The incredible non-sleeping baby - help before I go mad!

[sweetkitty]

Right heres the details - DD2 is 8 months old, she's a big strong girl very active, doesn't like to be held prefers to be rolling around on the floor or in her walker (gave in and bought her one more to protect her from DD1), anyway her sleep is horrendous.

This is a typical day:

8-8.30am wakes up breakfast
11am BF may have a nap after this of 30 mins max
12.30pm lunch
2pm BF nap of 30-60 mins
5pm dinner, followed by bath and massage
7.30pm BF next to cot then put in cot
8.30pm wakes up
10 - 10.30pm BF back to sleep
1am wakes BF back to sleep
(sometimes 3am wakening too)
5-6am wakes BF back to sleep

Some days yesterday she had 30 mins sleep all day and finally went to bed at 10pm, this is not normal for a 8 month old surely, her 2yo sister sleeps more than she does. I have tried everything to get her to go to bed at 8pm and stay down, relaxed BF in quiet dark room, we have the same routine every night, DD1 goes to bed at 8pm too (mainly so she can have an hour with DP at night).

She's not grumpy though she's in her baby walker right now giggling at me on the keyboard. I would love her to go to bed at 8pm sleep through until 7am the next morning like her sister, this seems like a world away. Oh she used to take a dummy and this would get her back to sleep but she point blank refuses to take it now. Often at 5am she's up and raring to go chatting away and DP and I are shattered. As you can also imagine this is really affecting DP and I's time together too.

Anyone got any ideas (apart from darting her with a sedative)? She's too young for any kind of CC which I don't really like plus it would wake DD1. She eats loads during the day so she's not waking in hunger I know it's habit and only boob will resettle her.

Have you tried giving her some formula milk, just to top her up.
It could be that shes, like you said, feeding from you out of habit to get settled.
Babies are so crafty.
She sounds like such a livewire!!!! (not what you really want to hear)!!!
Could she have her bath abit later??
Is it possible that the massage is over stimulating her?

Does she have teeth cutting through, that could be why shes waking so much?

Just going through some of the more obvious reasons.

I can only continue to recommend this book Solve your child's sleep problems Oh and you don't need to top up.

Solved my DTs sleep problems. They are positively angelic now!

Forgot to add that topping up with formula helped my sisters 8 month old.
Now goes through the night, no problem.
May not work for all babies, but it worked for her.

Sorry to hear this, had a similar problem with ds who didn't sleep for more than 15 mins during day and cried all night. He now sleeps for an hour in the day and most nights sleeps through. He's 27 mo though! Hope you crack it sooner.

Hi Sweetkitty - you have my sympathy lovely - especially with A to cope with too. DS was born when DD was doing her AS exams & I desperately want this sorted before her A levels after Xmas
A typical day here is
6.30 - 7 - wake & bf
7.30 - 8 breakfast
crawl around
10.30 - nap for 30-40 mins (usually in pushchair/car)
11.30 - 12 lunch
crawl around
2.30 - 3 bf then nap (sometimes)
crawl around
6.30 - 7 bath/ wind down bf/ story / bf to sleep
10 wakes bf
12/1am wakes bf to sleep in my bed then wakes every time I try to move him back into his cot (lastnight I tried for 2 hours then again for an hour at 4 then gave up & kept him in with me whilst he fidgeted & kicked until 6)

He's a really happy lovely baby during the day & if it wasn't for the kicking I'd just keep him in with me. I'm trying to unlatch him before he actually falls asleep (which i'm having more success with - he's starting to settle himself whilst I hold him now) but he seems to have a sensor that activates as soon as he's put into his cot.

Agree don't think topping up with formula is the way forward, she's waking through habit not from hunger. She actually unlatches herself after about 10-15 minutes either to go to sleep or to play so I'm not feeding her loads. It's just during the night she needs that feed to get her back off to sleep.

Thankfully she doesn't get up crying even during the night, she wants to get up and play, she very rarely cries as it is. She's not grumpy through lack of sleep. She's such a happy little mad baby most of the time.

Last night she latched herself off turned over and feel asleep about 10.45pm, back up at 2 for a feed, then up at 6, then finally up at 7.50am. Thats not a bad night.

Iris - T starts the night in her bedside cot then is either in with me or back in her cot (whatever side I'm feeding from) or I put her back in her cot if I remember. It's no problem moving her back into her cot so I don't have the same problem as you.