How long can this go on for? 7 month old waking multiple times a night

[megsy123]

I have a 7 month old daughter who was an amazing sleeper until she was 4 months old. Overnight she completely changed and started waking up multiple times. The midwives suggested hunger could be a problem, but this is unlikely as she is very well fed.

At first, it was about 4 times a night, but now it is more like 10-12 times. At first, all it required was popping in her dummy, so I thought her dummy addiction was to blame, (which I still believe is part of the problem) but now, since returning from a holiday abroad, she wakes up more like 15 times a night, and two times of that is ongoing screaming if we are not in the room and/or if we do not take her out of her bed.

I thought the waking multiple times a night was bad, but it has just got a whole lot worse, and I have no idea what to do.

I was wondering if anybody could recommend a night nurse who specialises in sleeping issues? (we are in SW London).

Thanks in advance,

Mx

I can't help you with a sleep consultant name, but thought Id share my experience in case it helps you.

My DD was an amazing sleeper until she was about 4.5 months old and then it went downhill. Initially it was because she was teething - 6 teeth over a period of about 6 weeks and she was up frequently each evening. We went away on holiday to Spain and that made things worse - every night away she woke for 20 minutes of each hour. It was horrific, and I feel physically sick even thinking about that holiday and the awfulness of the sleep deprivation we all experienced.

I think this then became her established routine and she would wake 3-4-5 times each night and want to be bf to sleep.

When she hit six months and once I established she wasn't still teething, I decided to stop bfing her during the night and instead walked and rocked her to sleep. She wouldn't counter anything else besides that - i.e. I couldn't get her to settle lying in bed with me, putting my hand on her in the cot or just sitting on the bed with her in my arms. We then moved from me walking / rocking her to sleep to my DH doing it. Over a few weeks of doing these things she dropped most of her wake-ups, except her 3am one.

Once she reached about 7 months both I and my DH felt it was time to step it up (we both work and the broken sleep over such a period of time was destroying us and our relationship, and DD had constant dark rings under her eyes). We had a terrible night where she refused to sleep, and lay next to me screaming for 1.5 hours and refusing any comfort except the bf. We decided to try CC, and agreed I would go downstairs on the sofa and my DH would stay in the room with her. It was tough, and the first night she cried for almost an hour, then next for 30 minutes and the next 20 minutes. After that she slept through.

We still have odd bad nights which is par of the course, but by and large her sleeping is more like it was up to 4 months. I guess we did a combination of gradual no-cry solutions at first and then CC.

Maybe some ideas on what you could try are here? good luck, I know how hard it is when you are in the midst of it. It will get better though, I promise.

Thanks RaisinGirls,

I have tried CC for the past two nights, and went completely cold turkey on the dummy, (although I still plan to use it in emergencies!) and I am reluctant to say this, but I have already seen a huge difference. In the past month, she hadn't had a single night where she didn't wake up at least 6 times. Last night she woke up a few times, shortly after I had put her down and I used the CC technique. She woke up an additional couple of times but after 30 seconds of crying, she soothed herself back to sleep! A HUGE difference.

It's been 4 hours since I put her down tonight and she has only been up once briefly - a triumph!

I am desperately hoping it continues in the right direction.

Hi
We used Sian Thomas at www.sleepbabies.co.uk She is based in Richmond, SW London and does home visits. Totally wonderful and non-judgemental. She doesn't do controlled crying so not sure what you are after. Life saving as we had a baby sleeping through after three weeks.. Best money ever spent. PM me if you want more details. Good Luck!

I did gradual retreat. Ds (who was 9 months) was bf and held/rocked at bedtime and every time he got up, several times a night. He, like your LO, wouldn't accept any other form of comfort. I did gradual retreat and first week was really hellish (night 2 and 3 particularly). I started on the first of the month and by 23rd he was sleeping through all night, every night. I can not believe it. I didn't think he was able to sleep, I genuinely felt sure he'd never sleep and the difference is incredible. I think, like you, the biggest thing was making the decision and sticking to it. Consistency is the key, whatever you choose. Good luck and just know that however hard it is that it is an investment for easier nights in the future. Good luck.