Help! 19 wk old gone from good sleeper to bad

[BabyTed]

Can anyone offer any help.

My 19 week old boy has been sleeping through from 7pm-7am from 11wks. However, from being about 15 weeks he started to wake a few times in the night. This has now become 6-7 times and last night he woke every hour until 6am and then would not go back to sleep at all. To make matters worse, he used to be very good at settling himself off to sleep but now takes up to 2 hours to get to sleep properly.

He is also resisting his naps during the day and wakes up after 45 mins. He is then really tired after about 20 mins and becomes bad tempered.
When he wakes in the night he will usually settle off again if I put his dummy back in. I have tried offering him a bottle but he is not hungry.

About a week after the sleep problems started he developed a cold so we put this down to illness. However, he seems fully recovered now but his sleep is seems to be getting worse.

My partner has recently gone back to work after having 5 months off work with an injury. He works regular nights so I am getting up constantly during the night to settle the baby and trying to entertain him during the day.

I am absolutely knackered and rapidly losing my sanity. Can anyone offer any advice on what went wrong and what I can do about it?

Hi babyted, I am having very similar problems myself, my dd is 10 months old and she too has always been a good sleeper but now wont have none of it, my bf is also on nights, it really is a test of patience isnt it! I have to fight her to get her to sleep and have too tried everything. I am at my wits end at the minute and am knackered. I dont have any answers babes but just wanted to let you know there is someone else out here aswell. If you feel like a chat let me know and we will see if we can figure something out together.

Any chance it could be hunger driven? My ds got much worse about 16 weeks, I increased her day time milk (via more frequent feeds, as b/f) and she got better, then worse again - recently introduced solids and she's getting better again - think some of hers was genuine hunger.

growth spurt/teething sound like likely culprits?
Could you try a late feed at 10pm to see if that helps him go a bit longer perhaps? Although from what you say it sounds liek he is not hungry.
FWIW my dd was a grand sleeper until teething started, long before any signs of teeth.
It could be worth trying a natural teething granule likes nelsons teetha or even a tiny dose of calpol.
If it works then you have your answer
Good luck it is bloody hard work at times isn't it?

I have just put baby to bed tonight and he went to sleep immediately on his own. He has not woken up so far so hoping for the best.

I have tried giving him a good dose of Calpol or Medised before putting him to bed previously but it hasn't made any difference.

Teething might be the culprit. I can't see anything but I understand they get symptoms before any sign.

Thanks babygirl5. Its nice to know I am not the only one. Hope you haven't had to go through this for too long. I am still hoping this will be a short passing phase.

Altermatively it could just be that he likes to torture me!!! My partner looked after him the other whilst I stayed at a friends to give me a break and he slept straight through! I have now become obsessed with repeating the routine that my partner followed exactly!!

One of the problems is that he can't get to sleep without his dummy. He doesn't wake up when it falls out but when he does wake up, he crys til his dummy is put back in. I am thinking of trying to wean him off his dummy but am not sure how to do this. Don't really want to just let him cry it out - I wouldn't be able to last long.

well i have had her to sleep now shes back up again, going to let her sit here for a bit to see if she will just go off, she is teething and ive given her calpol and teething powders, im at my wits end now to be honest and very very tierd. It always seems easier when my bf is here at least then we can take it in turns, but hes on nights, aaaarrrgggghhhhhhh!

Well, my optimism was misplaced last night. He slept til 9, went back til midnight, woke up at 1, took me an hour to get him back to sleep and he woke up at 4 and didn't really get back to sleep for more than a 10 min stretch.

Partner came home this morning at 7 to find us both knackered. He offered to have him for a bit so I could get a bit of sleep. Instead of keeping him up til his morning nap at 8.30 he put him back to bed at 7.30. He woke up at 8.15 and now I am up with him and we are both bad tempered.

I agree, it is easier when my partner is here. Even if he doesn't get up every time, its just a comfort to know you've got someome else there.

I am going to take him to the doctors to rule out anything else and see if they can give me anything for him. The health visitors suggestion was for me to get a bit more sleep!!!

When he wakes up I have just been putting his dummy in. Sometimes he goes straight back to sleep but other times he 'talks' to himself and laughs. I haven't been getting him out of the cot so far.

I am thiniking of ditching the dummy and doing pick up/put down in the hope that when he does wake up he will be able to settle himself off on his own.

Has yours been teething for long? I think that may be what is wrong with mine.

Also tried giving him a feed at 1 when he woke up with a bit of Medised but it made no difference at all. He drank the bottle but didn't settle off for an hour.

Yes Olivia was up last night god knows how many times aswell, when my partner came in he watched her 4 an hour, i have had to give in and ask for some help tonight so i can have a rest and re-charge, olivia has gone to her nans. Her first 6 teeth she has had no problems with at all, infact a couple of them we didnt even know had come through until i felt one night in the bath and she bit down.... Ouch!! Now i think its the back ones what are doing it, im hoping it is just a phase and things will get better. I hope they do for you aswell babes!! Maybe the doctor can offer you some advice. I use Ashton & Parsons teething powders, they are quite good.

Baby took ages to settle down to sleep last night but then only woke up 4 times and went straight back to sleep once the dummy went back in.

Took him to the doctors today and he says there is nothing physically wrong with him and he doesn't appear to be teething. Doctor said he most likely got thrown out of his sleep pattern when he had a cold and has forgotten how to sleep through.

Anyone got any tips on how to teach a baby to sleep through!?!

Oh I feel for all of us! My daughter is now 20wks and has been quite good the last four nights but I am aware that in order to get her to sleep I have to use my finger. It all stems from her having colic when she was young and now is a habit. I still breast feed and she wakes about 3am for a feed. I know I should really be stopping the night feeds and finger sleep association but it's so tricky to stop! Also dread the thought of the pattern getting worse if I rock the boat! Don't think there are any quick fixes!

I think I am definately going to ditch the dummy. It won't stop him waking up but will hopefully stop him crying for his dummy when he does wake up - eventually!!

Partner has a couple of weeks off mid september so will wait til then so I have some support!!