to sleep but then it will happen again a couple hours later without us being able to settle her.She can scream for a good couple of hours. We have tried soothing her, leaving her to cry it out and nothing seems to work.Any ideas?

OP posts:
PeggyCarter · 16/10/2012 18:47

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

scentednappyhag · 16/10/2012 18:52

DD didn't sleep through until she was a year old, and not regularly until 18 months. You have my sympathy, try and remember that she will sleep through eventually (I know that doesn't help much at 4am, but it is true Smile)

BlingLoving · 16/10/2012 18:53

So you feed her in the night? Ds was (is) not a great sleeper so I have done the obsessive reading and its really totally normal for a 7 month old to still need a night feed. Ds stopped night feeding at 9 months which is so when he starting sleeping through sometimes.

Frankly, even with night feed, 7 months was some of our easiest sleep times as he was completely consistent : wake between 1 and 3 for feed. Eat. Go straight back to sleep. There was no lengthy settling etc.

BlingLoving · 16/10/2012 18:53

That should be "do you feed her in the night".

legalalien · 16/10/2012 18:55

I'm with snb. But on an optimistic note, although ds was the non sleeping non eating child from hell for the first three years, he has been low maintenance since. Swings and roundabouts.

Lastofthepodpeople · 16/10/2012 18:56

Sorry, it was same for DS to. I don't think its uncommon although I know that's not a very helpful thing to say following months of sleep deprivation.
The thing that worked for us was going cold turkey on night feeds. It was hard for a few nights but then he started sleeping through. I don't know from your OP whether that would be relevant in your situation.
Our local surestart has a children's sleep clinic. Perhaps ask your HV if you can get referred to one if there's one in your area. They might be able to help flag the issue and give a bit of support.

BoysBoysBoysAndMe · 16/10/2012 18:58

My 16 month old has only just started sleeping through, and that's not guaranteed every night.

He wakes (if he's going to wake) about twelve ish. Tbh I give him a quick 4oz o milk and he's back off to sleep.

Going to gradually reduce the milk.

But at 7 months I think he was still having a 6oz bottle at 10 and then about 3am. He lives his milk and comforts him.

This is our ds2 and have always been envious of those who gleam at telling me their 6 week old 'sleeps through'! Neve know when to believe them!

What's her routine like during the day? How do you settle her to sleep at bedtime and through the day? Is she getting enough milk?

hazeyjane · 16/10/2012 18:58

Every couple of hours sounds fairly normal for resettling, and feeding. Dd2 carried on having milk in the night up until 18 months. What happens if you try to bring her in with you? Will she be cuddled to sleep?

AuntPepita · 16/10/2012 19:01

7mo is still tiny! Dd was 2.5, ds is 17mo and still nowhere near.

Choufleur · 16/10/2012 19:01

DS was 2 and half before he slept through consistently.

cipollina77 · 16/10/2012 19:03

DD1 started to sleep at 19months
DS1 at over 2

they eventually sleep....

PotteringAlong · 16/10/2012 19:04

Yup, sounds normal. My DS is nearly 11 months old and still up 2 or 3 times a night to be fed

sillymillyb · 16/10/2012 19:32

My 7mo doesn't sleep either. I co-sleep as I decided that my sanity was more important than being able to star fish in the bed.... If I settle ds before he really wakes (sometimes I just need to put my hand on his tummy) I can pre-empt him properly waking and a meltdown.

He currently feeds about 11pm and 3am.

I just keep reminding myself it won't be like this forever, and I nap as much as I can too.

Original poster
sleepdeprived62 · 16/10/2012 19:55

Sorry guys, I should have said she has stopped with her night feeds for quite a while now.she doesnt get anything at all during the night. Her naps during the day were a bit of a nightmare too to begin with but we have a routine now where i try and let her sleep an hour in the morning and an hour and a half in the afternoon.She never sleeps more than this and quite often if we are out and about will sleep for less than an hour during the day.i dont think its normal. Is it?surely babies need more sleep than this. We wouldnt mind the waking up at night but its the screaming for no apparent reason. I should also say that she is not teething at the moment.

OP posts:
choceyes · 16/10/2012 20:02

Maybe she is hungry then. i would feed a baby that woke up and wont settle and scream. A lot of babies need night feeds still at this age and even for a few months longer. It is completely normal to not sleep through at this stage.

BlingLoving · 16/10/2012 20:04

Have you tried reintroducing the night feed? Honestly, she might just be screaming because she is hungry/thirsty.

Mintyy · 16/10/2012 20:05

Do 7 month olds usually sleep through the night? I thought they were a rare breed Confused. Where did you get the idea that she should be sleeping through the night from?

VerityClinch · 16/10/2012 20:10

Your 7 month old hasn't ever slept through.

My 23 month old hasn't ever slept through.

Grin
weasle · 16/10/2012 20:11

None of my 3 slept through under 12 months. Ds3 is 2.5 yrs and still hasn't...

I agree your baby might be hungry. Completely normal to feed at night at this age and older.

Original poster
sleepdeprived62 · 16/10/2012 20:15

Haha Mintyy. We spoke to our health visitor and she suggested we start a sleep diary. She reckons its a pattern that she has gotten herself into that we somehow need to break. A while ago, we tried to give her a bottle again but she just swishes it about her mouth and babbles at you - most frustrating! She gets a bottle in the morning and then porridge and then another bottle at 11am. We have lunch around 1pm and she gets a snack after her nap at about 4. We then have dinner together at about half 6, she gets a bath and then her last bottle downstairs.We brush her teeth and take her upstairs for a story and then cuddle her to sleep. Im sure she is not hungry. These are 'I want to be awake' cries.

OP posts:
sillymillyb · 16/10/2012 20:15

Sometimes ds wont eat, or will only have an ounce. Other times he will drain 7oz bottles. Because I can't be sure, and because I want to fix it quick, I shove a bottle in his mouth and try! I'd try feeding her again - got to be worth a shot!

sleepingsatellite · 16/10/2012 20:15

I dont think babies cry for no reason, there will always be a reason, we just might not be able to figure out what is it! No harm trying with a feed and seeing how it goes though.

sillymillyb · 16/10/2012 20:17

x posts!

TheonlyWayisGerard · 16/10/2012 20:18

DD was still having two feeds in the night at that age. Finally started sleeping through regularly at 18 months, when she got her own room. 7 months is still pretty young, despite what every other parent says, not all babies sleep through early.

PeggyCarter · 16/10/2012 20:19

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.