Previous good sleeper now inconsolably screaming

[Mirage]

I know I have been lucky so far,DD,has slept through since she was 9wks & has never cried on going to bed or woken us in the night.She loves going in her cot & gets really excited about going to bed.

Tonight we put her down as normal,only to hear her screaming 10 minutes later.I went up to find her in a right state,almost hysterical.I picked her up & after a few minutes she calmed down.The minute I laid her back down she started again & cried for about 10 minutes.Every time I picked her up,she took a while to calm down & was still evidently not happy.The last time I went in,she had got to the bottom of her cot & got her leg trapped between the bars,so the cot bumper is now on.

She is downstairs with us now,she screamed when we lay her on the sofa to see if she would drop off down here.She is drooling a lot,I have changed her wet clothes 3 times today,but has no teeth so far,& also has a bit of a runny nose.Could it be teething?She is nearly 9 months now,so they have got to be coming soon. I gave her some Calpol & she is happily talking to herself next to DH on the sofa & chewing her toys-obviously a lot better.

I am a bit worried about her-tonight was totally out of character for her,although she seems happeir now.I may take her to my GPs to get checked out,depending on what the rest of the night brings.

Any advice?TIA

Sounds like teething to me Mirage. I'm no expert but our ds 11m) now has 7 teeth and they seem to hurt him more before they actually show through - almost always accompanied by copious amounts of snot and crap night time sleeping - the drooling's a giveaway too. We find that medised helps - its got paracetemol and also anti-histamine that drys up the snot and means he shouldn't drive or operate heavy machinery so it helps him sleep better too.

Mirage, my dd was late getting teeth too - she got her first ones around 10 months and now at 19 months she's still only got 12.

Like your dd mine slept through from about 9 weeks and was a real dream of a sleeper. I never found that teething interfered with this, a little maybe when she got her molars at around 15 months. Your dd may be different of course and it's worth giving calpol just in case. But the fact that you describe that she went to bed fine and then woke 10 minutes later doesn't seem to fit with a problem of teething as she'd have been in pain at bedtime or beforehand or in the day I'd have thought. Are there other signs of teething like bad smelling runny nappies and / or nappy rash?

It may be teeth, or perhaps the beginning of a cold or even this spell of hot weather (assuming you're in the UK). But the other thing to consider given that she calmed so quickly when you held her is separation anxiety, which if I remember right really kicks in around this age. How does she go off to sleep in general? It may be that she woke and found you not there and got a bit freaked out.

Try some Calpol or baby Nurofen - they will deal with the pain so you know if the crying continues it is something else. She may be feeling ill and coming down with something or have an ear infection. Definitely give something for pain just in case and then try again with her bed once it has had a chance to take effect. Good luck.

I bet you £50 she has an ear infection. My little one had this (at about 3 months though) - really screaming in pain. IME they don't do it with teeth - get ratty and moany but not hysterical. Also with ears they cry lying down and are happier (a bit) sitting up. Take her v quickly to the gp tomorrow as it gets very nasty very quickly this young and if so she needs antibiotics. But the good news is that the antibiotics should make a huge difference very quickly.
Good luck!

ok agree a good chance of teething
teething useualy pulls them right down get it every time with ds so yes good chance of a ear infection as well
has your ds been coughing at all because with the ruuny nose i would say shes got a cold my ds has got one at the moment and screams everytime he lies down so just a thought
i would also take her to the gp just to be checked were taking ours tomorow was told colds are very comon thiss time of year in babies and if shes teething as well she probably just feels plainly like hell hope shes better soon

So how is dd now, mirage? Hope she is OK

Thanks for your advice.I took her back to bed at 9pm & she was fine,laughing & smiling all the way up the stairs.Until I lay her down on her back-then she immediately started screaming again.I was at a complete loss,so left her for about 3 minutes to see what happened.She stopped & went off to sleep pretty quickly.I went in a hour later to find her at the bottom of her cot,sound asleep on her tummy with her leg through the bars again.Normally she is in a sleeping bag,so this hasn't been a problem before,but it was so hot,I'd just left her in her vest.

I moved her back up the cot & put her on her back,she cried halfheartedly for about 30 seconds & went off again.No problems for the rest of the night & we had to wake her at 7.45am for her bottle & she was back on her tummy again,so maybe she doesn't like being on her back?She didn't when she was tiny & we had a few hellish days until we found she prefered her front,then she wasn't bothered until now.

She has always gone of to sleep happily on her own before,we have never rocked her or stayed with her to get her to go off & I must admit last night totally threw me.She is very snotty & drooly today,but I haven't had the chance to get her to the Drs as DH is off sick today as well.Will try tomorrow,just to be safe as I hadn't thought of an ear infection.That could well be it,because she cried when lying down earlier & would only nap sitting in her car seat.Also my lovely mum dropped everything & ran up a summer weight sleeping bag for me this morning,so hopefully we will have no more leg incidents tonight.

Thanks again-I don't know what I'd do without Mumsnet.

She is in bed!!!!!!!!! I have been dreading bedtime all day & DH took her up in the end.She was happy until he laid her down,screamed twice,but DH gave her some milk & off she went.Approx 45 mins later,she screamed out twice & has been quiet since.

We put her to bed 1/2 an hour earlier than usual tonight,in case she was overtired.I am still unsure of what is causing her to be so upset,but it could be a combination of reaching her crawling milestone/separation anxiety & her cold.I hope it passes soon.I keep repeating the mothers mantra to myself 'Nothing lasts foe ever with babies'.

Thanks for your support.

No, you're right Mirage, there's so many phases and just when you think you've got it sussed it all goes weird again.

Good luck for tonight!

This is a bit spooky..... DS is 8 months and we had a very similar experience to you at the weekend.

Morning sleep on Saturday, no bag. Woke up after 20 mins... on his front at other end of cot, leg jammed through bars!! He has never rolled from back to front before!!! Did the same thing on Sunday so am using the lightweight bag and put him in a vest.. however, he has started getting upset at bedtime. As soon as we take him into his bedroom he starts to get unsettled and when we put him down he arches his back and has a tantrum. We try to soothe him and talk to him, and I have held him a couple of times, and he calms down and goes down, then we hear nothing more from him until the morning as per usual. All a bit upsetting. This morning, DH took him out of his cot and he was all smiles, I took him to get him dressed and he had a fit! Screaming arching back etc. soon calmed down but this is soo distressing as he is normally angel baby.

He is at the end of antibiotics for a chest infection so I'm pretty sure he is not sickening now. I have a horrible feeling that strangerthanfiction may be correct that this is a behavioural thing rather than medical....

He already has 6 teeth and I've not seen him behave like this before.....

Please let me know what happens with your DD as this behaviour sounds very similar.

BR

Bunnyrabbit-you are right-it is uncanny how alkie they are behaving.She was fine after her initial screaming fit last night,until DH had to roll her onto her back to give her her morning bottle-then screamed the house down again.He bought her downstairs & she was still unhappy.

She was obviously still tired as it was 8.10am & she usually doesn't get up til gone 9,so I put her back in the cot again.She screamed again,as soon as her back touched the mattress,but went off again within minutes & was all smiles when I went in to get her up.

I took her to the Drs,& he said her glands were up,due to her cold,but her ears are fine,thank goodness.Today she has spent frantically rolling about trying to crawl & has had 2 very short catnaps.I wonder what tonight will bring.
Strangerthanfiction (love your name btw),thanks for your good wishes.
Bunnyrabbit,I really hope this is shortlived phase for both of our sakes.I got a couple of 'sleep' books from the library today,but they all seem to be about dealing with longterm ingrained bad sleep habits.There is nothing about why a previously good sleeper should suddenly start getting upset-or what approach to take.DD is a very bright little girl,I am sure she has the mind of a 2 year old in a baby's body & she doesn't take 5 minutes to catch on to something new,so I am a bit worried that if I don't resolve it now,all our good work will go down the drain.But I can't stand hearing her cry either-it is so unlike her.Arrrggghhh!!!!!

Anyway,please let me know how you get on.

Will do... distraction seemed to work this morning... Dh went out and came back in, which made DS look at him, then I said lots of nice things in a happy voice and got smiles and hugs in return, which is why I don't think he's in pain and he was fine when I changed his nappy etc.... will see what tonight brings, keep me posted.

BR

Whooo hoooo!!!!!!!!!!!

I think we've cracked it.I followed my mums advice & sat her in her cot instead of lying her down.As I was zipping up her grobag,she rolled onto her tummy,grumbled a bit,stuck her thumb in & off she went.I can't believe it was such a simple thing as not wanting to be on her back.

She has been in bed since 7pm & we haven't heard a sound.Its a miracle.

Bunnyrabbit,how is your evening going?

Oh well done to your mum, although I think you suggessted this might be the reason in your previous mail. I do hope that's it. Does your DD roll over lots? My DS doesn't... too lazy I guess.

He went down no probs tonight and I went off to the Gym (not as good as I sound as it was the first time in 2 weeks). Got back and DH said he had started to cry twice, and then gone back to sleep. I checked him and he was fine. He then cried again for about a minute at 9.30. Then silence. Checked on him and he was sucking his hand lots and on his side, but OK......

Maybe it is teething but he's never done this before. Will leave the monitor up full tonight just incase but it's all so weird I don't know what I'll do if he wakes up!! Too scarey.... this cold be the comeuppance all my friends keep telling me is coming my way...

BR

How did it go in the night Mirage? You know it never occurred to me that out little ones probably find it difficlut to roll over when they're in a baby bag...

Any sign of any teeth?

It was all quiet in the bunny household.... no whingeing this morning either. But one other thing DS has started to do which is strange is cry after he's finished his bottle, only for about 10 seconds, but strange none the less.

BR

Hi Bunnyrabbit,

I was shattered after a hard day at work so didn't get onto MN last night.I really think we have found the problem,she is fine if you put her down on her front & slept from 7pm last night until 8.15am today without a peep.I know exactly what you mean about comeuppance & to be truthful,when she started to cry that 1st night I panicked & just did not know what to do.She'd never cried before & we were both so shocked we couldn't quite believe it.

I am certainly not going to take her good sleeping habits for granted anymore.She is our first baby & DH & I were smugly patting ourselves on our backs for 'training' her to go to sleep on her own from an early age.We have learnt our lesson now-babies are unpredictable little things.

I hope things are continuing to improve chez bunnyrabbit.The crying after his bottle is a bit strange,but very stupid question,is he still hungry?Is he still crying on his changing mat? DD is,until her nappy is off,then she laughs & tries to roll away.Don't quite know what that is all about!

Hi Mirage,
So glad you've cracked it!! Baby bunny has been so tired the last two nights (no afternoon sleep) that he's near enough falled asleep on the bottle, but still had a whinge this morning. He eats so much now that I can't believe he's hungry, and he drinks plenty too, so I think your first assumption was correct. He's teething and likes to chew.

He did however have a cry tonight about 10 mins after he went down for about 2 mins. Then nothing... very odd. I'll check on him in a minute but I bet he'll have his fingers in his mouth. Next batch of teeth on their way!!!

Has your DD cut her first yet?

BR

Ooooh yes, and dfoes she roll on to her side just as you undo the tapes!!!

Hi again,

So far so good here.I have moved her bedtime forward to 7pm as she is only taking 1 or 2 20 min naps in the day & is very tired by early evening.She sleeps on her front every night now & seems perfectly happy-we get big smiles when we go in in the morning.

No teeth here yet,surely they can't be far off coming now?She will be 9 months at the end of May.She still cries when I change her,but like your DS starts to roll away as soon as I undo or try to do up tapes,it is quite funny,but I won't be laughing if she gets poo all over my cream carpets again.

Was DS ok after his little cry last night?Hope he was & that he is back to his normal angel baby self.

Hi again,
My friend's DD didn't get her first tooth until 10 months, so you could have a while yet!!

DS had been fine for a few days, but is snotty again now so started coughing lots (as they do when they have all that gunk going down the back of their throats - sorry to be so graphic ). So he woke up about 30 mins after going down last night. Shouted for about a minute, then went back to sleep, big sigh of relief!!

Woke himself up coughing at some ungodly hour this morning though and was covered in snot bless him. Can't be doing with getting up at 5am to often though. Hope he doesn't do it again tomorrow.... I'm knackered!

BR

...cream carpets? Asking for trouble....

Hope that Babybunny is on the mend.

DD is over her cold & sleeping for England.Last night she went to bed at 6.45pm,slept til 8.25pm this morning,woke for her morning bottle & then went back to sleep until 9.45am.She was just stirring as I went in & probably would have carried on if I hadn't got her up.She is SO much happier with an earlier bedtime,but doesn't nap more than 20mins per day-not surprising considering her marathon night sleeps.

Yes-cream carpets.I bought them to tempt fate,after being told I probably wouldn't be able to have children.2 years down the line they are a delicate greyish shade.

Can I join the "previously-angel-baby-now-screams-when-placed-in-cot-is-it-hunger-teeth-or-defiance" club please!

Last night was the worst we have had it in his whole little life (8.5 months) he woke up at 12.45am and didnt actually settle back off until 5.20am

PLEASE HELP - it caused mega arguments between DP and I in the end as we were just so frustrated and shattered, I ended up in floods of tears and giving in to giving him a bottle at 5am- work today was a nightmare

Oh Beccarollover,you have my sympathy.It's just awful,especially when they've slept well previously.

I am sure that in your desperation,you have tried this,but have you put ds in his cot sitting up,or in a different position than normal?That was the problem with dd.She had statrted to crawl & didn't want to be on her back any more.

Sorry I can't be more help.I hope tonight is better.

TOUCH WOOD

We have had two really good nights, Ive upped his solid intake at tea time - it seems to have helped a lot

He is a greedy little bugger!