6 month old jolting awake every 5 minutes... HELP

[ConfusedKiwi]

ds2 is a terrible sleeper - wants to sleep on me and even if doing so wakes every hour (i guess every sleep cycle), however I've been working at getting him to sleep in his cot and by following a routine (feed, bath, story, ssh/pat) he eventually falls asleep in it rather than my arms.

However he then jolts awake again every five minutes - it's not a startle where his arms pop up it is his whole body twitching/jolting and his eyes pop open. If I hang around for the first 30+ minutes I can keep him in the cot and settle him again but if I'm not there the moment it happens he screams like a banshee. My dh does the same sort of twitchy thing as he falls asleep but at least he doesn't require 1/2 hour settling for only 30 minutes of sleep!

Any suggestions?

have you tried ignoring?

If I ignore him he winds himself up... My older son is a brilliant sleeper and if I waited a few minutes would settle back to sleep this one just gets hysterical.

My Ds is terrible sleeper too, esp at that age... (He is 15mths now) i have found over time that if he is fatigued (too many days with lots hours of sleep accumulating) he is much more 'jolty' and it can take a few days of catch up sleep for him to come right again.. Not sure if this relates to you?

Does he roll, sleep on his tummy? My ds is in very dark room with white noise.. I used to keep my hand on him, or stick a rolled towel on him to replace my hand u til he was in a deeper sleep... It helps if you know how their sleep cycle works..i think first 10 mins is falling into sleep, then 20mins of very deep sleep (where u can escape or breathe!).. Then the next 10-20mins is a lighter sleep again so thats usually when they wake up.. Thats when i wld make sure he knew i was there with my hand or the towel..ridiculous i know but it helped him get past the 30 and 40min mark which meant he got more sleep ..

I couldnt wait for him to discover for himself that he could sleep on his tummy really helped him as he is way too alert to go to sleep on his back easily..also helped with the jolting..i roll him on his side so he is facing the wall to patshush..

Have you ruled out medical issues like reflux?

Thanks for the response - the jolting could be overtiredness since he doesn't nap well either however he never does a proper catch up sleep so don't know if that would fix it.

He's rolled onto his tummy since 6 weeks - hates being on his back - if I put him down in cot on back (when I was more concerned about sids) he seems to panic and doesn't roll. I used to put him on his tummy for naps which worked but now that he's nearly crawling he immediately pushes himself up (even when virtually comatose) and screams.
On his side seems to work but as soon as he moves he rolls onto back or front, wakes and screams. I can't seem to figure out a secure wedging solution.

Had a doc check up this week as he's been pulling his ear and a bit more miserable than usual but nothing wrong. They don't seem keen on diagnosing reflux here which may be part of the problem - he spills a lot still (although lesser amounts than my older son) and always burps when picked up after a period of sleep. He's got a severe tongue tie (was snipped but not sufficiently) but again they don't believe in doing anything until he's older and if he has speech issues. Am trying to sort going private but we are in small town and very few options if any since again they don't seem keen to diagnose/treat.

He's also got separation anxiety and screams during the day if i go out of sight for a second. I feel I may have may this worse through trying controlled crying although he's been very clingy from day one.

Current plan is to get in touch with Plunket/Karitane nurse (similar to Health Visitor) and see if they have any suggestions as they apparently have a sleep advisor and possibly a clinic.

Like Father Like Son!

Though I would check with GP for epilepsy just in case.