Help 5.5 month old crying in her sleep numerous times during the night

[SpeckyB]

My DD is almost 5.5 months. She's been a good sleeper in the main. Naps in the daytime, self settles when put in her cot awake & goes to bed easily at 7.30pm after feed bath feed. We do a late feed at 10.30pm & then she used to wake for one feed at 4am ish. She's in her own room & has only slept through once, but I was really happy & able to cope with only waking once to feed at 4am.

Two weeks ago this suddenly changed & she cries regularly in the night. Last night she cried at 9pm, 10pm, 1am, 2.30am, 5am, 6am & this is typical. She's not awake initially but crying in her sleep. Sometimes she get's very upset quickly. Other times the crying starts slowly & builds to a peak, when she wakes.

My DD is Ebf. She does not seem ready to be weaned (does not appear able to move things from front to back of mouth - never tried with food only calpol). Her teeth are giving her some discomfort but she's a very happy baby in the day time.

How do I stop her waking so much? How can I comfort her / stop the crying when she's actually asleep?

I'm so tired. I appreciate others have much bigger sleep issues but I am hoping to solve this before it becomes a long running thing. Thanks!

Lots of babies cry during their sleep. It's part of them processing the day. My Dd did it, and still does sometimes. Try not to worry, it's upsetting but very normal.

Thanks McPheetStink it's good to know other babies do it too.

Is it normal for her to cry in her sleep 4 or 5 times a night? She's just started crying hysterically in her sleep and she has only been down an hour. I think we're in for a long night!

Will this phase last long?!

Well.....my Dd started doing it at around 5 months, and she has actually just done it now . They're learning and developing so much during their days, and taking in so much information. This can be their way of processing it all. I can remember hearing my Dd cry hysterically through the moniter one evening, and I literally flew up the stairs, half expecting to find something seriously wrong. Or her covered in sick, or blood or in a zombie attack. And there she was fast asleep still, but crying her eyes out. I just picked her out, and held her tight until she calmed down. I still do that now. Even though it's a natural thing they do, I still can't have her upset.

I was just about to start a thread like this about my 6mo. She has recently been crying and/or screaming in her sleep. Sometimes she just resettles and sometimes the screaming seems to wake her up! Good to hear it's normal tho, was starting to worry about night terrors!

I know this is a very old post but found it on Google. And has really calmed me down thanks x